CEPHALOFAIR DESIGNER DIARY ISSUE 5: Buttons & Bugs
People often ask me what kinds of games I like to play, and that makes sense. It's a common question in our industry. We make and play games nearly everyday, and a lot of designer got into this line of work because of their love of games. But it's always been a tough one for me to answer despite the fact that I've been making games for over 20 years.
And that's just it: I've been -making- games.
Games are an amazing medium for conveying story and experiences, for making players think and feel, and those things stick with you. They become a part of your identity. People like playing games. So it makes sense that they also want to hear about what games others like to play.
But I like -making- games. I like telling stories. I like building systems and mechanics. I like analyzing games. I like pushing them to their limits, taking them apart and seeing what makes them tick, pressing the wrong buttons intentionally to find out what happens.
I like a game that gives me something to tinker with. I don't mean a dexterity game with physical pieces nor an engine building game with lots of interlocking mechanics. I'm talking about removing myself from the game itself, opening up the shell, and watching the moving pieces inside. I like games that give my designer brain something to chew on.
Which is why I was really delighted by a fan-made Gloomhaven game called Gloomholdin' designed by Joe Klipfel. It was introduced to me as Gloomhaven you can hold in your hand, and at first it just seemed like a cute gimmick. But as I analyzed it, developed it, -played- it, I started to see something more. The pieces were so tightly packed, but the cogs turned all the same. It was a wristwatch to Gloomhaven's grandfather clock. The engineering and craftmanship to make it function was very similar. But to take all that and shrink it down to fit in the palm of your hand? That's something special.
So I poked and proded and analyzed. I developed, I tinkered, I -played-. Not just a game, but played the way that -I- play. And honestly, it's the most fun I've had designing or developing a game in a long while. It was a brilliant challenge working out the bugs and rearranging its pieces to be a refined tiny cogwork system where no space is wasted. And I'm quite proud of what Joe and I were able to create. It packed a lot of very elegant design techniques into such a small package.
The thing is: That game we made isn't Buttons & Bugs. While I was playing my way and enjoying the heck out of it, our playtesters... well, they weren't. In fact, we only had a small handful of my most dedicated longtime playtesters who even played more than a single scenario. It didn't seem like anyone actually enjoyed playing it. And anytime we introduced someone knew, it was clear that they were expecting "Gloomhaven but smaller."
That's a big difference between -playing- games and -making- games. While I'm designing, it's easy for me to forget that I play games very differently than most of you. I'm not so much playing a game as I am inspecting a game design. And that comes through in my work sometimes. I make something that's fun to analyze, fun to take apart and tinker with, fun to marvel at, but not fun to -play-.
What we had created was less a game, and more a model. Like building up a LEGO set not to play with it but to put it on display in the background of your video call.
I'm still very proud of what we created, of course. I still have that version of the game, and I think it would be really neat to finish it up and publish it. But as a designer, I knew that I had to do right by the players. We would need to pivot to meet not only expectations, but to create something people would enjoy playing as much as I enjoyed making it. And we pivoted -hard-.
We restarted design nearly from scratch. We started with the concept of miniturized Gloomhaven, and we salvaged what pieces we could from our little wristwatch. Some of the most innovative pieces we got to keep: the double-sided ability cards and elements being available as long as they're visible. Other pieces needed to be reshaped to fit their new shell. Gone were the micro tactical puzzles that paid homage to a tactical giant, replaced with miniturized movement grids and simplified monster and attack modifier mechanics.
After all was said and done, we had a slightly larger package than the one we started with. More of a pocketwatch than a wristwatch, but still impressive consider we had created a functional copy of a grandfather clock that could still fit in the palm of your hand. But most importantly, would it be enjoyable to -play-?
Yeah! It was a -complete- turnaround in playtester engagement and enjoyment. Some of our testers started second and third runs through the campaign. One started playing with their two children and the kids -loved- it! As a designer, you can't ask for much more than that. I might personally enjoy the process of taking things apart and rebuilding them, but there's a different kind of joy and fondness I have for a game when I see others truly enjoying playing it.
What kinds of games do I like? I like a game that making me want to take it apart and see how it works. I like a game that is designed just how I expected, and I like games that are designed in ways I'd never thought of. I like a game that makes my friends and all of you smile and want to play again. I -love- game design.
So next time you see me at a con or interview me for a podcast, instead of asking me "What kinds of games do you like playing?" ask me "Take apart any interesting games lately?" If you do, you might get a glimpse into the inner workings of my mind and what makes me tick.
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CEPHALOFAIR DESIGNER DIARY ISSUE 6: GLOOMHAVEN RPG
