Before game design, I was totally hooked on theatre. But board games won and I haven't acted for 10 years or so. It's been a long time since I've even been to the theatre!
Unironically, Building Blocks really was my bedtime reading for a while... Short, snappy chapters, easy to read, pretty formulaic (being a typology of things) so not a page turner and gets you to sleep...
Thanks for the video! I think the "game designers also have a profession outside of game design" is an interesting angle. I'm curious about the correlation between the type of games people design and what their profession is outside of game design.
Yes, it is interesting isn’t it. We have a wide range of different professions coming through our playtest group, and I’m not sure there’s a correlation with their designs.
Oh, It looks like you were singing with a band in one of those images :) Anyway, impressive range of things you do/did. Those mustachios fit you perfectly, by the way :)
Great video. Thanks. Sometimes it can be difficult to do the self-examination. Spelling out some of the things we need to be aware of is very helpful in advancing.
This is awesome! I am thankful that my past professions and learned skills have allowed me to be able to excel at everything you said in this video!! 😊😊
I think you are perhaps overstating the qualifications required to make board games, and I'm not sure I agree with your idea of making a great game that the market will like vs making a game you'd want to play. If you play a LOT of games, and you make a game you would want to play over all the games in your collection, it's likely you'll be able to succeed as long as you have the grit to keep pushing and stay organized (as you suggest) to get your game and name out there.
I see designers with good prototype games fail to bring them to market year after year because they don’t have one or more of the traits on this list (patience, resilience, organisation, motivation, communication skills…) None of these are qualifications - they are facets of a person’s personality. And they can be worked on. With regards to the “making a game that you want to play” approach, you’re with the majority :) I read that advice on designer forums on a daily basis. I think it’s good advice, but I just don’t think it’s enough.
I believe it is just fair to playtest your game with people you do not know personally to make sure other people like to play it just as much as you so. Nobody wants to end Up with a heartbreaker simply because they did not check with the world outside.
Wow, that intro was depressing. Those things aren't true of me, so when you said 'congratulations you have 1/10th of the skills...' I am sitting here feeling like I have less than 10% of the skills. 😞
Yeah, it was a provocative opener :) I think lots of designers think that experience and imagination is all they need (I don’t think many revise Building Blocks of Tabletop Game Design really). Hopefully the rest of the video gave a little more context!
I'm well aware I'm bad at teaching games, I have to write scripts to teach a game well. I tend to avoid teaching games I know that I don't have a script memorized even if I have encyclopedic knowledge of the game systems. I'm a better index than a tutorial.
Thanks! No, never musicals. I mainly did classical theatre. Those images were from Tartuffe, The Trojan Women, As You Like It, and a contemporary play called Old Hands. I certainly haven’t ever done any modelling! Haha.
I’d say 90% of it is directly applicable to videogame design. Just substitute the word tabletop for video and you’re good to go… :) The journal is much more about the designer and their process that it is about any specific game or type of game.
Going to try to grade myself fairly, giving pts out of 10. (5=average, 10='perfect') Design = 7 (lots of doubt in rating myself so highly, but seeing a couple of my games in your vid, which was lovely, gave me confidence to increase my rating by a few more pts) Communication = 3 Listening = 7 Resilience = 6 Self motivation = 3 Patience = 3 Organisation = 1 IT/Graphic Design = 5 prototyping/crafting = 6 collaboration = 5 So I'm almost at 50% which feels OK-ish, but there is definitely some room for improvement. I am not sure I do have what it takes to be a game designer tbh. I doubt it most days recently. I'm not sure 'what game designers do' but I guess I do have the patience to keep going. But after 10 years, I'm starting to run out of patience/confidence.
