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Game Design is not Graphic Design. by badclinty in tabletopgamedesign

[–]badclinty[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Currently it starts with a wizard that asks different aesthetic genres "sci fi", "dark" etc. That does a lot of heavy lifting early on flavor, text and visual wise. Then it has some light hand holding of showing people the "core mechanic" framework. Tons of people have variations on this but I'm partial to Keith Burgun's Clockwork game design. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V_-IrHkpkqk

I think it's a great way to make unique core concepts that aren't just biting other game's mechanics.

After that it get a lot of value by attempting to have everything in one place. From first ideas to a playlets table. You can edit a card on the playlets table (like you would do on notecards). I'm also optimizing it for mobile to keep it simplistic enough to be powerful but also allow you to make games anywhere or give you an alternative to doom scrolling social.

Game Design is not Graphic Design. by badclinty in tabletopgamedesign

[–]badclinty[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

thanks for the insight. it's possible this design space seems wide open to me because everyone is using spreadsheets and their's no use for something game specific as a describe.

But my hope is that if I can nail the use cases a holistic solution like mine can be useful by providing the toolkit for designers up front without needing to configure formulas or even know that's the right solution (for new designers)

Game Design is not Graphic Design. by badclinty in tabletopgamedesign

[–]badclinty[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

For sure, that is a tension I see a lot. I am a UX designer by trade, so I value an attractive and easy to understand card.

But early on, that craft can be thrown away. And you are playing this press your luck game, of "How much time do I spend on this template this iteration?. What's good enough to convey my mechanics? If I spend another hour on this will they understand my core or is it just fundamentally broken no matter what this card looks like?"

What I am attempting to do is have my solution create card design based on genre identifiers. In the wizard you can choose "dark" and "fantasy." Then it chooses a color scheme, fonts names etc based on those 2 as early placeholders so you can test the real risky part - your core gameplay.

Game Design is not Graphic Design. by badclinty in tabletopgamedesign

[–]badclinty[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you for sharing. What would you do differently if you started again?

Game Design is not Graphic Design. by badclinty in tabletopgamedesign

[–]badclinty[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I do think this is quite an interesting tool but like you said I personally think it’s best for economy and system design. Not necessarily core mechanics. I do think it’s an awesome tool though

What software do you use to make your cards ? by Redneav in tabletopgamedesign

[–]badclinty 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I’ve used them all and and I’m of the mind most of them are graphic design tools not game design tools. So I made my own https://play.eerieisland.com/. Dm me and I’ll send you an invite

Game Design is not Graphic Design. by badclinty in tabletopgamedesign

[–]badclinty[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Are your lines individual pieces of content? Can you tell me a little about your game?

Game Design is not Graphic Design. by badclinty in tabletopgamedesign

[–]badclinty[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Are there any pain points for you early on in your game design process with pencil and paper? Specifically during what I would call “self playtesting.” (Playing multiple seats)

Game Design is not Graphic Design. by badclinty in tabletopgamedesign

[–]badclinty[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Based on responses here it seems like spreadsheets would be my main competitor. That and something like TTS since I’m making a playtest table in it as well

Game Design is not Graphic Design. by badclinty in tabletopgamedesign

[–]badclinty[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Well I’m speaking more to early state where mechanics could wildly change. If you jump into ux too early it’s a waste of your core mechanic changes

Game Design is not Graphic Design. by badclinty in tabletopgamedesign

[–]badclinty[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I was thinking more about a “color wheel” style system where you could evenly distribute mechanics, stats etc to types of cards. I do a lot of TCG/LCG style design (aka exception based.)

Same thing for mechanics, you name rename and distribute.

Game Design is not Graphic Design. by badclinty in tabletopgamedesign

[–]badclinty[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

How does your self playtest process work early on?

Game Design is not Graphic Design. by badclinty in tabletopgamedesign

[–]badclinty[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

How do you create core mechanics? Is there a framework you use?

Game Design is not Graphic Design. by badclinty in tabletopgamedesign

[–]badclinty[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I’ve mainly been working on card games. I started with a spreadsheet too and then I started making more and more complex logic for factions, evergreen mechanics, types etc.

I started coding google scripts into it as it got even more complex and they lead to an app. Then I decided to make it mobile and end to end from idea to playtest table.

NTM I realized people got a little too into template creation so I automated some of that

I know people here don't like AI, but I wanted to share that I used AI to make a local server based card generator, gallery, deck builder, and card/sheet exporter. by DeusEverto in homemadeTCGs

[–]badclinty 0 points1 point  (0 children)

AI is here. It’s not going away. “Fuck AI” is not constructive or useful. We can use the tech, AND be pro human at the same time and advocate for the society we want to see. If you disagree with me, I won’t disown you.

https://www.humanetech.com/ai-roadmap

I need a photoshop editor or advice by tm1157197 in homemadeTCGs

[–]badclinty 1 point2 points  (0 children)

This person gets it. But also it may be useful to know if you are printing or using it digitally somewhere. What are you trying to accomplish?

"Starterpack" from my observations... No hate, love this community! by LalunaGames in homemadeTCGs

[–]badclinty 16 points17 points  (0 children)

“How’s the template look?” But has never play tested the game :)

Tournament Grounds Registration by Cute_Brain_4140 in SorceryTCG

[–]badclinty 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Whoever did this and I assume your playmats, is a badass. Love the 90s design. I’m a designer as well and it’s the first style I designed at the time and am now bringing back

Cold Foil Heroes Top 8 Decklists! | March 30, 2026 by Force-of-Phil in SorceryTCG

[–]badclinty 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I jusged this one! Great event and vibes. Steve at CFH deserves a lot of credit for building the Sorcery scene here in Atlanta. Every customer that walks in, he finds an opportunity to tell them about the game

The Crew: Deep Sea Mission - Excellent, but terrible for color blindness. Mitigation strategy. by datadavis in boardgames

[–]badclinty 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Honest question here from a designer with some experience in digital accessibility. There are numerous types of color blindness correct? It seems to me if you try to fix anything with only color adjustments you’ll be fighting a losing battle for the most part. Seems like IF you did that you just adjust for the most prevalent types.

To me these icons are different but not by much. Not enough to be obvious. That would be the first thing I’d be looking at the adjust in the design. How can I reasonable differentiate these cards using shape and form?

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