How to Takeover the Galaxy - Hegemonic Style!

My Goodness My ...

Great strategy games hinge on creating interesting decision for players to make. Interesting decisions need to have an impact on the game state (i.e. they should not be irrelevant) and there shouldn’t be one "right" decision (otherwise there isn’t a decision at all!). Uncertainty (or risk) in outcomes, a varied decision space, and a balance between short- vs. long-term goals all contribute towards making more interesting decisions.

Over the course of Hegemonic's development, I continually re-evaluate the gameplay to polish the kinds of decisions that players face. And Hegemonic does contain quite a few decision over the course of the game! Below, I’m going to review the primary decisions and associated factors that players need balance during gameplay. I feel that discussing decisions is the best way to convey the feeling of a game for interested players. So here we go!

On the boards ... or ... A Skunkwork Orange

It is often said that good game designers have many designs spinning around in their heads. Whether having a lot of designs going on at once is an indicator of being a good designer or not is a matter of further speculation. Personally, I have a lot of ideas floating around in my head and I’m striving to be best designer I can.

What are these ideas you ask? Shifters and Hegemonic are two games the furthest along development, so let’s tackle those first.

My Dear Dossier, Part I

In my first blog post, I said that my next blog post would be about high points in my gaming past (both board and video). Well I made a second blog post on a different subject, counteracting my statements made in the first blog post. If you are still following me, then know that in this blog post, I will attempt to go cover the original intended subject matter for what was supposed to be the second blog post but is in fact the third blog post. Got it? Phew!

I, like many here, have been a gamer for as long as I remember. Growing up in the early 80's was a fun time, as there was a plethora of board games floating around (from a mainstream standpoint) and of course the growing video game industry. Perhaps the best way to proceed is categorically, that is, to take a group/genre of board and/or video game and talk a little about it. I'll cover one or two categories per blog post. I don't want anyone to get too overwhelmed!