The Stress of Publishing Your Own Games: Part 1

Whoops, so much for two posts a week! Well this post is just a little rant about stress. Working for other companies has always given me some level of stress, so I though if I work for myself that would no longer happen, but I was definitely wrong. When I decided to start publishing my own games, I wanted to release under a "company" name instead of my own name, so I filed a DBA. Sounds simple, but I spent over two hours on the State of Texas government website trying to figure out how to do it, somehow managed to get charged a dollar in the process, and never found an answer. That dollar ended up being very difficult to pay because they gave no information on how to make a payment. Eventually I found a downloadable form on the County Clerk's website (much easier to use that the State of Texas website), but that form needed to be notarized and brought in to the Clerk's office in person. So I did those things, ended up sitting in their office for about an hour, found out their systems were down, so I just dropped off my form with the fee and hoped for the best. They were supposed to send me a copy of the form once it was processed/accepted, but I never got that, so maybe it wasn't accepted? Maybe I'll never know? But just today I received in the mail a notice from the Texas Labor Law stating that I needed to send them $84 and post some sign in my office where all of my employees can see. Since I don't have an office or employees, and I don't even have a copy of my DBA so I expect I don't even have a company, I am really not sure what to do in this situation. I don't even know how they found me since I have no evidence my DBA was approved, and I've done no other official "business" as Astire Games (the name I chose for my company). I guess I'll just ignore it and hope for the best. Yay stress! Yay bureaucracy!

I'm Back!

Wow, it has been a while! I'm ready to start blogging again, and I have a lot to talk about now.

This first post will be to get up-to-date and explain my plan for continuing this blog. So here's what went down:

I graduated with my Master's degree in Entertainment Technology and went to work for a Virtual Reality company where I made small VR demos for the Oculus Rift. It was a great experience, but the team was small and the company was hardware-focused, so it was not giving me the opportunities I was looking for.

In 2014 I moved to Austin and attended the Denius-Sams Gaming Academy to obtain a Certificate of Leadership and Management (in the hopes of moving into more of a lead role on a larger team). During and after completing the certificate I did freelance design and gameplay programming for a couple of different companies targeting mobile apps.

At the end of last summer I landed a job at Certain Affinity (a AAA game developer working on FPS games) as a Systems Designer/Gameplay Scripter.

So currently I am working a day job making games, and by night I work on my own games under the indie name Astire Games - http://astiregames.com/

Whew, now that's out of the way, on to new things!

What I want to do with this blog: I'd like to keep discussing design ideas and issues and solutions as those ideas progress into full-fledged games. I'm also interested in sharing insights as I learn them, and not just about game design - also technical challenges and hardware, web development, start-up and small business topics, and how to market a game (what I'm learning right now!) plus, hopefully, starting a team.

Thanks for reading! Current goal: 2 posts a week!

Match 3 and Poker Words Playtest

My final playtest this semester tested the changes to my match 3 card game and my new poker-style word game.

Match 3 Changes

Second deck to draw into hand
Each player has 3 cards in hand at all times until that deck runs out
Spite - on opponents turn, steal a set they just made
Trap - Replace one card on board, if opponent flips this the lose their turn

Match 3 Feedback

Relying on memory makes it more of a puzzle and maybe not the right pacing for a family game
Could try dealing all cards with directions visible (more strategy less memory)
Newly added Spite cards are fun but too powerful
Possible fixes for Spite - skip net turn or don't draw card back
Cards in your hand have information on both sides, makes it confusing
Could "attach" trap or other cards by sliding them underneath existing cards on the board

Poker Words Rules

Each player is dealt 2 cards
Round of betting
3 cards are dealt to the middle (anyone can use them)
Round of betting
Each player may choose to trade cards with the deck
Each player is dealt a 3rd card
Round of betting
Two more cards dealt to the middle
Final round of betting
Each player chooses from their letters and the litters in the middle to make the highest valued word they can
Point system and letter distribution based on Scrabble
Player with the highest scoring word collects the pot
Part way through the playtest I removed betting, so play is basically the same but without rounds of betting, and at the end both players get the total number of points in their word (keep score each round, play to 100)

Poker Words Feedback

Flows better without betting
Seems like a good game for kids to play in the back seat on a car ride
Feels like a fun, quick, casual game
Could use a twist or interaction between players to add interest
Should cards be reshuffled each time or set aside so deck runs out?
Realized the deck was somehow missing A's...
Is there a way to hide/reveal info more?
Maybe swap cards in hand with center cards somehow?
Overall more fun than the two previous games

Steering a Ship

I once heard a designer say "I'm steering this ship" as an explanation of his role on the project, and I have often thought of that analogy since then.  If the project is a ship, then the designer who is tasked with finding the creative direction would make sense to be the person steering (or at least the person navigating).  Steering the ship seems like an exciting job, you can see your destination ahead and all it takes is convincing the ship to go in the right direction.

