So I have a couple of game ideas, But Im wondering whats the best way to prototype, Currently there is 2 ways I see.
1: Prototype the entire game in paper or whatever then see if it works and put it together.
2: Prototype concepts and such you want in your game and slowly "piece" your game together.
So please if anyone can give me tips thanks.
-Canyoncl (That crazy person you see every 2 months.)
The best way to do it is to print it all out and see what works. It can be a pain if there's a lot of prep work and cutting and etc. but it's the best way to figure what's working and what isn't. Seeing all the mechanics working at the same time is illuminating.
It's probably a little bit of both.
Personally I went with option 2 then piece it together on paper. Kinda like making a rough draft then you find things to throw out, clarify or add where it needs to be added.
Sometimes it is easier to prototype it in VASSAL (even for solitaire testing), or just move around tokens/cards in a graphics editor (eg Inkscape or illustrator... something where different pieces are objects that can be moved around and rotated easily, not just chunks of pixels).
Not that I always do that. Often it is easier to just print things, and make modifications with pencil, and use generic components as much as possible. Nothing will be right the first time you print it, so you will need some way to make quick changes or you will just stop fix things too early.
I kind of like doing a little at a time, if there's a lot going on in the game. In this way, I can get started with a rough idea first, without having to nail down all the details of the rest of the game. After making some simple stuff for the basic idea, you'll probably learn a bit that will change how you design the rest of it.
This is probably especially important if you plan to have a bunch of cards with a variety of effects. Making a small number of things to try out the basic idea of your game could end up saving you a lot of time, vs making a ton of cards and finding out the game doesn't quite work the way you imagined it.
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