gamesizing

Lee is one of those fortunate people that took a lifelong passion and made it into a career. Not only does he have extensive experience in designing, producing and selling tabletop games, he’s also worked in the forefront of the industry having dealt with some of the biggest names in the hobby games business.

I am absolutely certain that you’ll find this interview with Lee to be a great insider’s peek to being an independent in the games business.

Jason (gamesizing): Your company, Veritas Games, has done everything from playtesting to game design consulting, and most recently offers its own game line. Is your attention spread over all these areas or is there greater focus in one more than another?

Lee (Vertias Games): We spend the majority of our time working on our own games for release.  We’ve got a couple of releases for Powerstorm (our non-collectible superhero card game) this year, but we also have several abstract board games coming out in 2008 as well (Box o’ Rocks and Rochambeau Twist). That said, we also spend a lot of time working with other companies, helping them iron out holes in their rules.  We have 8 business partners and one soon to be business partner at Veritas Games Company.  We have people with editing experience, technical experience, and, in particular, we have our fair share of rules lawyers. So, we’re pretty good at taking apart games and finding the holes in them.  When we help out our collegues, we can often get them, in turn, to help us playtest our gaming products.  So we build some very useful relationships that way.

While I occasionally do consulting for pay, when I have time to spare, also I’m willing to help people out on a pro bono basis.  I spend a fair bit of my work time answering questions that beginning designers have about the industry, about getting their work printed, etc.  To help cut down on redundant questions we have developed a “Game Design” section of our website.

Of course, when you are in the industry you also have to spend a lot of time learning about industry news and industry trends.  Just staying up on industry news takes up a lot of time.

Jason: Is your involvement with Veritas Games your full-time job? Could you talk about your background that led you to the games industry?

Lee: I still do some technical consulting and civil rights lobbying these days, but I usually work 40 to 90 hours a week for Veritas Games Company, LLC.  I occasionally do some consulting with other game companies who are on friendly terms with ours, to help on specific issues, frequently technical issues regarding game production.  I designed 8 new games in 2007, more than half of which should see the light of day in 2008.

As for how I came to this point, I have always wanted to work with games.  I was an only child and loved games.  My parents didn’t.  So they bought me games that I often played against myself, learning a lot about game mechanics and strategies in the process.  In college at Harvard University (1989-1993) I was the co-chair of the Harvard-Radcliffe Science Fiction Association, and helped to coordinate gaming events of all kinds around the campus.

I got a lot of experience in game design and the gaming industry at Harvard.  I did what every would-be RPG designer in the world did — I tinkered with D&D homebrew rules.  I designed my first game with Matthew Duhan, a Harvard classmate; the game was a live action version of the game Clue, designed to be a cross between the board game and the movie inspired by that game.  I made contact with Bruce Nesmith over at TSR; Bruce was one of the designers of the Ravenloft campaign boxed set.  I went on to start up the first Ravenloft GM’s email list on the internet. I started playtesting for a variety of companies, including David Nalle’s Ragnarok Games company.

During the winter of 1992-1993 I had read some of the products in Wizards of the Coast’s Capsystem line.  I made contact with Peter Adkison of Wizards of the Coast to talk with him about the line and how it might be integrated with an RPG I was working on.  I became on of Adkison’s “Experts” on a generic RPG game description system that Adkison called “Envoy”.  Envoy was to be the system WotC would print all of its modules in, and it would have conversions to all major RPG systems, making it a universal translator system.  I think he intended on licensing it for free to anyone who wanted to use it.  Think of it as the Esperanto of RPGs.  Unfortunately, Envoy and WotC’s Capsystem resulted in a lawsuit from Palladium Games (if memory serves), and that made Peter gun-shy.  That, and Envoy had about as much trouble becoming the universal language of RPGs as Esperanto did becoming the language or international relations.  I like to think of the ENVOY experiment as the first Open Gaming License of its day.

Around that time, Adkison talked with me about a new game he was publishing — Magic: The Gathering.  He talked briefly about me coming to work with WotC, a company that was being operated on promises of stock rather than salaries at that point.  He sent me a private stock offering for his company, information about Magic, and I had an opportunity to buy in. Unfortunately, Harvard isn’t cheap, and I had no money to invest, otherwise I’d probably be a millionaire right now.  While I couldn’t invest, Peter did send me copies of Magic before it was available on the market, and I promoted it on campus and with some local game stores.

Shortly after its release of Magic, Adkison got in touch with David Nalle over at Ragnarok. Nalle wanted to do a licensed Magic expansion themed to the World of Ysgarth RPG setting that Nalle produced.  Since I had worked with both Nalle’s company and Adkison’s company, and had familiarity with both Magic and Ysgarth, I was brought in on the process.  I was part of the development team associated with Ragnarok, and was working with Nalle and sometimes Richard Garfield on the project.  We were all using an email list to communicate.  The project was supposed to have been called “Legends”.  Unfortunately, WotC got new lawyers around then.  WotC allegedly unilaterally broke the agreement with Ragnarok.  At the same time, WotC changed the art copyrights on their cards from “© John Doe” to “© Wizards of the Coast”.  My affiliation with WotC came to a close.

