MeStarter #4 update 2: Theme

 MeStarter #4 update 2: Theme

Many game designers are asked “what do you start designing with: theme or mechanism?”*

For me, it’s 49/51 with theme taking the lead. Which begs the question; “which theme am I passionate enough about to spend the next 6-12 months making a game about?”

 

My usual answer is: there are three themes that I want to design games about: Star Wars, Batman and Disneyland’s Haunted Mansion. I’ve come close to having games based on all three published… but not yet.

 

And then I am reminded of the sage words of my pal Hardy LeBel who said “make your own damn Star Wars.” **

 

There are currently three themes that intrigue me when considering designing a game with immersive table presence. They are: 

 

 

 1) An Indiana Jones-esque set in a trap-filled temple

 

 

2) A James Bond-esque spy thriller set in a multi-level casino

 

 

 3) An 80’s action game based in a “not” Die Hard’s Nakatomi Plaza Tower

 

I find all three themes exciting and I can already envision game play based on them. However, the real question is, which theme is most exciting to YOU since (hopefully) you will be backing this. (More on how you will be doing this in a future update)

 

Let me know which theme is the most exciting to you in the comments below!!

 

* My answer is usually “Why not both?”

** I did this when I created Rayguns and Rocketships.

Mestarter #4 update 3: Experimentation

Mestarter #4 update 3: Experimentation

I've mentioned that I often find inspiration in remix. Taking two (or more) ideas and smooshing them together to make something (hopefully) new.

Recently, my game group played an old favorite, Colt Express. IMHO, it's the poster child of a game with great table presence. In my mind, I started to wonder what Colt Express would be like if it were orientated vertically instead of horizontally. I decided to try it out.

Taking my copy of Colt Express, I mashed it up with another game, Ouija Manor, a little-known Prospero Hall game from 2024 with a dramatic board, just to see if it worked.

The good news is, "Colt Manor" as I dubbed it, worked really well - with only a few tweaks needed to accommodate the different play orientation. 

The bad news is, I don't want to just make "Colt Express meets Ouija Manor." I want to create something more original than that.

And I don't even know if there is interest in a game like this. Is there?

I will have to give this concept some more thought before I move forward with it.

Project #4 (name TBD) update 1

MeStarter #4 update 1: Inspiration

It's time to start a new MeStarter. Follow along to join me on this creative journey!

"Where do your ideas come from?" is a question that famous writers report being asked often. For me, ideas for games can come in a variety of ways.

 An idea from a game can come from playing another game and being so impressed by it, that I am inspired to make my own version of it. Or conversely, playing an unsatisfying game and wanting to make (IMHO) an improved version of the design.

It can come from synthesizing two or more ideas together to create a new one. This concept is beautifully illustrated in Kirby Ferguson's multi-part video essay "Everything is a Remix"

Sometimes I will just look at pictures of games online at BGG.com or Kickstarter or Gamefound to see if I can understand what the game play is just by looking at it. Often I am wrong, but that misunderstanding can lead to a new idea for a game.

I have to admit, going into MeStarter #4 (name TBD), I didn't have a specific "mission statement". For Oh No! There Goes Tokyo! I wrote "I don't know what this game is going to be, but it's going to have a windup monster in it." Escape from Rotter Mansion started it's creation as a game "with dice and a ghost in it."

This time? I'm starting from scratch.

There are a few concepts that I'm interested in exploring: the first is a game with "Table Presence" - the type of game that makes you go "Wow!" when you see it. Usually this "Wow factor" comes from a paper craft element on the board like the tree in Everdell, the delightful train in Colt Express or the impressive multi-level mansion in Ouija Manor. I'd like to create something memorable, that will draw the players in to want to play it.

But creating a game with table presence is just the start. I will also need intriguing game play and a theme. 

But let's save that for the next post.