[#010] Attending physical conventions, storyboarding, and more

Welcome to your weekly dose of board game design!

Whatever your thoughts on the Super Bowl, Rihanna's halftime show, or that holding call, I have just one thing to say...BRING ON THE XFL! =)

Something I learned about game design this week

If you're not following Nick Bentley (President of Underdog Games Studio, which has made Trekking the World, Trekking the National Parks, and HerStory), this thread is one of many worth reading:

It brings to mind the concept of storyboarding, the art of constructing / designing a scene. You've probably heard the term used in movies, but it's the same thought process. In movies, it's a scene - who's in it? What's the action? What's the dialogue? Where and how are they moving? Are there certain camera angles to consider?

In games, the core loop is probably the best place to start storyboarding. Who's taking their turn (one player or everyone at the same time)? What are they doing? Where are they doing it (in your hand, in your tableau, in an opponent's area, in the common / middle area, on the board)?

Think of each discrete action as a movie frame - a single image that can be drawn / wireframed / roughly designed. From there, establish the order of operations by putting them in order. A movie scene is made up of many shots, after all, and the core loop can have lots going on as well.

Egad! That sounds like it would a lot of time to create... I mean, you don't have to draw it out. Maybe you just write it out on pieces of paper, small dry erase boards, or sketch it out in your computer program of choice. It does force you to put the steps in order and think about play more now... which means fewer things needing to be fixed that could have been spotted earlier on...

This week's tip

Physical conventions are back, for the most part. Are they worth attending?

As briefly mentioned last week, there's definitely a cost to going. You're going to have to weigh those costs along with your other obligations you might miss (work, family, partner, kids, pets, plants)...

Personally, there's kind of a cost-benefit analysis I run in my head.

On the cost side, there's:

• The ticket / badge to get in

• Hotel / a place to sleep

• Snacks, food, and drink (whether cooking for yourself or eating out)

• Transportation costs (getting there and back)

• Printing / components for your games

• Chances to buy games / components

On the benefit side, there's:

• How many exhibitors there will be

• How many publishers I'm hoping to meet

• The events, seminars, and networking opportunities

• The chance to get some face time with publishers

• The chance to hear / see what publishers are working on

• Bring-and-buys, or other events to sell games

For me living in England, going to the UK Games Expo (about an hour train ride away) and Essen in Germany have definitely worth it. While I had a great time at Nuremberg, I'll need to wait and see about Nuremberg to see what sort of results it brings.

Something like Airecon next month (the 2nd biggest con in England) feels like it's worth it, because it's a few hours away by train / bus. I probably won't be pitching very much there, but I'll definitely be playtesting and playing a lot of cool stuff there.

Something like Gen Con and Origins (the two biggest cons in the US) would a lot more expensive for me to attend (plane flights across the Atlantic Ocean are rarely cheap), and the US lacks the public transportation options of Europe, so I'd have to rent a car... 

This math is necessarily imprecise, and is different for everyone. If you're in the Midwestern US and have a car, going to Gen Con and Origins are going to be a lot cheaper for you. It's not about exact numbers here, either, and might just come down to a judgement call.

What I’ve been working on last week

• Signed a contract for game #16

• Caught up on everything from Nuremberg (following up with publishers, sending on requested print-and-plays, and so on)

• Iterated and prepared a couple of games for playtesting this week

What's coming up this week

• Playtest Smite (area control and deck-building game where you're all Greek gods)

• Playtest Shell Company (wordless memory / set collection game)

• Finish organizing all the business cards and info I gleaned from Nuremberg

• Start researching American publishers

What's been your experience with conventions?

Looking ahead, it's pretty clear that they're back - and hopefully back for good. Reply and share your thoughts - I may quote you in the next edition =)

Thanks for reading!

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Thanks for reading, and see you next week!