Other avenues...

So after licking my wounds are the campaign, I’ve spent the last few months looking at other avenues to get Mech Force published. I’ve reached out to a number of publishing companies. Some have replied, one even playtested, and although the feedback was good, they’re unfortunately not going to move forward with it. But I’m undeterred. There’s a few more companies I’m contacting, so keep your fingers crossed.

I’ve also got The Road Crew with another publisher. Hopefully I should get some feedback soon…

Cancellation

Unfortunately the Kickstarter campaign was not a success. I captured my thoughts and reflections below.

'Do you want to be a designer or a publisher? Because they are two entirely different things.' This was the question posed to me by a publisher at last year's Gencon. Although I thought I understood the question at the time, it really didn't hit home until the beginning of March this year, as I was staring at a net gain of 0 pledges on day 3 of my Kickstarter campaign... 

Consider this a gift to you and a cathartic exercise for me. Hopefully you won't make the same mistakes as I did. 

A bit of background, I've been messing around with games all my life, but I've been seriously designing for the last 3 years. I can't tell you when I decided to Kickstart 'Mech Force', but it has been my focus and goal for the last year to get it to launch. 

By the end of last year, the game was complete, the final art had been finished, and loads of playtesting had been carried out. (including a trip to the US, and into the First Exposure Playtest Hall at Gencon) So I began to prepare for launch in March. (Roughly five months away at that point.) 

I'm going to cover what I think I did wrong, and what I would do differently next time. And please note, what follows shouldn't be new information to most of you. I've read it multiple times on a number of different forums and blogs, including this one. However, it all seemed a little abstract until I started going through it myself... 

1 - The game is way too big. 

Certainly for a first timer. The amount of money I was asking for was far beyond any other kickstarter released on the same day (more on that later). 

Mech Force has a lot of dice, which weighs a box down, and one of the main problems with making a weighty game, beyond the manufacturing cost, is the shipping cost. 

I wasn't aware until very late in the day that there are 3 parts to shipping; The manufacturer to the ports, the ports to the fulfillment centres, and the fulfillment centres to the backers. (There were multiple fulfillment centres as I was planning to ship worldwide.) Those costs have to be rolled into the shipping cost or the unit pledge if I had a hope of at least coming out even. So having a weighty game, effectively pushes the cost up 3 times. Which, as I said, is a tall ask for a first timer. 

I estimated that I could shift 500 units. Bearing in mind, that most manufacturers make a minimum order of 1500, so those 'extra' unit costs need to be soaked up in the unit pledge, again making the game more expensive. 

2 - I didn't have a 'Community' 

Developing a community around a game is hard. Honestly, to make an impact, I think you need to be face-to-face with people. They need to see the game in the flesh, and see the designer too to develop a relationship. That requires going to conventions and hobby stores etc. 

Developing a community requires selling a product, and it feels far removed from designing. Being somewhat shy, this aspect has been difficult, I won't lie.

Another aspect of this is living in New Zealand. Our big cons get around 1000 people over 2 days, so building a community here is tricky.

3 - Incorrect Marketing

I spent money on Facebook ads, but I can't really say they helped. 350,000 hits do not equate to likes. Likes do not equate to page hits, and page hits do not equate to pledges. 

Facebook groups, although useful in getting the word out regarding games, can get lost in the noise of all the other games. Plus, there are a lot more gamers out there who learn about new games in completely different ways to Facebook. (websites, blogs, podcasts, videos etc.)

I managed to get 2 previews for the KS page from respected review sites. One of them was released nearly a week before. The reviewer did mention that next time, it would be better to release the video at the start of the campaign so interested viewers had something to see, otherwise it would fade from memory quickly. However, without sorting out problem 2, (see above) I don't think it would have made a huge difference.

One video I had to write one off due to the quality. Although I didn't pay for that one, shipping, time and one of my prototypes was chewed up in the process. 

It's not that the number of videos on the Kickstarter page give the campaign credence, it's the audiences that those review sites bring. Good ones (generally) cost money and they have a queue so I should have started the 'contact' process out a lot sooner. 

Also, there were around 30 games released on the same day, and an 'event' game released the following day. That's a lot of games vying for attention. I should have possibly checked the release schedule and chosen a different date. However, this industry of ours isn't getting any smaller so every week brings new goodies.

4 - Trying to do everything by myself

If this process has taught me one thing, is that I cannot do everything. I have limitations and I may have to face the fact I am not a publisher. Indeed, in the last 5 months, although I've learned a lot, I haven't done any design work at all, and that's been one of my biggest concerns. 

So coming back full circle; am I a designer, or am I a publisher? Probably the former. 

