Game Design Notebook

Game Genres is a chapter in the Game Design notebook that focuses on various game genres. This designation loosely aligns with the Game Category designation on BoardgameGeek.com.

Game Mechanics is a chapter in the Game Design notebook that focuses on various game mechanics.

Generally, in an actual game, players are often aware of the habits/tendencies of their fellow players which can impact their own strategies. They may react anywhere along a spectrum of:

• Ignore – hold to their principal tendencies.
  • Even though every time they open the door they get a bonk on the head, they keep opening the door.
• Adapt/Morph – change their tendencies to mitigate the effect of their opponents’ tendencies.
  • Every time they open the door they get a bonk on the head, so they stop opening the door.
• Respond/React – change their play style to counter their opponents’.
  • Every time they open the door they get a bonk on the head, so they jump through the door with a shield raised, swinging a mallet.

This dynamic is hard to simulate, so I stick pretty much to an initial Player Type regardless of the other Player Types in the game. (Though some Player Types have adaptation built in, they aren’t changing type). This is one of many reasons why real playtesters are important.

In the exploration into new game designs I will certainly come upon ideas that have been tried, successfully and not, in other games. I also just might come upon some ideas that are "new"; that is, new to me or not well known. This notebook will document some of that exploration.

Objective

Explore game design "ideas" and post any research and insights regarding:

• Game Design Process
• Game Genres/Classes
• Game Components
• Game Setup
• Game Mechanics
• Victory/Winning Conditions
• Game Design Tools
• Game Design Resources

Hopefully, you will find this discovery process interesting and maybe even gain some inspiration from it.