Stealing Game Mechanics - Board Game Design Time

For more, check out the blog post: bit.ly/Stealing...
In this episode of Board Game Design Time, Chris talks about the idea of "stealing" mechanics from games? What do you think?

[@LegoLoverDavid]

Stealing from one source is plagiarism. Stealing from multiple sources is research.

[@nexus2507]

Lol

[@HahaHaha-gy2xe]

Unless it’s a compilation

[@ddobrien1]

Re-watching this because I remember it was reassuring to me to be "very inspired" by an existing mechanism/element. BTW, I like to call it a "yoink" when I get a great idea form a game I've played.

[@JonBck]

I think this ties back to the idea of gameplay design patterns, by Björk and Holopainen. A lot of game mechanics can be described in a semi-generic way, and not tied to an individual game. This becomes quite obvious in older mechanics such as roll-and-move, where we no longer knows who invented it. In that case it's quite obvious you can use it, but it becomes a bit more problematic in more modern mechanick, such as eg card drafting, where we actually knows where it started. But in a way it is the same, in a hundred year those mechanics will also be okd and common knowledge.

[@neilgooge]

I couldn't agree more... when I first came to game design I tried so hard to not copy any other games mechanics, to be so original... that three years in I hadn't finished a game. Now... I still haven't finished a game, but, I am a lot closer to finished games now that I don't worry about creating the ground breaking, most innovative games and mechanics ever. So much of what we consider to be originality comes from, as you mention, the way people combine what has come before in to something new. Of course, at times, people do come up with some new ground breaking never before seen approach to something. But even some of those games considered to be ground breaking or innovative, are just innovative combinations of ideas from other places... Great vid as always...

[@onethousandxp]

+neil googe Thanks Neil!

[@casualgamer542]

Your response feels like it came directly from me. I've literally been in the exact same scenario...3 years in and not a finished game but I am getting closer.

[@0042090]

"Transform" is the word you're looking for! :) Kirby Ferguson has a realy cool mini series on creativity and how our thoughts are influenced by existing material. It's called Everything Is A Remix.

[@geckoplays9362]

Bummer, was hoping the talk was about "stealing mechanics" like the captain from Coup and all that :P

[@anthonywmiller]

“All wisdom is plagiarism; only stupidiy is original.” ― Hugh Kerr

[@dodec8449]

+Tony Miller "Good artists copy, great artists steal." ― Pablo Picasso

[@stephanboxall4541]

Imagination is more important than knowledge. -Albert Einstein

[@richarddunn7017]

In no case does copyright protection for an original work of authorship extend to any idea, procedure, process, system, method of operation, concept, principle, or discovery, regardless of the form in which it is described, explained, illustrated, or embodied in such work.

[@marialindqvist7390]

could argue that _stealing_ removes something from someone.

[@atherisentertainment2208]

Great video! Thanks for sharing :) This is true. So many people are fearful about borrowing mechanisms that currently exist. Though, it is possible and common to make a mechanism one's own.

[@Kendosmemeshop]

This video gave me so much confidence. I'm in the initial design phase of my first board game. I was inspired by a few games I've played in the last couple years. I really enjoyed them and they had some similarities, but all of them had a level of frustration that could take me out of the experience. I wanted to use similar mechanics while changing it to be my own, but I felt like I was cheating for not being 100% original. But now hearing you and the people in the comments, I don't feel so bad. I can improve an already existing mechanic and make it my own. It's inspiration, not theft. Thank you for this.

[@SuLLyZorZ]

stealing mechanics is literally all i do for games i make. I find something cool a game uses, and implement it in a way i feel is better for a diffferent game from the one it's in.

[@chaoslord8918]

Same here. It's like when you find a mechanic in a game and you're like, "I really like this, but I wish it didn't have that." Taking mechanics from different games and mixing them can have interesting results, too.

[@laartwork]

It was a weird ruling (i think pac man) that a game mechanic can't be protected. But can you imagine how few games would exist if everyone had to be original.

