Exilian

Game Design and Project Resources: The Workshops Quarter => Tabletop Design - The Senet House => Master of Olympus => Topic started by: indiekid on September 24, 2017, 03:27:51 PM

Title: Development Diary
Post by: indiekid on September 24, 2017, 03:27:51 PM
Updates about the project are posted here - please feel free to leave comments, questions or suggestions.
Title: Diary #13 - To the Land of the Geek
Post by: indiekid on September 24, 2017, 03:30:37 PM
https://masterofolympus.wordpress.com/2017/09/18/diary-13-to-the-land-of-the-geek/ (https://masterofolympus.wordpress.com/2017/09/18/diary-13-to-the-land-of-the-geek/)
Title: Re: Development Diary
Post by: Jubal on September 25, 2017, 10:29:40 PM
I like the sound of quests. How do they work mechanically - are there extra items to move around, or does it involve getting heroes to certain places, or?

One other thought; it would be interesting to test the same game, but giving larger points increments for doing things without changing the balance. Do players feel happier if they get 10 points for everything and end the game on thirty than if they get one and end the game on three? I suspect they might, which would be interesting from a design perspective.
Title: Re: Development Diary
Post by: indiekid on September 27, 2017, 10:06:05 PM
At present the quests are simply a reward for achieving a certain milestone. The Song of Orpheus, for example, rewards a player who has a certain quantity of hero pieces on the board (5 in a two player game, fewer for multiplayer games). The nature of the game means they couldn't really be location-specific. I'm not happy with the current system though. They basically reward a player for doing things they otherwise have no intention of doing, so players aren't bothering. I'm working on a new version though.

Changing the quantity of victory points is a common piece of feedback. "Perhaps each player has one specific artefact on the board worth, for them, not one but two victory points". It's an option, and could possibly be implemented in the quests. The challenge there is that the boards are currently balanced based on available VP's, so they may need re-jigging.
Title: Re: Development Diary
Post by: Jubal on September 27, 2017, 10:14:34 PM
What I was wondering wasn't simply quantity changes, but scaling changes - if the balance is exactly the same but literally everything is triple the points, do players feel happier about it?
Title: Re: Development Diary
Post by: indiekid on October 01, 2017, 09:46:41 PM
It's not something I've tried, but I could playtest it. My concern would be gamers of a mathematical persuasion who would question the logic of not choosing the lowest common denominator in the scoring system.
Title: Re: Development Diary
Post by: Jubal on October 20, 2017, 11:28:43 AM
True - and I guess MoO's target audience might have more of those than it does casual gamers.
Title: Diary #14 - Iceberg
Post by: indiekid on December 21, 2017, 04:44:13 PM
https://masterofolympus.wordpress.com/2017/12/21/diary-14-iceberg/ (https://masterofolympus.wordpress.com/2017/12/21/diary-14-iceberg/)
Title: Re: Development Diary
Post by: Jubal on December 23, 2017, 12:45:37 AM
Good post - and the iceberg metaphor is very true indeed!
Title: Re: Development Diary
Post by: indiekid on January 25, 2018, 10:00:44 PM
A look at a day of board games in an educational setting and an event I'm excited to be a part of https://masterofolympus.wordpress.com/2018/01/25/diary-15-beginnings/ (https://masterofolympus.wordpress.com/2018/01/25/diary-15-beginnings/)
Title: Re: Development Diary
Post by: Jubal on January 30, 2018, 11:49:15 PM
Sorry I can't get there on the third, hope it goes well!

Dare I ask what the pomegranate card does?
Title: Re: Development Diary
Post by: indiekid on January 31, 2018, 08:02:48 PM
Thanks Jubal! Hope all is good with you. The pomegranate reads "move a stack you control which is in the Underworld by up to two tiles". It's one of the Knowledge cards, which give a bonus to the final action of a turn (normally a stack would only be able to move by one tile at this point). There's another Knowledge card with the same effect: The Helm of Invisibility.
Title: Re: Development Diary
Post by: indiekid on March 12, 2018, 11:03:16 PM
The big push towards a product https://masterofolympus.wordpress.com/2018/03/12/diary-16-gone-visual/ (https://masterofolympus.wordpress.com/2018/03/12/diary-16-gone-visual/)
Title: Re: Development Diary
Post by: indiekid on April 03, 2018, 10:39:29 AM
Creating the Lost Island https://masterofolympus.wordpress.com/2018/04/03/diary-17-atlantis/ (https://masterofolympus.wordpress.com/2018/04/03/diary-17-atlantis/)
Title: Re: Development Diary
Post by: Jubal on April 11, 2018, 05:05:03 PM
Good job on the mailing list - I wish I could ever get that sort of response when I need help with stuff...!

