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Long time hobbyist, first time designer

5 replies [Last post]
Sat, 06/22/2013 - 16:29
archaeum
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Joined: 06/21/2013

Hello everyone!

I'm totally new to the industry, but I've been designing games for a long time. WhenI was a kid I created floorgames with complex rules, character sheets and stats for toys, and made my brothers use rulers for the attack distance from one toy to another.

Nowadays I've been brooding over this game idea for quite some time. It started with an overall frustration with DMing my local dungeons and dragons group. I hated writing history that was either too boring or too brief to catch a players attention. I looked into "games" that attempted to create a fantasy world with the help of the players, so that everyone could participate in world generation.

I was dissatisfied with the stuff out there, and decided to make my own game. This game is a fantasy/sci-fi game that allows players to create a custom "race" and compete for survival in a turn based civbuilder. The result is an organically generated fantasy world that every player is attatched to. The game can be used as a supplement to any homebrew RPG, and is also fun to play.

I don't have a decent prototype yet, but I hope to be ready to self publish by next year. Before I can do that, I know I need some help. As I get closer to a better understanding of the game rules and physical components, I'll be asking questions about how to get the ball rolling. As it is right now, I'm planning to operate out of southern california although I live in AZ now. I've been looking at chinese prices on bulk custom games, and unfortunately it's too cheap to turn down, but nothing Iis certain yet.

I look forward to developing my game with everyone!

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Sat, 06/22/2013 - 16:42
#1
MoldtDK
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Joined: 06/19/2013
First of all: Welcome and

First of all: Welcome and great to see another joining these ranks!

Secondly... Your idea certainly is ambitious. How do people make their own race? Do you plan to make a pen & paper roleplay with 'race' sheets like AD&D and those types of games or will you make a Board game?

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Sat, 06/22/2013 - 16:51
#2
archaeum
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Joined: 06/21/2013
roleplay + board

MoldtDK wrote:
First of all: Welcome and great to see another joining these ranks!

Secondly... Your idea certainly is ambitious. How do people make their own race? Do you plan to make a pen & paper roleplay with 'race' sheets like AD&D and those types of games or will you make a Board game?

Yeah, sort of. Basically this game is going to involve some pencils and paper for record keeping, population management, and racial traits. As for race creation, I'm deciding on either a point buy systen or a series of random dice rolls, or a combination threof.

The whole thing is an actual board game, with some data being recorded on sheets instead of pieces on the board.

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Sat, 06/22/2013 - 16:59
#3
MoldtDK
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Joined: 06/19/2013
Ok that sounds cool. I look

Ok that sounds cool.

I look forward to see the process of this as I still have no clue as to what the outcome will be. On one hand I can say that I love AD&D and roleplays like that so I have no problem with pen and paper but in a board game that should be playable in a few hours it can probably easily be too much if you have too many stats to keep track of. At least that's how I imagine it with the idea I have in my head of your game at the moment.

But I would say go for a point system. I know it will create more randomness with dice but in that, someone could be unlucky and end up with a massively inferior race, making the game not as fun for them.

The thing is that most gamers I know would love to play an army General without having taking a military education or a mad scientist without being either mad or have taken a long education.

So be careful not to make the game so complex that some people might be scared away by how advanced it is.

That being said, I'd love to see what comes of this as I love the ability to customize and make your own style of play.

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Sat, 06/22/2013 - 17:12
#4
archaeum
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Joined: 06/21/2013
MoldtDK wrote:Ok that sounds

MoldtDK wrote:
Ok that sounds cool.

I look forward to see the process of this as I still have no clue as to what the outcome will be. On one hand I can say that I love AD&D and roleplays like that so I have no problem with pen and paper but in a board game that should be playable in a few hours it can probably easily be too much if you have too many stats to keep track of. At least that's how I imagine it with the idea I have in my head of your game at the moment.

But I would say go for a point system. I know it will create more randomness with dice but in that, someone could be unlucky and end up with a massively inferior race, making the game not as fun for them.

The thing is that most gamers I know would love to play an army General without having taking a military education or a mad scientist without being either mad or have taken a long education.

So be careful not to make the game so complex that some people might be scared away by how advanced it is.

That being said, I'd love to see what comes of this as I love the ability to customize and make your own style of play.

Yeah the major problem with the process is keeping it simple. I want the final product to be simple enough for someone who doesn't have rpg experience to sit down and have fun.

The main data points that players need to keep track of are total population, currency, and a more abstract "culture currency" which is used to customize your race as you play.

The goal is not to create a master race and kill all the other ones, but to survive and create an interesting race. Even if your race goes extinct, you re roll and are left with a cool and mysterious part of history. For that reason, I'm not too afraid of using an unbalanced random system.

Imagine taking the final setting and having PCs explore the ruins of a doomed ancient race, known by the players but lost by the generations of the PC races.

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Sun, 06/23/2013 - 04:08
#5
parvez
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Joined: 05/21/2012
Try us for Design, Print & Production Services

Hi there

If you are looking for a cost effective solution for graphic design- artwork-print production for your game, we can be of help.

We are based in India and specialise in all sorts of book/paper related publishing and we have also set up a special cell for customised assignments like board games.

While we have handled 2-3 trading card games for a few clients locally and soon will complete preproduction for a US based client (health oriented board game).

Would you like to try us out ? We can provide great quality and finish at very reasonable rates. Also, short print runs (starting at 500 sets) are possible for us, so quantity may not be that much of an issue.
So, if you are interested, mail me details of the game on my email - eternitimedia@gmail.com and we can take it forward.
Thanks

Parvez
Eterniti Media
Mumbai, INDIA
www.eternitimedia.com

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