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Post by silverlion on Mar 18, 2006 15:26:29 GMT -5
Kinda surprised this board had my game added but I won't let that stop me from discussing it.
Any questions people have I'd be glad to answer. I'm also a die hard supers fan so even if my game is not for you I might be able to help you find something like you want.
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Post by Tommy Brownell on Mar 19, 2006 12:37:09 GMT -5
What's your best guess on the print version ETA? I'm one of "those", that prefers print to PDF...I THINK I'm about to re-enter the realm of the employed, so my disposable income should be rising soon.
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Post by silverlion on Mar 19, 2006 18:23:56 GMT -5
A month. The new layout guy has his own RPG out and said it take two+weeks after GAMA.
So a month approximately.
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Post by Tommy Brownell on Mar 19, 2006 22:20:40 GMT -5
!
Sweet!
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Post by Trakx on Mar 21, 2006 15:11:01 GMT -5
Tim, you've mentioned before that you've encountered a number of problems through certain staff or design features (such as layout).
What has it been like, the good and the bad, designing your own game and working to have it made public?
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Post by silverlion on Mar 22, 2006 17:47:46 GMT -5
1) Learn layout skills. Frankly that's been my biggest limiting factor.
2) Learn to be an Artist that was my second (and I'm not a bad artist but not a game book quality one)
3) Take playtesting with a grain of salt. For every good response you get take it with an honest assessment of "Is this actually addressing the rules and how they play, if they are buggy/broken/miswritten?"
The fact is a lot of game design, a HUGE amount of it is taking what YOU want and seeing it through to the end, and its a HECK of a lot of work. Now sure there are a lot of people who write up 20-30 page games and lay them out and such and think they're done and even get good comments on them. But if you REALLY put effort into them people will know and respect that more than if you churn something out as quickly as possible.
You also have to consider things within your vision. The fact is people (playtesters quite often) won't provide feedback that is remotely useful or useable, and knowing when it is and isn't is a very delicate skill you need to learn. Because you can't always tell when there is another agenda at work. I know from playtesting other games (SAS, Mutants and Masterminds) and watching the feedback other people gave, when there was an agenda at work--as well as when I gave my own feedback with its agenda. I also watched what I recieved with that same learned eye and filtered it accordingly.
Game design is FUN, and hard frustrating WORK, at the same time. You have to do a lot of it yourself because as you can see from what I've said the more you rely on others the more you face dissapointment with procrastination and failure with others reliability.
A lot of design is effected by outside forces (other work/life concerns), I've spoken about some of them to you Nathan so you know what's gone on, and that had a lot to do with what took so long to get H&S to even the point of needing layout. It didn't take quite so long to write as it seemed, albeit it did to wrap up the last little bits. And it is an ongoing process, there are always little bits to add, tweak, and OH darn I should have said THIS!
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Post by Trakx on Mar 22, 2006 18:34:05 GMT -5
How many games do you have in the works, Tim? At least three come to mind: Heart & Souls, High Valor, and Vast Frontiers. Any others?
Do you design a new game system per game or try to keep the same system, but just a different approach and setting?
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Post by silverlion on Mar 22, 2006 19:44:19 GMT -5
Um. I plead the Fifth!
A lot actually. E.o.N, High Valor, Vast Frontiers (ACE), Gun-Knight, WyrdWalkers, AEGIS, Rust, Nightmares and Nocturnes, Kami, and many many others.
I design systems to suit the games usually in some cases that means systems are used for several sattings--ACE for example will be used for Vast Frontiers and a setting called Chrome and Fire dealing with street dueling cars in a dystopian future.
Mind you KAMI is a card game (dueling martial artists) not an rpg, the rest are RPG's and I don't have my wargame (not miniature game per se) listed as not sure how far from actually sitting down and writing it I am....
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Post by Trakx on Mar 23, 2006 10:24:38 GMT -5
KAMI - is that along the lines of Kung Fu Fighting by Slug Fest Games?
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Post by silverlion on Mar 23, 2006 14:19:10 GMT -5
No clue. Never heard of it. Kami is about spirits and battling for those spirits and channeling their power to win the battle, by winning battles you claim spirits from enemies (Cards) you can choose to incorporate into your deck to use for yourself and empower greater special maneuvers. (Voice of Thunder, Fire-Spur Kick, etc.)
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Post by Trakx on Mar 23, 2006 15:26:18 GMT -5
Wow - do you have any more information on it? Artwork or pictures?
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Post by silverlion on Mar 23, 2006 18:44:48 GMT -5
Nope not yet. Just basic idea. I had about a page of notes.
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