Fun to have some riffs/themes for other boards too; what're your plans in terms of board construction for a final game? Modular, or?
Title: Re: Development Diary
Post by: indiekid on April 28, 2018, 04:30:55 PM
In a way it was good just to know that my emails are being read! Regarding the board, I am certainly going to include the main board, the one based on Greece and its islands. I may also include Atlantis on the back of it. I'm not going to make the boards modular: although it would be very interesting, the boards generated by a modular system would, in my game, be less interesting than the ones I design fully. This is because the key thing is asymmetry: a very different start point for each player. Designing a modular system which did this and still maintained balance would be very hard, and I'd lose some of the theme. I may try it in future projects though!
Title: Re: Development Diary
Post by: Jubal on April 28, 2018, 10:34:18 PM
Yes, that's fair enough :) (Though of course with modular boards you can have certain "recommended configurations", like there's a standard setup version for Catan for example.)

But yeah, a single double-sided board for Greece + Atlantis sounds a good basic option.
Title: Diary #18 - Back to Cube One
Post by: indiekid on May 07, 2018, 12:05:44 AM
The importance of negative feedback https://masterofolympus.wordpress.com/2018/05/06/diary-18-back-to-cube-one/ (https://masterofolympus.wordpress.com/2018/05/06/diary-18-back-to-cube-one/)
Title: Re: Development Diary
Post by: indiekid on May 22, 2018, 10:31:20 PM
A "Company Name" https://masterofolympus.wordpress.com/2018/05/22/diary-19-buckyball-games/
Title: Re: Development Diary
Post by: Jubal on May 31, 2018, 01:59:13 PM
Your link on diary #18 was broken, so I've fixed it :)

I like the name Buckyball games - interesting question will be how many people get the C60 reference and how many people will think it's some kind of obscure Marvel reference!
Title: Re: Development Diary
Post by: indiekid on June 04, 2018, 05:31:44 PM
Thanks Jubal, the marvel reference is a mystery to me though...?
Title: Re: Development Diary
Post by: indiekid on June 04, 2018, 05:34:01 PM
My diary for the three days at the UK Games Expo, the third largest board game convention in the world
https://masterofolympus.wordpress.com/2018/06/01/diary-20-team/ (https://masterofolympus.wordpress.com/2018/06/01/diary-20-team/)
https://masterofolympus.wordpress.com/2018/06/02/diary-21-i-am-the-miniature/ (https://masterofolympus.wordpress.com/2018/06/02/diary-21-i-am-the-miniature/)
https://masterofolympus.wordpress.com/2018/06/03/diary-22-little-fish-big-pond/ (https://masterofolympus.wordpress.com/2018/06/03/diary-22-little-fish-big-pond/)
Title: Re: Development Diary
Post by: indiekid on July 26, 2018, 05:55:41 PM
A visit to a youth club including semi-LARPing and Nerf https://masterofolympus.wordpress.com/2018/07/26/diary-23-young-heroes/
Title: Re: Development Diary
Post by: Jubal on July 27, 2018, 11:24:03 PM
The use of space stuff is interesting, definitely. I think there may be a degree of kinaesthetic/directional learning there - humans are pretty good at remembering how to get to places, and learning the routes towards a place may also let people pick up other information on what places do more easily? Also interesting to hear your thoughts on how it intersects with disability - it sounds like the sort of event that was accessible to a degree, but I can think of conditions that could give people problems with that sort of game (people who get exhausted easily from having to move between rooms, or who might get sensory overload).
Title: Re: Development Diary
Post by: indiekid on July 30, 2018, 04:14:16 PM
You're right it probably helped the children understand the distinctions between the areas to actually spread them out. They'd already been charging around the venue in their Nerf war so they knew their way around and had divided it into "bases". Regarding accessibility I think its strength was how flexible it could be made, so depending on the group you could change the layout or the mechanics and people could still get the experience in a way that suited them
Title: Re: Development Diary
Post by: indiekid on September 10, 2018, 10:36:55 PM
This is Sparta! https://masterofolympus.wordpress.com/2018/09/10/diary-24-this-is-sparta/ (https://masterofolympus.wordpress.com/2018/09/10/diary-24-this-is-sparta/)
Title: Re: Development Diary
Post by: indiekid on January 04, 2019, 05:49:48 PM
Blind playtesting and manual writing https://masterofolympus.wordpress.com/2019/01/04/diary-25-led-by-the-blind/ (https://masterofolympus.wordpress.com/2019/01/04/diary-25-led-by-the-blind/)
Title: Re: Development Diary
Post by: indiekid on February 22, 2019, 10:04:45 PM
How I got distracted https://masterofolympus.wordpress.com/2019/02/22/diary-26-curveball/ (https://masterofolympus.wordpress.com/2019/02/22/diary-26-curveball/)
Title: Re: Development Diary
Post by: indiekid on April 18, 2019, 10:09:26 AM
Dawn of Gnome coming on well https://masterofolympus.wordpress.com/2019/04/18/diary-27-whats-in-a-gnome/ (https://masterofolympus.wordpress.com/2019/04/18/diary-27-whats-in-a-gnome/)
Title: Re: Development Diary
Post by: Jubal on April 18, 2019, 01:35:25 PM
Glad to see the Birmingham group is still doing well :)
Title: Re: Development Diary
Post by: indiekid on May 18, 2019, 11:01:54 AM
I accidentally discovered an analysis-paralysis solution https://masterofolympus.wordpress.com/2019/05/18/diary-28-action-loop/ (https://masterofolympus.wordpress.com/2019/05/18/diary-28-action-loop/)
Title: Re: Development Diary
Post by: Jubal on May 19, 2019, 10:32:48 PM
Interesting - I'd like to hear more about Gnome's combat system!

