I sat alone and unprepared as uncertainty raged on. It was a day lacking in inspiration and the task loomed ahead, the computer was repaired and there was no excuse for not resuming regular work. It was Monday. There had to be a post. Inspiration was absent but then a voice spoke from the heavens, filled with certainty and light and bade me consult its wisdom.
The best games give players a constant feeling of choice. I personally enjoy being confronted with options such that each one feels like an excellent decision, but involves sacrificing other equally good options. I like the feeling of mastery I get out of making a tough decision and seeing the rewards (and penalties) associated with that decision later in the game. It can also make the off turn more exciting, if the decisions that other players are making are more interesting and trying to derive what hidden information (e.g. the contents of their hand) can be inferred from them making particular decisions. Choice is great!
Last week I wrote about the decision to use models in Wizard Academy and received a number of nice comments on the work so far (which really should go to the artists). One of them mentioned how nice it was to see models falling outside of established tropes, which was lovely but possibly somewhat generous. I not only use tropes, but I use them a lot!
I’m fairly confident as a game designer, while I’ve still got a lot to learn I’m very happy with the work that I’ve done and have good reason to feel that I’m writing rules that make for an enjoyable experience. On the other hand I’ve only been in games publishing for a year and feel that I’ve got much further to go in this respect so I tend to use this blog to write about design topics rather than publishing topics. Today I’m going to break that pattern and write about a publishing decision: The inclusion of models in Wizard’s Academy.