I was invited by a design special interest group at MIT to give a lecture to the group on game design.  While researching the lecture I contacted Steve Jackson over at Steve Jackson Games.  He had written a book on game design and we dialogued.  He was starting up a new online bulletin board project called “Illuminati Online” and he wanted me to host the game design forum. Unfortunately, the internet was a little newer back then, and people were very tight lipped with their game designs, so that part of the forum didn’t take off back in the day like more recent game design forums around the internet.  But it still gave me a chance to hone my chops.

In more recent years, I started up the Veritas Games Company as a sole proprietorship.  I then picked up 6 other partners in 2006 and formed a limited liability company.  After more than 2 years of licensing with Top Cow Productions, Inc. we picked up the Top Cow license for customizable card games.  In 2007 we launched our flagship game line Powerstorm: Top Cow Edition.  We continue to work on that and other games today.

Jason: That’s quite a resume you have! What I find interesting is that even though you are a game designer it seems that a number of activities that occupy your time are business-related, which includes running your company. Is that by desire or necessity? Do you believe it’s possible to earn a full-time living just focusing on game design if you’re an independent inventor?

Lee: With me it’s by necessity.  For some, it’ll be possible to make a full-time living doing nothing but game design, but that’s going to be fairly rare if you aren’t working for an established company.  As I’ll discuss below, most game designers have to bring to the table a whole range of talents in order to be successful, and in that case, they likely didn’t start out by doing nothing but game design — they probably had some skills in business or self-promotion, at least at the start.

Not everyone in my company has to know about industry trends, but I have to.  I have to know how to handle our finances.  I have to communicate with distributors, retailers, and consumers.  I also maintain our website (with only occasional assistance from one other business partner).  I do most of our page layout.  I do not always do the final draft of the graphic design, but I participate heavily in it, and handle almost all our art buying and print buying.  If there’s a trade show or convention, chances are that I’m there even if nobody else is.  I spend a vast amount of time trying to find inexpensive components with low minimums to let us experiment with test marketing new games.  While we occasionally consult with a lawyer, I do all the first drafts of all our contracts and handle 95% of all our legal negotiations.

Even with 7 other business partners and a another one potentially getting added to the company this year, I do around 95% of all the business transactions, about 90% of all the web publishing, and almost 95% of all the communications for the company.  My business partners help with editing, playtesting, game development, and sometimes with selecting art for a project.  Several of them contribute a lot of time to the company in primarily the “game design” side, but inevitably, most indie game designers need to be part designer, part entrepreneur if they are trying to make a serious living off their efforts.

The key word in your question above is “independent”.  I’m assuming that this means you aren’t part of a large existing game publishing company that has a large staff, but that you are mostly going it alone.

For an independent designer, it is pretty rare to make a full-time job out of your skills without spending some time along the way on things like page layout, web site design and programming, and convention and trade show attendance.  Every time you lack a skill set or the ability or desire to go to conventions yourself you are outsourcing, and outsourcing is hellishly expensive.

If the indie designer is willing to work on RPGs and is willing to do some page layout, then there are avenues to get your game to market (print on demand publishing plus industry consolidators like Indie Press Revolution) that can really limit the amount of your day that you have to spend doing the grunt work and business side of things.  As a general rule, indie game publishers really need to spend a lot of personal time either doing business and sales, or otherwise raising product awareness through the development of a personal web presence or a broader awareness through convention attendance.

Some PDF publishers can also get away with just page layout and game design skills, with minimal additional business effort by publishing their works through PDF game houses like RPGNOW.COM. Really successful PDF publishers know how to self-promote, and some have built up their own name recognition and their skills by working for a time in the field of print publishing.

As a general rule, however, game designers need skills in all the following areas: game design, graphic design, art creation or art buying, component pricing, manufacturing, advertising, marketing, shipping, warehousing, and distribution.  Every area you personally don’t have the skills or desire to do yourself in represents something you are either going to have to outsource or do without.  Either of those is costly, and will likely prevent you from making a living at your job.

Good game designers in the modern era tend to be skilled commandos. They know something about page layout, web publishing, self-promotion, and game design.  The most common things to hand off and still be able to make some reasonable profit on your games are graphic design/art and distribution.  Many game designers have access to clipart collections or have a friend who is a graphic designer, willing to work at reasonable rates.  Fulfillment consolidators like Impressions and Key 20 can make it less painful for you to get your work into distributors — you send your materials to them, and they help get you into distribution, which is a challenge unto itself.  But again, except for people doing you a one time favor, everyone needs some kind of compensation, which cuts into the notion that you’ll be able to be an indie game inventor making a living.

If you are hoping to be the “next big thing” in game design without handling a lot of the business end yourself you could also try to take your prototypes to trade shows like TGIF Con and Toy Fair.  Even here, you are really doing some business representing your product and yourself, and you are spending a lot of your own money to make these sorts of games.

Long and short of it, with the possible exception of designing PDF RPG supplements, almost every successful indie game designer can’t attain great profits by sitting in his back room doing only game design.  He’ll need to build up graphic design skills, prototyping skills, and skills related to self-promotion to really reach out to an audience of interested consumers or licensors.  You can get away with outsourcing everything from taxes, to contracts, to graphic design, to marketing and sales. However, if you do all that, you better be making a lot of income from your games, ‘cause that’s a lot off the top of the profits.