Your anxiety is clouding your judgement Bez. You are very good at many of these things. Your communication is excellent. You are prolific in your use of social media, and are known all over the world. It is your own unique brand of communication, but my goodness it works. Listening? I have no idea. Do you think about your audience much? I think you create games that people want to play. Your self-motivation is off the charts. You produce so many games, and push them out into the world with absolute determination. Generally without a publisher to do it for you. It is a constant stream of new games. You are only remembering the days where you don’t feel like doing it. I can go weeks without feeling like doing any design. You couldn’t have achieved what you have without motivation. I don’t know how resilient you are. You post often about your struggles with confidence, but you ALWAYS get back up again and keep on doing it. Crafting - because most of your games are just cards, it’s hard to say. But your illustrations are excellent! IT skills - I have no idea. Patience. You seem to move fast - always from one game to the next. Perhaps you could afford to slow down? And collaboration, well it seems to me like you have an enormous network of people around you supporting you (and presumably you supporting them). It was through this collaboration that In a Bind got in front of Gigamic and became Yogi. Your collaboration with the Pauls has helped you attend Essen Spiel, and led to the release of “Last Bug Standing”. Yeah, I think you have what it takes to be a game designer.
I loved seeing those acting shots! Never knew you did that
Before game design, I was totally hooked on theatre. But board games won and I haven't acted for 10 years or so. It's been a long time since I've even been to the theatre!
Awesome stuff. Thank you for this amazing channel.
Thanks you ChronoCZ! 🙂 Much appreciated.
Really good breakdown of what it takes to be a game designer. Super helpful to think about all these elements. Always great content, thanks!
Thanks for watching. Glad you found the video helpful.
Unironically, Building Blocks really was my bedtime reading for a while... Short, snappy chapters, easy to read, pretty formulaic (being a typology of things) so not a page turner and gets you to sleep...
Me too! :)
Thanks for the video!
I think the "game designers also have a profession outside of game design" is an interesting angle. I'm curious about the correlation between the type of games people design and what their profession is outside of game design.
Yes, it is interesting isn’t it. We have a wide range of different professions coming through our playtest group, and I’m not sure there’s a correlation with their designs.
Wait a minute... You are a writer, actor, singer, dentist, youtuber, and a game designer? 🤯
I'm definitely NOT a singer! 🤣
Oh, It looks like you were singing with a band in one of those images :) Anyway, impressive range of things you do/did.
Those mustachios fit you perfectly, by the way :)
You forgot cartoonist!
Kind of a modern-day Buckaroo Banzai.
Great video. Thanks. Sometimes it can be difficult to do the self-examination. Spelling out some of the things we need to be aware of is very helpful in advancing.
This is awesome! I am thankful that my past professions and learned skills have allowed me to be able to excel at everything you said in this video!! 😊😊
Congratulations! You clearly have what it takes :)
Thank you! For sure :) 2 signed games; 1 published and 2 more on the way.@@AdaminWales Love your videos mate!
~ Devon M
Thank you Adam for taking your time and energy to share these nuggets of wisdom.
Great advice Adam! I’m getting your game design journal.
Fantastic. Hope you enjoy it! Don't forget to leave me an Amazon review :)
Hi! Your videos are helping me a lot. Thank you for sharing your knowledge!
Greetings from Costa Rica :)
I think you are perhaps overstating the qualifications required to make board games, and I'm not sure I agree with your idea of making a great game that the market will like vs making a game you'd want to play. If you play a LOT of games, and you make a game you would want to play over all the games in your collection, it's likely you'll be able to succeed as long as you have the grit to keep pushing and stay organized (as you suggest) to get your game and name out there.
I see designers with good prototype games fail to bring them to market year after year because they don’t have one or more of the traits on this list (patience, resilience, organisation, motivation, communication skills…) None of these are qualifications - they are facets of a person’s personality. And they can be worked on.
With regards to the “making a game that you want to play” approach, you’re with the majority :) I read that advice on designer forums on a daily basis. I think it’s good advice, but I just don’t think it’s enough.
I believe it is just fair to playtest your game with people you do not know personally to make sure other people like to play it just as much as you so. Nobody wants to end Up with a heartbreaker simply because they did not check with the world outside.
Wow, that intro was depressing. Those things aren't true of me, so when you said 'congratulations you have 1/10th of the skills...' I am sitting here feeling like I have less than 10% of the skills. 😞
Yeah, it was a provocative opener :) I think lots of designers think that experience and imagination is all they need (I don’t think many revise Building Blocks of Tabletop Game Design really). Hopefully the rest of the video gave a little more context!
