Game Chef

[mrteapot]

So they have posted the final rules for Game Chef, and allowed the designers to see the art threads. Now I have to pick one (or two) sets of art and write a game about them.

Comments

[lordrefa]

Not that my input matters much -- but I love reading most of these Game Chef entries that you do -- and I'd love to see the human/insect society one done up... Although, that one also lends towards something obvious that will probably be entered a few times by others, too.

[mrteapot]

I'm unsure at the moment how much I want to worry about what other people are designing and such. The insect one is indeed one of the most popular sets so far, which makes me wonder if I shouldn't pick a different set. But it's also one of the sets I have the clearest picture of how to game it.

[lordrefa]

I'd say if you're concerned with winning -- don't pick it. It's harder to shine when you're doing the same thing as everyone else. If it's just a fun exercise that you get to do that's graded by your peers: Do the one that you've got the most solid feeling for.

That's my 1/50th of a dollar, though.

[mrteapot]

Thinking about the art sets some more, I'm probably going with the Dale Horstman set and the Elizabeth Shoemaker set. Which seem to be two of the most popular sets. So no "using a rare set" awards for me.

Hopefully this doesn't mean my game gets lost amongst a lot of similar games, which is what I feel happened last year. I'm hoping the weird play structure I have in mind (and will describe in a separate thread) will make my game stand out enough.

As far as winning goes: it's only a little bit about winning, and a lot about designing interesting stuff and getting peer feedback and such. On the other hand, designing for a set that immediately inspires me (and a lot of other people) might make a better game than a set that doesn't inspire me (or anyone else) or is too abstract to work with.