Without question, there are some millionaire game designers in the world, who are introverts without skills in self-promotion, computer programming, and page layout.  But those are going to be the exception, not the rule.  If you are going into this field full time by yourself, you should expect to wear many hats, and to realize that designing your game is only one small part of what you’ll likely be spending your time and money on.

Jason: What are your thoughts about the balance between designing a game to be commercially viable and innovating to make the most original and remarkable game you can?

Lee: That’s a really tough question.  I won’t tend to work on a release unless I personally like the game mechanics, theme, or concept a lot.  So, I’d like to think I release only good games.

However, I can tell you that MANY retailers do NOT care about how good a game is if it sells. I’ve been told by a lot of retailers at the GAMA Trade Show and Games Expo that they don’t personally demo much of anything and that they are not interested in how it plays; they are interested in how it sells.  Some retailers are different, and are definitely hardcore gamers. Quite a number of the game retailers I talked to are gamers themselves, but only in one category of gaming: like role-players who don’t play board or card games, for example.  Because of this, and because some distributors really expect games to sell themselves, you always have to be worried about commercial viability.

With Powerstorm, we specifically made the game non-random by the deck and by the box because we were sick of games that you had to hunt cards down in and like 99% of all the players we talked to felt the same way.  Going non-random was definitely a decision of commercial viability. Even the decision to produce a licensed, superhero, customizable card game was effectively pre-ordained.  To expand on our company and take on business partners required that I listen to other voices, and they really wanted a licensed, superhero, customizable card game.  I wanted one too, so that’s what I made.  However, I think I was more willing than some of my partners and investors to work on RPGs, board games, etc.

Many of my business partners are more concerned with releasing top quality games rather than commercially viable games.  I designed around 9 games last year for 2008 release.  Some were good.  Some were great.  A couple of the good ones had fantastic sales hooks.  Some of the great ones were abstract games with no hooks, that will be tougher to sell.  We went with the abstract games first, even though we’ll try to release the games with “hooks” later.  I’m not certain that’s the most penny-wise decision, but it’s the one we made.

For a small company, I think cost of production is really a motivating factor, and it’s not a factor you mentioned directly.  For instance, my abstract designs would cost under $2.50 each to produce, and some a bit less.  They can be done in very small quantities with a risk of a few hundred dollars plus marketing expenses (which can be as big as we want them to be).  The themed games were going to have production costs around $6.00 per unit, can only be made in large quantities, and were going to cost thousands of dollars each plus marketing expenses.

Since we already have a lot of money tied up in Powerstorm, our flagship product, we went with great games that are a bit harder to sell, and have low risk, as compared to good games with more financial risk that might be easier to sell.

You always try to release the best games you can come up with, but you have to constantly be aware of market viability, cost per unit, and overall financial risk.

Jason: I’m sure every player out there has a different idea of what they consider a great game. From your perspective as a designer, what are your standards of “great?”

Lee: I’ll answer the question from the perspective of board and card games first.  A great game can have some elements of luck, but generally only to add tension.  But a great game should be dominated by strategy and player-oriented choices.  A great game shouldn’t be quickly “solved” if it’s an abstract game, as all great games should have replay value.  If the game is themed, the mechanics should help emulate the genre or theme.  While there are a few games that I’d classify as “great” that take more than 2 hours to play, I think as a general rule, a great game is playable in 2 hours or less, so that it can form the basis of an evening’s entertainment without dominating the evening.

I find that some games are so controlled by randomness or otherwise have so few strategic options available to the players that they should no longer be classified as a game, in my view of things, but as a pastime, something you do to pass the time.  A game to me always has decisions, frequent important decisions, made by its players.  For a game to remain great, if it uses a great deal of chance to heighten tension, it should produce substantially shorter games.  I find that players will tolerate a loss by luck in a shorter game, but despise it in a longer game.  I think I’ve only seen one or two games ever that have the ability to break that general rule and that I would still classify as great games.

Regarding a great role-playing game, the rules should emulate the genre, and should not be intrusive upon the genre.  I prefer role-playing games that have a director of action, a Game Master, if you will, although I like it if some elements of plot and world are actively contributed by the players.  This is not to say that some of the indie group story-telling games are not great games; some are, but they just appeal to me inherently less if all the structure of the story requires an entire table full of people to agree upon the elements of the play.  A great role-playing game should help you describe your character and play out that role, without distracting you from doing so.  A great role-playing game is often tailored to a specific genre, and is deep enough in style and detail to capture the imagination of even those who are unfamiliar with the genre.

For all kinds of games, as a general rule, they are going to be heavily derivative of previous games in some ways, even if it is in the use of components like cards, pawns, and dice.  However, each great game should do something unique.  Maybe it uses old rules in a special combination to emulate a genre better than previous games of its ilk.  Maybe the designer has actually come up with a never before seen mechanic that makes the game intriguing and different.  Or maybe each of the mechanics of the game is, in itself derivative, but the specific combination is very novel, and sparks the imagination.  Great games have some element of advancement of the art, so that they feel inherently different and innovative in some way, even when compared to games that are substantially similar to them in many ways.

Finally, all great games have replay value.  Some aren’t games that you want to play every hour of every day, but all great games have replay value.  Whether through changes in play configuration, introduction of changes via elements of luck, or ideally through play decisions of the players, a great game plays out a little differently each time.