I think the analysis of action loops is a pretty good one, though there's a further caveat of to what extent you expect the players to be calculating the value of different actions. In many games, the possibilities are sufficiently random and complex that players are rather asked to intuit those values, which actually means the loop is less of an issue and more branching can occur without overloading the player, I think. I guess that may be a facet of the difference between the "game as solveable puzzle" (which is where Euros seem to lean to) and "game as storytelling mechanic" (which is the supposedly "American" style).
Title: Re: Development Diary
Post by: indiekid on May 22, 2019, 09:30:06 PM
The combat system: if your gnome is in the same space as an enemy gnome, you can play an attack action as one of your action cards. Provided the attacker's combat strength is higher, the defender's piece is removed, otherwise the attack action cannot be performed (perhaps the fact that there are no "unsuccessful" attacks is strengthens the "not a real combat system" hypothesis). Apart from a few boring (and usually known to all parties) bonuses, combat strength is very simple: it's the number of played action cards in front of each player. That might be zero, at the start of a player's loop, or ten, towards the end. Unlike in Olympus, in Gnome, players have some control over when their loop starts and ends.

The question of "value" is an interesting one. I haven't worked it out in Gnome yet - the fact that upgraded actions are not better useful than basic actions surprised me. You mention branching: one of my priorities with the action loops is to create something with all the advantages I've described but without causing players to have only one sensible course of action. The mechanics punish players for backing out of one course of action and committing to another after the loop has started. Sometimes, however, the best start to a loop is  one which, though weak, will lead to two possible branches later on. This would lead to a flexible strategy which can respond to opponent's choices.
Title: Re: Development Diary
Post by: Jubal on May 24, 2019, 11:31:00 PM
Ah, OK! I find it hard to envisage without a copy of the rules to look over, but that sounds good - I think attack actions can still count as a combat system even if they're in the simplistic form you describe. I mean, that's basically how Chess works in many ways, that there are just certain conditions in which you can make the relevant move.
Title: Re: Development Diary
Post by: indiekid on May 26, 2019, 05:55:22 PM
I too started thinking about Chess after writing that reply. I'm not sure if Chess has a combat system either. Depends on your definition.
Title: Re: Development Diary
Post by: Jubal on May 27, 2019, 12:59:30 PM
I'd argue that it does, and that a combat system is anything where a piece or character can "defeat" another in a simulated combat, where there are a set of conditions that need to be fulfilled for this to take place. In most advanced combat systems, the conditions include e.g. "roll above the opposing piece's stat X on Y table", or offer a range of different defeat methods, but I don't really see why "the attacking piece must be in the necessary position from which to make the attack move" shouldn't count as sufficient to class as a combat system. Though that is a very broad definition thereof, I admit.
Title: Re: Development Diary
Post by: indiekid on June 02, 2019, 08:22:47 PM
Thinking about it, proof for me of the combat system comes from the humble Pawn. It captures in a different way to how it moves, meaning there is an independent rule governing its combat.
Title: Re: Development Diary
Post by: indiekid on June 02, 2019, 08:23:38 PM
Another great few days at the UK Games Expo
https://masterofolympus.wordpress.com/2019/06/01/diary-29-a-shoe-upon-the-other-foot/ (https://masterofolympus.wordpress.com/2019/06/01/diary-29-a-shoe-upon-the-other-foot/)
https://masterofolympus.wordpress.com/2019/06/02/diary-30-indieboy/ (https://masterofolympus.wordpress.com/2019/06/02/diary-30-indieboy/)
