1:25 - 10. Do your Research 4:01 - 9. You will not make much money 7:31 - 8. No one is going to steal your brilliant idea 10:26 - 7. Be inspired by other game, do not just copy them 13:49 - 6. Match your theme with the game mechanics 17:44 - 5. Listen to developer and publisher, they want your game to succeed 21:28 - 4. Streamline your game, remove unnecessary aspects (keep it fun) 23:50 - 3. Listen to your playtesters, but don't design by committee (it's your game) 26:47 - 2. Design the game your way, there is no one way to do it 28:09 - 1. Play test your game along the way! (use honest people who aren't afraid to hurt your feelings) 33:37 - BONUS: Be prepared to be criticized

@spartanwoof7881

8 жыл бұрын

Thank you so much XD

@metulburr

7 жыл бұрын

thank god a summary

@Hebrews88

7 жыл бұрын

Eduardo Loureiro Jr. you must be an angel.

@CollectionTHX1138

7 жыл бұрын

Good job. They should have done that in the description and give you a $5 coupon to coolstuff ;

@adrianjones5788

6 жыл бұрын

My god thank you so much

I'm going to throw in an 11 in here: "Get some Distance from your game every once in a while" Sometimes when you are constantly working on something (art,book,game,project) you lose perspective. You don't see mistake, faults or even perfections anymore. It's just one big noise of 'design' 'colours' or 'words'. So when you finish your game, put in on a shelf and leave it for at least a month, (maybe more maybe less) and then replay it. You will be amazed how much a game can change after for the better after doing this. BTW some people call it; "Just letting the pot simmer :)"

@doug3225

8 жыл бұрын

+Mythoscope very smart! Music producers use this a lot. I try to add a little to my game every night because it is so fun but i know i need some distance sometimes to get a better perspective.

@AbsurdandFantastical

8 жыл бұрын

Dolian Loss Its hard to stop working on something you're passionate about ^^ I tend to do this with my writing but I've learned that leaving it for even just a few days will help better my articles.

@spaghettigag1376

6 жыл бұрын

Mythoscope YEEEEES DONT GET AND ARTISTS BLOCK only work on it when you are pationite about it!!! You will find that you will have more and greater ideas if you have time to proccess and you are getting excitted about it!

@BrenLynne

6 жыл бұрын

This is great advice. Put it out of mind for a short time, hard as that is, maybe a week or so, then come back to it with fresh eyes. You will see the warts more clearly.

Story Time: I am moronic enough. I am that guy who didn't playtest his game. One day I stumbled across a great little self-pub site called The Game Crafter, which held game design contests. The current contest ended in less than a month, but I decided to enter it anyways, because I am speedy at graphic design, and because I am an idiot. I knew as little as anyone could know about game design. I hadn't watched a single podcast, and didn't play games much myself. I'd never seen a prototype game, nor had I heard of any of the standard game mechanics. Not to be stopped by little things like everything, I put together this great little sailing and trading sim game that actually won an award for best artwork- but sank like a rock when it came to gameplay scores. Perplexed, I bought myself a copy and played it with a friend. It was the worst thing I had ever played. "How could I have known this?" I asked myself, lamenting my inability to calculate whether a game would be fun or not. I am filled with shame when I consider just how long it took for me to realize that successful game designers don't have a magic power of entertainment foresight- They just play the game before they try to publish it.

@matthewschneider6725

8 жыл бұрын

In retrospect, I'm shocked it even made the finalists list before falling out of the running. With zero playtesting, I had no right to get 63 out of 85 possible points.

@Valancet

7 жыл бұрын

If it was that bad then it just makes you wonder how bad the other games must've been lol

@yeoshaoqi9824

6 жыл бұрын

thanks for sharing

"We live in a special era of history where you can type any question... and get thousands of unrelated, unhelpful results that brings you no closer to the answer to your question, unless your question is so unoriginal so it has been asked repeatedly by others."

@AnneSofieLovesMozart

6 жыл бұрын

Meta

@taserrr

3 жыл бұрын

That sums up reddit.

