All posts by Jon Shafer

TGDRT #31: Tactics & Repetition

Episode #31 is live!

Jon, Dirk and David discuss tactics in a more general sense. What is a tactical game? What problems does the genre have? Why does Jon hate basically all of them? And is it the players’ fault if their tactical choices aren’t as interesting as they could be?

As much as I want to like tactics games, I feel that the vast majority don’t offer interesting decisions. Instead of dynamic environments and interesting unit abilities, you’re often left with generic pieces on a bland or empty board.

That having been said, I think the games are getting better. The new XCOM game is much better than what you typically see, and part of what makes Unity of Command so amazing is the limited but highly-differentiated unit set.

I know not everyone will agree with me on this topic, so feel free to leave a comment and explain what I’m missing!

- Jon

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by Jon Shafer on June 11, 2013  •  Permalink
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Posted by Jon Shafer on June 11, 2013

http://jonshaferondesign.com/2013/06/11/tgdrt-31-tactics-repetition/

TGDRT #30: Design Lessons & David Sirlin

Episode #30: Design Lessons & Sirlin Games. With David Sirlin

Episode #30 is live!

Jon and Dirk are joined by David Sirlin, designer of tabletop titles Puzzle Strike, Yomi and Flash Duel. The group discusses his past games, future plans, building a tabletop company, David’s interesting journey from the Street Fighter community into design, and the vital importance of balance and asymmetry.

Dirk and I have both really enjoyed Puzzle Strike and have wanted to get David on for a while. His style very much differs from Dirk and I (particularly when it comes to theme), but he’s one of the best designers out there, so you don’t want to miss this episode.

- Jon

 

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by Jon Shafer on June 4, 2013  •  Permalink
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Posted by Jon Shafer on June 4, 2013

http://jonshaferondesign.com/2013/06/04/tgdrt-30-design-lessons-david-sirlin/

New Thoughts on Victory

At times I’ve been “accused” of being a theme-first designer. While this is true to some extent, it’s not the whole story. My philosophy is that (most) games need to evoke a strong theme and build on it with mechanics.

With AtG virtually every idea started with “so what actually happened in history…” However, the enjoyment of a game is the result of interesting mechanics, and your theme is meaningless if you can’t translate it into something that’s fun to play. So I always start with and lean on theme, but only when doing so doesn’t get in the way of mechanics.

What this means for AtG is that I’m first and foremost looking for ways to make the experience of playing the game feel like forging a barbarian kingdom. Migration is a very cool, innovative feature, but it’s only included because, well, that’s what barbarians did.

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by Jon Shafer on May 28, 2013  •  Permalink
Posted in At the Gates, Design Thoughts
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Posted by Jon Shafer on May 28, 2013

http://jonshaferondesign.com/2013/05/28/new-thoughts-on-victory/

TGDRT #29: Solium Infernum & ‘Futbol’

Episode #29: Solium Infernum, ‘Futbol Strategy’ & More

Episode #29 is live!

Jon and Dirk finally get around to discussing ‘Solium Infernum’, a tabletop-digital “hybrid” strategy title where you aim to become the lord of hell. They wheel around and talk about the light worker placement game ‘Stone Age’ and why it might be a great entry point for casual fans. After our hosts wrap up what they’ve played with a brief revisiting of ‘Command and Colors’, Dirk reveals his newest tabletop project, ‘Futbol Strategy’, and Jon provides an update on ‘At the Gates’ and his plans to revisit the game’s victory conditions and strategic trade-offs.

Solium Infernum is one of those games that makes you scratch your head as a designer. Not because it’s bad, but because it’s good. It grabs you not with flash or spectacle, but tabletop-like rules and interesting systems. The game almost provides that roguelike feeling of exploration, mystery and harsh consequences. Like most titles of that sort, it takes some work to get into, and is not something you can enjoy casually.

And that’s where the head-scratching comes in. The game is fun and has a passionate audience, but it’s also unforgiving in many ways. As a designer there’s always a tension between trying to produce games that as many people as possible can enjoy, while also unapologetically covering new ground and accepting that the most beloved games are those which took chances.

We’re hoping to have Vic Davis on at some point in the near future, which is really exciting as I really admire his ambitious and unique designs. While his style is quite different from my own, in many ways I see his company and the games he’s produced to be be a model for my own endeavors with Conifer.

- Jon

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by Jon Shafer on May 28, 2013  •  Permalink
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Posted by Jon Shafer on May 28, 2013

http://jonshaferondesign.com/2013/05/28/tgdrt-29/

TGDRT #28: Scoring & Victory

Episode #28 is live!

The usual three-man crew discusses – debates, even – the ways in which we win games. The first half of the show is dominated by dissecting the pluses and minuses of victory points, whether they’re inherently arbitrary, and if they might even be a sign of lazy design. In the second half our hosts talk specifics, analyzing how victory does (and could) work in ‘Tomorrow’ and ‘At the Gates.’

Although it’s not something I’ve talked much about here on the site, anyone that’s listened to the show in the past should be very familiar with my dislike of victory points.

I don’t find the use of VPs to be inherently evil, as they do come with benefits and I’ve enjoyed many a game that’s included them. However, I find VPs to be so much of an abstraction that anything they’re associated with loses all connection to the “theme.”

Sure, you don’t need a great theming in order to have great gameplay, but without it you’re raising the barrier to entry and making it much harder to tell if you’re on the right path. As such, I try to avoid them whenever possible.

Of course, that’s just my opinion! Check out this episode to see what Dirk and David think.

