Ames' syllabi

• What is the difference between a “working” and a “display” prototype?

Working prototypes are meant to be played and tested by the staff surrounding the publication and editing process while display prototypes aren’t actually meant to be playtested, only meant to catch the consumer’s eye

• What is required of a working prototype, and what might cause one to fail?

The game has to have already been tested extensively and needs to work. If it doesn’t it could fail

• What makes for a good prototype according to Dale Yu?

Good first impression

Clear and well-written rules

Having sensible, well-constructed components

A lasting good impression on the game

• What advice from Richard Levy will help you pitch your game?

Be prepared and willing to answer questions. Sell yourself first and don’t think about rejection as an end-all thing. Control your ego by keeping your expectations realistic. Get a good agent and design a good prototype that will catch their eye

• Where might you pitch your game?

To publishers that take open suggestions from the general public

• What do publishers look for in a game?

Publishers are looking for fun and player interactivity. The game should be learned quickly and easily so people can have fun fast. They want strong rules and mechanics, something that’s innovative and matches the correct target audience. Good title, potential for expansion in the future, and easy demoing capabilities

• What makes a good set of Rules?

An overview that is compelling and understandable, card types, how they function, endgame and winning criteria, examples of play strategy hints, optional rules, etc

1. what is the difference between a game designer and a game developer?

The game designer is the author and makes the prototype of the game while the game developer cleans it up and removes blemishes so it’s ready to be published.

• what commonly occurs during the game development process?

During the development process, it is common that the developer has to go back and change some of the rules to avoid issues of overcomplexity which can lead to confusion and a bad play experience.

2. what are the challenges of balancing a game?

Any game that directly involves numbers, numbers of cards, numbers of lives, objectives, etc are all difficult to manage. You want to ensure that it is as fair as possible at all times to avoid issues with the game driving the actions; players should drive action.

• what should every player of your game believe? why?

Every player should believe that the game is fair and operating in everyone’s best interest

• how can you avoid stealing players fun?

Ensure that everyone has a chance to win and allow the players to play the game how they intend. If there is an option to interact, let them interact. Allow optional mechanics to be optional. Make those in the lead work for the last bit to win so that other players can at least feel as though they have the power to catch up.

3. what 10 maxims should you follow when writing rules?

Call things what they are, no vague terminology

Keep it simple, don’t make up new words for the game.

Don’t make more work from the beginning than what is necessary

Rules should focus on the rules, not the lore.

Keep it simple, don’t overestimate your players

Rule terminology is important. If it doesn’t make sense in writing, get rid of it and implement another way

Short and sweet

Be easy on the eyes, format your rules, cards, board, etc cleanly so as to be easily understood

Test your final version

If any errors appear, submit a new edition and/or correct errors online

4. how has play testing changed your game?

Play testing has entirely changed the whole structure and strategic landscape of Blast Radius, and has made it way more fun to play

• who from class would you like to play test your next game or version 2 of your first game?

N/A

• who is the audience for your game?

12+ people

5. who should play test your game outside of class?

Friends and family, but mostly people who don’t have any connection to you to be as objective as possible.

What is the difference between a “working” and a “display” prototype? What is required of a working prototype, and what might cause one to fail?

A working prototype is intended to do just that, work. It is the version that will be used by playtesters and potential publishers. A display prototype has finished art and components and is intended for distributors and chain buyers. Generally the display prototypes are very beautiful and may posses unfinished rules but have graphics that attract interest.

Ways for your prototype to fail:

• Not supplying all the pieces so that the game is playable
• Not testing the game with the amount of players you say your game works for (3-5 is the sweet spot)
• Not updating the rule book after making changes to the game
• Adding components you haven’t playtested and then sending to a publisher

A working playtest must be playable, legible, and user friendly

What makes for a good prototype according to Dale Yu?

The first impression your game gives off is very important. Everything should be neatly organized and decently pretty. Having easy to understand, well written rules is also very important for your prototype. Having a full playable copy is

What advice from Richard Levy will help you pitch your game? Where might you pitch your game?

Before pitching a game it’s important to do your homework and research about different companies. Figure out if individuals have had good experiences with some companies. You should know your game history type, market, and the interests of companies you’d like to submit to.

Sell yourself well, and take rejection as “not now”. Some really amazing games have been rejected many times. Do not let rejection shake your confidence; however, you also need to control your ego.

