Alphabet Games: "F"

During my self inflicted challenge to create 26 different games based on the different letters of the alphabet, I created Feet. Today, it was play-tested.

Feet starts with 64 cards. These cards represent the different aspects of the foot and seperates them into colors and sides. Essentially, you'll end up with cards like Blue Left Heel or Green Right Big Toes. The objective is to build two feet with each of the elements being of a single color.

The play-test went well. Problems from the start: I didn't have enough index cards on me to create all 64 cards. So, I settled for one set of feet for each color instead of two for the play-test. The play-test being what it is, it wasn't too much of a problem. We noticed right away that we needed that extra half of the deck, but we pushed through.

Play goes as such:
Everyone has 5 cards.
The turn consists of three phases: Draw, Trade, and Place.
It is yet to be seen if the Trade phase is optional or not. We played it as optional.
Basically, you can choose a card from your hand and trade it with a random one of your choice with that of an opponent.
When you place a card down for your foot, you need a right and a left.If you don't place a card in front of you, discard one. If you want to replace a card from a slot, discard the old one and replace it with the new one.

It's simple, easy, fun. It still needs some calibrating but its a success so far.

Blog Plans

Once I have recovered from my Summer Quarter finals, I will try to set up a schedule for these posts.

I would like to add reviews of non-digital, as well as digital, games. I include digital because they need to be designed like everything else. Plus they're fun too. I don't play non-digital games exclusively. This seems like a Monday post topic. Or maybe Thursday. If for some reason someone reads this thing and reads the review when it comes up, that'd give them plenty of time to make weekend plans to find and play the game if they are interested in it.

I think I will also be adding what game designs that I come up with here that I don't actually want to pursue as a fully realized product. For example, I have created a fully functioning Role Playing Game that uses playing cards as a randomizer. Has this been done before, maybe. But what do I care? I'll have that up here at some point in the future. I'm debating whether or not to post anything about that Samurai RPG that I mentioned earlier. It's coming along nicely, btw.

The random thoughts and theories on games and game design will more than likely stay random. I don't control them as easily as I can control a review. I will still try to post my theories as often, though.

So as I sit here bored out of my skull while my 3D animation is rendering, I need to think these blogging type things through.

Some Exposition...

I guess now would be a good time to explain myself. I should have done this first.

I am an Animation undergraduate at the Savannah College of Art and Design. I am officially graduating in a few days. Strange that someone such as I would take such an interest in starting a game design blog, yes?

Here is the deal. I am not the same person I was four years ago. I was far less mature and far more naive. I didn't really see what it was that I truly wanted for myself. I couldn't see it directly in front of my face. Ever since I was in elementary school, I have been designing games. Most of them were blatant rip offs of certain things, like Yugioh or Mortal Kombat. But a kid has to start somewhere.

My most successful project would be one of my RPGs. I created an entire fantasy setting based RPG with simplistic rules that won't hurt your brain when you play it, unlike with the D20 or RIFTS systems that have destroyed many a brain. It has been playtested only once but I received many positive reviews from my players, each of them wanting to play it again at some point in the future.

I have recently challenged myself to create 26 different non-digital games based on the different letters of the alphabet. I have only scratched the surface but with classes ending soon my free time will grow immensely.

I was encouraged by Professor Brenda Brathwaite to start a game design blog and to keep up with others. And thusly, here I am.

Where to find the Inspiration

The question that plagues many artists across the world is: "Where do you get your inspiration?" The same can be asked of Game Designers. We need to get our ideas from somewhere, right?

Here's some help if you are looking for inspiration:

1. Other Games- I cannot tell you how fun it is to create modules for Dungeons and Dragons. And frankly, I love creating the universe in any RPG that I have had the pleasure to GM, but that isn't necessarily where I am going with this. Consider your favorite video game. Now, try to represent it as a board game or card game. I'm currently trying to create a Worms board game as well as a Phoenix Wright card game. Its a fun challenge trying to bring the feel of a video game into the realm of the non-digital. Or maybe you can try to do it vice versa. Many non-digital games have been translated to the digital world, though if it was successful or not is up to you.
   
2. Television- While "Friends: the Board Game" sounds like it could be fun, maybe it could be something else entirely. I strongly suggest that you do not do trivia games. Those already exist for the show you are thinking of. Trust me.
3. Movies- This is kind of on the same path as Television.
4. Books- Imagine a board game based on the tale of Huckleberry Finn. Classic, and could be an very interesting challenge.
5. Dreams- I wouldn't recommend that you that you copy everything in your dreams into a game, unless the game were about dreaming, but take an element of a dream and work from there.
6. Everything!- The world is full of interesting peoples, places, things, ideas, concepts, myths, legends, animals...you name it! Flip through an encyclopedia and stop at a random page. Make a game about something on that page. Use StumbleUpon on the internet to find a random site. Make a game based on the concepts represented on that site. You could make a game based on an Encyclopedia or StumbleUpon! The choices are limitless!

Inspiration!

I was suddenly struck by inspiration last night. A Samurai RPG with a super fast combat system so that battles are over in seemingly seconds like in the movie Yojimbo.

More to come...

This is only a test...

...and only a test. If this were an actual post, you would find my thoughts and current activities in the area of game design within this post.

This was only a test.