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Welcome to 2018

adminJanuary 8, 2018 0

I missed me. I hope some of you missed me too. Forgive me readers for I have sinned. It’s been months since my last communication. I’ve been late with my blogs and poor at managing time to keep my website relevant and up to date. What should I do?

The Convention Scene

Thinking back on last year’s events, outings and sessions, I really didn’t do much. The 2017 convention in Orillia was amazing. There were small hiccups but nothing show stopping. There was even time to take a few pictures. Now, there aren’t many as I was working my table more than working the lens. The organizers are doing it again this year because this one was so successful. I was so jazzed after the show that on my way home I had a few nice things to share. We, Kurtis, Dean and I, registered for tables again. This time it’s a 2 day con and it’s in June. [added: May 21] For more on that check out the deets.

Game Design

Working through the holiday season was a blast. Well, mostly because of the free time. I normally take the 26th Dec. through to the 2nd Jan. It’s the best to time just turn off and not give an eff. I figured I’d have all the time in the world to work on games. WRONG!!! I was mostly lounging and filling my belly with food and drink. I did dabble in a bit of game refinement but never got through anything substantial. Kinda sucks because I was so looking forward to that time and I ended of faffing around. Oh well. I guess we all need rest once in a while. The last thing I posted in 2017 for dev was game concepts I was working on in Oct. That was it. I assure you I’m working on things, but I don’t have anything I’m confident in sharing quite yet. That may change next month.

Renovation Nation

The year end holidays saw me working mostly in my basement. Renovation season is 365 and I know this better than most. I’ve been in perpetual renovations since 2013 and somehow I don’t feel any closer to the end of it all. When one thing’s done, one more pops up in its place. Have you ever heard of someone say they’re tired of learning? Well, I got there a couple times since 2013 and it’s a terrible feeling. Like letting go of the rope that tethers your hopes and dreams, allow them to disappear into the void like an echo on the wind. Spacing them out is the key. Either way, they are not conducive to me working on my passion hobby. I’m sure some of you can relate.

Other than that it’s been the same old grind. Nothing new, Stew. I just look forward to coming home after work, clearing my inbox, browse a couple art community posts, eat dinner and then hit the sack. It’s so hard to stay motivated all the time but when that motivation turns to obsession and ruins your nights – a couple 4am stints and an all-nighter will kill most people. I used to be a nighthawk. High school saw a couple memorable 36 hour runs. I think there was a 40 and a 48+ hour moment in there as well. Not healthy for the mind or body. When you start to hallucinate midgets playing soccer, or a fat lady getting hit by a bus, or black birds swarming around you throughout the day, you might as well call it.

Now in my older years, one 24+ hour run ruins me for the next 3-4 days. But when you’re working on something you absolutely love (or watching something you absolutely love) it’s hard to stop. No more Netflix or CrunchyRoll marathons for me. Everything in due time. Just like my game designs, a theory I continue to put into practice… most of the time.

ADLi Games, Board Games, Concepts, Reviews

Clone Wars – Axia meets its twin

adminNovember 20, 2017 0

If a designer publishes a game and you’ve never heard of it, does it exist? Better question: If a designer publishes a game and you’re not around to play it, is it still good? Well, someone was there to review it and it was poor apparently. This “clone” had my interest piqued at first glance. Why concentric circles? Why 3 rings? Why varying paths between rings? I was blown away … maybe that’s too strong a words. I was surprised to see this in my Tumblr feed. I was going to do an update on a post (for another game) and read through some of my previous game dev posts when I decided to refresh the page. Scrolled through, dropped a few likes, and THEN … duh duh duuuuuuhhh. Jumping out at me with its orbit-like appearance was, what I can only guess is, a game that basically one I’m developing right now. Not just closely resembling, mind you. It’s a friken clone of AXIA!!!!

Resemblance is uncanny

“That’s AXIA!” I told myself out loud at work. Then I realized where I was and looked around. Phew. No one staring. I looked closer at the structure and placement of things and instantly had to reference my original post about the evolution of AXIA. I just wanted to share what I’ve thought about different ideas from different people not differing that much. Especially when you’re working with a visibly specific type of board design. Now circular boards aren’t anything new, but how they are used is pretty specific.