Jason: It’s obvious that you’re very passionate about your work. What do you feel is the primary motivation that drives you?

Lee: Four things:  First, like every game designer on the planet, I love games, and want to contribute something to the art form, to leave my mark.  I am not saying that because I feel I have to; I really believe it.  I have done lots of jobs over the years because I needed the money (business/tech consulting) or because I felt that somebody ought to do the work (civil rights work).  Designing games is really something I personally like doing, and is something I do for myself, as well as to share with others.  I am proud of my design work and am eager to let the world see my designs.

The second reason, however, is something other than a romantic notion.  It’s a practical one. I’ve got a really bad visual impairment, and it’s taken years for doctors to help improve my condition.  For example, I can only barely read what I’m typing to you right now.  I used to do a lot of technical consulting and I was engaged in graduate studies.  My vision got too bad to easily pursue either.  My business partners in the game company all edit my work, allowing me the freedom to be productive and creative while not being hampered by my vision.  That really gives me a feeling like I’m doing something positive.  Since I don’t have a team of seven editors in other fields, I feel very lucky to have a team of smart, dedicated individuals, who help me bring my game designs to light.

Third, I work with a great set of game developers and playtesters.  I enjoy their company.  They are good friends, and good business partners.  If I were working with different people I would probably be less inclined to have as many partners as I do.  However, running our game company, while a helluva lot of work, is also a great social experience.

Fourth, I love a challenge.  As far as game design goes, I am usually pretty good at working under pressure.  One of my business partners requested an extra game for a boxed set we are putting together, and by the time we had met a few days later I had another game that was one of my best designs.  Most of the time in life, I’m slow to release things, because I am constantly worried about the quality of the work, and tinker on it until the bitter end, sometimes missing a deadline.  I have more confidence as a game designer, and so I work more quickly, and let the game designs out of my grasp more quickly.  In the field of game design, as long as I have editors and playtesters, my work doesn’t suffer from quick design turn around, and I love it.  I can get bored working on one thing too long, and so being under pressure to release is sometimes fun in this industry.  I don’t know if I’d feel the same way working for someone else, but in our company, it works for me.

Jason: Final (and very open-ended) question: Do you have any predictions on the future of games?

Lee: Jason, I’d like to start by thank you for interviewing me.  It’s been a pleasure.  On to the answer to your question:

Technology is going to grow increasingly a part of the game industry.  First, it’s going to become more prevalent on the manufacturing side.  Right now it’s possible to do print on demand RPGs, but I think at some point “just in time” game components are going to become much more viable, inexpensive, and of higher quality.

Smaller game companies are going to be some of the pioneers in this area.  For example, Guild of Blades is trying to do print on demand playing cards.  Blue Panther is producing wooden game parts and accessories using a computerized laser cutting tool.

I think within the next 10 years, small game companies will have a means to inexpensively prototype their games.  I expect that at some point, small game publishers will band together and set up their own prototyping and manufacturing facilities together for small run games.

Next, I think that technology will continue to shape tabletop gaming.  You’ve already got Blokus on handheld devices.  You’ve got Eye of Judgment scanning in cards for real time presentation of the cards onto a computer console.  Do you remember the old video gaming tables (Ms. Pac-Man and Galaga)?  A couple of companies are working on using the same type of coffee table look with computerized boards to represent a variety of games that can be stored in the “coffee table” and selected from on the fly.

At the same time, you are going to continue to see online gaming put the squeeze on tabletop gaming.  A lot of gamers are going to be spending more and more of their time playing online games.  Some companies, such as Wizards of the Coast, have been adapting their rules sets to make them portable for online play.  Game designers will start adapting, and more board game designers will learn how to program to bring their own designs online without relying on others to do so.

Tabletop gaming will continue to exist, but the number of retailers is going to be squeezed down even more than we’ve seen in recent years.  Online retailers will undercut brick and mortar retailers who don’t have open gaming space.  Brick and mortar stores with open gaming space will survive in most instances, but they’ll have to change with the time.  Either they’ll have to start charging for use of the play space (or allow it to be used only for games bought in the store).  Alternately, some low profit stores may end up converting to the equivalent of a local game club (like a chess club).  We’re seeing that in our local area — one of the best game stores in the Boston metro area continues to have tough financial times and people continue to do fund raisers in various ways to keep it open as a destination.  Another gaming store has been having tough times as well.

In some local areas, gamers are going to have to start petitioning local governments for a place to play, as weaker brick and mortar stores close down.  In some areas, gamers may be their own downfall — trying to save money by buying from online retailers while driving their local brick and mortar stores out of business, leaving themselves with nowhere to play.  This will happen most in smaller communities.

Customizable card games targeting adults will continue to be harder and harder to make a profit on. Some customizable card games targeting children will continue to thrive.  I think middle cost games will continue to get squeezed out in many instances in the hobby channels.  There will be more games for $20.00 or less, and more games for $60.00 or more.

Those are my predictions for the industry as a whole.  In the mean time, I and my business partners will continue to design intelligent games for intelligent gamers, and we’ll continue to hope for what every small gaming company hopes for — to design the next big game.  We’ll also continue to do what we’ve always done — try to help out other small game companies and first time designers to overcome some of the industry’s hurdles.

