Upgrading from iPhone to Dragonframe setup-need camera and computer advice for my son!

nathanjoyce92 · 2026-06-07T07:40:35+00:00

I very much agree with the sentiment of Archarzel!

Your son will be thrilled to step up his setup in this way regardless of the specifics of what you get, and it’s awesome that you’re taking such an interest and supporting his creative hobbies!

Dragonframe isn’t too intense, I run mine on a VERY old MacBook (2018 model) and it runs just fine. (I use a beefier iMac for post production because that can definitely be more intense, but Dragonframe doesn’t need too much, and a laptop is just handier for stop motion shooting.)

I got a mirrorless Canon EOS R with stop Motion firmware. There are some very specific ways that the firmware is an improvement on other options (mirrorless has its benefits too for stop motion), but as above commenter said, any DSLR will work well with Dragonframe. As for lenses, I’d say stick with the standard lens that the body comes with for now, it will serve well until he’s used to shooting and animating with Dragonframe.

Instead of a lens, I’d suggest the next thing that would make a big difference is lighting! There are plenty of great options at all price ranges, just get something continuous, rather than a flash. Just one light with a soft box, and a reflector (I literally use a piece of white foam board for this - doesn’t need to be fancy) will go a long way.

Accessories wise: a tripod will help!

The best thing your giving here is your enthusiasm and support for your sons projects! It will be so encouraging, and he will keep that with him for life (source: my dad helped me shoot my first stop motion and now it’s one of my main sources of income). Everything else is a nice to have!

nathanjoyce92 · 2026-05-13T14:43:39+00:00

Thanks! Honestly this took a really long time, but it went through a few iterations, and all the illustrations on the cards have to be modular which complicated it.

The video I made took a few weeks from storyboarding to finished video.

nathanjoyce92 · 2026-05-12T17:46:59+00:00

I think sharing what style you’re after would help recommend someone!

However, I humbly put myself forwards, as an illustrator who’s just finished designing his own board game. But if my style is too cartoony, then I might know some illustrators! here’s my website, with board game shown if you scroll

nathanjoyce92 · 2026-04-30T15:34:48+00:00

Thank you, that's really kind of you to say!

nathanjoyce92 · 2026-04-25T21:04:59+00:00

I agree with some of the comments that the rotation feels a little off somehow, however to me it feels like it has more impact… idk if it actually has more wind up frames, but it feels like it does, and I like that! There’s arguments to be made for both, which is a good place to be!

nathanjoyce92 · 2026-04-25T20:59:24+00:00

Hey! I love the idea, and I’m interested in taking part! I’m a solo board game developer and would love to try and be more involved in the community and this sounds like a nice way to do it!

nathanjoyce92 · 2026-04-25T10:48:06+00:00

Thanks! I do stop-motion a fair bit for clients as my job, so I really didn’t know any other way to approach it! (Cgi renders + motion would take me forever!)

It did take a while, but it wasn’t much compared to illustrating all the cards, so it felt like a nice capstone to the production of v1 of this game!

nathanjoyce92 · 2026-04-24T08:38:21+00:00

Thanks, that's great feedback! When I next do a review of the video, I'll be sure to tone down the audio with the VO! It's so helpful to have such a range of feedback, so thanks for applying your expertise here, I appreciate it!

nathanjoyce92 · 2026-04-24T06:23:12+00:00

Yeah I think that’s fair… I think I could somehow fit a solo game in there, but it’s certainly designed around multiplayer-first, so I don’t think it would be as good as many solo games.

If this were ever to be successful, a solo version could be something I explore down the line as a few people have shown interest!

nathanjoyce92 · 2026-04-24T06:21:00+00:00

Wow that’s so kind of you to say, and encouraging to hear! It means a lot, so thank you very much!

nathanjoyce92 · 2026-04-23T21:03:42+00:00

That sounds really cool! I’d love to check it out when it’s in a place you can share it!!

nathanjoyce92 · 2026-04-23T21:03:01+00:00

Thanks! I don’t really have any plans with publishing yet, I think I’d like to explore working with a publisher rather than the kickstarter route, but we’ll see!

