Skip to content
woodar.dj
woodar.dj

Jonathan Woodard inflicts things upon the internet

  • Home
  • Tech
  • Games
  • Politics
  • Fiction
  • Personal
  • About
woodar.dj

Jonathan Woodard inflicts things upon the internet

Category: axioms

Game Design by “Particles”

Posted on 29 Jan 201929 Jan 2019 By Jonathan Woodard

Something I’ve been toying with lately, is the idea of game design I’ve been calling “particles”; different than when Gil Hova describes gameplay in terms of “atoms”, where a discrete unit of play can’t be split; but a game design system perhaps orthogonal to the ideas of theme-first / mechanics-first,…

Read more

“COVER ME!”: Convenient covers for things you don’t know how to do

Posted on 2 May 20173 Jul 2017 By Jonathan Woodard

This is a second little anecdote about game design I absorbed during undergrad, while studying video games, which I think have some crossover consideration with board game design. See the entry “Bonus!“ for the first. My takeaway from “Bonus!” was that even if you can’t make something work, or there’s a technical hurdle…

Read more

Socializing with a purpose

Posted on 18 Apr 201718 Apr 2017 By Jonathan Woodard

A few weeks ago, Andrea and I were sitting at a brewery discussing the ‘why’ of various things — when she asked: “Well, how often do you stop to think about why you like the things you like?” and she threw out board games as an example. Luckily for the conversational repartee,…

Read more

PX 7: Theme v. Mechanics

Posted on 5 Apr 20168 Jun 2016 By Jonathan Woodard

This is the seventh entry in a multi-part essay covering board game “Player Experience” or “PX”. The earlier installments set up some an awesome baseline we build on below, so head back and check them out! I’ve written before about how I like to approach designing — and I know that there’s a spread of opinion…

Read more

PX 4: Neuroscience and the Thinky Bits

Posted on 15 Mar 201611 May 2016 By Jonathan Woodard

This is part four in a multi-part essay covering board game “Player Experience” or “PX” The earlier posts aren’t prerequisites for this one, but I recommend checking them out anyway 🙂 This week, we’re going to tackle brain chemistry, neurotransmitter hormones, and some of the deeper psychological aspects of what’s going on…

Read more

Player Experience (PX) Series #1: A Primer on User Experience and Interface Design

Posted on 23 Feb 20161 Mar 2016 By Jonathan Woodard

This is an installment in a multi-part essay covering board game “Player Experience” or “PX” feel free to start at the beginning, or just jump right in! To begin our exploration of Player Experience (PX), I feel it’s important to take a step back, and understand some underlying concepts. Luckily, there have…

Read more

Yearly Goals 2015 Edition

Posted on 10 Feb 201511 Feb 2015 By Jonathan Woodard

The trouble with not having a goal is that you can spend your life running up and down the field and never score. —Bill Copeland I know a lot of folks who poo-poo “New Years resolutions”, and with good reason. Firstly, New Years itself is fairly arbitrary: there’s nothing intrinsically special about…

Read more

Handy Bike Tip #1

Posted on 17 Mar 2009 By Jonathan Woodard

When you get a flat, make sure you check not only the tire for burrs, pokes, nails and bits of glass, but also the rim & rimtape for damage, holes and rough bits. I’m on my fourth tube since swapping my rear Kenda out for a road tire, 100% due…

Read more

Halloween Costume Considerations

Posted on 2 Oct 2008 By Jonathan Woodard

Now that it’s October, it’s time to start thinking about that greatest of all holidays, Halloween.  And thoughts of Halloween inevitably lead to thoughts of costumes, that most important aspect of that greatest of holidays. After several years of careful observation of costumes at various Halloween parties, I’ve discovered that…

Read more

Galactic Impact

Turn-based space epic in a massive online universe. Can be played in 15 minute sessions every few days using any web browser!

Inspired by the classics of the 4X genre; free to play forever with optional subscription to unlock convenience features. No pay-to-win, loot boxes, or NFTs.

New features, game mechanisms, and modes of play releasing weekly.

Start your space empire now! →

Valour

A strategy board game about the Gallic War, as told by the Gauls.

Only the tribes which put up the fiercest resistance in the face of inevitable conquest will be remembered by history!

Coming soon. Read more →

Categories

Archives

Posts via email

Recent Posts

  • Short Story: The Sorceress
  • Galactic Impact
  • Eulogy for my Mom
  • Took/taking a little break?
  • Big News 2019!
Tweets by woodardj

Recent Comments

  • MiguelHP on Asana Instagantt Chrome Plugin
  • woodardj on “Award Winning” Game Designer
  • Patrick Tumpane on “Award Winning” Game Designer
  • Conor McGoey on Origins 2017 Roundup
  • woodardj on “COVER ME!”: Convenient covers for things you don’t know how to do
©2025 woodar.dj | WordPress Theme by SuperbThemes