Gamestormers (and Sloane) Took Their First Steps
My daughter, Sloane, has been flirting with taking her first steps these past few weeks. She easily pulls herself up from sitting, wobbles a bit, and then sits down. Each time, she cracks a smile… almost as if she knows that she can do it, but it’s more fun to tease us a bit. It…
Lessons We Can Learn from from Wordle
Unless you’ve been without internet access for the past three months, there’s a good chance you’ve stumbled upon Wordle, the addictive, once-a-day word puzzle game that is one part Mastermind, one part Hangman. Although Wordle itself is not a new game concept per se, what makes it so unique is how it is collectively experienced,…
Sloane & Gamestormers Stand on Their Own
Although it is always exciting to see your baby hit milestones, I do think that baby Sloane’s most recent accomplishment is a bit concerning. Sloane is standing on her own. Don’t get me wrong – I’m happy! But it’s the way in which she’s standing. She’s fearless. It starts as pulling herself up on a…
Building Your Game Lore
One of the best parts about designing a game is the act of creating a world where the game lives. Deciding how your game inhabits the world and how your mechanics align with the characters, setting, and events of the world you’ve created. As I’ve worked to develop the world of Fjerogard, the fictional location…
Gamestormers at Protospiel Madison
One of the best parts about the game creation journey has been the people I meet along the way, as well as embracing new adventures in the field. On a whim, I signed up for what is referred to as a “protospiel,” or an event where game designers, playtesters, and publishers gather to try out…
Crawling Before You Walk with Live Playtests and Babies
My daughter is mere days away from becoming a full, crawling baby. I always comment to my wife that it feels like we just brought her home from the hospital, yet it was nearly eight months ago. Eight! It’s unbelievable to me how easily my daughter nearly stands on her own. I keep joking that…
Killing Your Darlings in Game Design
If you’ve ever engaged in writing, design, filming, and really ANY creative endeavor – you have probably heard the phrase “kill your darlings.” In short, to kill your darlings is to destroy something that you spent hours lovingly crafting. It might be words on a page. It might be hours of footage. It might be…
Good Designers Listen. Great Designers Listen and Grow.
I’ve been incredibly lucky to learn from a variety of colleagues during my time in education, game design, and much more. If you’ve ever caught my podcast, you’ll notice that I frequently cite Gabe Barrett of Board Game Design Lab and his podcast for providing game design insights and perspectives from a variety of guests….
Using Early Feedback to Enhance a Game
I don’t know if there is a greater high in the game design world than getting playtest feedback from players, especially those who aren’t your family or friends. Don’t get me wrong – my closest friends and relatives have been INCREDIBLY helpful in shaping the alpha version of Gamestormers. However, you always worry that when…
Digitizing Gamestormers on Tabletopia
This past week has been an absolute thrill in terms of the development of Gamestormers. For starters, I shipped out over 20 copies of the physical Gamestormers prototype to playtesters across the United States. I’ve dabbled in using a combination of Stamps.com and my hometown post office to get the kits out in both a…
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