Thanks for the opportunity to share my thoughts.  On behalf of me and everyone at Veritas Games Co. LLC, we’d like to also thank folks who read through this entire interview.  Look for our new game sets, Rochambeau Twist and Box of Rox, coming this summer to game stores near you. Keep reading gamesizing.com.

Don’t forget to support small game companies, and your friendly local game store.

Out for now.  Good gaming to all!

I have to thank Lee, again, for being especially generous with his time in answering my questions in the following interview.

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If you’re promoting an idea, product, or service, how do you know if it’s gaining traction?

Sure, you could Google it, but you’re not necessarily looking for the “best” matches, but rather track the latest references to your query on blogs, YouTube, and Twitter.

Addict-o-matic allows you to get a snapshot of the relevant conversation across different forms of social media. You can then bookmark the page to allow revisiting of your personalized search query.

Pretty handy for keeping tabs on your game, competitors, or anything else important to you.

Passion alone may not guarantee success in the games business, but it sure doesn’t hurt. Tom Reeves of Peregrine Games has plenty of enthusiasm and a good-natured sense of humor as well.

Jason (gamesizing): Which came first? Did you create Prince of Chaos then decided to build a company around it? Or did you know you wanted to run a game company then came up with your product? Give us some background on how everything started.

Tom (Peregrine Games): I began working on Prince of Chaos as a hobby (spelled o.b.s.e.s.s.i.o.n.) several years ago. As it evolved, my Idea Genie kept supplying me with other concepts for games, each jockeying for position to be the first produced. (I realize some people may find it strange that I get my creative ideas from an invisible genie that lives under my pillow and WON”T LET ME SLEEP, but that’s how it works with me. All my best ideas seem to be insomnia induced.)  But having all these concepts was a bit like trying to choose between my favorite lunch, dinner and dessert (I skip breakfast) – I love them all for different reasons but I had to choose just one to start with. PoC is definitely the most involved and intricate of the bunch. After months of research into how the four primary weapon systems of ancient warfare (Light Infantry, Light Cavalry, Heavy Infantry, Heavy Cavalry) supported and fought each other, I began what seemed like an endless cycle of prototyping, playtesting and tweaking, all of which kept my obnoxious Idea Genie (I.G. for short – pronounced Iggy.) very happy and busy, but left room for little else. My wife, who lives on a far distant planet called Earth, just shook her head and did what any woman does when her husband flips out and quits his day job to pursue an obsession – she supported me. Go figure. (I never said she was completely sane - just beautiful and wonderful.) It became clear to me that PoC was demanding to be first, even though its target audience isn’t nearly as large as some of the other games I have in mind. So, for better or worse, PoC is my firstborn. But because of the other game concepts supplied by dear impetuous I.G., I decided to start my own company.

Jason: I have to say that I admire your obsessive drive. I’m sure it comes in handy in dealing with those pesky obstacles that inevitably come up!

Can you talk about how you decided on the dark fantasy theme? What were some of the influences that served as inspiration in this area?

Tom: The main impetus for creating a dark fantasy wargame was to eliminate the “good guy vs. bad guy” mentality. So many games - fantasy or otherwise - have players assume either the forces of good or evil, and battles can assume an almost scripted feel. If the good guys win, the script makes sense. But when the bad guys win, well that’s not how it’s supposed to be at all! And sometimes how you view the side you are playing can alter your decisions along the way. PoC offers an even, unscripted playing field for all. Every Prince is a “bad guy” in the sense that they are Chaos born and their sole ambition is to become the dominant ruler, stopping at nothing to achieve their goals. Players are free to forge and break alliances at will, kick the guy who is down, or do whatever it takes to get ahead. And a brief look at ancient history reveals this to be a much more accurate portrait of warfare and human nature. Who were the good guys in the Peloponnesian wars, the Athenians or the Spartans? The answer is, it depends on where you were born at the time. So freeing players to assume the role of a selfish, singularly motivated commander was the main driving force. The other was because hey, dark fantasy is way cool! Deathwyrms, Bloodmares and Flying Terrors are far more fun to me than tripping over hobbits, wood elves and unicorns all the time. I mean, when was the last time you uttered, “Eeek, it’s a fairy! Retreeeeat!”?

Jason: Sounds like you were really cognizant of making a different type of game. Are there other attributes you feel differentiates your game from others on the marketplace?

Tom: Absolutely. One of the challenges early on was how to provide a level of unit customization that was extremely detailed and yet still accessible. The traditional style of putting as much information on each token as would fit wasn’t going to work for us because we wanted to address so many details without compromising due to space limitations. For example, what happens to a unit’s Movement, Shock Attack, Missile Attack, Shock Defense, Missile Defense, or Spell Resistance as the unit becomes Fatigued, Damaged, gains in Rank, changes Formation, becomes enchanted or cursed, etc? So many factors can come into play that alter a unit’s statistics that trying to print all these possibilities onto one token would require players to purchase an electron microscope. To solve this problem, we came up with the notion of Prince Handbooks that list all the custom details for each unit type specific to the Prince who commands them. And while there is a lot of information regarding each unit, the Handbooks break things down into very easy to reference sections. Highly detailed Record Sheets customized for each Prince are used in conjunction with the Handbooks to quickly answer such questions as how many Movement Points a Tired Elite Heavy Cavalry unit in Loose Formation with a Speed enchantment has, as well as its uniquely specified Movement Cost through a Forest. While this may sound complicated, it can be calculated in seconds! Anybody that enjoys playing D&D, Starfleet Battles, ASL, etc., who appreciates a rich, robust, meticulously detailed game should appreciate Prince of Chaos. Beyond unit customization, we offer a modular game board that offers almost infinite replayability, a card driven battle system that requires strategy and planning ahead versus placing your fate on the roll of the dice, unique Events, Exploration, Resource Management, and most importantly - just a darn good time! (Even better if you win!)

