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Hello All!

11 replies [Last post]
Fri, 12/08/2017 - 15:37
Nytician
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Joined: 02/26/2017

Hi everyone, my name is Sean and I’ve relatively recently delved into the world of board games! Aside from the usual Monopoly etc, my first proper one is called Caverna where you work to build a basic settlement for dwarves and in the end win by scoring victory points. Pretty fun really.

Why am I here then? Well I’m also interested in designing my own, not to be produced professionally but print and play as an interesting project.

The game concept I’m working on is currently named Mins Ville and inspired by the PC franchise The Sims.

The game is in relatively early prototype stages and basic brain storming began around March this year. Now Winter is drawing in I have a little more spare time to dedicate to the project.

A short overview:

+Turn based solitaire simulation.
+Modular allowing for new features to be added post release.
+House, Needs, Skills, Career and Relationships tracked by the player using tokens to simulate progress.
+’Min’ socialising an illusion of a progressive world.

So there you have it, no doubt this project might not interest many but I figured I’d join this forum too as bgg is a lot broader than just the game dev part and your site has many interesting articles which is great!

Looking forward to getting to know a few of you!

Regards,

Sean.

P.S BGG Mins Ville post which photos of early prototypes here: https://boardgamegeek.com/article/27641865#27641865

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Fri, 12/08/2017 - 17:16
#1
MAR
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Hello

Hello, welcome to the forum! I haven't played the Sims in years, but I do remember enjoying playing it before (personally, I liked the building aspect, but anyways...) Your game sounds interesting and fun. Keep us posted.

-MAR

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Fri, 12/08/2017 - 19:13
#2
BHFuturist
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Greetings

Welcome to the forum!

This is one of the best places online for getting feedback on designs, discuss design ideas, and build relationships with other designers.

You will get the most out of this forum by first showing interest in the projects, games, and topics that others are posting about and then seeking advice on very targeted issues or problems you are dealing with in your designs. The more focused the question or topic the more likely you are to get useful responses. Post that dump the whole game and rulebook then ask for feedback don't get very much attention (or sometimes negative attention).

When you are first starting out you may not feel like you don't have enough experience to jump in and give an opinion but trust me, when it comes to board game design you can and should to just that. Everyone has a unique perspective and sharing yours can help in many ways even if you don't see the impact.

I have never played the Sims (only seen others play it) but I look forward to hearing more about this turn based solo simulation style game. In the video game world, that type of game is one of my favorites. Finding an elegant way to capture that sort of game in board game form is one of my "Holy Grail" type goals and I wish you all the best in that endeavor.

@BHFuturist

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Fri, 12/08/2017 - 19:49
#3
Corsaire
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Welcome. Always in my

Welcome.

Always in my notebook, too. There are a few board games I own that scratch the surface like Careers, CV, and Pursuit of Happiness.

There are also a few iOS games that play like solitaire board games that I've played like Magic Life, Life Quest, and My Life Story.

Good luck hope yours turns out well, as I'd be in line to get a copy.

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Sat, 12/09/2017 - 04:32
#4
Nytician
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Joined: 02/26/2017
Thanks for all your replies,

Thanks for all your replies, good advice!

I’ve been reading through some of the other projects here too and looking forward to getting involved!

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Mon, 12/11/2017 - 12:00
#5
Tim Edwards
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Joined: 07/30/2015
Hi Sean! I'm in much the same

Hi Sean!

I'm in much the same boat as you - I'm interested in game design as a fascinating creative pursuit, not particularly focused on commercial aspirations.

It's always interesting to me to read about what people are getting up to in terms of game design, so I hope you'll feel comfortable enough to post your ideas whatever stage of development they are at. In my experience, it's not usually easy to respond to posts of the more advanced game designers (I haven't really discovered a chance to do that meaningfully yet), so I'd welcome a fellow newbie posting ideas that I can relate to and potentially reply to constructively.

Look forward to hearing more about your game.

Cheers!

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Tue, 12/12/2017 - 12:30
#6
Nytician
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Joined: 02/26/2017
Tim

Glad to hear! Ditto! Look forward to seeing what you’re working on also! It’s definately an interesting learning experience, refining even simpl aspects of the game multiplied times! For example yesterday rather amusingly I succeeded in getting a relatively full early prototype finished only to play it and find it worked perfectly, but bored me to death haha, seems ‘fun’ is quite an elusive component of a game in itself... :)

What are you working on?

