Here’s the skinny. I have a cute idea for a game, and I’m going to try and blog my design process. The reason for this is two-fold: 1) I’ve been wanting to blog more about game design, as I think it might help me get my thoughts straight. 2) I’ve been looking for an excuse to generate more blog content (like more than one post/week), and this is it.
So, here we go.
Concept 1: create a “sequel” to Thumb War (you know, “one two three four, I declare a thumb war”), adding more complex mechanics and strategy into the simple backseat-boredom game.
or…
Concept 2: create a paper-and-dice version of Thumb War, converting the game of thumb dexterity into a slick little strategy game which can be played in minutes and with a minimal toolset.
Although the first concept sounds more worthwhile (I always lose to Bonnie at Thumb War, even when I sneak-attack), I’ve decided to work on #2 first, since I have some pretty new dice which I can play with.
I’m a little O.C.D. about naming things, so I’ve already made some decisions on possible titles. Right now, it’s between “War Thumbs” and “ThumbCraft” (I like ThumbCraft slightly more, I believe). If I end up designing both concepts, I’ll most likely name the pen-and-paper version “ThumbCraft,” and the thumb-based version “War Thumbs,” so I’ll use those names in referring to the two tiny projects. I’ve already googled both names, and have found that they are not widely used by any other games (at least none popular enough to register in the first page or so). I told you I was weird about names.
The next step will be sketching out some rough mechanics for playtesting. Tomorrow, maybe?
» I challenge you to a thumb war! from tifotter on Flickr. Thanks!