Now, based on who’s game was developed first either of us can say the other is a “clone”. Fine! I don’t mind being a Sammy-come 2nd. This post is from a Japanese game review site called Boardgame Memo (Tumblr) that I’ve followed for over a year now. Some that interest me I tend to translate and read up on it. This was no exception. I HAD to read it. Here is the original posts and here is Google’s best attempt at translating the review.

“And the two of holding hands

Rating: 3/10

Cooperation game in which two people who began to bad relationship regain the relationship.

While controlling the emotions, we continue to achieve the goal.

A look at the summary I I thought or “Dikushitto” specific association game of the system to the emotional element is not.

Using six of the public hand of each other, it will move the piece to the color of the mass of the goal.

Is moving emotional balance of players for each mobile, this is going to be limited action can not hand replenishment and not in the center.

So, with no attempt of ingenuity to playing, I felt I think we account for a large part of the game of win or lose the card luck.

Since the theme is changed, … be enjoyed if the theme-oriented person”

So yeah. That made a lot more sense now that it’s in shattered English 😛 But recently I found out the English information of this game on BGG. Here is the English grammatical version.

…and then we held hands

…and then we held hands. is a co-operative game about finding balance. To win, the two players must complete objectives and reach the center of the board.

The players take turns trying to fulfill the current common emotional objective by discarding emotion cards to move from node to node. They must do this without verbal communication, empathizing and always considering each other’s situation when making a move.

A player can use their own cards or their partner’s, but if their move causes their partner to be unable to move, the players lose and the game ends. While moving from node to node, their balance shifts, and they are not able to refill their hand.

The players win by meeting in the center while in a balanced state and within one turn of each other – something quite difficult, and therefore very rewarding when achieved.

Both players cooperate to achieve a goal, without verbal communication, to build a successful relationship. The cards you have relate to objectives that are positive or negative in a relationship and you play that card or matching a similar “emotion card” with your teammate. If you draw a card with a red band, you must move to the nearest red dot with matching icon. And for each card played you do that, eventually both players meeting in the center, in perfect harmony for the win. Very interesting co-op game.

Axia – The clone wars

It’s pretty obvious, the visual similarities are between the two games. I wish I could see more game play or read the rules about ATWHH (and then we held hands). I could compare how close the mechanics between the two games are. From what I’ve read it does vary quite a bit from Axia.

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[two_columns title=”Similarities” ]

Circular board design
3 concentric rings with a goal in the center
Varied paths between points in each ring

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[two_columns title=”Differences” ]

Colour coded spaces
Meter for each player (corresponds to coloured spaces)
Dice vs. cards
Co-op play
Hand management
Point-to-Point movement

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So quite honestly, it’s not a clone. And since ATWHH was published in 2015, Axia would technically be the clone. That’s my life. Always late to the party. In my devblogs about Axia, I express how this concentric circle style board is specific to a common set of mechanisms. ATWHH follows that same tradition, two (or more) players working towards moving their pieces to the center goal. It’s actually very intuitive if you think about it. Either moving inward or outward towards a goal and or racing along the rings. I also have another concept for a concentric circular board design, but it’s more of a racing game than a destination game. And staying away from the center is critical for survival. Last player standing wins. If I can find a print ‘n play of this game, or find a copy at a reasonable price, I would love to give it a try.

For anyone wanting to explore these limits, take any pawn/disc style game and apply it to a round board. Chess, Backgammon, Chutes & Ladders even, and adapt to the board. It’s really interesting and you may get some great results doing so. There are so many of them already being applied and there are a whole lot more. Check out my post Round and round and round we go to see some of the concepts out there, plus a little something I’ve contributed to the cause.

Board Games

Round and round and round we go

adminOctober 17, 2017 0

Circular board games. YES!! They are amazing, and I’ve talked a little bit about it during my Axia: The clone wars post a while back. Circular boards, without or without concentric circles, are visually appealing due to many factors – like varied paths of movement and multi-directional strategy. The mechanisms required to drive a circular game forward are fairly intuitive, and they provide a refreshing visually appeal. I’ve considered the circular board design for 3 games I’m working on so far: Axia, a castle defense game and a space travel game (the latter two have no name). In my post I talked about how circular board versions of existing games were created, giving the game a new lease on playability. Also some incredibly cool unique games were created, both of which I’ve referenced below. Some of the more popular ones are Chess and Monopoly, but there are so many others.

