Corporate America arrives at Card Kingdom in Seattle. Photo courtesy of Andrew Federspiel.
Corporate America started hitting the mailboxes of Kickstarter supporters and the shelves of game stores back in July of 2013. Eight months later, you might be wondering… how’s the game doing?
The short answer, I’m happy to say, is pretty well! I recently went over the many positive reviews the game has received, and today I’ll cover how the game is selling.
Posted by teale on February 24, 2014
http://nothingsacredgames.com/corporate-america-sales-roundup/
I’ll be the first to admit that I’m pretty lousy when it comes to marketing. It’s the sort of thing I never wanted to do, but is essential for making a game (or really any product) successful. So, reluctantly, I’ve put on my marketing hat many times for Corporate America, and have actually found it kind of fun.
I’ve done three main things to promote Corporate America since it came out in July. First, I’ve been writing blog posts like this one. (Maybe they aren’t terribly effective, but they are fun to write.) Second, I’ve traveled to many friendly local game stores, bringing the game to as many people’s attention as possible. This has actually gone pretty well–probably half of the stores I’ve visited have picked up the game, and some have sold a dozen or more copies, which is great for me and great for them.
Finally, I’ve pursued as many reviews as possible. To me, getting a reviewer to try the game and offer an honest opinion should mean much more than an ad saying the game is good. And because Corporate America has gone over so well with so many different groups of players, I feel confident that reviewers will have good things to say about the game.
Today I want to share my experiences with getting the game reviewed, and share some of the lessons I’ve learned along the way. It turns out there’s a lot more to reviews than I realized.
Posted by teale on February 10, 2014
http://nothingsacredgames.com/reviewing-reviews/
Has it really been a year and a half since I posted my two part post on the various types of fun that games can provide? Unless WordPress is truly messing with me, it has!
Perhaps surprising to no one, I missed some key types of fun in that original list. Today, I want to closely examine one of the missing types: collecting.
People collect all sorts of stuff. Image from decoist.
When did people start collecting things? Tough question. While sedentary lifestyles certainly make collecting more realistic, I wouldn’t be surprised if our nomadic ancestors maintained collections for at least short periods of time. Collecting seems to be universal and fundamental to the human experience.
Today, people collect all sorts of things. Stamps and baseball cards are the traditional American collector’s items, but coins, stuffed toys, memorabilia, and any number of other treasures now make up collections across the globe. People collect anything and everything.
Collecting exists frequently outside of games, indicating its affect on a person’s emotions and psyche. It’s a very powerful activity, and harnessing that motivation in a game leverages a lot of built in behavior and strong, positive emotions.
Posted by teale on January 28, 2014
http://nothingsacredgames.com/analysis-of-fun-collecting/
Which came first, the theme or the mechanics? Knight image from Giant Bomb.
One of the fundamental questions in game design is: which came first, the theme or the mechanics? Different designers have different answers to this question, some holding their answers as sacred as scripture.
While I don’t have strong feelings on this question (I have been inspired by both themes and mechanics), I tend to lean towards mechanics. Even when inspired by a theme, I strive to convey the theme through novel, interesting mechanics.
Today, I want to talk a little about theme. Specifically, I want to talk about what makes a game feel thematic. I feel like there is a disconnect between what many people think makes a game thematic and what actually makes a game feel thematic when you play it. My hope is that designers who read this will avoid common traps when trying to capture a theme in their games.
Posted by teale on January 10, 2014
http://nothingsacredgames.com/thoughts-on-theme/
Big games, like this monstrosity from Kickstarter, are exciting. Image from the Board Game Geek.
One of the biggest challenges of designing games is scoping. We’re often inspired by big games and strive to make them ourselves, but bigger does not necessarily mean better.
Today I’ll discuss some of the advantages and disadvantages of big games and suggest methods to help you control the scope of your game.
Posted by teale on December 10, 2013
http://nothingsacredgames.com/all-games-big-and-small/
I happily read through the Warcraft II manual before getting anywhere near a computer. Today, a digital game manual is a relic from another age. Image from ebay.