@aquarius5719

10 ай бұрын

20 years ago search engines were better. You could find people talking about things in blogs. Personal blogs. But between paid search priorities and governments meddling to turn Internet into an ideological platform, searches stopped working and deliver trash. For example, many years ago I heard a melody called Gravity by an Ukranian singer called Zlata Ognevich. I did not remember her name. So I tried to search for Ukranian singers. Guess what, search engines wanted to push war news and political comments. And probably music with propaganda. Zlata is quite famous as she has been in Eurovision shows. You want entertainment. Internet delivers politics. Yuck!

@JonReid01

8 ай бұрын

How does AI impact this? We're in a new era now

Guys, I'm from Singapore and have just gotten into playing board games with my son - it's a fabulous bonding experience and we've even made a couple of games. I just wanna say thank you for putting the time and effort into making a video such as this one - the advise was great, I'm putting a theme to my game right now as advised, and you know what? You're right - If it's gonna bring some happiness to some family somewhere, that should be the joy in game creation first and foremost. I usually do not comment on videos on KZread, but this is the first one. Thank you and kudos for the advise :)

Watched this about a year ago. Now I'm interning at fantasy flight games. Coincidence?

@arifaltundal5933

2 жыл бұрын

7 years later, where are you now?

@Stairc

2 жыл бұрын

@@arifaltundal5933 I'm now a senior designer on Legends of Runeterra at Riot Games. Previously worked at EA, Blizzard (Hearthstone, and worked on the game Faeria at Abrakam. Coincidence?

Crap, I followed the first rule of researching, and someone had a game with the same theme and core concept (but way better than mine lol).

@notanurag6176

5 жыл бұрын

I was literally 24 minutes in before reading your comment and realizing

About the copyright "issue": I completely agree that it's a waste of time to file for a copyright. If it's such a great game and the IP becomes big enough for that to be a problem, then it's something the publisher will handle. Also, there's nothing magic about a copyright. Everything you come up with is already your IP, so the idea that you need a copyright to "protect" your IP is simply wrong. A copyright just shifts the onus onto the "infringer" instead of the "owner". If you have any substantial amount of proof that you were working on it earlier (which, assuming you were discussing with others, you would easily have), then you aren't at risk of having your idea stolen. Finally, for those paranoid people, I'll include a tip from the music industry: Once you've written the rules, or anything else you think you need to "protect", just print them out, and mail them to yourself. When the letter arrives, never open it. That way, if there is ever contention about whether it's your idea, you have a sealed, dated copy of your idea that proves when you were working on it.

I have watched this video several times and at different stages of my first time designing experience. I take a new thing from it each time. Thanks guys!

Thank you guys so much! Thanks for laying it out for people just getting into this. Your bluntness is very much appreciated!!!

I'm disoriented by the seating arrangement...

@tonkabeanicecream5698

8 жыл бұрын

Im glad though

Eh. I'd like some Top Ten Tips for Game Designers from people who make their living designing games. I mean, these tips are okay - but it reminds me of the different advice people get making digital games because they're not sure what they're asking. You can make your own games, you don't have to just go work in some AAA studio, unless you want to do that. I think the physical game space can use a lot of the attitude that's going on in the indie video games scene. It's fine if The Dice Tower wouldn't like it! Keep it rough! Don't polish all the character out of it! There's nothing wrong with self-publishing!

I think this is the most enjoyable Dice Tower top 10 I've seen so far. It sounds like you guys talked it over before taping so you all had something to contribute to each entry, instead of each having your own lists and disagreeing with the each other. Very smooth, very funny, keep it coming!

Thanks for the awesome tips! And these don't just apply to boardgames but ALL games, including PC/console. By the way you may want to correct #2 in the summary list at the end, it should be "Design the game your way, there is no "one way" to do it "

Love your videos, as a new player of board games they've helped a lot with which games I should try. By the way I love you guys playing around, joking and talking that's why I watch your videos over others on here! Keep up the good work!

You guys are great! I randomly came across this video and I just so happen to be in the process of designing a game. Thank you for these tips! I will take every tip with me in this venture of creating a fun game!!!

Cool. I can't wait for the next list. I don't normally play board games, but I stumbled into channel and their enthusiasm has me convinced to try some. Now I'll know where to start.

“It’s a game, it’s not a practice of reality”. Really insightful and fun video!

LOL! "No one is going to steal your brilliant idea!" That should be numbers tip numbers 1-9.

Great video! I was thinking about designing my first game. These tips will definitely help.

