This is one of the hardest parts of design. When you have a new project it is easy to work on, but after a while you start hitting walls and the luster wears off a bit. The "new" mechanics you added to the game aren't new to you anymore. Sometimes working on a design feels like work. And most of us aren't doing this for work, this is a passion. A hobby.
So what do you do?
The easiest thing to do is move on to a new design. There is no rule saying that you can only work on one project at a time. Sometimes working on different projects will give you inspiration for your first design. Even if you don't find a solution, it will give you renewed energy and a fresh perspective when you do go back.
If fact, I wrote a whole article about it in DToW #13. Here is a link: http://mvpboardgames.blogspot.com/2014/07/dtow-13-if-you-love-your-design-let-it.html
What if I have a time limit?
This can definitely happen if you are working with a publisher, or are building toward a convention. In this case you will have to find inspiration inside. One of the best ways I have found to do this is to bring it out and show it to someone else. Preferably someone who hasn't seen the game before. I find playing our games with new people often gets my enthusiasm up for the game, and sometimes a new perspective will lead to new ideas to get past your design issue.
So what if I don't have people to play with?
I would challenge you to find someone. I assume if you love this hobby so much that you are getting into designing games, you probably have people you play games with. Even if you have worn these people out, or they have no interest in helping you playtest, reach outside your normal group to find people.
Don't be afraid to take your design to a local game store. First off, no one is going to steal your design. Second, don't be afraid of failure. You know your game isn't 100% ready. Make sure you set the expectation to your play testers that it isn't 100% ready. But there are a lot of people out there that would love to contribute to making a game better. Sometimes you just have to get out there and set up your game, and wait for people to come by.
There are other places to find play testers like the internet. There are playtest groups. You can go to BGG (boardgamegeek.com). There are forums for designers and play testers to meet up. There are groups on BGG too for people to meet up and play games. Not everyone will be interested in play testing games, but you will never know who is until you look for them.
Family and friends are another group you can tap into. Sometimes family won't want to play other games, but if they know they are helping you with a project they will step up.
Still not an option for me. What else you got?
Consider bringing someone else in on your design. If you have met people either online through social media, or in person at a convention consider giving them a shot at your project. You can either send them the files, or just chat online. Even if they don't become a co-designer, lots of people are very free with their advice or sharing their experience.
I told you I don't know anyone. Now what?
The easiest thing I find is making small changes. If the game is too long, figure out one thing that is taking the longest and remove or trim it. You can always make more changes later, but small changes will make a bigger impact than you think.
If the game is not fun enough, add something small. Even if the game seems about the correct length and complexity. If you add something that adds fun you can always trim elsewhere later if you need to.
Any last tips?
Consider playtesting elements of your game. Not every playtest session has to be a full game. You can just playtest the beginning, the end, or key elements. If your endgame is good playtest the beginning over and over. If the beginning is good, playtest a full game, but at the point you want to make the change save the gamestate. Write down players positions and then make your changes. Keep playtesting from that point on.
Lessons Learned.
Keep your enthusiasm about a game up by:
- Working on another game.
- Play it with other people.
- Work with another designer.
- Make small changes.
- Playtest parts of your game, not the whole game.
That's it for this week, next time I am going to talk about theme choice in your game. Until then, I am Peter, keep designing great games.
Nice article as always, Peter.
ReplyDeleteI do have a game that got shelved for over a year before I found someone to help testing and getting the game better. Now it's shelved once again because I think some mechanics are too complex but I still don't have anything better to put in place. So I just started on another game that was just brewing itself on my mind for quite some time. Because it's just a hobby, not a job, I have all the time on the world, and one day I'll come by to continue the first project.
The way I see, playing other games is the greatest source of inspiration. I do know some people on game design (not board games, but digital ones) that don't play much... I think that's a waste! Imagine a musician or writer that don't consume much of his medium, that's impossible! And I think it's the same on game design. You need to play as much as possible, not only for the fun, but also for comparing ideas, inspiration and just game knowledge in general. Sorry for the bad english and keep it up this great work!
If you have anything you are stuck on feel free to send me an email at MVPBoardgames@gmail.com. Certainly not as good as playtesting in person, but we have broken through a lot of barriers that way.
Delete