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[two_columns title=”” ]

Game variants

Here are some board games that have a circular board variant

[/two_columns]

[two_columns title=”” ]

Circular designs

And here are some games created with a circular board design

Doctor Who – Battle to Save the Universe

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There are so many wonderful games out there but this short list was just for reference. The square board has alway been a staple in board game design, but the circular board has always brought a level of style and interest. What else could designers use? Triangular, Hexagonal, Elliptical? Triangles offer a great variety of movement, not to mention [simple_tooltip content=’def: An arrangement of shapes closely fitted together, especially of polygons in a repeated pattern without gaps or overlapping’]tessellation[/simple_tooltip]. Configurations with triangles can arrange into a myriad of polygonal board layouts. I’m pretty sure any of those would definitely enhance the specific mechanisms of a game. Every board game designer should take into account the formatting and use of space of their boards. Now I’m off to find some Triangular board games… that are more than .

Just Talk

Pastimes of the 80’s and 90’s

adminAugust 6, 2017 0

The truth is I’ve always loved games but was never heavily exposed to the family board game or video game culture early on in my household. Being of Caribbean descent my siblings and I grew up around more traditional games; dominoes, ludi (Parcheesi) chess, checkers, backgammon and playing cards. Usually it was a cousin of mine that would happen to have a commercial board game like Monopoly or Snakes and Ladders.

Like most kids growing up, entertainment is key in keeping that busy body out of mischief and danger… Usually. Watching TV, reading books, drawing, colouring, building things, breaking things, doing chores around the house, homework and listening to music seemed to be what made up 90% of our “busy” time during the 80s and 90s. Sports were always a go-to for me when it came to entertainment. If I can be outside doing something, anything, it was on. Sitting inside watching TV or playing video games or board games, which I had none of, wasn’t even an option unless it was dark or raining. I enjoyed drawing and crafting more so than gaming, but then again I chalk that up to access and exposure (or lack thereof). My parents played one game religiously… Scrabble. I grew upon Scrabble. Mom, dad, aunts and uncles. My grandmother (dad’s side) had a backgammon game set. You know the one with the leather case, the polyoxybenzylmethylenglycolanhydride (Bakelite) discs. I remember my uncles and my dad and his friends playing dominoes at every family function. Not a Monopoly or Connect 4 or Snakes and Ladders to be found.

Finding Passion

My passion encircled two things: sports and arts. Every moment I could I spent it outside. Either rollerblading, skateboarding, playing baseball, hockey, soccer, or riding my bike. Most of these activities weren’t limited by my residence at the time. I’ve lived in houses and apartments growing up and I’ve moved 6 times before grade 10. Whether it was a hallway, a basement, underground parking, a backyard, someones’s driveway or a playground, I went hard. Living in an apartment building isn’t the most exciting thing. Especially when you’re young and can’t venture outside of your own floor for the most part, but I believe most kids who live/had lived in those conditions made up for that time spent not outside by fiddling around indoors. I never had a game console until I was 16 and I never owned any board games so indoor activities were limited to Paper Ball Sports. Those would be the ones where a simple ball of paper (taped or not) would be used to play hockey, using your hands as sticks; Baseball, using your arm as a bat; Tennis, using your hand as a racket. I also got into making paper car racers or designing cardboard activity games like tabletop pinball, basketball and hockey. My creative nature and thirst for entertainment fused into a passion I would later realize was game design. Not only exciting and challenging for me, but globally recognized as a movement in entertainment.

Bring on the Consoles

In school friends had introduced me to commercial board games like Monopoly, Clue, and Game of Life. I remember never really having a hunger to play board games, but I did like playing card games. In elementary school I found ways to create my own card game and dice games. Even making my own roll your own adventure game for a class project with my peers. The ideas were fun but what as more entertaining were my G.I Joe’s, my paper toys, my Lego and my crafting. Regarding video games, my first major exposure to that was my best friend, Mike, from grade 5. He usually had the latest console and we’d play after our long walk home from school. NES, SNES, and PlayStation when it first came out. Video games were cool.