Board games are an art form, and like all art, they're best shared. However, the process of sharing beyond workshops and gaming groups may be a task for someone else. 

However, that doesn't mean I've given up on Mech Force. It's a great game. There may be other means of getting it to tables, and that's what I'm working on now. And I'm sure that will bring its own set of challenges... 

The (Proper) Countdown has begun...

Invariably, the busier I get, the less I tend to update this blog. And the last few months have been no exception. It’s been a long road to get to this point, but I’m finally going live with Mech Force on March 5th.

Publishing has been a completely different experience to designing. I’ve has to learn a lot more of the Adobe suite for one thing. Making a Kickstarter video has been rewarding but taken a while, as has the Kickstarter page itself. Again, Shem has been an absolute legend. It’s been amazing to have a mate who’s a KS ‘veteran’ close by to bounce questions and concerns off of.

So 3 weeks to go, and fingers crossed. Everything seems to be moving along okay. I have a few outstanding things to take care off, namely review sites and confirming pricing for the logistics, but it’s happening. It’s really happening…

Slow progress, but progress none the less...

Wow, I said to myself a year ago, I would try to update my blog once a week. How slack I’ve been. It’s not due to laziness. On the contrary, the total opposite. Focus has been elsewhere…

I’ve been in contact with Longpack a lot. We’ve been back and forth, trying to get the unit cost down. Another piece of invaluable advice from Shem was to stage the campaign. Going with a minimum viable product and then build up to the ‘perfect’ game, so that’s what I’ve done. Start with cutting down on some of the pieces. Go with cardboard tokens instead of wooden. Printed dice instead of engraved etc.

I think I’ve got a reasonable handle on the amount I’ll be charging per box, as well as the stretch goals I need to put in place.

Panda have still yet to get back to me…

For my own piece of mind, I’ve gone to another couple of companies to get a comparison cost. Hopefully they should be getting back to me within the next week.

What’s next?

1 - there’s some final pieces of art to come from Eddie: The new Kaiju set, the card backing for the personal goals and the new skill card pictures. That (he said) should be it on the artwork front.

2 - Review of the rulebook. It’s taken about 6 weeks to get a version which I’m happy with. A friend from across the pond, Ben, reviewed it without ever playing the game which was so helpful. The game has been part of me for over 2 years now, so perspective can be a problem. He gave me 11 pages of notes! Legend.

3 - I need playtesting of the blind variety to play the game when I’m not in the room. This will be a true test of how good the rulebook is. I have a mate who’s putting his hand up for that. (Thanks Sam) I’ll be looking for some more random strangers too before…

4 - I need reviews of some kind which is going to be a little more difficult. I’ve ordered some more parts to make a couple more prototypes to be able to send round. Back to printing and sticking.

5 - Marketing. Now there’s a black hole…

So, if I look behind me, I’ve traveled further than what’s in front of me, but the journey is not over by a long shot.

Onward!

Finding out the damage...

So it’s begun. I’ve started to contact the manufacturers to get an idea of unit cost. Longpack have been pretty good so far; 3 emails today. Panda have yet to get in contact but it was a Chinese holiday last week so that’s to be expected. It’s going to be interesting. Frankly, I’m a little worried about the cost of the dice, but we’ll have to see what they come back with. Fingers crossed, it’s not too pricey….

Feedback from Gencon!

I received the written feedback from the First Exposure test hall this week. All pretty positive, which is awesome!.

Gencon 2018

The travel was worth it, even the arduous task of geting through LA airport. Gencon was awesome. 4 days of gaming, some really good playtesting of Mech Force and meeting some lovely people.

Feedback of Mech Force was positive. Some more tweaks to come (which I'll discuss in another post).

And I'm off!

Well it's been a long time coming but I'm now ready to depart the fair shores on New Zealand and make the 30 hour trip to Indianapolis. Prototypes are finished (as they'll ever be) and in the suitcase.

See you on the other side!

Counting down

Gencon is just around the corner and I've been spending the last month furiously getting the 'final' print files together. Eddie's finished off all the artwork and it's looking awesome.

The bespoke dice have turned up from Board Game Maker and they look the part.

Mod Parts for Wellycon!

Furiously trying to get a near final print of the game for Wellycon at the weekend. Eddie's finished all of the mod parts and they look amazing!

Edging closer to the final product.

I've been quiet on the blog last month, but that doesn't mean I haven't been busy. Eddie's been dropping more artwork for me, and I've been creating the final print files within Illustrator. Here's an example of one of the finished player boards.