[@JovinGhoul23]

It's far easier to make a good idea amazing, than it is to have a good idea

[@kevinqueen6246]

Things have changed, monopoly use to sue anyone who even made a board game, one of the reasons they are the leader in the market in sells. Times have changed though, Hasbro has been far less open to suing I think because they have so much of the market today. Its really what's allowed the board game market to explode. I've just decided to get back into game design because of this have some great things planned

[@wilagaton9627]

I see three major problems to making a truly unique/obniously unique game: 1.) New design curve - because of the uniqueness of the game, there is no real data on what it means to be balanced. Its not like when you have a similar resource system like MtG, a designer can just look on how Magic does their lands and mana. 2.) New learning curve - not only is it difficult for the designers, but also to the players. Their is a "language" where all card games are discussed. Its the reason that when we turn a card 90° when we use it, we still call it tapping, even though it isnt the technical term. If the game is so unique that an entire "language" needs to be made, it will be a huge hurdle that alot of players wont bother with. Now, its entirely possible for games to be totally unique. See Yu-gi-oh and Cardfight Vanguard. But. . . 3.) If the game hinges on the uniqueness of the game, whatever makes it unique will be nothing more than a gimmick. And the last thing you want your game to be remembered is thegame that failed because of the lame gimmick. Its fine to take other game mechanics, as long as it is placed in context of your game. . .

[@ukdane]

#innovationthroughinspiration

[@onethousandxp]

+Robin Lees #hashtag

[@shawnmarcil4039]

Great series; it was an auto-subscribe! Awesome tips and I like that the focus is to just be creative and design what you enjoy without worrying about what happens with the game in the end. Just one thing though regarding the use of the word "mechanics", it is not the short form of "mechanisms", which I believe is more the word you are speaking about in this segment. (Sorry, for being that guy!) "Mechanics" is an area of science or the individuals who fix mechanical things. Keep the videos coming!

[@onethousandxp]

Thanks Shawn! In most design circles, while the term "mechanics" may not be technically correct, the terms are used interchangeably! ;)

[@saluk7419]

This was a great series. I'm in the middle of a design challenge of my own and nearly every video has given me a new perspective on it. I wish there were more episodes!

[@onethousandxp]

We do too! We still want to do more, but it turns out trying to publish a game is a lot of work heheh

[@saluk7419]

Well that explains a lot, I hadn't heard about the game. Good luck with that, and don't forget to come up for air every now and then!

[@ko9]

Interesting and inspiring topic, wishing there were more of these! Btw, I think trepidatious was the perfect word 😉

[@onethousandxp]

+Peter Vel Woohoo! (also, I'm working on making some more)

[@tomkent4656]

There's nothing new under the Sun.

[@lonewolf2072]

if you mean take one element and tweak it from one source, that's reverse engineering

[@kainuipenaloza9395]

I can see in the backround, YOU PLAY D&D!!! :D

[@Jimmyageek]

I m Creating a Turn Base Attack System in My Fablelock RPG Board Game

[@hahahohol]

The word of the day is --- Adopt!

[@semaislonely2]

Thank's for it.

[@starbugmechanic5236]

“You wouldn’t kill a policeman then steal his hat, poop in his hat, Mail the hat to his widow and steal the hat from her”. I didnt get that exactly right.

[@suntzu6122]

Imo mechanics cant be taboo to copy. It would all be about as absurd as saying im using 6 sided dice or a deck of cards so you cant. Always goes back to simple phrase: treat people how you want to be treated yourself.

[@monniebiloneyart]

lol, I stole Betrayal on the house on the Hill to make a Labyrinth game (Jim henson's). Nothing better then painting over games!

[@chaoslord8918]

I think that if you even ask yourself the question "Is this just a ripoff of something else?", you'll be in good shape. I mean, the opposite of that could be knowingly and shamelessly reskinning an existing game like Monopoly and calling "Pomonoly" or something. Don't do that.

[@Disthron]

You've got some pretty mixed messages here dude. Steal.... but don't steal, steal fearlessly.... but don't steal! How about you use a different word? Like take, you take that mechanic that would be perfect for your game. Believe it or not, not everything is owned by someone. Witch is why taking something doesn't have the same connotation as stealing it. Think of it like a blacksmith. With each mechanic being like a different metal. You look at the work of other smiths, to see what metals were used and how they solved problems with the project. Then you take raw ingots, smelt them together to form new alloys, shape and mold them to implement your ideas and solve your games problems. I don't know, do you think that's a better analogy? Overall I think your message is positive but I think your communication is a little muddled.