- Jon

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by Jon Shafer on May 21, 2013  •  Permalink
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Posted by Jon Shafer on May 21, 2013

http://jonshaferondesign.com/2013/05/21/tgdrt-28-scoring-victory/

How Do You Become a Game Designer?

 

In a recent interview I was asked some questions regarding how and why I became a game designer. I’ve reposted it here, in hopes that it proves helpful for anyone out there thinking about pursuing a career in this field. Design is an amazing line of work and I wouldn’t want to do anything else – but I’ve been very lucky and it’s not all roses and puppy dogs.

 

What made you want to become a game designer?

I’ve been designing games for as long as I can remember. I started programming simple games back when I was 8, moved on to more complex ones (that I never finished) by the time I was 12, and in high school I spent much of my free time creating detailed mods for strategy games like Civilization 3 and Paradox’s Hearts of Iron. By the time I could really consider what I wanted to do for a living, I’d already been doing this kind of work for a decade!

Another factor in me gravitating towards games, both for entertainment and as a creator, was an early interest in history. My mother was a teacher and we always had a bunch of history books around. I particularly grew fond of historical atlases, and it was a fairly natural transition over from this to light PC wargames like SSI’s Panzer General.

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by Jon Shafer on April 30, 2013  •  Permalink
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Posted by Jon Shafer on April 30, 2013

http://jonshaferondesign.com/2013/04/30/how-do-you-become-a-game-designer/

TGDRT #25: Information & Obfuscation

Episode #25 is live!

David Heron, Jon and Dirk noodle over the role of information and obfuscation in game design. Why does ‘Persona 4’ work when the BioWare games do not? And when can hiding info be GOOD for a game?

The role of information, and its cousin abstraction, is something I’ve already written about, and it was great to discuss it with a larger panel. I honestly had some trouble thinking of more modern games that didn’t obfuscate enough, but I think David’s suggestion of the BioWare titles is spot on.

In thinking about this topic especially, it’s really become clear to me that game design is much more about “feel” than many mechanical designers (and those trying to pump up its value by applying a form of scientific method or standardized process to it) like to admit. What the game does and does not give away is a fundamental decision the dev team makes very early on, and it may not even be done consciously.

Yet another feather in the cap of, “There are certainly good and bad ways to design games, but you’d have a harder time arguing that there are good and bad game designs.” It’s almost like baseball – every season is a long grind filled with dramatic ups and downs. Sometimes you’ll have a week where every at bat you hit the ball hard but right at someone, and at other times you’ll flail, break bats and loop game-winning hits over the infield. All you can do is hone your fundamentals and trust that good process will win out over luck eventually. Fortunately, it does.

- Jon

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by Jon Shafer on April 30, 2013  •  Permalink
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Posted by Jon Shafer on April 30, 2013

http://jonshaferondesign.com/2013/04/30/tgdrt-25/

TGDRT #24: Games and the Law

Episode #24 is live!

Trademark specialist and actual lawyer-type Dave Fitzgerald joins the show to discuss legal issues relating to games development. Topics covered include the difference between patents, trademarks and copyrights, what you need to set up a company and common mistakes made by developers.

I really enjoyed this episode, as it provides detailed answers for legal and business questions that I’m sure every indie developer has wondered about. In addition to setting aside a couple hours to chat with us, Dave has also generously offered to field questions. You can reach him at DFitzgerald@WHE-Law.com.

- Jon

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by Jon Shafer on April 23, 2013  •  Permalink
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Posted by Jon Shafer on April 23, 2013

http://jonshaferondesign.com/2013/04/23/tgdrt-24-games-and-the-law/

TGDRT #23: Magic, Drafting & Updates

Episode #23 is live!

Dirk shares his first ‘Magic’ drafting experience, and why the game and format now has its hooks into him. He and Jon then step back and evaluate the drafting mechanic and ponder whether the reason why it works is BECAUSE of a steep learning curve. They then go on to discuss the recent re-release of ‘Age of Empires 2’ and ‘War of the Roses’ before providing brief updates as to what’s new with ‘At the Gates’ and ‘Tomorrow’.

I was worried Dirk wouldn’t enjoy his Magic drafting expereince, as it’s one of those things you either love it or absolutely hate it. I’m glad that he had fun, because while there’s an incredibly steep learning curve, if you can get up over the top there’s some great gameplay to be found at the peak.

- Jon

 

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by Jon Shafer on April 19, 2013  •  Permalink
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Posted by Jon Shafer on April 19, 2013

http://jonshaferondesign.com/2013/04/19/tgdrt-23/

AtG Economics Brainstorming

 

Late last year I brainstormed in detail how the economics system for At the Gates ought to work. It would have been easy enough to just say, “Okay, there’s metal and wood and population and this unit costs 50 and that building is 75… BAM! Done.”

But a starting point like that is not what you want when building a complex strategy title. Even those decisions which seem unimportant can trigger a chain reaction that dramatically alters your game. Identifying exactly how every piece is supposed to fit together is crucial.

Is a unit intended to be powerful, but expensive? What implications does that have? In what way is wood different from metal, and what strategies can players build (or not) around each? What are the broad goals for pacing and feel?

After switching the economic focus from a social classes to depleting resources, I already knew the rough form the economic system would take. But these were the sorts of in-depth questions I still needed answers for. What follows is the brainstorming I used to find them.

- Jon

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(more…)

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by Jon Shafer on April 19, 2013  •  Permalink
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Posted by Jon Shafer on April 19, 2013

http://jonshaferondesign.com/2013/04/19/atg-economics-brainstorming/

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