Title: Re: Development Diary
Post by: indiekid on August 06, 2019, 07:14:09 PM
A new card-design tool and more cosplay https://masterofolympus.wordpress.com/2019/08/06/diary-31-enter-the-spreadsheet/ (https://masterofolympus.wordpress.com/2019/08/06/diary-31-enter-the-spreadsheet/)
Title: Re: Development Diary
Post by: indiekid on September 08, 2019, 05:35:31 PM
Getting philosophical about why I'm into this hobby https://masterofolympus.wordpress.com/2019/09/08/diary-32-voices/ (https://masterofolympus.wordpress.com/2019/09/08/diary-32-voices/)
Title: Re: Development Diary
Post by: indiekid on November 24, 2019, 10:18:37 PM
Finally attended a playtesting-focused convention https://masterofolympus.wordpress.com/2019/11/24/diary-33-protospiel/ (https://masterofolympus.wordpress.com/2019/11/24/diary-33-protospiel/)
Title: Re: Development Diary
Post by: indiekid on February 18, 2020, 09:50:03 PM
An analogy for playtesting and some lost Specialists https://masterofolympus.wordpress.com/2020/02/18/diary-34-into-the-woods/ (https://masterofolympus.wordpress.com/2020/02/18/diary-34-into-the-woods/)
Title: Re: Development Diary
Post by: Jubal on February 23, 2020, 10:00:55 PM
Yeah, that very much mirrors my experiences of playtesting. Which possibly helps explain why I've never gotten a product out the other side of the woods (that, and my failing to put aside the time to complete projects...)

I'm not sure I agree that one should never playtest one's own game, I just think that comes earlier in the process. You're answering a different question by doing that - aka, the question becomes "can this game work as I imagine it if the players have word of god guidance", rather than "does this game work as I imagine it when the players only have the rulebook". Also some games of course are playable literally solo though there are fewer of those (I have genuinely enjoyed solo games of my Hetairos system though).
Title: Re: Development Diary
Post by: indiekid on March 23, 2020, 09:01:57 PM
I'm sorry I missed your reply last time Jubal. Even as I wrote those words I knew avoiding playtesting your own game is basically impossible, since you often need yourself to make up the number of players needed. When I do it I try to take a back seat in the discussion after the game. Also, being an actual player makes me worse at explaining the game and observing its effects! My presence changes the way new players interact with it. So I don't think of it as taboo, but find it can compromise the usefulness of the playtest.
Title: Re: Development Diary
Post by: indiekid on March 23, 2020, 09:02:52 PM
Written as the UK joins many countries in upping its response to the virus https://masterofolympus.wordpress.com/2020/03/23/diary-35-the-silver-lining/ (https://masterofolympus.wordpress.com/2020/03/23/diary-35-the-silver-lining/)
Title: Re: Development Diary
Post by: Jubal on March 23, 2020, 10:45:35 PM
I'm definitely finding that the move online has led to me being more rather than less busy - sudden shifts to online teaching are tough (though perhaps I'm getting more brunt of it as I have to rewrite my whole syllabus myself to compensate). It's a rough time.
Title: Re: Development Diary
Post by: indiekid on May 23, 2020, 07:18:14 PM
The move online is complete https://masterofolympus.wordpress.com/2020/05/23/diary-36-the-promised-land/ (https://masterofolympus.wordpress.com/2020/05/23/diary-36-the-promised-land/)
Title: Re: Development Diary
Post by: indiekid on June 07, 2020, 05:34:29 PM
What happens when we enter competitions, and whether we even should https://masterofolympus.wordpress.com/2020/06/07/diary-37-pressure-point/ (https://masterofolympus.wordpress.com/2020/06/07/diary-37-pressure-point/)
Title: Re: Development Diary
Post by: Jubal on June 07, 2020, 11:04:29 PM
I think it's very tricky to pitch things well in a video format that aren't already very graphically pinned down: and yes, it seems in this case that you had stuff that was well prepared for the "let's look at interesting mechanics" pitch whilst that wasn't what the judges were looking for which is a pity.

