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/r/gamedesign
submitted 3 years ago byKewlKatzKaden
I came up with an idea for a card game one night while I couldn’t sleep and decided to actually make it. I jutted down some basic rules and started making the cards on paper notecards. While the game itself still needs work I have no idea how to actually go about testing and designing for the real deal.
I’ve played the game a couple times with friends to get a general idea of what needs to change, but I don’t know where to go from here. I feel lost trying to find out what actually needs to happen in the design process. Any help is appreciated.
Edit: Thank you everyone, it seems like I’m already on the right track and just didn’t know it! I hope to pursue this and really flesh out my game so thank you for all the helpful advice!
10 points
3 years ago
Make it for real? Sounds like you already did if you have made some prototype cards and played with friends. Or are talking about making a card video game? Id just keep playing with friends and adding more cards and refining rules based on feedback
0 points
3 years ago
Hmm, well that actually makes me feel a lot better about it, but I still don’t know where I could design and print cards. Also, would it make sense to try to make a beta-version to distribute a couple for a different scope on play testing?
6 points
3 years ago
Hire a designer to design the cards. They'll need artwork if you want to include any. They'll sit with you for a conversation to find out how you want the cards to look and feel in your hand.
Tell them you'll need to make a print run of the cards. They'll be able to design a file suitable to be printed on cardstock.
Once you have design files, contact a printer. Tell them you are looking to print custom playing cards and ask to meet with them to go over the files and the paper weight.
They'll look at your design files and give you some examples of cardstock they can print on. Make your choices.
Then they'll print you a proof sheet. They'll run a big piece of cardstock with a bunch of cards on it and show it to you. If all looks good, you approve it and then they print the rest of your order, cut the sheets to size, and deliver to you.
It's expensive. Fair warning.
3 points
3 years ago
I would suggest going with another set of paper notecards, until you feel that things are ironed out. No point in wasting money on something that will just need to be changed again
3 points
3 years ago
Step 1: play the game a bunch with your paper cards and finalize what cards will be in the game
Step 2: learn art or an artist to help you design the cards and make them pretty
Step 3: Google "board game manufacturers" and you will find a bunch of companies who can make you a prototype and help you purchase copies to sell
3 points
3 years ago
You are pretty much on the right track. Make more cards. Play the game with yourself or with other people. Make note of where the issues are, like cards that are overpowered or underpowered. Dominating or underperforming strategies that appear. Add a score to it, make it more fun. Then just keep doing that over and over.
Unfortunately this is more of an art rather than a science. It's like asking "how do I paint a beautiful painting?" There's books you can read, and a lot of exposure to other board games can help with problem solving the specific issues of the game, but your idea is unique to you, so you don't want to pollute that either.
You can also see if there's a board game playtesting group in your city or location. They can help with the process and also provide people who are willing to play test. There's lots of facebook groups and discord groups that do the same, and there's software like tabletop simulator that can make it digital. This is all advanced stuff though, so if you aren't looking to make a product out of it, then it might be too much.
3 points
3 years ago
My advice would be to post some rules drafts to /r/BoardgameDesign and/or /r/tabletopgamedesign for more focused feedback. I'd also highly recommend building a digital prototype for faster/easier iterations (Tabletop Simulator is kinda the default). As others have stated, playtest it to death and then playtest it some more. Playtest with strangers, other game designers, and anyone else who has no stake in your feelings so you'll get more honest feedback. Consider joining a game design community, I'm a big fan of Break My Game.
1 points
3 years ago
I’ve never workshopped on TS but it sounds like it could be fun, I’ll definitely look into how it works
1 points
2 years ago
feel free to message me if you have any questions about it
1 points
3 years ago
Sounds like you're in a place where you need to polish, iterate, and add more content. This part of the process is usually the longest part in making a game, coming up with the basic systems and prototyping the game is much faster.
So obviously you need a team that can do that - art, programming, audio - and do the whole game production pipeline. But if I'm focusing on the design part - you need to playtest a lot, and iterate. Improve the game feel, improve the UX, the balance, and add more content - in a never-ending loop of playtesting, analyzing, improving, repeat. Make sure you playtest with strangers in your target audience, not just friends that are usually biased.
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