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• According to Steve Jackson's 2011 Report to Stakeholders, Steve Jackson Games grossed $3.5 million in 2010, with sales of the Munchkin line accounting for more than 75% of that total and sales of two dice games introduced in 2010 – Zombie Dice and Cthulhu Dice – accounting for 8.4% of sales. Thus, SJG's number one priority for 2011 should come as no surprise: "[K]eep the core Munchkin sets, and Munchkin Quest, in print."
• Mark Rosewater, who is a Wizards of the Coast employee and head designer of Magic: The Gathering, writes a weekly column on Wizards.com called "Making Magic" that focuses on design issues related to M:TG. Often Rosewater's columns are relevant to the topic of game design period, no matter what game or genre might be under discussion. In a February 2011 column about combat mechanisms, for example, he segued from combat mechanisms to the topic of player choice in game design, a section that deserves quoting in full:
Quote:
The trick I always use when I consider adding choices is to question if the choice is doing good things for your game:
* Does it create decisions that are fun to solve? Players tend to enjoy a choice between two good things more than a choice between two bad ones. Picking out your flavor of ice cream is fun. Choosing how someone gets to punch you is not. We do make some "damned if you do, damned if you don't" griefer cards, but we are careful to keep them from being too easy to play.
* Do the players have all the information to make the choice? A common design mistake is to give the players a choice but not provide the information they need to be able to make the choice. This makes the players feel helpless and tends to frustrate them.
* Does the choice matter? Another common design mistake is to give the players two choices that don't have any real impact. Players are smart and will figure out when a choice is only an illusion. Remember, gamers are intelligent (that's partly why they've chosen to game as a hobby), fooling them is a bad game design strategy because they will ultimately see through it.
* Do the choices lead somewhere? Remember that the act of making a choice is not what is fun for players. What is fun is accomplishing something directly as a result of your decisions. Having the decision mean something is what's fun, not the act of making the decision. Players enjoy looking back and being happy that they were able to make the right decision. The moment of the decision-making is not where the happiness lies.
You'll see a common thread through all the above issues. The choice has to serve the game and the desires of the player. Choosing merely for the sake of choosing isn't enjoyable and will lead to bad game play. Your job as a game designer is to use choices as a limited resource that are put strategically where the game most needs them.
• Have you participated in a Settlers of Catan tournament and been a semi-finalist in the U.S., Mexico or Canada for any North American qualifier (top 4) or World qualifier (top 16) since 2006? Then you have a chance to compete in the Catan Tournament of Masters Invitational that Mayfair Games is sponsoring at Gen Con 2011. Application details on the Mayfair website.* Does it create decisions that are fun to solve? Players tend to enjoy a choice between two good things more than a choice between two bad ones. Picking out your flavor of ice cream is fun. Choosing how someone gets to punch you is not. We do make some "damned if you do, damned if you don't" griefer cards, but we are careful to keep them from being too easy to play.
* Do the players have all the information to make the choice? A common design mistake is to give the players a choice but not provide the information they need to be able to make the choice. This makes the players feel helpless and tends to frustrate them.
* Does the choice matter? Another common design mistake is to give the players two choices that don't have any real impact. Players are smart and will figure out when a choice is only an illusion. Remember, gamers are intelligent (that's partly why they've chosen to game as a hobby), fooling them is a bad game design strategy because they will ultimately see through it.
* Do the choices lead somewhere? Remember that the act of making a choice is not what is fun for players. What is fun is accomplishing something directly as a result of your decisions. Having the decision mean something is what's fun, not the act of making the decision. Players enjoy looking back and being happy that they were able to make the right decision. The moment of the decision-making is not where the happiness lies.
You'll see a common thread through all the above issues. The choice has to serve the game and the desires of the player. Choosing merely for the sake of choosing isn't enjoyable and will lead to bad game play. Your job as a game designer is to use choices as a limited resource that are put strategically where the game most needs them.
• In what should come as a surprise to no one, more and more game publishers around the world are making their way to Facebook. Surprised Stare Games (UK), Cranio Creations (Italy), and many more have shown up since the start of 2011. If you want to see what's coming from a smaller publisher, following the company on Facebook is ideal as they often talk about prototypes, playtesting, artwork and so on.
• Ludology is a new podcast from Ryan Sturm and Geoff Engelstein. The first episode, released Feb. 7, 2011, explored the topic "What Is a Game?" and episode #2, scheduled for Feb. 21, will explore the question "Why Do People Play Games?"
• Designer Bruno Faidutti and GMT's Rodger MacGowan will be the Guests of Honor at Orccon, which takes place Feb. 18-21, 2011 in Los Angeles. Late notice to be sure, but you can still make it!
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