Currently working on the components necessary to run a demo scenario. We decided that the best way to determine if we are on the right track with CLL is to just rush things to a single scenario, blind playtest and then iterate from there. From Game Design Concepts by Ian Schrieber I think this is … Continue reading Design Diary 6/7/2017: Prototyping Player Aids
From the ashes of a design low-point, rises the most outrageous new design for our first tank character: Chef the Polynesian Ocean Warrior. I don't know how game designers work on their own - having one person you can trust to tell you when something sucks streamlines the iterative process so much. And then sometimes, … Continue reading Design Diary 5/6/2017 – Ocean Man
Dipping my feet into the waters of game design by starting this pirate project has been smooth sailing so far. We have fun, ambitious ideas, and we're creating a game I would love to play that skirts the lines between D&D combat simulator and storytelling rpg in a hyper accessible format. Like all endeavors, there is … Continue reading Design Diary 5/1/2017 – Tanking Some Ideas
The cornerstone of any good adventuring team is... The Healer. In tabletop RPGs, the party Cleric was a necessary role that was often begrudgingly thrust upon one player to be the party's designated battery of hit points. Playing the healer was a service that someone performed for their friends at the table. In combat, clerics … Continue reading Design Diary 4/26/2017 – Navigating The Support Role
Before we started our game design project, I kind of had the idea in the back of my mind that the theme of our game would just get pasted on with whatever was popular at the time our game was ready to go to production. Mechanics are the things that I get most excited about … Continue reading Design Diary 4/21/2017 – Theming a Game
Before we can talk about next two points on the class triangle: the Oracle support class, and Constable tank class - Two classes that heavily interact with enemies on the battlefield; it is important to discuss the most important facet of co-op dungeon crawlers. Enemy A.I. Mechanics In Descent, one player assumes control of the … Continue reading Design Diary 4/11/2017 – Creating Simple AI Mechanics
Rogues are fantasy staples. The rogue archetype as we know it has drifted a long way from whatever factual basis they ever had initially. In books, rogues were sneaky and often guileful, stereotyped as cowards and self-serving vagabonds. In D&D and other games of it's time, the Rogue was the one to disarm traps, and … Continue reading Design Diary 4/10/2017 – The Rogue in CLL
Modern board games are thriving, exciting new mechanics and games are being developed and introduced to the gaming world with increasing frequency. Not all games are for everyone, and by extension, some players are more proficient at certain types of games. How do you reconcile the differences in taste and game style preferences across a group … Continue reading Designer Diary 4/6/2017- CLL
