A few months ago I discussed the many games I’ve been working on since Corporate America went to the printers. I’m happy to tell you that Fungus (still looking for a real name) is one of the games that made the cut! Today I want to discuss the design goals I have for Fungus. I’m […]
All posts in category Design
Fungus Design Goals
Posted by teale on June 6, 2013
http://nothingsacredgames.com/fungus-design-goals/
10 Things Every Game Designer Needs to Know about 100 Things Every Designer Needs to Know about People
On my quest to become the best game designer I can possibly be, I recently read 100 Things Every Designer Needs to Know about People, a quick but interesting book by Susan Weinschenk. The book is a list of facts about people, ranging from physical specifics about vision to patterns of social interaction and emotional […]
Posted by teale on May 21, 2013
http://nothingsacredgames.com/10-things-every-game-designer-needs-to-know-about-100-things-every-designer-needs-to-know-about-people/
Board Game Design Basics: Atmospheric Pressures
When you’re imagining a new game, you’re probably thinking about its clever mechanics, its dynamic world and characters, and its gorgeous art. It can be easy to forget about your players. And I don’t just mean their experience with the game, because as a game designer, your responsibilities don’t end there. You should consider the […]
Posted by teale on May 13, 2013
http://nothingsacredgames.com/board-game-design-basics-atmospheric-pressures/
Design Analysis: King of Tokyo
After finishing a game of King of Tokyo recently, a friend pointed out that nothing about the game is actually described on the box. I was surprised to discover she was right. (Update: I was wrong about this. See the update at the bottom of the post for details.) Sure, there’s the usual basic stats: […]
Posted by teale on April 26, 2013
http://nothingsacredgames.com/design-analysis-king-of-tokyo/
Designing for the Irrational
I recently finished Daniel Kahneman’s excellent Thinking, Fast and Slow. (Thanks Mike!) In it, Kahneman discusses some of the counter-intuitive ways our brains work, supporting those claims with empirical evidence. Game design involves a lot of different facets, from graphic design to storytelling to system creation, but at its heart it is about creating experiences […]
Posted by teale on April 16, 2013
http://nothingsacredgames.com/designing-for-the-irrational/
Board Game Design Basics: Playtest! Part II
Last time on Board Game Design Basics, I gave a theoretical justification of playtesting and discussed some of the types of playtests you’ll be running over the course of developing your game. Today I’ll pick up where I left off, getting to more practical matters like who should playtest and how to make use of […]
Posted by teale on April 9, 2013
http://nothingsacredgames.com/board-game-design-basics-playtest-part-ii/
Board Game Design Basics: Playtest! Part I
As a game designer, you’ll probably spend more of your time playtesting than doing anything else. Awesome! What’s more fun than playing games all the time? While playtesting your game should be fun (why would you want to be a designer if you didn’t enjoy playing games?), you can’t forget that you’re working, so it’s […]
Posted by teale on April 4, 2013
http://nothingsacredgames.com/board-game-design-basics-playtest-part-i/
Board Game Design Basics: Engage
Alright, your latest design is a masterpiece. On each player’s turn, that player first allocates workers, then collects resources, then builds units and buildings, then advances on the tech tree, then secretly declares attacks against other players, then rolls to determine battle outcomes, then moves military units to conquered territories, then allocates experience points to […]
Posted by teale on March 26, 2013
http://nothingsacredgames.com/board-game-design-basics-engage/
Board Game Design Basics: It’s about Time
I know what you’re thinking. You’re going to have three boards. One will contain the map of the world. This is where you’ll place your armies. One will have a detailed economic simulation. The last one will contain all the random information necessary for the game, like the weather simulation and the relative power of […]
Posted by teale on March 20, 2013
http://nothingsacredgames.com/board-game-design-basics-its-about-time-2/
Design Analysis: Pandemic
Matt Leacock’s coop masterpiece Pandemic made its debut in 2008 and has quickly become a modern classic, even finding a place on the shelves of huge toy stores like Toys’R’Us. But how did Pandemic achieve this level of success so quickly? I believe it’s because Pandemic dove head first into the only lightly tested waters […]
Posted by teale on March 6, 2013
http://nothingsacredgames.com/design-analysis-pandemic/