Protospiel

So You’ve Got an Idea for a Game

I’ve met a lot of people who claim to have an idea for a great new game (and to make it clear from the beginning, in these articles I’m talking about tabletop games). Some of these creative people have sold thousands of copies of their creation; some haven’t even played the thing one time. Now, I love games—playing them and making them—and I love encouraging people to follow their dreams. As I’ve worked to do those things over the last several years the thoughts you’ll find in this series of articles have developed. I made note of the many lessons I’ve learned as I moved toward the goal of seeing my own games in print and each bit of advice I gained from people living my dream. The final motivation to get it all down in writing, though, was hearing too many stories like the following.

I have a friend who spent in the neighborhood of $30,000 on a game that wasn’t properly designed or tested. He now spends a lot of time trying to sell it, but it’s getting harder working against the negative reviews it’s received.
While working at Fair Play Games I was contacted by one designer who was trying to sell several copies of his trivia game. The game looked great and he apparently spared no expense on production of the components. I was already overwhelmed with trivia titles, though, so I asked him if he could send me some comments or reviews from satisfied customers to help me decide if we’d carry his game. I was sure that before producing thousands of expensive copies of the game, the guy would have had many good comments from players who’d enjoyed playing it. Well, as it turns out I never received a single review or comment from him. He never asked to sell any through our store again. I found a few copies of his game on eBay a year later going for less than $10.
Another good friend of mine has often told me about his great idea for a game. He’s currently got a title and he knows it’s got something to do with making laws in Congress. There you go, that’s the idea. From what I’m told, this thing will make a million. Currently, though, it resides in my friend’s head as he looks for someone who will turn it into reality. Any takers?
I know another guy who has spent thousands trying to “make it” with his game idea. He’s produced less than ten of these things and he spends a lot of time and money showing off his one demo copy to publishers. He’s done a lot of legwork and he’s got a promising vision for his game, but in reality no one’s playing it.

People like this need help! I don’t mean that in a bad way. I just mean with a little direction their dreams might turn into something concrete and they won’t have to lose a fortune to make it happen. In this light, I’ve written this series of articles to:

Provide a realistic vision of the game industry.
Give some practical tips on turning a game idea into a playable reality.
Offer important questions to aid you as you develop your game.
List some options and advice to bring a game to the masses.

The articles:

But before proceeding, perhaps you’ve got one big question….

What Does This Guy Know About Making Games?

When I discovered the joy of playing of contemporary games in the mid-90s, I didn’t just leap headfirst into playing and buying them. I almost immediately began creating my own. That was over ten years ago now. Only recently I was offered my first contract and advance from a game publisher. It was a dream ten years in the making that finally came true! But ten years? If someone had told me in 1996 that it would take that long, I very likely would have given up! I’m now very grateful for the slow path to publishing that I’ve experienced. Taking ten years to get a game published means I’ve made a lot of mistakes along the way. I’ve learned to deal with rejection and I’ve been forced to be realistic when it comes to the industry. Those experiences have provided me with a wealth of lessons I am glad to pass along to others.

Additionally, I worked through the self-publishing process with a friend to produce an edition of another party game I created. At this time we’re just beginning the process of selling all these games we’ve made, but I did get plenty of first-hand knowledge of what it takes to bring this game from an idea in my notes to 3,000 copies in the warehouse. If you want to read about that process in more detail, I’ve written about it here.

Still, having two games published doesn’t make me an expert on the subject. My experience has also been broadened, though, through contacts I’ve made in the industry.

For example, for the last five years I’ve met with aspiring designers from the U.S. and Canada at an annual gathering devoted to the craft of creating games. We call it Protospiel—a blend of “prototype” and “spiel”, which alludes to the German games that inspired many of us who started the event. Several Protospiel attendees have had games published by major publishers the world over. Others have published their games themselves in large or small quantities. I’ve become familiar with the success stories of those involved in this event and, like everyone who attends, I’ve gained a lot of valuable information.

Furthermore, over the last four years I’ve had a very close look at the industry through my work with Fair Play Games. By working with an online retailer I’ve been able to meet publishers, designers and gamers who have showed me industry in terms of the art, the business and the entertainment. I’ve been able to interview some of my heroes of game design and I’ve had to deal with some of the dreamers who think they’ve just made the next Monopoly.

So those are my credentials. If you’re still with me, ready to move ahead with your idea for a game, let’s start off at the most important place of all—reality.

this page last updated 4 Sept 2006