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I agree with this other advice. Do "tabletop" first. It doesn't have to be fancy, even just notecards or paper. You can iterate very quickly on the core game lo

I agree with this other advice. Do "tabletop" first. It doesn't have to be fancy, even just notecards or paper. You can iterate very quickly on the core game loop and "finding the fun". If you do want something fancier than just paper and words, a great option is printing on full page sticker paper and then attach that to chipboard (you can get it cheap online) and then just cut it out. You have a game that feels a lot more real than just notecards. There are lots of online resources for fast prototyping of card and board games. There are lots of Discords around game design and a lot of game conventions have a "prototype" area where designers showcase their games to get feedback and improve them. There are podcasts like Ludology and Building the Game to help give more theory of game design dicussions. (If you are US based, look up Unpub, Protospiel, etc...) (I design card and board games as a hobby, the industry is very friendly and loves to mentor!)

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phatskat 2y ago
I listened to the Slay the Spire episode of a game design podcast, and when he mentioned that they were testing things with pencil and paper to “play” the game I was like “wow that’s so simple and so smart”
- Fire-Dragon-DoL 2y ago
  That works for slay the spire, but what about action games?
  - snarf21 2y ago
    On paper, you can test out the balance and math of all the "action" more deliberately. So taking a "fast twitch" game and pretending it is turn based for testing. Of course, you can math out the win/lose percentages and hit rates and adjust your numbers. But one of the good adages in game design is to first make the math right, and then make it fun. Players will perceive different success rates than the math bears out. (See MtG and shuffling and land draws) You may have to adjust off the perfect math to create the experience you want your players to have. It doesn't matter if your game is "fair" if no players feel and believe that and stop playing as a consequence.
  - phatskat 2y ago
    I would think you could apply some amount of paper and pencil iteration to most game types, and even if you can’t for action games, that’s fine. In the context of StS, the specifically were discussing how the mechanics of the Defect character would work. In something more like an action game eg an FPS, you could do something similar with trying out different sets of stats and perks and measuring approximate TTK vs other builds.

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phatskat 2y ago

I listened to the Slay the Spire episode of a game design podcast, and when he mentioned that they were testing things with pencil and paper to “play” the game I was like “wow that’s so simple and so smart”

Fire-Dragon-DoL 2y ago
That works for slay the spire, but what about action games?
- snarf21 2y ago
  On paper, you can test out the balance and math of all the "action" more deliberately. So taking a "fast twitch" game and pretending it is turn based for testing. Of course, you can math out the win/lose percentages and hit rates and adjust your numbers. But one of the good adages in game design is to first make the math right, and then make it fun. Players will perceive different success rates than the math bears out. (See MtG and shuffling and land draws) You may have to adjust off the perfect math to create the experience you want your players to have. It doesn't matter if your game is "fair" if no players feel and believe that and stop playing as a consequence.
- phatskat 2y ago
  I would think you could apply some amount of paper and pencil iteration to most game types, and even if you can’t for action games, that’s fine. In the context of StS, the specifically were discussing how the mechanics of the Defect character would work. In something more like an action game eg an FPS, you could do something similar with trying out different sets of stats and perks and measuring approximate TTK vs other builds.