Hey everybody, I'm Seth and I've suddenly found myself quite interested in game designing. By suddenly, I mean it kind of came out of nowhere. I've actually played very few games (as in maybe 5 of the BGG top 500) but around a month or two ago I starting online looking at some board games that seemed really interesting (https://boardgamegeek.com/collection/user/537h) and then I started getting ideas about making a game myself. So I started putting together a concept for a board game inspired by some post-human sci-fi concepts. Now, a few weeks later, it turns out I have a notebook that filled with no few than 9 game concepts--developed to various levels of detail. I have no specific aims or goals for success as a game designer. But, since I'm having fun playing around with ideas and mechanics and themes, I figured I'd go ahead and dive in here (since that's kind of what I do with things in general and I've already done a lot of research games and reviews and interviews with designers).
Anyway, I know there are better places here to flesh out specific ideas in general, but--by way of introduction, I'll go ahead and provide abbreviated descriptions of the things I've been thinking about here. These are listed in order of how "well" developed they are (the first having a first draft prototype in existence and the last basically just a theme and one component):
1. A post-human, sci-fi themed board game that is abstractish/chesslike that also involves mind-cloning and optimization of possible characters/powers. Oh, and there's leveling and math-based dueling.
2. A revamped and themed version of an highly modified Uno variant a group of my friends developed back in college. Involves a lot of random and funny things (a la Fluxx or We Didn't Playtest...) and challenges and duels between players...and a place called the Shadowrealm.
3. A game about elaborate courtship in birds. Asymmetrical multiplayer game about attracting mates and ensuring your own and your progeny's survival.
4. A sci-fi, meta-mystery game that information sharing among characters to solve multiple mysteries over varying difficulty and import. There's also secret badguys and stuff (part of the mysteries). Also, a big twist at the end.
5. Another post-human game that involves the formation of overlapping clans of characters/players that initiate quests and try to perform according to that groups unique objectives. Possibly contains a lot of character and sub-world creation.
6. An RPGish/storytelling game/platform where the players create their own theme and setting and the "game master" roll alternates between players. Proceduraly generating map included.
7. A Dischordian themed game that somehow involves a custom weighted die.
8. A mountain climbing game that uses a fractal 3D "board".
9. Some game using a Thoth Tarot deck.
Thanks for the warm welcome. Yes, game number one exists in an actual physical incarnation composed of sets of polyhedral dice, plastic disc tokens, short sections of pipe cleaner, a board and lots of printed cards (some with a bit of art even).
And I do plan on elaborating this game in particular here on BGDF, so stay tuned.