Hello there Everyone!
I think the easiest way to tell you a bit about myself & my views of board game design, is to talk about my username Codicier since it relates to both.
It's both a nod to my gaming and career past (it's the name of subtype of a unit in Warhammer 40k & I used to be a librarian) & something a little more deep about my feelings on what makes interesting problems (To codify something is to sort, bring order, & create rules that help with the understanding of something).
Going into a bit more detail I'm a ex librarian and print graphic designer now mainly doing freelance stuff (don't assume I'm any sort of arts whiz from this fact, I'm not a particular strong draughtsman I just work hard, iterate frequently and have a reasonable sense of style :D) and spending as much time as I can spare working on play testing and working on new revisions of my two prototype games.
In terms of the games I play, to me there few things as satisfying as looking down at my board when I'm playing and feeling that everything is in its right place.
So as a designer I'm generally interested in trying to produce games which offer emergent play based around interaction between player s& interesting interlocking systems, rather than pure intellectual tests of system optimisation.
I guess I feel it's not fun (sorry I used the F-word!) brining order unless there is a sufficiently interesting & evolving chaos. Which I guess is why I'm drawn to board games more than their electronic cousins, since there's nothing that
produces chaos quite as easily as humans interacting around a table.
I'm at the stage with both my designs where they've been playtested regularly by friends and family and the occasional stranger. I feel my prototypes possess a reasonably coherent visual language, but still have are a few rough edges that need filling off.
Where I feel I lack most knowledge is with issues surrounding optimising the cost of the game's components, the best ways to playtest publicly, and the most realistic way of bringing my designs to market long term.
I mean sure I've done my research but there's no substitute for experience, which is something I frankly lack. However hopefully there's a few people here who've been there and done that who can help me grow as a designer.
look forward to talking to you guys soon.
Codicier
