I’ve done it now, I’ve designed a different game from the one I originally visioned. That seems to happen to me, but it leads to the creation of fun games…so I don’t think I’ll stop doing it this way anytime soon.
What I mean by this is the Graphic Design is My Passion which exists in my mind, isn’t the Graphic Design is My Passion that exists in the real world. So, I did what made the most sense to me, I fundimentally changed practically every aspect of the game.
Don’t worry, folks, if you’ve played an early version of GDMP, I’m still making that game, I’m just changing the name and theme a bit. That game is now called Tortured Artist Design Factory. Look out for the first design journal entry on that game soon.
But as for this game, GDMP is a different beast. Allow me to explain.
What’s the new passion?
Graphic Design is My Passion is still the passion here, but what you do in the game is different. This is no longer a cooperative game. Right now, the prototype is based on someone designing a pixel art-looking thing based on a braod category. Other players now have secret objectives, which mostly conflict with one another. These objectives right now are simple “have the most of a certain color of cubes” types of goals. Players will offer the designer cubes, of which the designer chooses a smaller amout of, then tell the designer over the course of the game whether they approve of the design or not.
The round ends when at least half of the non-designer playerse approve of the design, and the designer scores when they can achieve that. The round can also end when the designer’s work reaches a certain number of cubes in length or height, and if the designer doesn’t have that approval, they don’t get to score. 😦
I was able to play this prototype recently and folks enjoyed the direction and uniqueness of the game.
I don’t yet have any photos of this prototype, it’s wooden cubes and cards, super basic. But I also have opted to not photograph it yet because this is a sort of proof of concept, and thematically it’s still not where I want the game to be.
Then what do you want this game to be?
When I think if Graphic Design is My Passion, I think of–and this is showing my age a bit–but I think of all the kids who designed myspace websites in the early 00s, thinking they were visual graphic design artist geniuses or something.
I want this game to reflect that, and so I’m going to work to make this game more about players designing their personal myspace/live journal-era page with all its flashy goodness. I want other players to have criteria for how they get friends and for a player to win when they’ve filled their top friends list.
I plan on using boards and either transparent cards or acrylic cutouts for players to decorate their sites with.
This will take a lot of effort to nail down, so please be patient! I think this game will take a lot more time to design than I previously envisioned, mainly because I’m changing so many elements.
What about the kickstarter?
I jumped the gun a little bit, thinking I could launch my first kickstarter this fall. For one, I still don’t have a lot of attention on my games at all and my email list is still quite small. For two, this game isn’t where I want it to be. I must launch a kickstarter with an amazing game, and it’s going to take more time for this to meet my qualifications.
Mutant Pizza 