In this first post about my dinosaur sledding game, codename “Rosebud”, I want to talk about why I chose to send this game out into the world rather than other prototypes I am working on, and what my goals and hopes are for the project.
Why this game?
The biggest reason is chose Rosebud over other games I am working on is that, at least in its current state, it is simple. A deck of cards, a few tokens, that’s it. I figure, if I decide to go the Kickstarter route, I am going to be learning so many new things at once that keeping the components simple will streamline the process.
Second, it feels the closest to being done. This is probably going to come back and bite me in the face, but I feel like I have a grasp on where the game is, and the potential spaces where the game can grow. Is it done? No, hardly. But It is the closest out of all my designs.
Design Goals
Here are the goals I have for designing this game:
- Simple Components: I want to keep the game as simple as possible. Mostly cards, just a few additional components.
- Interconnected Cards: I really the the idea of a tile laying game that creates something fun to look at when you are done.
- “I’m Losing Control!”: I want to design a game that captures that out of control feeling you have while sledding, where you don’t know if you are going to crash or not.
- Plays up to 6: This is a personal preference. I want to design a game that my gaming group could play a lot, and we usually have 5-6 players, if not more.
- Plays in under 60 minutes: While I enjoy a wide variety of games, I’d like this game to be on the lighter side, possibly even a filler game.
Project Goals
The goal for this project is simple: get the game out into the world. I’m still exploring different routes to do that. I’m not sure yet whether I want to approach publishers or self-publish via Kickstarter or some other means. But I will be documenting my process as I go along, which I hope will be helpful for other designers who are at the same place in their journey.