Maintaining Game Balance for a Variable Number of Players – continued
In our post of February 13, 2019 (two weeks ago), we talked about : Maintaining Game Balance for a Variable Number of Players And we said that applying a little math might help us to do just that. - - - So, let’s go straight to the math. Or at least, to...
… We Interrupt This Blog for a Special Announcement …
We have a WINNER!Our “How Can You Use Chopsticks in a Game” contest has ended and our WINNER is:Jason Norton from Oswego County in upstate New York!Congratulations, Jason!As you might suspect, Jason is a gamer. In fact, he has also worked in the games...
Maintaining Game Balance for a Variable Number of Players
Wow! My brand new game is just great! Beautiful components – cards you can actually shuffle (not that I would ever do a thing like that) – and it plays from 1 to 6 players. Now, Mom and Pop can join us on the weekend. And the kids can invite their friends....
Dice and More Dice – Concluding Remarks On an Eight Part Series
In Part 8 of this series, we presented: “I Hate Dice” – Game Purists Speak Their Mind And we saw that while some people really, really dislike the over-use of dice in games (because of randomness gone out of control), there are those that will meet you...
Dice and More Dice – Part 8 – “I Hate Dice” – Game Purists Speak Their Mind
In Part 7.C of this series, we presented :“Like a Man Obsessed” – Dice Collectors Tell Their Storyand we examined several dice collections including one that is listed in the Guinness Book of World Records.- - -Today's post:You sit down to play what you...
Dice and More Dice – Part 7.C – “Like a Man Obsessed” – Dice Collectors Tell Their Story
In Part 7.B of this series, we presented :Like a Man Obsessed” – Dice Collectors Tell Their Storyand we examined the ancient dice collection housed at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.- - -Joe is a friend of mine who collects dice. Or rather, Joe is a...
Dice and More Dice – Part 7.B – “Like a Man Obsessed” – Dice Collectors Tell Their Story
In Part 7.A of this series, we presented :“Like a Man Obsessed” – Dice Collectors Tell Their Storyand we laid some groundwork by discussing a wide variety of modern 6-sided (d6) dice.- - -In this post we will continue to explore the fascinating hobby of...
Dice and More Dice – Part 7.A – “Like a Man Obsessed” – Dice Collectors Tell Their Story
In Part 6 of this series, we presented : Who Moves and How Far? – Randomizers Other Than Dice - - - In this post we will begin to explore the fascinating hobby of dice collection. A hobby that some folks can't get enough of and a hobby that others disdain....
Dice and More Dice – Part 6 – Who Moves and How Far? – Randomizers Other Than Dice
In Part 5 of this series, we presented : Your Invention Really Matters – How Inventors Have Infused New Life Into a Dying Industry - - - Let me see now … Dice and cards and spinners and … And what? What else can be used in a game to make a choice or...
Dice and More Dice – Part 5 – Your Invention Really Matters – How Inventors Have Infused New Life Into a Dying Industry
In Part 4 of this series, we presented :Dice and The Law – Regional Opinions That Have Varied Over Time- - -The year was 1935 and the nation was at war, with itself. As a nation emerging from one international crisis and about to enter another, the US...
Dice and More Dice – Part 4 – Dice and The Law – Regional Opinions That Have Varied Over Time
In Part 3 of this series, we presented :All These Stats Give Me a Headache – A Simplified View of Dice Mechanics- - -Have you ever heard the expression, “No dice”? Most of us have. But do you know where the expression comes from? Urban legend or not,...
Dice and More Dice – Part 3 – All These Stats Give Me a Headache – A Simplified View of Dice Mechanics
In Part 2 of this series, we presented :How Plato Influenced Modern Role Playing Games- - -In this post, we'll explore the basic notions of how dice work and why you shouldn't worry if you just don't get the math. In short, it's okay. The math is built in....
Fantasy Game Art – Concluding Remarks on a Theory of Composition
In Part 8 of this series, we presented : Look at Me! And Pay Attention!: Giving the Nod to 13 Centers of Interest Fantasy Game Art – A Theory of Composition In Part 1 of this series – A Fifth Dimension: The Hidden Axis of Symmetry, we listed five types of...
Fantasy Game Art – Part 8 – Look at Me! And Pay Attention! Giving the Nod to 13 Centers of Interest
In Part 7 of this series, we presented : Trick Photography: What It Is and What It Isn’t - - - Have you ever been right there? Maybe we all have. Your professor stands before you and explains what you’re seeing but you don’t see it at all. All you see are...
Fantasy Game Art – Part 7 – Trick Photography: What It Is and What It Isn’t
In Part 6 of this series, we presented : Perceiving Mass and Void: How to Balance the Proportion and Weight of Each of Your Elements - - - We have all heard the term “trick photography” but just how big a trick is it anyway? And when is it no trick at all?...
Fantasy Game Art – Part 6 – Perceiving Mass and Void: How to Balance the Proportion and Weight of Each of Your Elements
In Part 5 of this series, we presented : The Importance of Being Blue: Contrast and the Human Eye - - - Have you ever been afraid as a child? Sure you have. We all have. And what were we afraid of? In this post we will examine the importance of what I will...
Fantasy Game Art – Part 5 – The Importance of Being Blue: Contrast and the Human Eye
In Part 4 of this series, we presented : Altered States: When to Alter Reality and When It’s Best to Leave it Alone - - - You caught me. This one took some research. And I’ll have to admit that when I first sat down to outline this series I only vaguely...
Fantasy Game Art – Part 4 – Altered States: When to Alter Reality and When It’s Best to Leave it Alone
In Part 3 of this series, we presented : Theme and Content: A (Brief) Catalog of Fantasy Symbols - - - Fantasy game art is much like anything else in the fantasy genre. Take books and films, for example. Have you ever read a fantasy novel where a single...
Fantasy Game Art – Part 3 – Theme and Content: A (Brief) Catalog of Fantasy Symbols
In Part 2 of this series, we presented : Classic Sources of Light and Shadow - - - Where would we be in our understanding of fantasy art without a knowledge of the symbols being used? Indeed, where would we be if we had never heard of unicorns or of...
Fantasy Game Art – Part 2 – Classic Sources of Light and Shadow
In Part 1 of this series, we presented : A Fifth Dimension: The Hidden Axis of Symmetry - - - Whenever someone mentions the presence of shadow in game art, my first instinct is to think of the sun as casting that shadow. And maybe that’s because of the...
Fantasy Game Art – Part 1 – A Fifth Dimension: The Hidden Axis of Symmetry
Of all the things that one could talk about when it comes to fantasy art, Why start with something as abstract as axes of symmetry? And why, for heaven’s sake, do you want us to believe that there are suddenly – not 3 or even 4, but 5 axes of symmetry?...
Fantasy Game Art – Introducing a Theory of Composition
This is a bit of a teaser post to introduce our very first serial post, an eight part series about fantasy game art and a working theory that you may choose to follow. So, what will we talk about? Let’s have a look: Fantasy Game Art – Part 1 – A Fifth...
Pitching Your Game to a Publisher – What Sells and What Doesn’t
I stood atop a mountain and faced my objective, down there in the valley below. I had trained for weeks and my calves and thighs were just now recovering from the constant shock of bombardment. My ribs were sore but my upper body was better used to the...
Grease Monkey Meets Math Nerd – Where Little Game Mechanics Come From
Marla had worked at Joe’s Body Shop for just under a year when it happened, she met Dave, a grad student from Berkeley. He had hit a tree (just a little one) and bent his fender. She hammered it out. Then they dated, briefly, mostly at night after she got...