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Tue, 12/12/2017 - 19:32
#7
questccg
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Designing "FUN" games is not so easy...

Nytician wrote:
...For example yesterday rather amusingly I succeeded in getting a relatively full early prototype finished only to play it and find it worked perfectly, but bored me to death haha, seems ‘fun’ is quite an elusive component of a game in itself...

Don't laugh it's very TRUE! I've put together maybe four or five "functional" game that are mechanically correct and with theme they form a "real" game. BUT the problem with these games, is that like you said, to me they are NOT "FUN"! I'm the first critic of my designs - if they're not FUN, I shelve them... And hope to borrow mechanics, pieces and place them in another design.

So it's not a BAD goal of making a "FUN" game. You are the game's first critic, if it doesn't pass your "Gold Standard" move on to another design knowing you may borrow elements of that design or have new inspiration to carry the design down a different path...

It happens to ALL of us, I'm pretty certain...

Cheers and welcome to BGDF!

Kristopher
Aka QuestCCG
"Indie" Game Designer
BGDF Moderator - Publisher List

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Wed, 12/13/2017 - 08:21
#8
let-off studios
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Welcome, Sean!

Happy to see a new face here at BGDF. :)

Fortunately for us as designers, there's no real limit to the size of our drawing board. It makes it easier to go back to it when one of our designs "isn't fun," as you put it... And yeah, it happens to us all. I keep hearing advice like, "fail quick," and I suppose as long as you can learn from it, then a playtest that comes to a screeching halt isn't so bad. It's even better when you can recognize it yourself, and have the good sense to re-work it immediately.

In any case, best of success to you and your projects. :)

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Fri, 12/15/2017 - 09:05
#9
Tim Edwards
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Joined: 07/30/2015
Well, that sounds like a very

Well, that sounds like a very useful play test! :)

A while back I made a naval tactics game, designed as an after-dinner game to be played with my dad when we met at weekends. It took about a year to design. And a further year of regular playing to realise it was a 40 minute game that was fun for about 20 minutes...

I went abroad for a year and thought about the problem - re-engineered it, and it was much, much better. Now it's a 20 minute game we usually want to play twice.

I think I learnt valuable lessons there which I am trying to keep in mind for my next project. That's a Muay Thai combat card game. I've been blogging some ideas here as I develop it. Another post is due soon, since I've overhauled things a fair bit recently and am ready to make a proto-type (yet to be seen if that elusive fun element is there!) :)

Cheers!

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Fri, 12/15/2017 - 09:06
#10
Tim Edwards
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Joined: 07/30/2015
Nytician wrote:Glad to hear!

Nytician wrote:
Glad to hear! Ditto! Look forward to seeing what you’re working on also! It’s definately an interesting learning experience, refining even simpl aspects of the game multiplied times! For example yesterday rather amusingly I succeeded in getting a relatively full early prototype finished only to play it and find it worked perfectly, but bored me to death haha, seems ‘fun’ is quite an elusive component of a game in itself... :)

What are you working on?

Well, that sounds like a very useful play test! :)

A while back I made a naval tactics game, designed as an after-dinner game to be played with my dad when we met at weekends. It took about a year to design. And a further year of regular playing to realise it was a 40 minute game that was fun for about 20 minutes...

I went abroad for a year and thought about the problem - re-engineered it, and it was much, much better. Now it's a 20 minute game we usually want to play twice.

I think I learnt valuable lessons there which I am trying to keep in mind for my next project. That's a Muay Thai combat card game. I've been blogging some ideas here as I develop it. Another post is due soon, since I've overhauled things a fair bit recently and am ready to make a proto-type (yet to be seen if that elusive fun element is there!) :)

Cheers! (sorry for the double post)

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Fri, 12/15/2017 - 18:01
#11
Nytician
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Wow yeah that’s interesting

Wow yeah that’s interesting that you were able to shave 20 Mins off it! I’ll have to check out your blogs too! I suppose the time intervals between rewriting games and the reviewing core ideas is not a bad thing/waste anyhow as you’re bound to learn new things and to be honest designing the game is just as fun as playing in my opinion!

I’ve just done a review of the ‘boring’ concepts in my latest build and trying something new, but difficult to get the balance between just fun and deep engaging gameplay!

https://boardgamegeek.com/article/27641865#27641865

From here though I’m thinking perhaps the hello thread has outgrown updates on the games progress so I’ll perhaps move that to a blog or separate post in future!

Nice to meet you all!

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