I found some of these points helpfull, thank you for providing your knowledge wise gamers.

Thanks much for the suggestions.

Thanks guys. I really enjoy your top 10 lists. Keep them coming.

My game had grand ambitions and I scaled it back to something simple. Great advice about compromising between fun and ambition.

@aquarius5719

10 ай бұрын

Designing games is not the path to become billionaire.

This was a good episode and all the presenters riffed off each other nicely.

Looking forward to the next list!

"To thy own self be true." Lol got funnier each time I replayed it.

I play tested at Snakes & Lattes on the Designer Night. My first game was ripped apart and I learned so much. Great List Dice Tower Guys!

My quote on playtesting: Your first draft of your game is art: Coming up with some cool idea inspired by your muse and putting your own stamp - a piece of your own soul - into its shape and style, flow and function. Every draft after should be science: Seeing how it worked, gauging how well that compares with the ideals you set out, cutting as necessary, and testing your new hypothesis for "what will make this game great" in as many blind studies as possible for maximum validity.

These videos are a real treat! You Three guys are so funny, and you know what you are talking about! I really your reviews, but these series of videos are one notch higher on the fun-scale..

I know this is an old video, but thank you guys so much for this video. I already knew most of it, but there are still small tidbits that will help in a huge way. So, again, thank you.

Thanks guys! I'm looking into designing games (I have tons of ideas and a few prototypes) and this was really helpful!

Great show, I wish you would do these more often :)

Thanks guys! Tom I'd like it alot if you would make a video about your own experience designing "Nothing Personal". What worked right away, what changed, why it changed... stuff like that. And keep the top ten coming!

Thanks, this was helpful (since I too have been working.. & playtesting.. on a game I have been designing! Looking forward to seeing an updated Top 10 Essential Games List!

Great topic and presentation guys. We were distilling Schnapps all day and it took us 20 minutes to figure out that we weren't watching CSI Miami. :) Now back to play testing.

Fantastic set of videos!

Great video! Thanks guys!

you should do a detailed video about things to look at when a game designer play-test his game and how to deal with it: duration, downtime between turns , multi-player solitaire syndrom, breaking possibilities...etc...

A quote from Neil Gaiman that has stood me in good stead when designing games relates to #3: When your readers tell you something is wrong with the writing, they're usually right. When they tell you they know how to FIX it? They're usually wrong.

i found this video very helpful, i've always had this kinda dream of designing my own games in the future but this video has helped a lot, thanks guys :)

Love the vids, only been getting into board games recently and the reviews are very helpful combined with BGG, etc. I was wondering if you had any plans for say a top ten family/kid friendly games list?

I have 7 games in the concept and design process. This video does give me a lot of hints.

Thanks for this. Insightful and funny.

I agree with number 9. I am creating a board game that I want to play and share with friends and more. It is not about the money, I just want to bring some laughs for an hour or two. Thanks for the video, very helpful.

Awesome video guys!

This video has given me a great idea for a game - chiropractors operating steam rollers in an arena. Actually, I think if you were run over by a steam roller, you'd probably need a chiropractor.

I just want to say that I absolutely love these videos. Thank you :D Also: 'The best way to make a small fortune in the Gaming Industry is to start with a large one.' HAH. Perfect, thank you

thanks so much - great advice!

I wish I could Like this more than one time. Simply the best common sense list for would-be designers I've seen. If you're working on a game design, set aside a half hour for this, it's so very much worth your time.

Fantastic video. Kinda funny that Malifaux 2nd Edition is being playtested and i find many of the points here relate greatly to the playtesting that i'm doing at the moment. I can now continue to playtest Malifaux, but with this shift in paradigm. Thank you so much, can't wait to hear more tips in terms of the gaming industry.

Zee, when can we expect "Office Worker: The Game" to hit store shelves?

@suicune2001

7 жыл бұрын

Valve did that already with their The Lab game. lol

Best top ten list yet. I'm taking notes Vassal! When I meet you at a con with my game someday, I'll look you in the eye and "Yes, yes I did playtest it... people hated it at first. They don't hate it anymore."

