Board Game Business Podcast - (From A Designer's Point of View) Top 10 New Designer Mistakes

[@apokai]

Very useful! Let me summarize it #1 - Work only on one game. #2 - Buying art #3 - Ignoring marketability #4 - Chasing trends #5 - Not listening to feedback #6 - Not remote blind playtesting #7 - Not playing other designer's game #8 - Not researching publishers #9 - Losing focus on game core #10 - Adding instead of cutting

[@Tahlorn]

"Not listening to feedback" is a HUGE one. And a spin-off of that is misinterpreting feedback. You need to be able to look at your game and see what's ugly.

[@arcubal]

Solid advice, guys! I'd add one to it, which I think is almost vital in the ever-evolving landscape of successful games: Theme-mechanic marriage. We all know that pasting a theme on top of a specific game core or rare game mechanic can destroy the game's image. We don't need another Zombie Viking or Chtulhu Dungeoncrawler clone. But it goes further still. Interweaving theme and mechanic in such a way that each decision or action in a turn supports the theme in general makes for a far more immersive experience. It's hard to pull off, but definitely enjoyable to tackle when designing a new game.

[@markdavies7776]

So I'm in the very early stages of designing my own game and I've now watched 3 of you videos. They have been super useful and I'm sure to watch more in due time. There are going to be SO many decisions to make in the coming months but with this advice I'm hoping to make a 'killer' game. (pun intended =])

[@zackhelmold9319]

Could you do something so that I can search and watch the rest of your videos? Such as putting the videos in a playlist or adding episode numbers in the titles.

[@billlynch3704]

I continue to really enjoy these, guys. Keep 'em coming!

[@dustinmorris6480]

I really enjoy these podcasts, they have great advice in them! Thanks for making them.

[@cartoon80s90s]

I love this series of episodes. They are the best board game thing on youtube right now.

[@darthcrypto5454]

^ +1

[@jttheat5445]

THIS WAS AMAZING. Thanks guys. My game is in the testing phase.

[@BlimpMcGee]

Great material, really a lot of these are obvious great suggestions The only thing that would make this even better is to have some more background on you guys, who are you? what makes you a reliable source? more great personal experiences would just add to the good work so far

[@TheForbiddenLimb]

+MarcusWindrune Good question! I think the best source for that is our "episode 0" from our podcast (traffic.libsyn.com/theforbiddenlimb/FLP000.mp3) or the About page on the blog (boardgame.business/about/).

[@roundtuit2587]

I love this series! Very useful. Question: At what point in the design process is it OK to use custom, potentially expensive components? Where is the balance between functionality and visual/tactile appeal? An abstract cube to a detailed miniature? I've been thinking about the recently funded KickStarter, "Daedalus Sentence" which is expected to have an MSRP of $150. The rotating circular board is pivotal (ha!) to the design, but I can't help but wonder if they could have rethought the design to be more cost effective without completely changing (and ruining) the feel. I'm currently working on a design with potentially custom pieces that need to be individually distinguished with level, powers, equipment, etc on the fly. I've gone through multiple iterations using colorful rubber o-rings that can slide on and off but I could easily make it more expensive by implementing custom, visually distinguishable, interlocking pieces. It could go from "That pawn has a red ring, so he has increased firepower" to "That pawn is obviously holding a gun. Enough said.", but I don't necessarily want to triple the manufacturing cost.

[@TheForbiddenLimb]

+Round Tuit It will be a lot more expensive to manufacture a custom piece, but it will also draw attention to your game and could help get you noticed over all the other games competing for attention. Also, the more copies you manufacture, the cheaper and more feasible it becomes. Since you mentioned Kickstarter, if you used it to self-publish the game, this is the perfect kind of stretch goal to start out with a common component and get more customized as funding increases. That way you're reducing your financial risk and making the coolest game you can afford to make. Overall, there's no perfect answer here since buzz and consumer interest is so hard to measure or predict. Good luck in making this tough decision!