Jason: Ah, one of the more challenging aspects of game design: having game depth without being too complicated!

Who were some of the other contributors to Prince of Chaos, both in terms of design and playtesting?

Tom: I owe my deepest gratitude to a young man by the name of Max Dalton for his myriad contributions to fine tuning the rules, his endless hours of playtesting, and yes, even for beating me at my own game. Ned Gilardino, teacher extraordinaire, offered valuable insights into improving the pace of the game and has been extremely supportive in every aspect, including the use of his high-end digital camera. Greg Stanley, a friend I’ve known since my high school days, was able to find the time to play a wargame and offer his valuable criticism. Luck plays less of a factor now due to his colossal ability to pick all the wrong cards. Anthony Reeves, my brother, drove from Utah just to play and ultimately proved the bow can indeed be mightier than the sword when used effectively. I thank the Sky Vista Middle School geniuses who ate pizza, drank pop, and played the prototype all afternoon and ultimately wanted more! Theirs was the game that inspired the concurrent turn sequence, which sped up play and keeps everyone involved (as opposed to the more common IGOUGO system originally implemented). There are several others who offered great advice along the way as well, but I won’t list everybody here. I would like to give a special acknowledgment to my Mother however; her experience as a professional typesetter, graphic artist and editor were invaluable to the final product. Ann-Cathrine Loo developed much of the artwork seen on the tokens and Handbooks, while the inventive team at MassiveBrain created the artwork for the box cover and final terrain. And finally I thank my lovely wife Mary who may not always get why I do what I do, but stands beside me nonetheless. A game of this magnitude is definitely a team effort and I couldn’t have done it without the fantastic help and support of those mentioned here.

Jason: That’s quite a team! Now that your game is published, who do you have helping you run Peregrine Games?

Tom: There are many positions and job titles held at Peregrine Games. I, Tom Reeves, am the President. Vice President of Sales and Marketing is Tom Reeves. The CFO is Tom Reeves (an admittedly strange fellow). Manager in charge of Web Design and Content Maintenance is Tom Reeves. New Design, Tom Reeves. Office Manager, Tom Reeves. Bookkeeper, Tom Reeves. Customer Relations, Tom Reeves. Guy who works evenings and weekends for no pay and could really, really use a vacation, Tom Reeves. Now just between you and me, not all of these guys are the best a what they do, but until we expand, I can’t really replace any of them as they all work for peanuts! (The Fools!)

Jason: I’m sure you’re busier than ever with your game launched! What plans do you have to promote and market your game to your target audience?

Tom: Ah, marketing. If there is one position I could replace tomorrow with someone more experienced, it would be my VP of Marketing. (He seems like a nice enough guy, but between you and me he’s learning as he goes.) Our website is the main portal to learning about the game, but the trick is getting our target market to find it. I’ve done some online advertising and had some success there. I’ll be looking into specific trade mags and test a print ad or two soon. Lawrence Spode of Bookshelf Games has done a fantastic summary video review of PoC which I think people will find helpful and informative. And then there’s always good old fashioned pounding the pavement. I’m not much of a salesman, but the game demo’s well enough that three local retailers have supported me so far, and I hope to get it in front of others soon. I tried attending a local convention, but wasn’t able to sign up early enough to get into the exhibitors’ area which is where I think people are more receptive to seeing what’s new. But I know I’m not the first self published designer to tackle these hurdles, they’re just new to me. Ask me again in a year or so and I’m sure I’ll be able to provide you with a long list of all the things not to do!

Jason: You’ve mentioned some of the challenges involving marketing. Talk about the biggest obstacles you’ve faced so far.

Tom: In the design phase, the biggest obstacle was how much detail to include in what was shaping up to be a fairly complex game. The goal was to develop a wargame that faithfully simulated the dynamics of ancient warfare and craft this in a fantasy universe where magic and unique creatures would come alive. Ultimately, I decided I would be happier developing the game without compromising the details and rich components which gives PoC its unique flavor as opposed to constructing false limitations and artificial game mechanics which might hasten play but sacrifice the integrity of my vision. This may knock PoC out of the realm of casual gamers, but I hope to develop a loyal following of players who appreciate games with abundant depth and replayability. Another obstacle early on was finding a diverse group of playtesters. I eventually found the people I needed by tapping the “friends of friends” network, but it took quite awhile. I even posted notices on the bulletin board at a local hobby retail store, though this met with only limited success. In the end I got what I needed, but it was a challenge. Every step in the process of bringing a board game to life presents you with obstacles. The only way to overcome these hurdles is to persevere and believe that what you are trying to bring to market is something unique and challenging and a game others will truly enjoy playing.

