Magic: The Garnering (of cash)

So in order to be a good game designer you need to immerse yourself in games. How can you design a game if you don't play? Play some of the most popular ones, ask the players why they play and take notes. Conversely talk about their least favorite games. Do they have a problem with the mechanics? The story? Again take notes, but remember that different people have different opinions.

I spent yesterday playing in a sealed Magic tournament my friend was holding. Now I don't play Magic that often because I don't have the funds to support a good deck. These sealed tourneys give me a chance to play with others on an equal playing field.

So needless to say, it was fun. Its easy to see why Magic is such a popular game. Its fast, dynamic and their are a variety of strategies a player can employ when making a deck and using it. I had a great time, after reteaching myself how to play, using my cobbled together deck. If you want to design a CCG then you better play Magic if only to get a handle on what makes a good and popular game.

Now there is a little bump presented by Wizards of the Coast, the company that creates and sells Magic, to aspiring card game designers like myself. This bump takes the form of a patent that Wizards secured regarding collectible card games. That is, they patented most of the rules required to make a successful card game. So, this means paying Wizards of the Coast when you want to start producing your CCG. Now reading over the patent one can see it almost seems a little unfair. Patenting "tapping" or just turning a card, marking it or showing in some way that it is being used to power another card is a bit of overkill. This means that CCG that uses cards to power other cards and shifts in some way is considered tapping and thus an infringement on the patent.

Rough right?

Wizards also charges hefty fees to companies that want to make a CCG, forcing them to buy the patent. The exception to this rule Nintendo who took Wizards to court when they wanted to produce their Poke'mon CCG. Wizards must have realized that they would have lost, as in my opinion that patent is really broad in what it covers, and settled it out of court.

But there is a ray of hope! That is, besides altering your CCG to be utterly different then Magic, which is fine, Wizards offers their patent for a penny for start up companies, their friends and games they see as no threat to the CCG market. I assume that most of us are probably in the first category.

So don't let the Wizards patent get in your way when designing your CCG. Get the ideas down, refine them, playtest them, refine them, playtest and repeat. Worry about the patent if, and when you get to it.

Ideas

So coming up with ideas is tough, but it isn't really. That's just propaganda pushed by the robots that control reality. A lot of people have their own ways of finding inspiration. Some listen to music and scribble, others get a stroke of inspiration in the shower, I know I do. Listen to people's words and sentence structure. Sometimes the ridiculous thing your friend suggested can become the coolest idea for a game. Some of the best games come from joking around.

One of the things I do is try and be aware of the things around me. For instance, the idea of Theism came to me while walking to school and seeing a Book of Eli add that said "Religion is Power". Yeah, it is. People are always grasping for power, what if they could create their own religion and people and test its power against others? Bam, Theism.

Once you have an idea, begin to play with it. Take the words and reassign them new meaning. Maybe take the idea and look at it in its most literal sense then back away and look at it in a more idealized way. This kind of play allows you to form ideas on what the game can be, what moods you want to strike with it, what sort of game it would work best as. Would the game Glamazon be best played a CCG or a board game? Would it rely more on luck, resource management or strategy?

When you get a chance write the idea down on some paper and start writing words or other ideas that contribute to the idea you had. Now you're getting a better foundation of what the game is going to be. You may even lose the original inspiration for something even better. Do this brainstorming in small sessions. Go work or play some other games come back and look at what you wrote. Correct it, change it or leave it as much as you want. Once it looks good begin creating mechanics and working on the game proper.

Discuss your ideas with people! It may rev them up and make them want to play or it may be enlightening as they suggest ideas you haven't looked at yet. Friends and family are a great tool when working on games. Use them as much as possible.

I suggest throwing down some money on a nice big notebook, like a Five Star Binder, and a small Penway notebook. Keep the smaller one with you at all times, so when lightning strikes you can write it down. The Five star is for brainstorming and getting ideas down.

Now, get to it. Go get some ideas. Start working.

Games, Games, Games

So, I'm working on a few games.

The first is Apocalypse: Infection a card game based around survival horror. The players take on the role of both Infected zombies and Survivors. I'm actually up in the air about it. Its designed to be a CCG, but I fear its collectibility. There are only so many gun cards that would jive with my mechanics. I'm thinking of reworking it into a board game with expansions later. The initial game would have enough cards for two players, but "boosters" could be purchased so that the game could be played with 8 players. This game is on its way to the prototype phase.

Theism is one of my newest ideas that I can't wait to really start working on. The player takes on the role of creating a powerful civilization with powerful gods backing them. These civilizations come into conflict, obviously, and only the best make it. Its a resource management / card battle game that I think could be really fun. This game is in the idea phase.

Casting Shadows is a board game I came up with while I was working on 3D models. The game would be played like a board game where the players take on the role of a small creature like a gnome or goblin. The players are in a cave with treasure and the only way to get it is to intimidate the other players and the monsters in the cave. Of course, they're little monsters so the only way to do that is to cast a large intimidating shadow. The players obtain light sources and props to cast the largest and scariest shadow. This game is in the idea phase.

I have a few other ideas gathering dust on the shelf and I'll throw that up here after solidifying these ideas a little more.

First Post

So, this is the blog I'm dedicating to creating games. Whether they are video games, rpgs, card games or board games I'll talk about them here.

A little about me: I'm a second year DePaul student trying to get my Bachelors in Computer Game Production and Design. When I'm not trying to come up with new games I'm writing. Either about the games I'm working on or for fun. I'm an amateur photographer in my free time, which is lacking.

Ok, so get ready for some previews of the games I'm working on and ideas/rants/discussions on what makes a good a game and why we game.