Pitch ideas when companies are ready to listen, and have a pretty solid prototype. Make multiple submissions if you can, and limit the use of agents unless they have some pretty good success.

What do publishers look for in a game?

The fun factor, player interaction, immediacy of play, strategy, an interesting theme, an immersive experience, interrelated theme and rules, solid rules and mechanics, innovative rules, innovative components, easily manufactured components, compatibility with other products, the correct target market, a good title, expansion potential, multi-language capability, easy demoing, and collectability (sometimes).

So just a short list of things…

What makes a good set of Rules?

A good overview to grab buyers interest, a list of components, a well written set up, a definition of what gameplay looks like, different card types, a definition of the endgame and what winning looks like, examples of play/strategies/hints/optional rules/game variants, and last but not least credits.

Describe the best game you’ve made this semester in 250 words? Follow Michelle Nephew’s outline.

“I’m Cookin'” is a collaborative and competitive game where players collect ingredients in order to “cook” recipes. Ingredients are tiles that get pulled out of a “shopping bag” and recipes are cards with required ingredients and the point value indicated. Currently the game supports 3-5 players who each choose a character to play as that have certain attributes (for example “The Chef” gets a bonus point for every recipe with no substitutions). Players may trade ingredients or put their own spin on recipes by subbing in ingredients to complete a recipe. The aim is getting creative in order to cook enough meals to get a total of 15 points first. The ideal age range would be 10+ with the game taking an average of 60 minutes.

1. What is the difference between a game designer and game developer?

A game designer comes up with the idea and format for a game while a developer refines and balances the mechanics.

1a. What commonly occurs during the game development process?

Prototyping, testing, balancing, and revision of the rules. This process is generally repeated until the game is at a satisfactory place.

2. What are the challenges of balancing a game?

The main challenge is numbers. When a game has numbers, it is important to balance those numbers so that they are both easy to understand and neither too strong nor not strong enough. Even if the game is supposed to be more challenging, all players should be on a relatively even playing field.

2a. What should every player of your game believe?

Players should feel the game is fair overall. They should come away from the game feeling as though their actions and strategies directly contributed to how the game played overall.

2b. How can you avoid stealing players fun?

If a player can be in a position to lose too early, give them an opportunity to come back.

Avoid situations that reward players who are already ahead. If you give them too much opportunity to snowball their lead, they will take the victory without anyone else having a chance.

When players are about to win, it should be like chasing a rolling ball down a hill. They should have to make a real effort to cross that last bit of terrain and take the victory. This builds tension and makes the other players feel like they have a real chance to catch up.

Find a middle point in player interaction. Players should be able to interact somewhere between not at all and too much.

Sending a player backward too far or without their choice is frustrating and can take a lot of the stakes out of the game. If everyone is constantly sliding back down the hill, they may become tired and give up.

3. What 10 Maxims should you follow when writing rules?

1. Call things what they are and use words everyone understands
2. Don’t make up words for the sake of the game. Keep it simple for newbies.
3. Don’t make more work than necessary to get started.
4. Keep flavor to a minimum. Rules should focus on rules and setup, and you can add lore elsewhere.
5. Keep it Simple, Stupid. Don’t make your rules any smarter than the people you expect to play your game. Complicated rules can make games confusing.
6. If you can’t figure out how to write a rule, discard it and find a new way to implement it.
7. Keep things short and sweet.
8. Go easy on the eyes. Formatting is important for readability.
9. Test your final version. It might not be as final as you thought.
10. If you find any errors in the ruleset, you can always release a second edition or address those errors online.

4. How has playtesting changed your game?

Playtesting has resulted in sweeping changes across the history of soul.

1. The character creation. I learned from just two tests, one in class and one out of class, that my character creation was not easy to understand for the average user. I went back and changed how the sheet was formatted, removed a few mechanics, and changed how the handbook was formatted, and the end result is a much more readable product.
2. The combat. When Soul started, it was a relatively simple turn based game, similar to D&D, each player attacked once a turn and then passed the turn. Playtests caused me to re write the powers, then restructure the combat system once, then again. Other games inspired me to re-write the combat system again and again, and now it is more similar to Magic: the gathering combined with a fighting game than it is similar to other TTRPGS. I have also found mechanics that were missing, like grappling and stealth, and have changed how charisma works thanks to a player marrying a boss. All in all, without playtests, this game would be much more broken.