Jason: I like your conviction! What’s up next in your plan of attack?

Tom: Well, one of the things that surprised me a bit was the demand to see the rules posted online. When I first invented PoC, I imagined people reading the rules and referencing the detailed Handbooks and Record Sheets together. Without the other two components, the rules by themselves can be a bit confusing – kind of like trying to figure out Dungeons & Dragons with just the Dungeon Master’s guide and not having the Player’s Handbook or Monster Manual to reference. So I am combining the rules that come with the game along with various graphics from the Handbooks and Record Sheets that will allow readers to see how these components all work together. In addition, I’m including some of the rule addendum, new variants and player suggestions that have developed since the game first went into production, which will enhance the player experience even more. (Right now these changes are available as a free download once you purchase the game). PoC is a complex system that I can see evolving over time as the community grows. Eventually I’d like to offer expansion sets, and I even have plans for other games that would take place in the PoC universe. But like Bill Murray learned in the movie “What about Bob?” - It’s all about baby steps!

Jason: There’s not doubt that you’ve spent an enormous amount of time and energy to get to this point. What would you say is the most rewarding aspect so far? How about the most unexpected?

Tom: The most rewarding aspect so far has been each and every sale. It’s not the money that excites me (although to be honest, it doesn’t hurt my feelings either), but knowing that someone I’ve never met will be cracking open the box for the first time, examining each component, reading through the rules and handbooks, and setting up to play their first battle over the mythical lands of Tae Orn (pronounced Tay as in hay, and Orn as in horn – drop the h.) And for those hours while they play with their friends, it’s like they are truly playing inside my imagination. As for the most unexpected experience so far, I’d have to say that goes to one of my very first customers. He requested that I autograph the box lid, which was awkward and weird for me, but okay, I did it. Then I hear through his wife that he’s enshrined the game in a protectively sealed box and wants to keep it in mint condition like some kind of limited run comic book that might be worth something someday! I was shocked and flattered, but ultimately told his wife to tell him to not be silly and just play the darn thing! I hear he wants to order another copy to play, but will keep his first signed copy safely stored away in his bizarre time capsule. Go figure.

Jason: That’s great — having experiences like those must really make all your hard work worthwhile. Thanks again for spending the time to do this interview.

photo courtesy of tao_zhyn

Like artists, musicians, and writers, game designers may find it difficult to have a full-time career following their creative pursuits. The struggling artist stereotype suggests that you do what it takes to get to pay the bills, while praying that someday you’ll attain that mega-hit that will erase your financial worries.

Tough way to try and make a living.

Is there another way? Is it possible to have a sustainable career in the arts without hoping for an all-or-nothing proposition?

Kevin Kelly seems to think so.

Kevin has blogged on a concept he calls 1,000 True Fans, an alternative to praying for the big score. He simply states:

A creator, such as an artist, musician, photographer, craftsperson, performer, animator, designer, videomaker, or author - in other words, anyone producing works of art - needs to acquire only 1,000 True Fans to make a living.

The idea is to build a super-dedicated group of fans so that if you manage to sell a fairly small amount to each — say $100 per year — then that would be enough to sustain your artistic career. Note: the 1,000 figure is not intended to be a precise target for everyone; the point is that whatever the number is for your situation, it’s far less than the numbers needed for the mega-hit that very few artists end up getting.

Phil has certainly received acclaim for his first game; Archaeology: The Card Game was recently shortlisted as the Best Australian Game Award by Boardgames Australia. Phil was kind enough to take some time to answer some questions about his game and his company Adventureland Games.

Jason (gamesizing): Phil, congratulations on Archaeology: The Card Game being named one of the top 10 games of 2007 by reviewer Tom Vasel. Can you talk about the inspiration that led to the development of your game?

Phil (Adventureland Games): Well it’s a bit of a long story! In 2006 I somehow caught the bug to start designing games again (it was something I did a lot when I was very young). My first project was a pirate themed game, where rival pirates traveled around an island digging up treasure, fighting each other and sailing off before a storm struck. After a few playtests, I realised that the most fun part of the game was collecting the various treasures. The rules here meant that the more of one type of treasure you collected, the more valuable that treasure became. I think this idea struck me from playing Knizia’s Lost Cities, where the value of each suit changes dramatically based on what cards you and your opponent have played. Anyway, I soon decided to do away with the huge board and most of the rules to focus on just the treasure collecting. As soon as I did this, the theme of Archaeology struck me. The Indiana Jones films are some of my favourites, and I have also always had a casual interest in archaeology (watching The Mysterious Cities of Gold cartoon as a kid and more recently the BBC’s Time Team show). So I developed the game from this point, and released Archaeology in May 2007. This version had a board, money tokens, different cards and quite a few different rules. Faced with the time and cost drain of self-producing a full board game, I decided to re-work the game into Archaeology – The Card Game, which was released in September.

Jason: What led to your decision to self-publish as opposed to seeking a licensing agreement?

Phil: I suppose I like to dive right in to creative things, so for me it was fun to try and get a short run of the game produced myself. I also knew it would take some time to become familiar with the world of game publishers and distributors if I wanted to have a proper shot at getting into the industry. So I thought I might as well start by self-publishing and learn about these things as I develop as a designer.

Jason: What steps did you take to become knowledgeable about how the game industry worked? Did you talk to insiders, read books, or search online?