I felt things could have done with repetition now and again too from watching the video - like laying out the turn structure (with visual bullet points as well as verbal words), then going through the actions within it, then recapping might have provided a bit more mental framework to keep the viewer engaged, I found that I was having to try and stitch each rule slowly into the framework as I went along rather than being shown what the framework was, if that makes sense.

Maybe we should run a design innovation challenge here? That would be something I'd have some interest in, though I guess the struggle might be that I'm not sufficiently immersed in boardgame design and culture to have a really good idea of what is and isn't innovative in style etc. I think there's a definite thing of boardgamer circles/culture being a thing, and I always worry about commenting on stuff as a boardgame-interested person, because I don't really regularly go to conventions or play new games when they come out or whatever.
Title: Re: Development Diary
Post by: indiekid on June 08, 2020, 12:32:49 PM
Thanks for the feedback Jubal. Some more visual prompts and text is a very good idea, and easy to do on PowerPoint. Thanks.

Do I detect a hint of a leading question in your idea for a competition? If your intention was to get me thinking about its execution, you've succeeded. The immediate problem would be how to define a suitable format for an "innovative mechanic" to be presented. It would be hard to judge one entrant's complete game vs. another's sketch of mechanisms. Defining the format would not be difficult. My personal interest in board game design is from a "let's take a big complex thing and represent it mechanically" perspective. So we could take a well-known concept - "the whole of human history" in my diary #37 - and challenge people to create something which represents it appropriately. We could ask for a few photos of rough components in action. There could be a paragraph explaining the mechanic, how it addresses the design brief and what its potential is (eg. how it could be combined with other mechanics/components to deliver a full game).
Title: Re: Development Diary
Post by: indiekid on June 29, 2020, 02:26:39 PM
A deep dive into using Tabletop Simulator and component symmetry https://masterofolympus.wordpress.com/2020/06/29/diary-38-hows-my-island/ (https://masterofolympus.wordpress.com/2020/06/29/diary-38-hows-my-island/)
Title: Re: Development Diary
Post by: indiekid on September 02, 2020, 03:32:43 PM
Saying goodbye to Birmingham https://masterofolympus.wordpress.com/2020/09/02/diary-39-the-giraffe-the-pelly-and-me/ (https://masterofolympus.wordpress.com/2020/09/02/diary-39-the-giraffe-the-pelly-and-me/)
Title: Re: Development Diary
Post by: indiekid on September 14, 2020, 07:16:38 PM
... and goodbye, for now, to the UK https://masterofolympus.wordpress.com/2020/09/14/diary-40-debris/ (https://masterofolympus.wordpress.com/2020/09/14/diary-40-debris/)
Title: Re: Development Diary
Post by: indiekid on January 11, 2021, 07:30:01 PM
Taking my hobby back to basics https://masterofolympus.wordpress.com/2021/01/11/diary-41-simple-pleasures/ (https://masterofolympus.wordpress.com/2021/01/11/diary-41-simple-pleasures/)
Title: Re: Development Diary
Post by: indiekid on May 26, 2021, 02:54:52 PM
Working on a sell sheet to pitch to publishers - feedback welcome! https://masterofolympus.wordpress.com/2021/05/26/diary-42-big-gold-letters/ (https://masterofolympus.wordpress.com/2021/05/26/diary-42-big-gold-letters/)
Title: Re: Development Diary
Post by: Jubal on June 13, 2021, 12:45:15 PM
This is purely aesthetic but I think maybe you could get some of the bits of it better lined up? Like, the info is all there but it looks weird that e.g. the edge of the bottom left box with your details isn't aligned with the equivalent box at the top. Did you use publisher for this? It's good for that kind of thing.

