Messing about with game design.

When it comes to hobbies, I like to do things because I feel like doing them at that moment, not out of a sense of obligation. This is fine for most things in wargaming (figure painting, blogging, research, article writing etc.) but one thing it doesn't work very well for is game design. Every now and then I come up with a few ideas for a boardgame, campaign rules or a solo AI project, and make a start on it. Soon enough though I get distracted, go off and do something else, and leave it unfinished. Unfortunately, by the time I come back to it, I can't make much sense of what it was I was trying to do in the first place. At that point it either goes back into the folder or I have to start the whole process over again. Usually I can't be bothered.

So my 'it's a hobby man, it's for enjoyment, not work' approach falls down for things which, without concentrated effort - and, yes, work - won't ever get anywhere.

But this last couple of weeks I've had a game come to me almost fully formed. It uses bits and pieces of designs I've messed around with in the past, so somehow or other the ideas must have been quietly brewing (or festering, depending on how you like your metaphors!) in the subconscious, and have decided to force their way out now.

The game is certainly not anything groundbreaking or special. In fact it's quite simple, but it does do what it's asked to do, which is quite rewarding.

Now, I just have to make sure that I do get it all finished before I flit off onto something else!

Game design fail

There are a couple of game design projects that I would love to do, and when inspiration strikes I'll occasionally sit down, nut out some ideas, and put them down on paper.

Distractions then inevitably intervene.  

Two to six months later when I think "ah yes, I must get back to that little gem of mine!'' I generally find I've misplaced the notes I made, or, on the rare occasions I haven't, the ideas now seem boring, pointless, or stupid, and often shocking combinations of the three.

As an example, a few months ago I came up with a nice little battle game.  The plan was to use this for the tactical part of a 2nd Punic War Iberian campaign.  It could be played solo to completion in about ten minutes, relied on dice and some player input which could be randomized for solo purposes, and generally seemed to do about what I wanted it to.

The problem was that it was not especially exciting in its own right, and so as my interest in the campaign flagged I put the project aside and concentrated on something else (the rugby, probably!).

Now that I want to revisit and tweak it I naturally find that the paper I'd jotted the ideas down on has gone missing and in my feebleness am unable to remember much of what it was that I was doing or thinking at the time.

It's a little frustrating.

Thirty minutes of searching later, I'm going to give up and call it a night.

So here they are, my poor boys all set up to go, but with the grand poobah having lost the rules!

I think that's what kids these days call a fail?