Sharing a board game you are designing with other people is an intense experience. You are showing something personal, a piece of art, with the world. The inherent challenge is the need for critique. As we previously discussed, a game needs real players moving pieces and developing strategies for the designer to see how their ideas are interpreted. You need their feedback. However, playtesters have a different relationship with the game. They provide valuable insight, but filtered through their prior knowledge and biases. Refining your game based on these comments is as much of an art as the initial design.
Playtesting - Steps
We are cracking away at both Far Away and Mordgeist: two exciting new Cherry Picked titles. Much of our attention is focused on playtesting these games. We are writing a short series of playtesting articles for this blog, discussing our ideology and methodology for designing and refining new games. First, we are highlighting the steps we take from idea to release.
Far Away Design Ideas
Far Away is a two-player, cooperative game about exploring an alien planet. You and your partner must overcome starvation, a dangerous ecosystem, and the crushing loneliness that comes with being the only two people for lightyears. Far Away is likely to be Cherry Picked’s fourth title and is going through the playtest/design iterations now. We want to start sharing our new idea with everyone.