The music between tips makes this video into a very interesting Yiddish folk tale

I'm designing my first game and I'm REALLY struggling with #4 ( streamlining) at the moment, but at least I'm following #1 (play testing) so I realize where I need to make cuts because in practice...it can become too intensive and lose it's original lighthearted appeal. You never know unless you try though. Thank for these tips and many other videos that have helped me...such as "Top Ten Annoying Rules in Board Games." I think I had around 6. Now I'm rethinking-or at least tweaking-a few :P Thank you!

@aquarius5719

10 ай бұрын

Streamlining is about reducing bureaucracy. Imagine you want player to manage 100 people inside a starship (soldiers, engineers, flight deck, etc) but they need to sleep. You could add a tracker for each one of them to monitor how tired they are. That is 100 trackers. Is that fun? It takes forever to update. You realize that since they sleep 8 hours and work 8 hours that is 1/3 of people actually working. So no need of trackers. But imagine you want to make them work overtime to 12 hours and they will get tired and productivity gets hurt ling term. It means you have a cost. It is equivalent of having less fully productive workers. So at most you need a table with costs and monitor one indicator, not 100 trackers. Unless some thing fun happens to each worker, having 100 trackers will not be fun. Is that table fun or should we get rid of it? If these workers move across the ship and the ship is attacked, workers may get wounded. So you feel 100 trackers inside the ship would be fun but it is not. You only need to know how many people are there at a certain time. So you model it, you use pawns to see how many will be at a certain moment of the day and register the number in a table. Is it fun to use that table? If not, get rid of the table and reduce to an average number. Is it still fun or do we get rid of tracking workers? Starship Captains reduced worker management to a queue. But the core mechanic is to handle that queue. Is it fun? Not really. There are pirates but combat is reduced to a damage token when you find one. Is that fun? No. So may be as a game for children it will work. But for advanced gamers it will not. The captain is dead is a game that has only 7 workers. but you need to use your smarts to manage their actions and skills to do something fun and meaningful. It is way better than Starship Captains.

Insta fav, I got the theme since the very beginning, I was just searching for a way to implement it (visual novel, comic, game etc.). Making a Board Game out of it might be a good idea, and with this tips I have a better understanding and direction.

put simply - this is awesome! thanks!

Thanks for the video.

Some brilliant tips guys - thanks a lot :-)

I've gotten so many ideas from watching the Tower's videos. Hearing their opinions and what they like in a game and want to see more often in other games. Why not be the one to make that game? Do I think I'm a capable designer? No. Not at all. Actually the opposite. I feel like I'm below average when it comes to a "designer's brain". But I really want to explore some of the games in my head. I want to make the games that I want to see made. So here's to making it work, somehow. Be seeing you! ;)

Best thing for play testing that I've found is a local game store that encourages people to bring a game to play. Bring your game and you can start a pickup playtest with total strangers who, as gamers, are savvy to what you're doing.

These videos are so awesome!

My interest in game design came from attempting to "tweak" and "improve" others' games. It came to a point where I might as well completely recreate it, form scratch.

Very helpful video. Sad to say I was worried there was some Evil Corp out there looking to steal my idea. Thanks guys.

Thank you for this.

i looooove that zee is front and center! (a little too much), now i need to watch it again, this time with the sound turned on.

Wow thanks guys this really will help me as a up coming dev

Tom should shave his head and grow a beard.

@get_electrocuted872

9 жыл бұрын

NO

@alrightythen1533

5 жыл бұрын

Or sit in the middle.

@hypotheticalliberty3007

3 жыл бұрын

Based

@mahalko1970

2 жыл бұрын

😅

@mica8076

2 жыл бұрын

🤣

Thanks for this :) I'm going to start working on a BA in game art and design soon. I'm gonna be doing it not for money, but because I love games and I've been dreaming up video games that I wanna make since I was 4 when I started playing Quake :P

Oooh Zee got the big boy chair! AND spot! lol y'all make a fantastic team.

I gotch u guys!! I might be ready to release phase 1 in 2021

Thankyou so much! Im a big board gamer and i have to make a original game for math class! So im gonna go above and beyond and print pieces and other things! With this tips i will win!

@finnfinity9711

6 жыл бұрын

ThePastyPrince i know i'm late but, did it work out!

Awesome Video

thedicetower, keep doing what your doing

That is a pretty good list guys... lots of common sense to be seen in this video. Finding something you really enjoy doing is the first ingredient for recipe for success.

