This series is really great. I think what would help a lot of people is a discussion on the specifics of your mechanics and how you come up with them - things like specific statistics, etc. For me, it's pretty straightforward to sit down, make a simple game sketch, connect mechanics to theme, etc. What's difficult is coming up with the player powers, stats for all kinds of things, etc. It's what holds me back on, literally, all my designs. Frustrating! Anyway, great series.
Great to hear you’re enjoying the series Ruben - and thank you for the suggestion too! It’s always tough to decide how much detail I’ll get into on any given topic but I have thought about maybe doing an episode when the game is further along, recapping some mechanics and some of the more interesting details of how I got there. In the meantime, always happy to answer any specific questions too!
You've done such a good job with this series. I feel very fortunate to have discovered it. One thought: Have you considered creating digital components and playtesting the game on Tabletop Simulator? That's one way to iterate quickly without having to create new components as well, and not having to get out the markers, rulers, and scissors if you just want to make a few changes. Another bonus is that it facilitates remote playtesting, since you can play it online with gamers around the world, with several iterations able to be played at once, etc.
Thanks! We'll actually be starting work on a TTS version of the game soon and will be sharing it with testers and the broader community when it's done!
I'm just starting to look into this project and looks great! I dont know anything about the gameplay but love the time mechanic, can I just say that if the board had an electronic component where it randomly moves and speed up time by itself I would back this in an instant!
Top notch production! Just stumbled across the game on fb and blew through the series on making it. The quality is well beyond the views it has so far, so hopefully more views and interest keep coming as you get further along the marketing phase. Saw the final board and it looks awesome!
Fantastic to see a real board in motion! To make sure the scarab movement ended up well distributed, did you start out with some math, or just keep modifying and testing your educated guesses?
Great question! I started with some calculated parameters around the number and configuration of openings in the rotating corridors, the number of turns in a game and the volume of scarabs I hoped to see over the course of the game. I then ran the test based on those initial parameters and I'd record the results. I'd then adjust some (or all) of those parameters and re-test, recording the results until I got a a distribution that felt roughly consistent, but still with some nice variability from test to test. It took a fair bit of testing and adjusting... a couple dozen times or so in these initial tests.
Haha, yeah! We attended our first conference in Toronto (Breakout 2022) to start showing off the game for the first time and had a great response! We're all feeling very humbled! =)
@@WeirdwoodManor the gencon 2022 video I saw looked pretty awesome. He two rotating rings and ease of moving rooms is exciting. Scarabs look really good. Looking forward to seeing or hearing more soon and you did a great job explaining the game.
This series is really great. I think what would help a lot of people is a discussion on the specifics of your mechanics and how you come up with them - things like specific statistics, etc. For me, it's pretty straightforward to sit down, make a simple game sketch, connect mechanics to theme, etc. What's difficult is coming up with the player powers, stats for all kinds of things, etc. It's what holds me back on, literally, all my designs. Frustrating! Anyway, great series.
Great to hear you’re enjoying the series Ruben - and thank you for the suggestion too! It’s always tough to decide how much detail I’ll get into on any given topic but I have thought about maybe doing an episode when the game is further along, recapping some mechanics and some of the more interesting details of how I got there. In the meantime, always happy to answer any specific questions too!
You've done such a good job with this series. I feel very fortunate to have discovered it.
One thought: Have you considered creating digital components and playtesting the game on Tabletop Simulator? That's one way to iterate quickly without having to create new components as well, and not having to get out the markers, rulers, and scissors if you just want to make a few changes. Another bonus is that it facilitates remote playtesting, since you can play it online with gamers around the world, with several iterations able to be played at once, etc.
Thanks! We'll actually be starting work on a TTS version of the game soon and will be sharing it with testers and the broader community when it's done!
@@WeirdwoodManor Awesome news!
I had been looking forward to this! So awesome!
Thanks - glad you're enjoying the series!
I'm just starting to look into this project and looks great! I dont know anything about the gameplay but love the time mechanic, can I just say that if the board had an electronic component where it randomly moves and speed up time by itself I would back this in an instant!
Haha, thanks. That's a neat idea, though no electronic component; players will manually turn the rings (which we still think is pretty cool 😀).
Top notch production! Just stumbled across the game on fb and blew through the series on making it. The quality is well beyond the views it has so far, so hopefully more views and interest keep coming as you get further along the marketing phase. Saw the final board and it looks awesome!
Thanks Sam! We've only really started to promote the video in the last couple months and hoping more people discover it and follow along!
Fantastic to see a real board in motion! To make sure the scarab movement ended up well distributed, did you start out with some math, or just keep modifying and testing your educated guesses?
Great question! I started with some calculated parameters around the number and configuration of openings in the rotating corridors, the number of turns in a game and the volume of scarabs I hoped to see over the course of the game. I then ran the test based on those initial parameters and I'd record the results. I'd then adjust some (or all) of those parameters and re-test, recording the results until I got a a distribution that felt roughly consistent, but still with some nice variability from test to test. It took a fair bit of testing and adjusting... a couple dozen times or so in these initial tests.
@@WeirdwoodManor gulp, ooooh my!!!
Just read a glowing review of the prototype on Reddit. Hype 😁
Haha, yeah! We attended our first conference in Toronto (Breakout 2022) to start showing off the game for the first time and had a great response! We're all feeling very humbled! =)
@@WeirdwoodManor the gencon 2022 video I saw looked pretty awesome. He two rotating rings and ease of moving rooms is exciting. Scarabs look really good. Looking forward to seeing or hearing more soon and you did a great job explaining the game.
@@zmollon Thanks!
kewl!
Thanks - glad you're liking it!