I never thought that decades later I’d be able to actually create games at home in my spare time with tools and software for everyday use. I didn’t have to spend 4 years in college programming games on a full time basis. The general access to technology and knowledge these days have made it possible for anyone to exercise their interests in the comfort of home without heavy time or monetary investment.

More Effort, Less Time

Now as a grown man with a family, full time job and little personal time, I’m trying to instill in my child that in-home activities aren’t any more or less eventful than outdoor activities – hear me out. Especially when you have guests or when the weather doesn’t permit going outdoors. Indoor activities don’t only have to take place when outside is not an option. I’m all for getting outside and having fun, but a different and questionably equal type of fun can be had indoors, at the kitchen table. Or on the floor in the living room. Or on the coffee table. There’s always something you can do indoors that doesn’t include watching TV or browsing the internet. As long as we’re having fun together.

Which brings me to tabletop gaming. My son loves dice. No matter what type they are or what game they’re a part of, he wants to hold them and roll them. Counting the pips are a joy to him. Even at the early age of 2 he gripped them in his little hands and dropped them just like it’s hot. My wife isn’t much of a board gamer. She likes a couple games here and there, mostly stuff she enjoyed when she was younger, but has no real interest in delving into more involved tabletop games. It makes it really, REALLY hard to get her to give me an enthusiastic once over when I ask her to play test my game ideas. She’s a trooper though and usually is willing to entertain me for 5-10 minutes. I’ve pleasantly surprised her on a few occasions, which I guess goes to show no matter how cool I think an idea is it may not be widely accepted others. That’s okay though. I’m not in it to make money, or to change my profession. And realistically the market is ridiculously saturated with seasoned vets and more ambitious indie designers. I don’t have the bankroll nor the time to give my ideas any real weight in hopes to outdo some of the other great indie game designers out there. I don’t sell my self short though. I think what I’ve created so far are games any and everyone can enjoy, and through playtesting I have found others do.

I design things because I love to create. I design games because I love to share my creativity, and that’s the real key. Sharing my creative output, whether it’s in arts, comics, storytelling, music, game design, web design, whatever. I want to create enough pieces of work to leave a legacy behind for my child and his children’s children. My mark on the world starts with ADL and only ends when I do.

Conventions, Just News

ADLi back on the Con Scene

adminMay 23, 2017 0

I’m back on the scene, apparently. Orillia’s first ever comic convention had brought me and my game design prototypes out of hiding. This is a good thing. It was less than 2 years ago when I swore off big conventions. After the 2015 Fan Expo in Toronto, I felt as though my con-life would slow down. Maybe hit a few small one-day cons around southern Ontario, pick up swag and a few discounted art books, chill with the boys and be on my merry way. BUT NOOOO! Rinky-dink cons gotta pop up out of nowhere. Not to say Orillia’s Comic Con was of the rinky-dink variety, but the town is small and boring (according to the locals youths that cared to share at the show).

Orillia’s fandom has been begging for something like this for a long time. My sister-in-law had mentioned it to my wife, who brought it up several times. I figured “Yeah! Little comic con and a little town. Should be fun to just pass through”. Boy was I mistaken. The con proved to be very successful, guaranteeing the organizers a second year with 2 days instead of one. They had just over 7500 people pass through and everyone was in high spirits. It got crowded. Like, really jam packed during the afternoon. I hadn’t left my table except to get drinks for the pizza lunch Dean brought back. It took me 5 minutes to navigate 3 rows of tables. Totally packed.

True story

It hasn’t been since 2015 that I’ve presented the funny little prototypes I created. After finding out about this con, there was probably a month and a half until show time. I passed it off as a secondary action to my spring activities. If I was free I would go. Then I got to thinking. And from thinking to contemplating. Should I do the con? It wouldn’t hurt, seeing as I don’t really have to set up a whole lot of things. I still had my 2015 Fan Expo setup. At this point I wasn’t going it alone so I fired out a communication to the TYL crew. I received positive responses, but only 1 was down for sure. Enter Altered Earth Studios: 2015 Fan Expo setup ready to go. I got online and started to look up details. Tables were reasonable, and after I had checked with the coordinator of the show I found out there were 6 spots left. At this point it’s exactly 28 days til the show.