4a. I think ronan and max would both be interesting testers for the game. Ronan has experience with tabletop games, and max has very unique perspectives on many situations, so I think those two would bring different valuable ideas to a test.

4b. My game is made for people who like TTRPGs but don’t like D&D, much like myself. That was the driving factor that led me to start designing this game, and I think that the way I’ve implemented many things allows for more freedom in some regards.

5. Who should play test your game outside of class?

My friends Stevie and Thad are my two main playtesters right now. Stevie, like max, approaches things differently than most, and as a result he is usually the one who breaks the game most effectively. This habit is both incredibly annoying and also incredibly useful, as it means that I have to interrupt gameplay to figure out exactly what has gone wrong, but i also gain valuable insight on what needs to be done to fix it. Thad is a player who likes to do the same thing every time, with minor variations. This is a pretty standard scientific approach, and it works well for testing the mechanics that are in place more thoroughly.

Difference between a “working” and a “display” prototype:

Both types of models illustrate the fundamental structure of the gameplay that the target client will expect; the display prototype is the visual variety of the game pieces like the attractiveness and routes of the game setting whereas the working prototype is the playable assets model that contains the interactive features (movable subjects like spins, forwarding and backward) for the game.

Ideal Standard of a working prototype:

Ensuring the prototype is playable game sets free of time-consuming and understandable terms

What Situations will cause problematic prototypes:

Vague definitions of game guidelines and initial impressions of game pieces and their symbols that are misunderstandable.

How to achieve a great prototype (from Dale Yu)?

• Players need to be impressed by the appearance of the game
• Simple Game Directions & Instructions that players can easily follow without additional explanations
• Ensuring the game tools and elements match the game descriptions
• Ensuring the player can have a great time when accomplishing the game mission

Advice for game pitching (from Richard Levy):

Ensure you have the industry knowledge of what the great game looks like so that you can create both impressions of self-confidence and your game during the pitching explanation.

Where might you pitch your game?

Through local streaming radio websites like Q92.9FM.

Publishers’ Expectations of the Game:

Ensure the game is feasible with fun elements, appealing rewarding, and playable rulesets

Ideal Rulesets:

Hooking an interest by stating the game characteristics, process, and expectations of the outcomes; displaying simple terms for the game tools and brief rules that avoid make-up creative vocabulary as much as possible.

Own Best Game:

I develop a compass-shapes survival game that is all about the uncertainty that deep sea divers will possibly encounter called: Compass 2 Survivalist which one player needs to get five blue squares named destinations to get rescued without losing five red squares.

What is the difference between a “working” and a “display” prototype?

Working prototypes are designed to be tested and evaluated by play testers and publishers while display prototypes are merely designed to catch distributers/buyers eyes – not actually be tested. 

What is required of a working prototype, and what might cause one to fail?

It has to be clear, and playable, and thoroughly tested. If a protype has not been tested enough, this can cause it to fail. 

What makes for a good prototype according to Dale Yu?

• A good first impression
• Having clear and well-written rules
• Having sensible and are well constructed components
• A good/lasting final impression 

What advice from Richard Levy will help you pitch your game?

Be prepared, information is power, sell yourself first, don’t be deterred by rejection, control your ego, keep your expectations realistic,  don’t hesitate, consider multiple submissions, don’t deal with invention marketing firms, get a good agent, build a good prototype, don’t overlook brand power

Where might you pitch your game?

            To a publisher accepting submissions from the general public, but ideally I’d also find a publisher to pitch to that are has a background in publishing games similar in type to the one that I made. 

What do publishers look for in a game?

Fun , player interaction, the ability to start playing quickly (having fun quickly), use of strategy, an interesting theme, complimentary rules and themes, immersivity, solid rules and strong mechanics, innovative rules, innovative components, easy to manufacture, product compatibility, correct target audiences, a good title, expansion potential, multi language capabilities, easy demoing, collectability

What makes a good set of Rules?

            A compelling but simple overview, list of components, a clear setup, a clear gameplay with defined terms (if needed), card types and how they function, endgame/winning (scoring, how it ends), examples of play, strategy hints, optional rules, game variants, and credits