Scott Rogers, designer of Rayguns and Rocketships, discusses how to intertwine theme and mechanics.
Scott has been designing both video and board games for years and teaches game design at the University of Southern California. Scott also does the “History of a Board Game” segments on the Dice Tower and Ludology podcasts.
And the Jack Vasal Memorial Fund auction mentioned in the show can be found HERE.
2 comments on “Intertwining Theme and Mechanics with Scott Rogers”
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Gabe,
Fascinating discussion ~ this is some of the most difficult aspects I’ve found to incorporate into a game. On the far end of the spectrum, however, this can go horribly wrong. As a developer for Compass Games, I was asked to serve as the developer for a game entitled Monsters of the Purple Twilight, a WWI game which pitted German Zeppelins against the nascent Royal Air Force. This should have been a great game, but unfortunately the designer sacrificed gameplay on the altar of realism. MotPT had, no joke, counters for Mist, Rain, and Fog; a 40+ page rule book, which basically taught you how to fly a zeppelin; and a series of scenarios (which coincidentally I love) which were so detailed that I’d rather read a story about a zeppelin attack than play the game. As a developer it pained me because while I don’t expect a designer to accept all of my changes (or even most of them), I do expect them to listen to logic and make reasonable changes to attract more players. In the end, Compass dropped the game and it languished. From a marketing standpoint, it would have done quite well with those folks interested in WWI games of which there are only a few compared to WWII titles, and he designer could have capitalized on the 100th anniversary of the Great War!
Cheers,
Joe
Thanks for having me on the podcast, Gabe! I had a great time!