3 ms·

Definitely seeing some parallels between this and the board game industry, which I have been trying (mostly) unsuccessfully to get signed games over the past si

Definitely seeing some parallels between this and the board game industry, which I have been trying (mostly) unsuccessfully to get signed games over the past six years. I have noticed that the most sure-fire way to become a board game designer in the space seems to be #1: volunteering all of your time manning booths at conventions for publishers until you're offered a job with them, and then work for them for a bit and eventually get a shot at one of your designs, or #2: starting a board game review and promotion channel, becoming friendly with publishers that way, and then eventually transition that into a job working for one of them (I've seen it happen to about a dozen people I know personally, but I can't really do the same, I already have a well-paying day job and I'm trying to do this on the side, not as a full-time vocation). So the easiest path to being a game designer is to not be a game designer but do something adjacent, then eventually you're given a chance to be a game designer. The most recent proof of this path to success is Roy Cannaday, who edits and stars in videos for the largest board game channel, The Dice Tower. He built up a name for himself over several years by making videos, and that let him get his own game, Last Light in front of other publishers, found one willing to go for it, and it found major success in crowdfunding (raised $500k, which is a major success even for popular designers...and also more than the previous three Kickstarter campaigns by the same publisher combined) in part because everyone knew who he was from his videos and it was talked up by other people who have made it in the industry. And this is his first design. Thankfully I don't think there's an "MFA" equivalent. There's no prestigious board game design school to go to :). There's also the Kickstarter route (i.e. the self-pub equivalent), but that has it's own set of pitfalls, especially now that shipping containers have quadrupled in price in the past two years. And also it's an order of magnitude more work than just designing and pitching to publishers. The one game I did get signed was kind of by accident. I knew an established game designer through a friend, and had given him a prototype that I had only playtested a few times and asked him to play it (and a couple other games) and give me some feedback. Turns out six months later he decided to form his own small publishing studio and said "The more we play this game the more we liked it, can I sign it?" Which again leads more evidence that it's who you know, not how good or polished a game is. I've got other prototypes I think are stronger designs that have gotten a lot more time and attention that I haven't been able to convince publishers to even take a prototype to evaluate, including one that was a finalist in a game design competition that also won a slot in an online pitching event to pitch to 30 publishers at once, and no interest. The article did help give me some ideas for how to increase my chances, and it's become pretty clear I need to start writing articles and start putting them out there, maybe do my own substack. Probably should start making more videos also but I really don't have time to edit those. And also don't let not having got past the gatekeepers yet get to me. I kind of let that happen a bit since I've tried for six years and several of my friends have had much better luck than I have had, in less time (but they did have more focused and dedicated effort towards it), but I need to get over it and not let it sabotage my efforts.

bambax 4y ago
Why not try the self-publishing route, with or without a Kickstarter? Just have the game made, put it out there on Amazon, see what happens? It's true that shipping costs from China have kind of exploded, but you can find manufacturers in the US or Canada for small series / prototypes; and there are always slow routes that cost less. I think it's worth trying if you have something that you know works.
- cableshaft 4y ago
  It's a lot of effort and upfront cost (if not Kickstarter) and also marketing is about as important as the product itself, and marketing has never been something I've excelled at. And I know firsthand that running a Kickstarter is a super time consuming and exhausting process (ran a couple while working for a game developer). I was hoping I could not have to worry about that and just use a publisher. I might actually have been further along if not for the pandemic. I was starting to build up my network a decent amount but then all conventions stopped happening with the pandemic and that killed all my momentum. Some people converted their games to digital versions (using something like Tabletop Simulator) and kept pitching virtually, and I did a little of that, but not enough. For a while it was all I could do to just to keep the family afloat during the first year of that pandemic, as we lost almost all of my wife's income. I am considering maybe doing a crowdsale through TheGameCrafter at some point, as they can handle the manufacturing and distribution easily, but it'll be more expensive for the end user and they get an order of magnitude less sales than on Kickstarter. But it could be more manageable for the time I have, and require no upfront cost. Another thing that's started happening more on Kickstarter is people putting up Print and Play Roll and Write games, where you don't need anything manufactured and shipped, and some of them are doing well. I'd have to design a roll and write game first before I can do that though :). I'm also planning to start going to board game conventions again this year, so maybe I can start rebuilding my network again. It's looking like I'll only have time to go to one, though, and it's not the best one for pitching games (that one is in a few weeks and I won't be able to take the time off from work to go to it, also the main game I want to pitch isn't quite ready for pitching yet). Honestly it just seems like the board game industry is in kind of a messy situation right now, so my focus has shifted a bit. I can code video games, so I'm more focused on making video games again lately (which can easily explode into a ton of work and effort that way also, but at least I don't have to worry about the mess of physical manufacturing and self-publishing is super easy). It's looking like in some sectors there might still be a way to have a fairly simple game and make some good money, such as in the VR space.

bambax 4y ago

Why not try the self-publishing route, with or without a Kickstarter? Just have the game made, put it out there on Amazon, see what happens? It's true that shipping costs from China have kind of exploded, but you can find manufacturers in the US or Canada for small series / prototypes; and there are always slow routes that cost less. I think it's worth trying if you have something that you know works.

cableshaft 4y ago
It's a lot of effort and upfront cost (if not Kickstarter) and also marketing is about as important as the product itself, and marketing has never been something I've excelled at. And I know firsthand that running a Kickstarter is a super time consuming and exhausting process (ran a couple while working for a game developer). I was hoping I could not have to worry about that and just use a publisher. I might actually have been further along if not for the pandemic. I was starting to build up my network a decent amount but then all conventions stopped happening with the pandemic and that killed all my momentum. Some people converted their games to digital versions (using something like Tabletop Simulator) and kept pitching virtually, and I did a little of that, but not enough. For a while it was all I could do to just to keep the family afloat during the first year of that pandemic, as we lost almost all of my wife's income. I am considering maybe doing a crowdsale through TheGameCrafter at some point, as they can handle the manufacturing and distribution easily, but it'll be more expensive for the end user and they get an order of magnitude less sales than on Kickstarter. But it could be more manageable for the time I have, and require no upfront cost. Another thing that's started happening more on Kickstarter is people putting up Print and Play Roll and Write games, where you don't need anything manufactured and shipped, and some of them are doing well. I'd have to design a roll and write game first before I can do that though :). I'm also planning to start going to board game conventions again this year, so maybe I can start rebuilding my network again. It's looking like I'll only have time to go to one, though, and it's not the best one for pitching games (that one is in a few weeks and I won't be able to take the time off from work to go to it, also the main game I want to pitch isn't quite ready for pitching yet). Honestly it just seems like the board game industry is in kind of a messy situation right now, so my focus has shifted a bit. I can code video games, so I'm more focused on making video games again lately (which can easily explode into a ton of work and effort that way also, but at least I don't have to worry about the mess of physical manufacturing and self-publishing is super easy). It's looking like in some sectors there might still be a way to have a fairly simple game and make some good money, such as in the VR space.