(https://boardgamegeek.com/thread/1018707/brief-crash-course-game-design-issues-processes-an)
1. Idea Generation and Early Conceptual Stage
- From Daydreaming to Design - Document the concept!
- Make note of any ideas for the theme or mechanics you may want to use.
- Create a rough outline of the potential flow of the game – i.e. how do players take turns, what actions do players take, etc.
- Work on what gets you excited and do what keeps you motivated
- Establish your design goals and gameplay objectives - and write them down!
What kind of design goals should I be considering?
- What is my target audience? What kind of “fun” am I trying to make?
- How many players will the game support?
- How long is the game? What’s the playtime for first/learning games?
- How “big” is the game in terms of components?
- How complex do I want the game to be?
- How much, and what type, of interaction do I want to have between players? Is it passive or confrontational?
- How much politicking / table talk do I want players to engage in?
- What types of choices or dilemmas do I want players to face?
- How much randomness / luck do I want in the game?
- How abstractly do I represent the theme? What are the essential parts of the theme to represent?
- How do I make the game standout in the market? What makes it marketable and different?
- Think about pacing and how players win
- Keep in mind how long you want the game to be and how the win conditions and game end conditions tie into that.
2. Early Prototypes and crash testing – Do it EARLY!
- You need to get a playable prototype assembled as soon as possible to test the basic flow and structure of your game.
- Make your first prototype in the fastest and most flexible way possible - don't bother with art
Basic tools and materials
- Paper, card-stock
- Pencils, pens, markers
- Scissors, matte knife, straightedge, cutting board
- Index cards of various sizes/colours
- Blank playing cards and/or card sleeves
- Deck of traditional cards
- Assorted dice
- Generic tokens / cubes / pawns / gems
- Coins or cheap poker chips
- Make extensive notes AS YOU PLAY about things that work well or don’t work well – and if you have any ideas for changing things.
- In particular, look for game breaking issues and the player actions that cause them.
- Be loose and flexible – look to improve the idea.
- Early feedback and reality checks
3. Preliminary Rules, Functional Graphics, and the Mid-Stage Prototype
- Document the design
- The rules are your game, and the sooner you start developing the language and terminology your game relies on, the easier it will be to teach the game and have a reference point for changing mechanics.
- Begin working out the Graphic Interface
- Work out the visual/graphic system for the game in a consistent manner.
- Make a refined prototype to support live play-testing
4. Internal Play-testing Stage
- First live play-tests – what to ask testers?
- TAKE EXTENSIVE NOTES
- Taking and interpreting criticism – Knowing your audience
- Design Refinement – Endless iterations
- Reduce negative experiences
- Appropriate player interaction
- Appropriate use of Luck
- Make interesting choices
- Balancing strategies and play styles
- Game end triggers, the arc, and pacing
- Scoring and inventive structures
- Thematic Consistency / Congruency
- Elegance, Ergonomics, and Fiddlyness
- Be bold and different
5. External play-testing stage
- Blind Playtesting
- Rules Drafting and Late-Stage Prototypes
This advice could be useful in directing the team, having a good design process and making sure that everything is being covered, as this will be a challenge to all of us.
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