It wasn’t long ago that every digital game came with its own manual, just like board games do today. An excited new game owner would pour over the manual, learning how to play the game before ever putting it in a computer or console. It was an expected part of the whole video game experience.
Today, few digital games have manuals. Some have online databases full of information for players willing to dig through them, but most games teach you how to play through tutorials and level design.
I’m currently working on a digital game in addition to multiple board games. In order to test those games, I have to teach people how to play, so I deal with both writing rules and programming in-game guidance. Seeing the process from both perspectives has me thinking, what’s so much better about interactive learning experiences? Why have they almost totally obsoleted written rules for digital games? And perhaps more importantly, how can we leverage strategies from tutorials and level design to make learning board games less work and more fun?
Posted by teale on November 21, 2013
http://nothingsacredgames.com/teaching-games-old-and-new/
Magic: the Gathering is a 20 year old behemoth. Each year, it seems to get more popular and make more money. Wizards of the Coast, the company that makes the game, must be doing something right, right?
Magic: Pretty popular. Image from Modern Myths.
It turns out they’re doing a lot right. But that doesn’t mean they’re doing everything right.
Magic is an extremely fun game, but it’s not perfect. A large part of its success comes from its position as the first collectable card game, a much loved and very profitable genre. That innovation made players willing to overlook some of Magic‘s less than ideal qualities.
Today, I’m going to take a look at one of Magic‘s biggest flaws and explain how I would try to fix it. In doing so, I’ll show how to approach challenging design problems and encourage you to take a critical, honest look at everything, even games you love.
Before I get into the details, I’ll cut the suspense: the problem I’m going to address is the land system, one of the fundamental pacing mechanisms of the game.
Posted by teale on November 11, 2013
http://nothingsacredgames.com/fixing-magic/
Corporate America costs $40. What could be simpler?
Publishing Corporate America was a big learning experience for me. I had previously designed games, and I’d even released digital games, but I had never handled so much of the responsibility myself. Manufacturing, shipping, distribution, marketing–frequently, I was in over my head, so it’s not surprising that I made mistakes. Today, I want to talk about one specific decision I didn’t quite make right: how much the game should cost.
There are a ton of factors that go into a decision that might seem pretty simple. Today I’ll go over those factors, why I made the decision I ended up making, and why I now think it wasn’t the correct decision.
Posted by teale on October 31, 2013
http://nothingsacredgames.com/the-price-is-wrong/
Not long ago, I discussed schadenfreude and how you can manage it in your games. But somehow, I managed to miss one of the most effective ways to get players at each others’ throats: betrayal.
Today, I’ll talk a bit about the psychological underpinnings of betrayal, the many forms it can take in games, and how those forms can affect players’ emotions and psyches.
Betrayal: it’s just a part of the human experience. Image from Benoit des Ligneris.
Betrayal is a fundamental part of the human experience, one that can affect us in profoundly emotional ways. Some of us are more insecure when it comes to trust than others, but discovering that a friend was using you like a pawn never feels good.
Games give us a safe space to explore these issues, right? While games may be a more ethical venue to release Machiavellian impulses than, say, places of work or high school proms, don’t forget that your players’ emotions are very real. Betrayal in particular can be an extremely touchy and emotional experience, so it is very important to know how your game allows or even forces betrayal amongst your players.
Posted by teale on October 21, 2013
http://nothingsacredgames.com/betrayal-in-the-game-from-the-box/
A very warm welcome from the Cal Poly Mustangs!
Last week I had the privilege of speaking to students at Cal Poly in beautiful San Luis Obispo. Many of the students are just beginning their journeys to become game designers, so I took the opportunity to share my own experience from consumer to creator. I also talked about how game designers of various skill levels conceive of games and approach game creation.
No matter what level of game designer you are, I hope taking a broader look at the process will give you some insights on how to make your next game even better!
Posted by teale on October 4, 2013
http://nothingsacredgames.com/the-path-of-the-game-and-the-path-of-the-designer/
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