Analogue Game Creation, Part 1.

Hi there, I'm Jeff. Lead Game Designer for Funleague Games. I plan on creating a series of articles on analogue game design and what better place to start than with our first product, Perfect Stride: Cross Country!

Before I continue, Just one definition to explain, Analogue Games. Essentially this means any non-electronic style game. The antithesis or opposite of “Digital Game” if you will. For example, Monolopy is an Analogue Game, Pac-Man is a digital game. Now on to the important stuff…!

This article will cover the process I normally take to find inspiration for a game and how I begin the process of design. The way I go about it is probably not new and has most likely been written about in other places but I'll put my own take on it and maybe we'll both learn a thing or two!

I was reviewing my very first notes and thoughts I wrote for Perfect Stride: Cross Country! (I will refer to it as "PSCC" if I get lazy). As a game designer it's important to realize right up front that what you first envision as "the game" is 99% of the time not what your game will end up being. So much change, playtesting, altering ideas and general evolution occurs when you go through the process of creating your game that what you started with and what you end up with are usually somewhat if not completely different.

This leads to my other thought, know what you're getting into and what to expect from the process. If you get so caught up in a particular idea you may end up missing out on a better mechanic or theme or concept that will evolve your idea beyond just being an idea. Don't be afraid to let go of your initial concept if you all of a sudden latch onto something wonderfully more compelling.

With that thought firmly planted in my mind, I usually begin the entire process with a THEME. Some designers like to begin with a game mechanic and wrap a theme around it but I tend to find inspiration in THEME and use it to develop game mechanics that work well with that theme.

For example, with Perfect Stride:Cross Country!, my art director, Kay, decided on the theme for this product and this theme is especially integral to our target audience. Horse Jumping. We also decided (and in this case it was very important) that the game needed to be a card game due to the lower initial investment (we hoped at the time)

I've taken classes on thought process, brainstorming and idea creation and through years of practice, I know what method of idea creation works best for me. I have the type of mind that spontaneously creates thoughts and ideas using seed ideas one idea creates the next and so on. I do also sometimes have spontaneous ideas completely unrelated and that is a great way to kick your thoughts in another direction (more on that later). Originally, the game began as a series of scribbles about horses and I always start this way.

Like this:
Horses, tack, leather, shoes, jumps, dirt, dust, galloping, speed, danger, riders in helmets, gloves, chaps, equipment, speed, friendship, sunlight, nature, cross country, stride... I can go on for hours and that only took about 30 seconds.

When I begin the process, I essentially start by creating a list of words that are inter-related and I write down every single one that comes to mind, even if I repeat myself repeat myself. This is classic brainstorming at it's most base level. Don't limit, or cut off your thoughts because part of your mind doesn't agree with the other part that gave you that word. The moment you begin to edit what comes to mind the process slows to a halt and you loose the spontaneity of the moment. The more you explore this brainstorming process, the easier it becomes.

Back to my initial notes... I always have a small hardcover notebook to begin the process. I like to sit down for a specific session and take down notes and thoughts on the theme or idea until the ideas stop flowing. I feel that in order to be successful in the early brainstorming stages I need to be in a comfortable place and most importantly it needs to be as convenient as possible for me to take notes otherwise the effort can get in the way of the thought process. No TV, kick the pets out of the room, stop surfing the web and sit in a quiet place (cellphone!) I know some people find it easier to concentrate in a room full of people and noise... but don't ask me how they do it, they must be insane.

The initial thoughts I wrote on PSCC were a few pages long and that was enough. I then left it at that for a couple days while I did other stuff. I wasn't under a deadline to get this idea off the ground at the time so I had the luxury of letting it simmer in my head. Which isn't always the case. I would also go back to the notes occasionally and add more as they came to mind.

Once I had my initial brainstorm list of words, I could selectively take these words and pick out ones that seemed intriguing enough to use as a basis for the game. At this point I began to take words such as race.

So there you have it, how I begin my game design process and how Perfect Stride: Cross Country! began life.

Next installment: Game Mechanics! What do I do in this game!?!

You can read part 2 here: Analogue Game Creation Part 2, Game Mechanics!

Thanks for reading,
~Jeff.

Jeff is a professional artist by day and analogue game designer and avid board game player by night and on the occasional weekend. ;)

Perfect Stride:Cross Country! is the first game by Funleague Games, it is currently in production and will be on gaming store shelves and available for purchase directly from Funleague at a vaguely ambiguous time in the not so distant future!

Follow our creation process here on funleaguegames.blogspot.com and stay tuned to find out when the game is released!