Thanks for another great video.
Excellent video!
I'm well aware I'm bad at teaching games, I have to write scripts to teach a game well. I tend to avoid teaching games I know that I don't have a script memorized even if I have encyclopedic knowledge of the game systems. I'm a better index than a tutorial.
Interesting. What you’ve said there shows insight though - and you’ve clearly developed a strategy to help you communicate. So that’s fantastic!
Great tips as always, but I'm really curious with those acting shots. Did you play on musicals? Were you a model too? You look fabulous! 👀
Thanks! No, never musicals. I mainly did classical theatre. Those images were from Tartuffe, The Trojan Women, As You Like It, and a contemporary play called Old Hands. I certainly haven’t ever done any modelling! Haha.
Just discovered your channel. Just ordered your book. Just wrote my first comment. Just hope I publish my game 🤠👍
Thanks for watching! (And ordering the journal!) Hope it’s helpful :)
@@AdaminWales I'm sure it will. It would have been great if the algorithm suggested your channel to me 8 years ago!! We'd be best friends by now 😎
The problem with journals like those is that I churn through far more game design ideas than is practical to put down on paper...
Another great video. I'm hoping to see you in Cardiff in February or March. How many people on average make the meet-ups?
It varies, but recently they're very small - between 4 and 10 people on average.
Is your journal compatible with video game design instead of board game design
I’d say 90% of it is directly applicable to videogame design. Just substitute the word tabletop for video and you’re good to go… :)
The journal is much more about the designer and their process that it is about any specific game or type of game.
@@AdaminWales I really might just get this. I have been feeling sort of aimless and already considering journaling to try and help. Thanks!
No, none of what you said at the beginning is true for me, but.. I have an idea 😁
Adam, any chance the designer journal will become available in e-format?
A PDF is available on Drive Thru RPG :)
@@AdaminWales neat! I'm purchasing one as we speak! Thank you for providing amazing content!
Going to try to grade myself fairly, giving pts out of 10. (5=average, 10='perfect')
Design = 7 (lots of doubt in rating myself so highly, but seeing a couple of my games in your vid, which was lovely, gave me confidence to increase my rating by a few more pts)
Communication = 3
Listening = 7
Resilience = 6
Self motivation = 3
Patience = 3
Organisation = 1
IT/Graphic Design = 5
prototyping/crafting = 6
collaboration = 5
So I'm almost at 50% which feels OK-ish, but there is definitely some room for improvement.
I am not sure I do have what it takes to be a game designer tbh. I doubt it most days recently. I'm not sure 'what game designers do' but I guess I do have the patience to keep going. But after 10 years, I'm starting to run out of patience/confidence.
Your anxiety is clouding your judgement Bez. You are very good at many of these things.
Your communication is excellent. You are prolific in your use of social media, and are known all over the world. It is your own unique brand of communication, but my goodness it works.
Listening? I have no idea. Do you think about your audience much? I think you create games that people want to play.
Your self-motivation is off the charts. You produce so many games, and push them out into the world with absolute determination. Generally without a publisher to do it for you. It is a constant stream of new games. You are only remembering the days where you don’t feel like doing it. I can go weeks without feeling like doing any design. You couldn’t have achieved what you have without motivation.
I don’t know how resilient you are. You post often about your struggles with confidence, but you ALWAYS get back up again and keep on doing it.
Crafting - because most of your games are just cards, it’s hard to say. But your illustrations are excellent!
IT skills - I have no idea.
Patience. You seem to move fast - always from one game to the next. Perhaps you could afford to slow down?
And collaboration, well it seems to me like you have an enormous network of people around you supporting you (and presumably you supporting them). It was through this collaboration that In a Bind got in front of Gigamic and became Yogi. Your collaboration with the Pauls has helped you attend Essen Spiel, and led to the release of “Last Bug Standing”.
Yeah, I think you have what it takes to be a game designer.
@@AdaminWales
Not necessarily 2 to 3 years ....i,ve a few freinds in this feild who,ve success 1 to 2 years ....