My whole game project has been focused on a three tier layer. A table top miniature wargame, the computer game version, and some kind of text media (not sure if it will be online, book, graphic novel, etc).
I have to admit, I admired the Wachowski brothers for trying to tie-in the Matrix movies with their game. I also give kudos to Battletech and Heavy Gear which both spawned computer games (and started out as board games). Actually, in both Battletech''s and Heavy Gear''s case, I preferred playing the tabletop versions to the computer versions.
And when it comes to roleplaying games, computer RPG''s simply can''t hold a candle to PPRPG''s. So I tend to agree that sometimes non-computer games get overlooked. I think for strategy and RPG''s in particular, it''s very handy and useful to create paper and pen versions to prototype things out. Another thing that PnP games do which I think is a good idea is that it almost foces the designer to think of the game setting first, and then gameplay second. For instance, in PPRPG''s, you have to think more than, "I''ll make a fantasy RPG", because that''s just too generic. In order to differentiate PPRPG''s, you have to develop and flesh out the world, its cultures, races, weapons, history and so on and so forth. From these gameplay elements often come into better focus. I find it very diffucult to imagine gameplay elements without first understanding the game world (and its feel) first.
why only talk about designing video games?
I have designed a card game, and a board game in addition to video games.
-- Steve --
Blue Fang Games
-- Steve --
Blue Fang Games
quote:Original post by DescoQuite sad, but it''s true.
all of the forum titles are video-game oriented :-)
One reason why I design games mainly for video games. It is hard to get the materials for non-video games. Paper and pen are very easy to get. But when we are talking about 500 trading cards...who are going to make them? Who are going to write the description of every single card?
Let''s talk about board games. The board can be easily made out of paper or anything solid enough as a platform. You can make the dice from papers, although the randomness will be greatly reduced. But what about the tokens? What are you going to use for tokens? Coins? Plastic toys? If you want to add realism to your games (i.e, you want a real Dragon-looking token instead of an eraser, that you think is a dragon, that sits on the board) it''s going to cost money.
Making everything on computers is so much easier. You can adjust the size of the board anytime you like. Computers are good for calculations, so you don''t actually have to worry about numbers. Computers are also good for reproductions. If you want to distribute your card game to your friends, you have to bring it to a printing company, and I don''t really know how much it''s gonna cost, but I believe they want something like mass production (1000 copies) instead of making just 10 copies of your card game. On computers, copy and paste.
However, it all depends on the game design itself. If you can come up with ideas that only requires materials that is easy to get (such as pen, papers, coins), and the game is fun, why not? But for me, I tend to think about design that requires complex calculations, so I use computers.
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