Steven returns from the Indie Jungle to answer the perennial question: do I stay or do I go. Steven hopes to help guide you in figuring out which design or ideas to stick with or to leave behind. His current design Sprawlopolis, mentioned in the post, is killing it on Kickstarter.
Category: The Indie Jungle
Steven Aramini explores the jungle of the game design and publishing world.
Designing as a Team Sport: Or All About Finding Good Creative Partners to Build Better Games
After a bunch of Kickstarters, Steven returns with another installment of the Indie Jungle exploring partnerships.
3D Elements in Board Games: Or All About Taking Your Game Designs to New Heights
Steven takes game design into another dimension. He examines using vertical space in game design.
Designing Micro: Or All About Creating a Game Experience That Delivers More With Less
The golden poison frog. The deathstalker scorpion. The Irukandji jellyfish. What do they have in common? They’re all ridiculously small…and all incredibly deadly. It just goes to show you that Mother Nature can conjure up some pretty powerful creatures in little packages. The same can be true of tabletop games. In the past, small box games with very few components generally meant that players were in store for a less engaging experience. Microgames have come a long way since those days, however, as gamers now have several great options that deliver in big ways. Perhaps no game has had more impact on the microgame genre than AEG’s “Love Letter,” which came out in 2012. In “Love Letter,” you take on the role of a suitor trying to woo the princess by delivering a love letter to her. The only catch is that all of your opponents are attempting the same…
The Jungle Gets Graphic: Or All About Graphic Design-Led Games in an Illustrated Age
The Indie Jungle is a lush, vibrant world, filled with color, beauty and eye-popping wonderment. From wildly imaginative images in games like “Mysterium” to stellar fantasy portraits like “Abyss” to rich visual landscapes like “Tides of Time,” illustrations can transform board game players to a different reality.
Bigger, Better, Faster, Stronger: Or Designing the Ultimate Engine Builder – YOU
You’re there… in the jungle. You’ve got so many ideas. This week, Steve guides along the path of one game design mechanism: the engine builder. No experience with cars or tools necessary.
The Hunger (To Design) Games: Or All About Entering the Arena of Game Design Contests
There are many paths that lead into the Indie Jungle – the “self-publishing” path, the “crowdfunding” path, the “pitch to a publisher” path and even the “print-on-demand” path. However, there is another path that many new game designers often overlook, one that can be uniquely fun, creatively challenging and infinitely rewarding…the “game design contest” path.
The Expedition Begins: Or How I Went from Playing Games to Designing Them
Designer Steve Aramini starts his feature series, The Indie Jungle, by taking a look at how he found his way into the jungle in the first place and what he’s done to get his bearings.