Very good list. Regarding #4, I believe it was Alan Moon who said, "When you think your game is done, remove part of it." A good writer knows the value of editing: any piece of writing can be reduced 30% without losing value. Streamlining a game design is a similar process. Tighter is better.

Number 8 says: No one is going to steal your idea but then #7 is telling people to not steal other people's ideas and that some people have... O.o

@mallenwho

10 жыл бұрын

8 says no one is going to completely copy your game, exactly the same. 7 says don't copy someone else's game, exactly the same, or just facelift it. It says to borrow components and aspects and mechanics from many different games to work well together, because nothing is truly original. Even the wheel was based off a log.

@TorIverWilhelmsen

10 жыл бұрын

Number 8 from Tom and number 7 from Zee, yes. Two different people. Tom's comment to Zee's point follows on from his own number 8.

@Geographus666

10 жыл бұрын

Number 8 means not to be afraid to spread word about your game idea while you are still developing it to get more input from the community. It is highly unlikely that there is some "Evil Publisher" surfing the net searching for good ideas to copy and publish befor the original designer can. Number 7 means not to rip of games that are already published and successful just to cash in on the money.

@ObnoxiouslyHappyDude

10 жыл бұрын

People who would steal someone else's idea would probably go for the finished game that sold at least some copies instead of the random dude on some random board game forum sharing some random unfinished idea that may or may not be awful

@davidandersson7642

7 жыл бұрын

#8 is referring to people stealing your idea before publishing. No one is going to steal some unproven idea from the Internet. Therefore you don't need to pay money to protect it. #7 is referring to popular published games. Don't just copy Monopoly with a different theme or 7 Wonders with a different theme. People will reject it if it's just a bad knockoff.

This is excellent info!

i'm quite curious about the games tom and zee might come up with, is there a place anywhere on the net where i can get more informations?

This was really insightful, guys. Great advice. I'd love to see other game industry topics, possibly labelled as "extra" vids so some people don't feel like you are straying too far off topic. And I /would/ read your "Idiot's guide to board game design", not as gospel, but to have more input on the art and science of it. There is so much to be discussed! :D

Zee is so right on pt. #1. They were on #3 as well.

great video guys

I have a question, when you say do your research and play lots of games, how many different games would you say is a good number to shoot for? I have about 100-120 under my belt would that be good?

Thanks allot guys!

Regarding the "stealing rules" etc. It should be noted that there is NO copyright on boardgame rules/gameplay.

I have this idea for the mute designer play test where i give my game to a group of players and say see if you can play it and watch and try to keep silent...

Thanks Angry Joe for brining us here. These guys got great advice. Great video. =D

Hi Guys, can you suggest a few publishers that would be easier for a new designer to get a concept looked at? Thanks. I love the top tens, informative and entertaining.

I have a board and a table game. I have a generic basic game parts and board and would like to make it more professional looking ? Any suggestions or where do I start?

You guys should have a Top Ten video on Playtesting Tips for Board Games and I think it could be a good video because not many people understand what goes into the Playtesting of a board game as it is being designed. Just a thought.

I'm in the midst of designing my first game, this was a very helpful list and I intend to do everything on it, I'm just finding it hard to gather the information needed to succeed such as developer contacts and producer contacts. any idea what the best approach would be? the game is still very much in developmental stages but having this info would be a huge benefit

@aquarius5719

10 ай бұрын

That is the eternal problem of an artist, finding reliable contacts to deliver a product. Normally fairs/conventions or contacts of your friends are the best ways to connect. for a job.

This is very cool. I am designing my first game right now and have even built a prototype and am play testing it right now. I sure would like to know how to get it published beyond The Game Crafter though.

Excellent points or more like rules.

The theme one seems hard to do if it is a universal system. I have many many different themes I want to use the same game system for. Would you prefer multiple differently marketed games that all use the same system?

super cool there cheers from 2022

It may sound strange, but Sam getting all bouncy and waving his fists in the "bonus" looks weirdly cute.

22:03-22:37 Such wise words!!!

Zee Garcia's beard looks like the Assassins Creed's logo from this angle. lol Great video guys.

Is there any website or blogs where I can express my game ideas/theme/mechanics?

He liked your commentary, that was shown on every of his subscriptors, and here we are :) (Sorry for my bad english)