Title: Re: Development Diary
Post by: indiekid on June 14, 2021, 09:15:22 AM
Thanks Jubal, I've probably been staring at it so long I no longer notice these things. I've been using Inkscape, which is free and can do most things publisher can. There is a ruler somewhere. Only problem is it seems to lack a spellchecker!
Title: Re: Development Diary
Post by: indiekid on July 13, 2021, 01:26:25 PM
Some more challenges as I try to get noticed by publishers https://masterofolympus.wordpress.com/2021/07/13/diary-43-branching-out/ (https://masterofolympus.wordpress.com/2021/07/13/diary-43-branching-out/)
Title: Re: Development Diary
Post by: indiekid on August 05, 2021, 09:37:33 PM
The UK Games Expo back in business https://masterofolympus.wordpress.com/2021/07/30/diary-44-playtest-zone-and-speed-dating/ (https://masterofolympus.wordpress.com/2021/07/30/diary-44-playtest-zone-and-speed-dating/)
Title: Re: Development Diary
Post by: indiekid on September 14, 2021, 04:09:58 PM
Visiting some old questions with some new people https://masterofolympus.wordpress.com/2021/09/14/diary-46-how-did-that-happen/ (https://masterofolympus.wordpress.com/2021/09/14/diary-46-how-did-that-happen/)
Title: Re: Development Diary
Post by: Jubal on October 07, 2021, 04:27:06 PM
I enjoyed this update :) I should really get back to some of my old creations before all the elastic bands congeal too much... and I like the problem of simultaneous vs turn based play as an issue, though I'm not sure how much having an initiative order really helps compared to full turn-based systems?
Title: Re: Development Diary
Post by: indiekid on October 10, 2021, 07:00:03 PM
Thanks Jubal, I feel like time has given me a fresh perspective on the game too. The advantage of the initiative order is that most actions can still feel simultaneous for as long as they're not in the same region of the board. The initiative order would only kick in to resolve complex late game interactions. The mechanic Fox suggested comes from an old Richard Garfield game called Robo Rally
Title: Re: Development Diary
Post by: indiekid on October 14, 2021, 08:16:52 PM
Some new opportunities and another new project https://masterofolympus.wordpress.com/2021/10/14/diary-47-out-of-the-euro-tunnel/ (https://masterofolympus.wordpress.com/2021/10/14/diary-47-out-of-the-euro-tunnel/)
Title: Re: Development Diary
Post by: indiekid on December 03, 2021, 08:57:07 PM
Reflecting on a designer's role in playtesting https://masterofolympus.wordpress.com/2021/12/03/diary-48-host-with-the-most/ (https://masterofolympus.wordpress.com/2021/12/03/diary-48-host-with-the-most/)
Title: Re: Development Diary
Post by: indiekid on January 17, 2022, 01:46:55 PM
Mixed success in London https://masterofolympus.wordpress.com/2022/01/17/diary-49-seat-of-power/ (https://masterofolympus.wordpress.com/2022/01/17/diary-49-seat-of-power/)
Title: Re: Development Diary
Post by: indiekid on February 15, 2022, 04:10:42 PM
Bringing Playtest UK to Beachhead2022 https://masterofolympus.wordpress.com/2022/02/15/diary-50-what-we-found-on-the-beach/ (https://masterofolympus.wordpress.com/2022/02/15/diary-50-what-we-found-on-the-beach/)
Title: Re: Development Diary
Post by: Jubal on April 01, 2022, 07:29:28 PM
Interesting to see other people's organising process re the end of your most recent post :) I always meant to do an overview post of thoughts from when I used to run conventions, but it's probably a bit silly to do it now half a decade has gone by...
Title: Re: Development Diary
Post by: indiekid on April 02, 2022, 12:37:24 PM
I'm glad you found it interesting. I like how many other people are involved in it - these things always involve a lot of collaboration. Perhaps writing up your experiences now after some time has passed would help you connect with those ideas and people again?
Title: Re: Development Diary
Post by: Jubal on April 02, 2022, 02:04:32 PM
Yes... I mean, I think the lack of people-connection is a bit more down to just me having moved (Exilian did conventions 2014-16, I moved to Vienna in 2017, and the paperwork to organise something here has always been too big to deal with).

