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“Demo tip: Sell the person on the game not on purchasing a copy…especially when doing it for reviewers/bloggers/podcasters.”
— Anthony Racano (@CBJPodcast)
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“Playtest ASAP. Often more design happens during playtesting than the design phase itself.”
— Ed Marriott (@EdPMarriott)
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“Playtesting has a way of revealing “oh hey, this game should never exist.” But if you leave a first playtest thinking “but THIS part didn’t totally suck,” keep going.”
— Adam McIver (@ad7m)
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“Most significant barrier to design and publishing your first game is… you. Dedicate time and energy and you will do it.”
— Peter Vaughan (@pvaughan007)
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“Seeing how intuitive playtesters find various mechanics is a great way to determine what to streamline.”
— Adam McIver (@ad7m)
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“It becomes emotionally easier to streamline after you’ve designed a bunch of games. Ideas less precious.”
— Daniel Solis (@DanielSolis)
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“What can I cut while still keeping the core experience intact?”
— Nazca Games (@nazcagames)
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“The HARDEST part of design is follow-through. PLENTY of amazing ideas never get made because design is hard.”
— Adam McIver (@ad7m)
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“What’s fun? What is the big thing that’s fun to do? Augment that, chop off things that don’t matter.”
— Chris Darden (@cbdarden)
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“If you really have game design on the brain, inspiration will come from every aspect of your life.”
— Adam McIver (@ad7m)
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“It is easy to get a game half-done, and not so difficult to take it to 75%. The other 25% may never come.”
— Scott Nicholson (@snicholson)
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“The reason games are reskinned by publishers is because the designer does a poor job of identifying the market.”
— Boyan Radakovich (@thegamesmith)
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“If your goal in doing a game is to make a game you want to play, then you are the audience. If your goal in making a game is to sell the design to a publisher, then you need to think of an audience.”
— Scott Nicholson (@snicholson)
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“If I design just for myself, I can’t find playtesters. Dead end. I must think about others when I design.”
— Daniel Solis (@DanielSolis)
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“I would never design a game I wouldn’t enjoy myself, but knowing who else would enjoy it is also key.”
— Adam McIver (@ad7m)
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“The feedback you can never deny: “Your game is good, but not yet great.””
— Andrew Federspiel (@AndrewFdrspl)
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“So You Wanna Be A Game Designer”: Ben Rosset (@BenRosset) on getting started as a board game designer and how to get published