Phil: I researched quite a bit on the web. BoardGameGeek is of course a great resource for learning about games, and The Board Game Designers Forum has a few really helpful articles that pointed me in the right direction. Attending the Australian Games Expo also allowed me to meet a few key people in the Australian scene. Chatting to people with experience (often over email) has proven to be the biggest help.

Jason: There’s no substituion for being able to ask a direct question, is there? (says the interviewer) What advice or suggestions have you found to be the most helpful so far?

Phil: I think the advice to attend conventions was very valuable. I did not realise how great the benefits of meeting other gamers, store owners and publishers would be. Many hobby designers also point out that there is little money to be made in game design, and this also I think is a good thing to take to heart. If you are not designing and self-publishing simply for the love of it, you probably are going to end up disappointed.

Jason: Is Adventureland Games something you do on the side or is it your full-time career?

Phil: Definitely just a hobby. I would say I have basically broken even from sales of my games. Of course sometimes it can be as busy as having a job, but really I am doing it for the fun of creating games!

Jason: It’s refreshing to know that you are creating games because you enjoy the process. Do you have another game in the works?

Phil: Plenty! I keep a notebook of ideas, and I have a whole pile that I’d love to get a chance to develop. In terms of games that are well into playtesting at the moment, I have a pirate themed tile placement game about digging up treasure, a fantasy themed combat game and another called Cannonball Colony which I have written about a bit on BoardGameGeek. This game is about competing nations trying to take control of an island, and has quite a lot of direct conflict.

Jason: Given your experience, what do you consider to be your best advice to a game inventor considering the self-publishing route?

Phil: I suppose I would say firstly, make sure you are passionate about your game. It will be a tiring process with little monetary reward, so you really have to want the game to be out there. Secondly, playtesting can’t be stressed enough. Playtesting widely and being honest about the flaws in your game will ensure that what you put out will be the best it can be. Also I believe the presentation of a game is hugely important to people being interested in it. I don’t just mean the artwork (although this of course is very important and worth spending time and money on), but also the game’s title, box cover, and its entire visual presentation. You want people to hear the game’s title, maybe see one image or read one paragraph and be hooked. Because you have no track record yet, people will only try your game if the idea of it captures them immediately, and usually the only way you can capture them from a distance is the way the game ‘feels’ visually and conceptually.

Oh and finally, get involved in BGG and BGDF - two excellent communities who are very supportive of new designers.

Jason: Phil, thanks for your time.

Chad Ellis started Your Move Games in 2004 with partner Robert Dougherty. Ellis documented his thoughts about his initial experience on The Games Journal.

Part 1 describes the genesis of Your Move Games, and the rationale for going into business with a partner.

Part 2 focuses on promotional strategy, and how to gain traction in the board game industry.

Part 3 discusses the process of playtesting and the nature of feedback.

These articles were written over three years ago, but the problems and Ellis’ insights are still valid today. Definitely worth a look if starting a game company is in your future.

As a game inventor, knowing what goes on in your industry can only help you.

Keeping tabs on the other games out there will help you avoid duplicating what’s already been done, as well as create an awareness of what hasn’t been done. This additional knowledge are guideposts for your creativity, and you’ll more likely be on the path to true innovation by focusing on the edges.

But the tabletop gaming industry is large, and keeping track of everything yourself can be time-consuming. There are plenty of news aggregators out there, but the key is finding the right one.

Yehuda Berlinger started Purple Pawn with the intent to fulfill a very specific niche: those interested in keeping abreast of the tabletop gaming industry.

Check Purple Pawn out, and see if you’re not better off for doing so.

If you’re a board game inventor that’s fairly new to the industry, chances are you don’t already have a network of contacts of the various companies that could publish your game.

But if you are eager to submit your working prototype to game publishers, you’ll need to know what companies accept outside submissions and, if they do, what they’re looking for.

For your reference, I’ve created a Squidoo lens on the submission guidelines for various board game publishers.

If you come across a game publisher’s website that I don’t have referenced, please respond in the comments or email me at gamesizing [AT] gmail [DOT] com.

I think we can all agree that there are many benefits for playing games.

Games can be educational, can help develop confidence and problem-solving skills, and even enhance social literacy. These are all good reasons to encourage people to play games.

But for players, these will remain secondary perks at best.

People play games to have fun.

Of course there will always be exceptions. Gamblers look to maximize winnings (or feed an addiction). If your P.E. teacher tells you playing that sport you hate is mandatory, well, I guess you have to.

But the allure of fun is what ultimately gets you to play, and a fun experience is what ultimately gets you to play again.

Game inventors have to be wary of falling into the pitch trap. In other words, touting the secondary benefits may be necessary for selling, but a game that’s actually fun will eventually gain the best traction.

Photo courtesy of aymlis

It’s no surprise that the majority of games are targeted at those younger in age. After all, the closer you are to being a kid the more likely you play, right?

Not so fast.

I came across a post on Playthings that 25% of video gamers are 50 or older (source: AARP magazine). Even if 25% is overstating reality, isn’t it also possible that the games currently on the market aren’t as targeted towards older audiences as they could be?

What kind of games would a 50-year-old play? How about a 60-year-old?

Something to consider if you’re working on your next game design project.