The Detectives Has Been Born

Writing a new game is one of the most interesting things you can do…and a bit overwhelming. The first couple were arduous, time-consuming puzzle hunts that were poured over for days, weeks, and months. But now, with our first cooperative game, after it rambled around in my mind for a while, it’s now all out on the page.

I’d say all the daunting work is done, but as my fellow game designers will tell you, I’m just getting started. I came up with this game over two years ago, but I’m a bit of a noodler–meaning if I’m not sure what to do next I let the idea rest. I stop thinking about it and let it rattle around in the back of my brain, and suddenly there it is–the answer I’ve been searching for or the mechanics that will make it work.

Why do I bring all of this up? Well, as I’m writing our first full-scale cooperative game, it’s got some of the mechanisms that other games use, but with a twist I’ve not seen before in a game. So today, my biz partner Kara and I were going over the current rules. If you don’t have someone you can bounce your games off of, you should find someone–it helps to have a devil’s advocate to defend your game against. Find someone who isn’t just going to tell you your game is tops when it isn’t or when something needs more work. I think it helps produce a better game.

This morning, Kara, my devil’s advocate and I had a rousing disagreement over how the mechanics would work. And, after about an hour we came out with a better game. Can’t wait to show it to you. -Barbara