Bruno Faidutti wrote an editorial on his website about the language in which he wrote the rules of his prototypes.
Basically he says that "I’ve even found out that even French publishers prefer English language prototypes, since they make easier to playtest the game with foreign publishers".
This is certainly a good point. But I think that there is another good reason: it easier to involve foreign playtesters.
I like to have the chance to send mine prototypes to a complete different gaming group, possibly in different country.
I remember that for Oltre Mare in the first version I sent to Henning Kropke in Germay. He planned to visit Mik Svellov in Copenahagen for some gaming sessions. So the proto of Oltre Mare received some playtests in the north of Europe before to be released. I had also a good preview from Mik in his website brettboard.dk before the fair!
At the moment I have a prototype who was sent to the Gathering of Friends and hopefully will be playtested. Moreover I will attendee the Bruno Faidutti's Ludophatic Gathering during the next weekend. In both case an english rule is a good point.
I have to admit, anyway, that the language in which I write new ideas that come out from playtesting sessions are just in Italian. I found easier to formilize these ideas in my native language. At least for the moment.
It maybe also depends of the fact that I usually share these ideas with my gaming group members that are Italian.
Emanuele
Friday, April 4, 2008
Ideas strike back
Some game ideas come backs, sometimes.
It's the case of a game I designed more than 2 years ago. I presented to a big publisher during the Essen fair. But it was reject in the same meeting during the explanation!
"It's a good theme, I like it. But there is too much components, and I do not like ..." (follows some explanations).
Well, things that happens!
I had a similar experience with another publisher who first said: "This game seems too similar to one we already got in our program. Please verify and let me know!". In this occasion at least I got a new game for my collection. I really never played that game, and it really was not so similar! Well, both games use an auction mechanism and have cards. But there are many others out there that are similar in this way! :-)
Almost one year later the same publisher decided to give it a try, after my assurance the game was not so similar! And after some tests they decided they like it and they will produce!
A very happy ending. But for the "too much components" prototype it was not the same!...
... Until few weeks ago when another publisher asked me if I have ready a game with some particular characteristics (I am not authorized to give any details for the moment)... They were not worried about the components, because in very few time of playtest they decide it was a good game...
Well, I have to admit that I worked hard during the Easter weekend (I forced my father to play it just after the Easter lunch :-P
I changed enough things to have a really better game... with the same components anyway! I was much more soddisfy than before, so in this case time elapsed without thinking of it was a good point! And let me have a more exciting game that hopefully will be published.
There is another prototype, for which I had very good feedback from my playtesters. But it was rejected from 3 different publishers... I think this project is almost 5 years old.
I have worked a lot to find a good solution to problems arose.
I think some months ago I found the real problem. My opinion is that, during the years, I changed several things without focusing on the real problem.
That problem give only one way to play for the best strategy removing a lot of fun to a quite complex game!
Now that I have, hopefully, found the right issue, I'm confident I can find the solution to have a nice game!
Sometime ideas come back... sometime we only need time...
Emanuele
It's the case of a game I designed more than 2 years ago. I presented to a big publisher during the Essen fair. But it was reject in the same meeting during the explanation!
"It's a good theme, I like it. But there is too much components, and I do not like ..." (follows some explanations).
Well, things that happens!
I had a similar experience with another publisher who first said: "This game seems too similar to one we already got in our program. Please verify and let me know!". In this occasion at least I got a new game for my collection. I really never played that game, and it really was not so similar! Well, both games use an auction mechanism and have cards. But there are many others out there that are similar in this way! :-)
Almost one year later the same publisher decided to give it a try, after my assurance the game was not so similar! And after some tests they decided they like it and they will produce!
A very happy ending. But for the "too much components" prototype it was not the same!...
... Until few weeks ago when another publisher asked me if I have ready a game with some particular characteristics (I am not authorized to give any details for the moment)... They were not worried about the components, because in very few time of playtest they decide it was a good game...
Well, I have to admit that I worked hard during the Easter weekend (I forced my father to play it just after the Easter lunch :-P
I changed enough things to have a really better game... with the same components anyway! I was much more soddisfy than before, so in this case time elapsed without thinking of it was a good point! And let me have a more exciting game that hopefully will be published.
There is another prototype, for which I had very good feedback from my playtesters. But it was rejected from 3 different publishers... I think this project is almost 5 years old.
I have worked a lot to find a good solution to problems arose.
I think some months ago I found the real problem. My opinion is that, during the years, I changed several things without focusing on the real problem.
That problem give only one way to play for the best strategy removing a lot of fun to a quite complex game!
Now that I have, hopefully, found the right issue, I'm confident I can find the solution to have a nice game!
Sometime ideas come back... sometime we only need time...
Emanuele
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