The other thing is that I really wasn't very good at it, I learned a lot but like usual I was trying to do too much myself, and we didn't have the advertising budget or smarts to really get the thing off the ground effectively: we relied too much on flyering etc whereas we needed to be pushing via things like area-targeted Facebook ads a lot harder. So I think I've always felt a bit embarrassed about the whole thing, the conventions often ended up a bit dry in terms of numbers of attendees which meant that the stallholders who'd paid to be there weren't really getting value for money taking into account all the travel etc. So I never really ended up feeling good about them (though I think they did contain some good moments and space for interesting talks), and I think that's probably contributed to me taking quite a few years to think through them. Maybe it's something I'll get to this year. :)
Title: Re: Development Diary
Post by: indiekid on April 03, 2022, 06:24:09 PM
Am I right in thinking the community lacked a geographical focal point when you put on the convention? Also these things always start small and get bigger with regular repeats, so perhaps it was a strong start but practicality stopped it getting where you wanted it!
Title: Re: Development Diary
Post by: Jubal on April 03, 2022, 08:00:17 PM
Yes, though we had good turnout from Exilian folks despite the lack of geographical nexus: there just aren't enough of us to form a convention on our own, and the Exilian people tend to have the projects which means you need other people through the door to buy stuff etc etc. Doing it in Cambridge made sense from that perspective: I think it's a place that absolutely could support a creative geekery convention which (as ExiliCon did) almost focused on eclecticism and discovering new things. But yeah, we never really cracked building up a big local attendee base, which was a pity, we clearly needed a serious rethink after year 3 and then me moving made it a moot point anyway.
Title: Re: Development Diary
Post by: indiekid on April 05, 2022, 12:12:44 PM
One possible solution could be to piggyback on an existing, larger convention, like I did in my blog with Beachhead. Beachhead started as mainly wargames so they were keen to have the diversity brought in with the playtesting zone.
Title: Re: Development Diary
Post by: indiekid on April 07, 2022, 09:27:25 PM
Starting a new project in a new way https://masterofolympus.wordpress.com/2022/04/07/diary-51-magpie/ (https://masterofolympus.wordpress.com/2022/04/07/diary-51-magpie/)
Title: Re: Development Diary
Post by: indiekid on May 17, 2022, 04:40:33 PM
A bit of a rant about trying to get published https://masterofolympus.wordpress.com/2022/05/17/diary-52-someone-elses-problem/ (https://masterofolympus.wordpress.com/2022/05/17/diary-52-someone-elses-problem/)
Title: Re: Development Diary
Post by: indiekid on June 05, 2022, 11:44:51 PM
This years adventures at the UK Games Expo https://masterofolympus.wordpress.com/2022/06/05/diary-53-expo-people/ (https://masterofolympus.wordpress.com/2022/06/05/diary-53-expo-people/)
Title: Re: Development Diary
Post by: Jubal on June 12, 2022, 12:35:30 AM
A good writeup - hope you're not still being pursued by wrathful Olympians!

I miss that sort of festival/expo scene: not that there aren't some equivalents in the German-speaking world, but the big ones are big and generic and the small ones are very German-speaking, and getting stands/stalls at things is much more complex (I looked into getting stands here for things and at all the places I looked you have to be legally tax registered to have one, for example).
Title: Re: Development Diary
Post by: indiekid on June 14, 2022, 11:52:40 AM
That's frustrating! I did come away from the Expo looking forward to all the small things popping up here in the UK. Do you think you'll one day be confident enough in your German to attend one of those smaller cons? Perhaps catch you at one back in the UK some time =)
Title: Re: Development Diary
Post by: Jubal on July 10, 2022, 09:00:12 AM
Maybe re smaller cons, but the bureaucracy issue/cons not really giving you stands unless you're a heavily legally registered entity still remains.
Title: Re: Development Diary
Post by: indiekid on August 02, 2022, 08:45:19 PM
This one goes a bit deep into a specific mechanic, probably a headache to read. Is there a "right" way to write this stuff up? https://masterofolympus.wordpress.com/2022/08/02/diary-54-chinese-takeaway/ (https://masterofolympus.wordpress.com/2022/08/02/diary-54-chinese-takeaway/)
Title: Re: Development Diary
Post by: Jubal on September 04, 2022, 01:38:52 PM
I found this interesting! Turn order is tricky to work with, especially when you break away from it being a fixed feature of a game. Is going first/acting sooner almost always an advantage in current versions of the game? That's one of the odder keys to it, it can be tricky to work out what the "I can act before my opponents can respond" vs "I can react with the knowledge of where everything is" balance really is for a game, if that makes sense.
Title: Re: Development Diary
Post by: indiekid on September 06, 2022, 08:59:37 PM
I am interested to see how those two different considerations play out. I'm drawing a lot on X Wing the Miniatures Game at the moment. This assigns an initiative value to each ship, with lower ones moving first in a round. Potentially pointing the wrong way when the shooting starts, but also potentially getting in the way of the higher initiative ships. Players used to be able to control ties in initiative value by having lower-point lists (so-called "bidding") but sadly this feature was removed.
Title: Re: Development Diary
Post by: Jubal on September 19, 2022, 02:27:47 PM
Ooh, OK, that's an interesting system - I've never played X-wing, it does look fun though.
Title: Re: Development Diary
Post by: indiekid on October 07, 2022, 09:25:22 PM
A bit of a love letter this time https://masterofolympus.wordpress.com/2022/10/07/diary-55-collaboration/ (https://masterofolympus.wordpress.com/2022/10/07/diary-55-collaboration/)
Title: Re: Development Diary
Post by: Jubal on October 20, 2022, 02:57:31 PM
I like the idea of focusing on, as you say being “of” the community not simply “at” a shop.