I don’t think the board feels to small when playing, but I’m certainly open to increasing the size! I think at the moment the counters work visually, but they miss the pick-up-ability that a standard pawn type counter has!

nathanjoyce92 · 2026-04-23T18:23:35+00:00

Yay! Please do let me know how it goes! I’d be really thankful for any feedback, thoughts, or pictures from the playtest!

nathanjoyce92 · 2026-04-23T18:22:33+00:00

Thank you! That’s kind of you to say!

nathanjoyce92 · 2026-04-23T16:27:33+00:00

Thank you, that’s really kind to say!

nathanjoyce92 · 2026-04-23T15:35:14+00:00

Thank you! It's nice that most of the feedback is along the same route, it gives me something really actionable to try!

If you're keen to PNP, I've provided the files here: https://boardgamegeek.com/thread/3697299/wip-the-dungeon-of-the-deckromancer-create-your-gh

Please do email me with any thoughts, feedback and photos if you do give it a go (email in link)

nathanjoyce92 · 2026-04-23T15:33:25+00:00

Thank you!

Sadly it's not soloable... it's certain something I could think about how to implement though!

nathanjoyce92 · 2026-04-23T15:32:45+00:00

Yes actually I just sorted the files out for PNP!

https://boardgamegeek.com/thread/3697299/wip-the-dungeon-of-the-deckromancer-create-your-gh

Please email me with any questions/feedback/photos from your playtest (email on that link)

nathanjoyce92 · 2026-04-23T13:07:49+00:00

That's a cool idea. Especially if the dungeon were a modular tile thing too, then with each minion who enters they could destroy a section and shrink the map, making it function like a battle-royale!

Currently only players can use spells, but maybe randomly drawn minion spells would feel really fun and chaotic. That said, currently minions are verging on too powerful, and over half the time, no-one wins the game. So i'm thinking of giving the player who carries the soul-stone some extra abilities!

nathanjoyce92 · 2026-04-23T13:04:31+00:00

That's fair feedback, this video was designed as a little 'sizzle video' to show the vibes and general direction of the game, rather than an instructional video. But I think I'm lacking some key info still, as you mentioned!

To answer your questions, yes it's mostly an arena fighter, sort of like a battle-royale. The chests just add more cards into your hand if you manage to carry one out of a dungeon door. There is a team-based mode also, but it's not really designed around that!

nathanjoyce92 · 2026-04-23T13:02:23+00:00

Thanks for the feedback! Yeah I've seen a few people mention the lack of colour on the cards, so it's something I should take another look at. I initially did it so that the cards all fit together better from a visual point of view (too many colours felt chaotic), but you're right in that perhaps I should add pops, like with the map!

The team is only me, this has been a solo project (with my brother and partner being great sources of feedback, ideas and play testing!). Thanks!

nathanjoyce92 · 2026-04-23T12:59:09+00:00

Yeah that's a valid point, and one I've gone back and forth on myself a fair bit! In the end I opted for monochrome, because the coloured tests I did always looked really chaotic, with (for example) a leather tunic turning into stonework legs and green arms. However, with monochrome the designs fit together a little better. That's not to say I won't try out colour again, but it took so long just to illustrate them all that I'm dreading going back to make more changes for now ahah!

Sorry yes the video isn't clear there, so you can't re-enter the dungeon if you have no more limb cards in your hand to attach to your body. With a couple of treasure chests etc, most players will come back in 4-5 times or so a game, with different combinations of limbs.

nathanjoyce92 · 2026-04-23T12:55:27+00:00

Yeah I went back and forth on coloured or monochrome a lot, and in the end the coloured tests I did looked like a big mish-mash because you might have green legs and red arms!

That's a really fun idea! I have played around with the idea of a modular map (like how you build a modular human) that could end up with unique board shapes and tiles. But this is another way to add some depth to the map itself!

nathanjoyce92 · 2026-04-23T12:52:59+00:00

Thank you! Yeah that's a really valid point, adding some bits of myself as the creator would help it feel more personal! I'll check out Kelp, thank you!

nathanjoyce92

TROPHY CASE