Everyone likes lists

Things to possibly include in my game:

Galactic map - possibly modular

Tutorial - A short explanation of game mechanics that would double as a set-up randomizer

House of Representatives - area control type deal for various combos and end game victory points

Multiple victory paths - with some randomization available

Variable player powers.

Different ways to add cards to deck, i.e. playing an action that involves the house of reps may allow to add Politic cards, visiting cantinas may allow to add smuggler cards, visiting a starport for ship upgrades.

Player pieces moving around the board to collect cards and change spheres of influence.

Looking to the Stars for Inspiration

First, a confession: I forgot my game idea. I remembered it was a good one, so I came back to this very blog, and reading my posts sparked inspiration for a new round of ideas.

Been thinking about Race for the Galaxy and how they didn't introduce combat rules until the 3rd expansion. I hear it's a bad mechanic, but I like the idea of having a game in which you build your engine toward your goal without someone else tearing it down, though they can obstruct your way as they build their own.

To this end I have been looking at the Star Wars universe as my main source of inspiration, and chewing on whether there is enough in if I remove all the combat.
Political intrigue, trading via legal and illegal means, bounty hunters, and more go along in the background, so I think there is something to work with.

I've also been thinking of some of the 4X video games I've played, such as Master of Orion and Civilization and looking for ideas - possible victory conditions in particular.

As I was typing this, I actually thought to look some things up, and an idea sparked - what if instead of playing a supreme leader type of role players took the role of some sort of galactic criminal. Like Firefly, I guess? (Not a huge fan of the series.)

Galactic Senate - Deck Building

The latest game thought exercise, the tutorial level thing, has brought me back to an older theme: that of a Galactic senate in which culture differences and language barriers pose obstacles to the players. Overcoming these obstacles in the best way possible is how players make points and win the game.

Originally with a worker placement mechanic, I'm now mulling over deck building to tackle the theme.
One way in which it differs from Doiminion and company is that instead of purchasing cards with a hand full of treasure, you would need a card that speaks the same "language" as a card you wish to add to your deck (or a crisis to solve?)
A second difference would be programmable actions, similar to Wings of Glory, where you need to place a card in advance to determine movement, and hope it works out the way you planned.
Finally, in similar fashion to Trains, cards will give you actions (and reactions) to make changes over the player board, such as persuading representatives to your cause, to affect scoring.

Tutorial Level

An abstract idea has popped in my head, fallout from a past Ludology podcast, I believe.

Ryan and Geoff had been talking about the difference between board and video games, and how most people would want to jump straight into the full board game experience, without messing around with truncated versions designed to teach the game...

...What if a compressed version of the basics of the game would change how the main game would play out?

A simple example could be one timed lap of a race to determine pole position, but that would have a lot of player downtime, not cool.

Single cells organisms competing with each other to evolve into complex creatures, changing the game map and gaining special abilities according to performance is more along the lines of what I'm going for.

Snake Oil

My roll and move game has a snake oil salesmen theme to it.

The basic premise involves moving around a track and choosing the action that would be most beneficial for you while being careful not to help your opponents even more.

After rolling and moving your pawn, you may choose an action, perhaps from a limited set according to location, and receive a bonus for it, which your opponents can then follow (to help eliminate down time, one of the problems of classic roll and move.)

These actions may include collecting ingredients, brewing concoctions, improving potions and equipment for a variety of bonuses and combos, and selling your product for gold and reputation.

A Roll and Move Exercise

It's been while since I've posted, hasn't it?

It's not that I haven't thought about game design, although maybe I did think about it less.
My cardinal sins card game still comes up in my thoughts, with some variations on how it would play - sometimes it has a board, other times it's pure card based; Different ideas on what each card might do, etc.

I haven't been listening to the Ludology podcast over the past few months, yet as soon as I do, the ideas start flowing back.

This time it was a question directed towards the hosts - Ryan Sturm and Geoff Engelstein about whether any game mechanics are going to disappear in the future, or fall out of vogue .
Roll and move was mentioned as an unpopular mechanic amongst the hobbyists, and yet still prevailing amongst the general populace who expect it and haven't been exposed to better things.
So I've been thinking to myself how roll and move could be improved upon. The main problem is that it doesn't give any choice and the game ends up playing you rather than you it. You have no real control over which space you fall on in Monopoly or Talisman, while you can at least split the dice results in a game of backgammon.

What if we used this random element to determine our possibilities, the way the dice roll in Catan determines what resources are handed out (or whether the robber strikes again) regardless of who rolled the dice?

Roll the dice, move your pawn around the track, and from where you land have certain choices available to you, such as selecting a role you can play this turn? Would that work? I'll play such scenarios in my mind and look for more interesting ideas. Who knows maybe I'll combine it with earlier ideas in interesting ways, maybe even to an idea I could take to play testing.

Mechanics That Don't Make A Game

Drafting is still playing a big role in my pipe dream game ideas, I find the possibilities of completely changing how you play the game via the cards you are dealt exciting.

I have a problem though, it's not enough to make a game.

Trying to come up with a thematic reason to start a game with a draft has lead to the concept of a master and subordinate, one of your cards will serve as your main character, with powerful abilities to help you during the game. A second card would have more limited abilities, based on what it could have had if it was chosen first.

This idea has also lead to find uses for other cards from the draft: a starting building, currency or even a map piece.

From there I started thinking of settings. Starship captains for a sci-fi flair came first, but didn't seem to hold together very well. Wizards with apprentices came next and is a stronger idea, I think, but I also like the idea of demons vying for control until hell freezes over and the game ends, which is what I am playing with right now.