In some ways it would be nice if that was a viable model more generally: that boardgames could be produced and shaped at very localised levels with the designer-storyteller being able to focus on small groups. The general issue with that is obviously the financial model of it (though full time professional TTRPG game masters are now a thing, so who knows?).
Title: Re: Development Diary
Post by: indiekid on October 22, 2022, 09:14:21 PM
I wonder if the model is also applicable to LARPing - some people go to a lot of effort to tailor games to their community
Title: Re: Development Diary
Post by: indiekid on December 15, 2022, 07:27:29 PM
How playing existing board games has influenced my own https://masterofolympus.wordpress.com/2022/12/15/diary-56-the-man-who-would-be-euro/ (https://masterofolympus.wordpress.com/2022/12/15/diary-56-the-man-who-would-be-euro/)
Title: Re: Development Diary
Post by: indiekid on February 14, 2023, 02:05:29 PM
A look at where I am with my conventions and projects https://masterofolympus.wordpress.com/2023/02/14/diary-57-plan-a/ (https://masterofolympus.wordpress.com/2023/02/14/diary-57-plan-a/)
Title: Re: Development Diary
Post by: Jubal on February 14, 2023, 02:14:35 PM
Quote
It could be said the game has strayed a long way from my original vision but, after twelve years, I can’t remember what that was so I’m OK with it.
This is pretty spot on with how I approach problems too :)

Also, incredibly pedant thing, but: you rein, not reign, your enthusiasm in. The analogy is to pulling on a horse's reins to get it to stop, rather than to the reign of a monarch.

What will you be doing in Spain? :)
Title: Re: Development Diary
Post by: indiekid on February 14, 2023, 02:30:27 PM
Haha I forgot I was going to check that spelling, thanks. I will be visiting my brother in Madrid then heading south to see Granada, Cadiz etc etc. After that it's probably going to be Mexico
Title: Re: Development Diary
Post by: Jubal on February 14, 2023, 02:33:49 PM
You do manage to get around! Hope you enjoy it, I've never been to southern Spain, I'd love to see those cities :)
Title: Re: Development Diary
Post by: indiekid on January 20, 2024, 10:46:17 AM
Getting back in the game. Travel writing to follow soon I hope https://masterofolympus.wordpress.com/2024/01/20/diary-58-the-sponge/ (https://masterofolympus.wordpress.com/2024/01/20/diary-58-the-sponge/)
Title: Re: Development Diary
Post by: Jubal on January 20, 2024, 12:12:18 PM
The night heron photo is nice :) I saw a lot of them in Tbilisi last summer, they're fun birds.

Re the Aztec/Mexican leg, I've got a whole book on Teotihuacan that I've never gotten round to reading, I should really get to that sometime. A brief look online suggests that the Toltecs were too chronologically late to have built Teotihuacan, though - that might be an older interpretation that's now been superseded.
Title: Re: Development Diary
Post by: indiekid on January 22, 2024, 09:24:25 AM
That will be an interesting read, and would give you a good understanding of the entire region at that time. I thought of going into the mysteries of the city's founders in the article, but in the interest of brevity I settled for a (?) next to the first mention of them!
Title: Re: Development Diary
Post by: Jubal on January 24, 2024, 05:49:35 PM
Yeah, not enough time for every historical deep-dive one wants to put into an article :)
Title: Re: Development Diary
Post by: indiekid on March 19, 2024, 12:26:04 PM
A bit more travel and my new-found talent for "squeezing" https://masterofolympus.wordpress.com/2024/03/19/diary-59-something-nandeck-this-way-comes/ (https://masterofolympus.wordpress.com/2024/03/19/diary-59-something-nandeck-this-way-comes/)