The mech mods on the list next. They're looking exceedingly good. Finger's crossed the main artwork can be completed by Wellycon at the start on June. I'd love to give it a play through with all the artwork ready to go...

An Eye to the future Version 13.3

Up until this point, minor details such as game board size I'd put on the back burner. But as the final version approaches, I had to think about bringing it down to a 'industry standard'. Couple that with incorporating Eddie's great artwork, I wanted to enhance the comic book feel. The outcome is design below.  

What I've realised is that I need a few more pieces of art (Victory and Engagement Tracks) but it's certainly starting to take shape.

IDML! Version 13 - Constant tweaking

I've been play testing IMDL! solo over the last couple of weeks. I also took it along to the design workshop last Sunday. Balance is the key at the moment. I've had to redesign the mech mods and the monster strengths. It's either been a 'cake walk' or horrendously difficult.

I'm getting there but a series of little adjustments.

I've also dropped in Eddie's awesome artwork onto the board. He's currently working on the main map at the moment which is going to look amazing.

As you can see I've now moved the scales onto the board. This has kept the card size down to a standard size (euro).

So it's look up. More tweaks, more playthroughs. The last 10% takes 90% of the time...

Dice

So I've realised that if only the Publish Blog is being read, it's really only telling half the story regarding IMDL! There's a lot more detail on the Design Blog regarding my trails and tribulations but in summary, I've managed to find a workable solution to my design problem. That being multiple dice (each mod gives the player 1 or 2 customised dice instead of a configurable face).

This has involved a fair amount of rework with the mech mods and enemy cards, mostly around the balancing. Play testing continues but it certainly captures the original feel.

Customisable dice are a lot easier to come by so I'm happy I can continue! If you're interested in the journey, click over to the Design Blog.

Board Pictures

Eddie has produced a new set of art for the board; The Briefing Room, The Foundry and The Workshop. They look awesome. My main concern now is to not cover it all up with game text...

Monster cards using monster art

Having to re-deisgn the monster card has allowed me to finally use Eddie's art. I still think I need to add some white borders to the iconogrpahy to get them to pop, but they've turned out better than i could have hoped.

Version 13 (a.k.a. Dice, dice, dice...)

I've got round the houses and landed back with a dice mechanic. Preliminary play-testing has benen very positive. There's nothing like rolling a handful of dice across a board.

However, going from a single configurable dice to multiple dice does mess with the difficulty curve. It's taken several attempts to get the right balance. More testing is required but I'm confident this alternative has legs.

The attack dice have two faces for Range damage and two faces for Melee. The Defense dice have three faces. 

Other changes in version 13 include:

• Re-design of the enemy cards, reducing the size to a standard. (Euro). This has meant that the damage scales have moved on to the main board.

• Changing the direction of the scales so the damage now goes down instead of up.

• Removing the Gym cards and introducing a discount on all skills instead.

• Moving the Power/speed scale onto the Player mat and iconographising the skills. (Also, starting to use the warrior art as well.

So, although three back, I feel i'm backing progress. As always, more playtesting to follow...

New Years, new drive!

2 weeks off during the Christmas period has gifted me with some much needed testing and design time.

The Color of Light dice have worked very well, which is awesome. After several playtests, I've also reduced some of the mechanics around bonus cards, which caused some wild swings towards the end of the game. The new shield mechanics which have been used to replace the cards have worked during playtesting, but I'm going to get it to the table a little more to get comfortable.

Unfortunately, IMDL! dice replacement designs I created haven't been successful. It was quite clear within the first 5 minutes, the experience with either wasn't as streamlined, or importantly, as fun as the dice.

I knocked another mechanic using cards, like Dominion. As the player gains more mech parts, they replace more potent cards into their deck. When they engage, they reveal a card per round.

But again, not as fun. The experience was rather inert. Also it messed with with the engine as the abilities weren't 'reset' in every round.

Shem has pushed me to pursue created my own configurable dice, with assistance from a 3D print designer, so we'll see if that amounts to anything.

In the meantime, I'm going to try another idea with lots of pre-configured dice, like Roll for the Galaxy.. More dice are added to the players pool as they grow their mech. Watch this space...

Monster art has arrived

End of the year has been busy, and not in the areas Id like to focus on. But Eddie has finished the enemy cards.

95% Perspiration (or persistence)...

With The Color of Light game, I've been using standard six sided dice to represent shapes. It's got me so far, but I've now reached the stage where I've have to test the dice with the shapes themselves.

I could get a mold. But i don't think I'm ready for that. So stickers will have to do. That's what I told myself. Stickers.

For 120 dice.

That's 720 faces.

6 hours...Patience in this game is a virtue...