[@onethousandxp]

Probably! Thanks for watching!

[@stephanboxall4541]

Damn, you should a philosophy channel as well.

[@ruleaus7664]

There's nothing wrong with taking mechanics from other games. With board games, there's only so much you can do as far as mechanics go anyway. It's not like creating music, where there's an endless amount of original ideas you can conceive of (because music has way more variables like tempo, rhythm, pitch, timing, etc.). If you try to go to great lengths to create a new game mechanic, chances are you're only achieving the same end result that you could with a different mechanic, but in a less efficient way. Basically, you're over-complicating things. I'd say a board game's originality comes from what the sum of its parts makes, not what each individual part is.

[@sawderf741]

I'm may incorporate smoke piles in my game.

[@albertomiranda2744]

That's not Stealing, that's Piracy!

[@henrykorvus6954]

Instantly subscribed.

[@damienbourgeois6929]

Loved this video, I really liked the way you described the creative process, that's a subscribe for me ! 👌🏼🔥

[@nemo9396]

I feel like this video could have lasted 1 minute

[@chrisken8902]

Dude, you has something on your lip! have you considered removing the wart surgically by a qualified doctor ?

[@Kylandsk8]

I love this series! When are you going to make another video?

[@onethousandxp]

+Kylandsk8 Thank you! As soon as we can get around to it. We're currently in the process of getting ready to publish our first game, so have been super busy!

[@Kylandsk8]

+One Thousand XP That's cool, glad to hear you haven't stopped it!

[@Tr1pleOseveN]

Great example is exploding kitten to uno.....anyone agree?

[@stevensilvers3852]

Tr1pleOseveN A game isn’t like Uno just because you draw cards from a draw pile and put them into a discard pile. I don’t think exploding kittens is as similar to Uno as some people like you think.

[@danielescorce]

You talked about how to say it, half of the video... I don´t understand why.

[@Diabolik771]

Agricola stole from Caylus.

[@anthonybell659]

I understand what you’re trying to say in a weird roundabout way, but I don’t really agree. I think that we should draw upon other games as influence, which should be apparent in the games we create. Straight up taking another mechanic from a game and putting into your own will hardly ever work, and won’t lead to ingenuity. Game mechanics need to make sense in the context of a game.

[@onethousandxp]

It depends of course on how granularly you're going to define a game's mechanism.

[@anthonybell659]

For example, tapping a card to produce mana is a great mechanic used in magic. If you put that mechanic in UNO, it doesn’t work. If you put that mechanic in a game you create, it will probably play a lot like magic.

[@jtcaban]

Remixing

[@Luchiop]

If there`s anyone designing a game right now, I can provide the art. Always wanted to do it and I`m just too dumb to design mechanics so I`m just rethemeing.

[@parkertownley-smith6109]

I'm actually struggling to find an artist. My game needs a ton of artwork and I lack the skill. Is there a better way I can contact you either than KZbin comments? Do you have an email? If you could send me some of your work we may be able to arrange something.

[@Luchiop]

@@parkertownley-smith6109 IG: @lwi_dibuja

[@Luchiop]

@@parkertownley-smith6109 also: [e-mail]

[@jokesterthemighty227]

zoom more

[@alexnestor9459]

Is it OK to offer a bit of criticism? Try scripting episodes less tightly. You sound like me when I writing a paper and am trying to pad for length. I all ready know from the Podcast that you can be insightful without sounding so artificial and forced.

[@onethousandxp]

+Alex Nestor Thanks for the feedback, I appreciate it!

[@ukdane]

#innovationthroughinspiration

[@anthonybell659]

I understand what you’re trying to say in a weird roundabout way, but I don’t really agree. I think that we should draw upon other games as influence, which should be apparent in the games we create. Straight up taking another mechanic from a game and putting into your own will hardly ever work, and won’t lead to ingenuity. Game mechanics need to make sense in the context of a game.

[@Big_Dai]

Someone didn't pay attention