So the ship is the project, and it is afloat on the great open sea of ideas, and you - the designer - are steering it.  Ahead is a beautiful island that you know to be your destination, it is near enough that you can just make it out, but far enough that you are not sure how long it will take to get there.  In the beginning the sailing is smooth enough, the only trouble is the wind and water keep changing direction, but nothing your trusty crew can't handle.  As you continue along you start to notice your ship is veering left and right, and it is hard to stay on course, but you are not discouraged, you can still see the beautiful destination island ahead, and you know it will all be worth the trouble.  Then you start to notice other problems: the rudder no longer works, parts of the ship are falling off, you didn't bring enough rope, half your crew has gotten sea sick...Still, that island is growing ever nearer...Or you think it is.  That's when you notice that there are actually 5 islands ahead, and your crew look to you to pick one.  At this distance they all look the same, but you know that only one is the right one, which one to pick?  You try to convince your crew that you should visit each island in turn to determine the best one, but it is futile, the ship can only make the journey to one island if you are lucky.  So you make your best educated guess, you point your ship toward an island you think is the best and you forge onward.  The wind has been steadily picking up, and at this point it blows into a full storm.  Morale is low as your crew clings to the ship and tries to hold it upright, wondering if they will survive this storm as they have survived the storms of the past.  The storms clears and the remains of your ship and crew wash up onto the shore of an island...is it the right island?  After all you've been through, you can't even remember, but your crew runs ashore cheering and dancing in the sand, and it's the right island now.

Nov 4 Playtest Match 3 Card Game

I playtested the match 3 card game with Antonio, a fellow designer, and received some great feedback:

 - To set it apart from digital games, it could use more card game elements such as a 'hand' of cards the opponent cannot see, and ways to counter the opponent
 - Would be interesting to have other rules or instructions on one side of the card
 - Needs more complexity, another variable beyond color and direction of movement
 - Could add a way to score points, maybe each card could have a number of points on it as a variable
 - Some cards should be able to affect other cards
 - Would be fun to set traps for the oponent

Potential ideas for changes based on this playtest:

 - Each player has a hand of cards, and can use them to swap out cards from the play area
 - Card in the hand can be used directly against the opponent (counter)
 - Have special instructions on certain cards
 - Might need a separate deck for cards dealt into the hand

Match 3 Card Game Update

After giving some thought to this card game and the feedback I've been receiving for it, I've decided to make some changes.  I've decided that having cards that can only move one direction makes the game progress a bit too slowly, so I think all cards should have 2, 3, or 4 options for direction.  Also my playtesters seemed overwhelmed by "remembering" what was on the card, and rather than having a game about memory my intention was to make it more about surprises.  I used a couple of wild cards in my playtests, but the 'wild' part was clearly displayed on the front, and the back just had direction arrows.  Now I think the wild part should be on the back, and no arrows (wild cards can either move anywhere or not move at all).

Here are examples of what some of the cards look like now:

I also want to change the functions of the wild cards.  The lightening bolt cannot move, but if it is put into a set of 3 the player can collect every card that is touching the lightening bolt.  The heart can be moved anywhere on the board.  And the 'anti-wild' cannot move but can be a part of any set (it represents any color). 

I have also had some random ideas about having cards that have a different color on the back, and once you turn them over they don't turn back.  I'm not sure yet how to use this in the game, but it seems interesting. 

Here is a picture from playing my game:

Waking Mars

So far this blog has been devoted to my ideas, my playtest documentation, and general ramblings about design.  Today I feel like trying something new - analyzing a game I am playing.  Yes, I've had to do this in the past for classes or for research, but this time I am doing it out of genuine interest in the design behind a game I am currently enjoying.

Waking Mars, a game created by Tiger Style Games, I believe exhibits some truly unique features.  The core mechanics are nothing new, but cleanly execute - a 2D scroller that lets you walk on the ground or float up and down with a jet pack, and clicking to throw objects.  The movement control and physics simulation are comfortable and fluid, and not frustrating or cumbersome as I am accustom to in 2D games.  The story is interesting and not entirely over-used - an explorer discovering life on Mars.

The unique thing is the lack of violence...or perhaps the approach they take to removing violence.  There is violence towards me, the player, because the world is fairly hostile, however there is essentially nothing I can do to fight back against the world, I can only endure.  The world itself is fraught with danger - jagged rocks, crumpling caves, and steep drops if I forget to use my jet pack - but there is another danger: ferocious Martian lifeforms.  My defenses against these creatures is to distract them while I try to get past, quite a fascinating mechanic.  There is nothing I can do to harm the creatures or the world, however I can witness the creatures harming and killing each other, as I am a helpless observer of nature.

I have not beat this game yet, so I will likely post an update once I complete it, but I can already say that I highly recommend this game.  It is unique and innovative, and the art and sounds are compelling and the world is very immersive.