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,…
Category: axioms
“COVER ME!”: Convenient covers for things you don’t know how to do
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…
Socializing with a purpose
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,…
PX 7: Theme v. Mechanics
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…
PX 4: Neuroscience and the Thinky Bits
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…
Player Experience (PX) Series #1: A Primer on User Experience and Interface Design
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…
Yearly Goals 2015 Edition
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…
Handy Bike Tip #1
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…
Halloween Costume Considerations
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…