[@darthcrypto5454]

Great stuff guys, very cool hearing what you have to share. Cheers!

[@rhymetime6381]

Good Cop, Bad Cop is so amazing!

[@hugmonger]

Hey its been 3 years since you guys put this video out but I just want you to know that yall have dumped a load of useful links for this first time game designer who is hoping to get a game out shortly and maybe even design a few more.

[@grantolson5286]

Looking to build an educational game. My main issue (FOR NOW) is finding a place to get a TON of individual questions printed. Questions, vocabulary and also scenarios. Who prints them? Any advice would be huge.

[@fluffyllama1505]

Is there a place to get a list of those websites for getting free photos/artwork?

[@chuckm1961]

+Fluffy Llama Yes, re-watch the video and write them down.

[@fluffyllama1505]

Thanks for the tip :| I was hoping for a way around that, but I guess I'll do it

[@TheForbiddenLimb]

+Fluffy Llama You can get them in the References section of our blog episode on Finding Art for Your Prototype: boardgame.business/2015/04/22/finding-art-for-your-prototype/

[@fluffyllama1505]

Thanks :)

[@jackhernandez9822]

I'm designing a game with a very unique concept ... After extensive research and concept development, I want to reach out to a professional game designer or publisher, but am sensitive about the material being hijacked. Should I take steps to protect my IP before approaching 3rd parties, or is there a more standardized way of doing things in this industry? Thanks.

[@OfficialTommyEch]

Might be too late but; in business you usually say that an idea doesn't have value in itself. Most stuff that has value these days have tons of hours of work behind them. So dont be afraid to pitch your idea. Finally, I promise you, most people wont have your vision in mind so they wont be as excited as you. It is my experience that people are only excited when you have something real and done to show. :-)

[@ks3333]

idea are worthless, i easily can come up with hundreds of great ideas...but the truth is these are worthless, and noone is interested to hijack/steal it.

[@TKOthunder]

What is a good publisher for a crime based board game?

[@MelanieMaguire]

watch from 13:30

[@sermanley7395]

Hey , complete noob but I have a major question, say I wanted to create a existing ip game , example let's say resident evil, can I use artwork and go ahead and create the game and try to sell it or would I be sued by capcom lol I'm assuming I cant do that, how would I get permission ?

[@JohnSmith-dd3zi]

FAIL FASTER

[@murrrr8288]

As an artist I encourage spending on art ;)

[@sea_triscuit7980]

I'm sure you do haha I'm crap at drawing/painting but very good at building terrain pieces so I got that going for me. I may have to go elsewhere for illustrations though.

[@amvmep8018]

This was just what I needed to learn. Thank you for having this video out.

[@kivikall]

This is a gold mine. I'm developing my own PC game but in reality it's more like boardgame so these videos helps a lot. I'm taking notes like crazy while watching these :D

[@Ratstail91]

I'm surprised "overscoping" isn't on this list.

[@FreedomReigns1000]

AMAZING CONTENT YOU GUYS!!!

[@DJRoksor]

I'm making an historical wargame (Romans, German, Celtic, Gallic, etc.). And I couldn't find good art from any of the links you mentioned :-(.

[@HotSauceTurtle]

Great list! I liked the last two in particular. As a game gets refined, it's hard to resist the urge to keep adding and adding, especially as you become very comfortable with your game. Wish I saw this list months ago. I've come to learn that explaining/writing rules is always more complicated than you would hope (less is better), and everything just boils down to that core experience. Everything else needs to just get out of the way or solve a very critical problem. Every extra component that doesn't enhance the core experience makes your game less focused and dilutes it.

[@WarjoyHeir]

Very useful tips! Thanks. Did you guys ever do an episode one getting into the industry/starting up?

[@paulstaker8861]

the core decision point. Does that apply to games with lots of choices like a 4x or RPG?

[@thepixalking6589]

This is valuable info!