After confirming registering 2 tables side by side, Kurtis and I were set. Fan-con bound. It was exciting. I really didn’t think it was a big deal, but my mind knew better. Every evening I was instinctively fiddling and fine tuning my demonstrations. The prototypes weren’t changing, but I wanted to make sure my presentation and examples were tight. Coming down to the last 2 nights, I was anxious. Couldn’t sleep, couldn’t focus on work. I don’t know what it is. It’s not like I’m scared or nervous… well, a bit nervous actually. I never think I’m ready for a show. And with only 2 weekends to tighten up any loose screws I felt the games could have used more marketing support. I didn’t have all my rules printed. I didn’t have the online demos I wanted to share. I didn’t have any of my brochures or postcards from the prev cons. I was technically not ready for this show.

The Setup

After about a 45 minute rest I woke up late and headed out right away. I had everything, or so I thought. SHIT! Forgot my folding chair and only remembered after I was already at the show and setting up with Kurtis. I ran back out to buy one so I didn’t have to pay $15 for a rental. With setup near complete, Dean comes rolling in. It was getting real, and exciting to have the boys roll with me to this con. After Capt. Zapstrap (Kurtis) built his fortress we were pretty much ready to go. Dean hooked up a little setup to one side of my table. Everything was looking good and we were feeling great.

So where do I go from here? Well, seeing as the con organizers are already contacting vendors and exhibitors about next year, I’ll be doing Orillia once again. Pretty exciting stuff. Until then I have a truck load of tasks to complete, such as:

Contact con goers with ADLi newsletter (create newsletter)
Prep updated files for print
Complete rule set and upload Print & Play games on site
Finish custom StormGate tabletops for samples
Source out pricing and options for Print on Demand
Update the plethora of drafts I have sitting in this blog
Update the drafts I have sitting over in Tumblr
Get more video content up on YouTube
Continue to design games
Continue to playtest games

ADLi Games, Conventions, Print&Play

Con Updates – Print & Play

adminMay 22, 2017 0

Con Update 1

The Print & Play service provided by ADLi is postponed due to new and exciting files. The PDF downloads will be available tomorrow. After the show, I figured I might as well touch up snd release the free game boards, rules and other fun things. The current list of games being deployed in the ADL|PnP section will be the following:

StormGame
Word-a-bout
Imperial Court

Con Update 2

Based on the overwhelmingly supportive feedback of my demos this year, I have a great idea. I have decided, for a limited time only and for a limited amount of visitors, a free 2 weeks to try out any of games I demoed at the Orillia Comic Con. Those games will be NUPUGA (30 piece set), Inside 7 (30 tile set), Word-a-bout (30 card deck). Because Imperial court and StormGate are print and plays, it make them easier for gamer to try before they buy. With the the limited set of components, one can sample the game without getting into heavy play. If by any chance a gamer wants to try the full game with all components, a request can be made.

Con Update 3

For those that I had collected emails for, I will be contacting you all shortly with a personal email outlining my humble gratitude and insight on the development of the games presented. Hold tight. It’s only the day after the con. Lots of updates and uploads to do.

Thank you all for coming and hope I can fulfill a gaming need you or a friend/family. If I have not contacted you by next weekend, feel free to shoot me an email. Remember, there are no stupid questions. Just the ones I ignore.

Cheers.

Uncategorized

Playtesting, feedback, playtesting, feedback

adminMay 5, 2017 0

Quotes

Glass half empty

adminMarch 3, 2017 0

Just Talk, Uncategorized

Being busy is good… right?

adminDecember 8, 2016 0

Holy smack! The holiday season is here and Christmas is right around the corner. And what have I been doing this whole time since my last post? Hmph! Well, I’ll tell you.

Busy Busy Bee

I’ve been gone for quite some time, eh? So without getting into too much details here’s a summary of what has been keeping me busy. So busy in fact that I couldn’t spend an ounce of time on board game development AND post notes here. Lies. I’ve been working on board game dev, just not posting it here. I’m always working on game design and dev.

Busy Bee To-Do List

Moved on August 10th
Set up computer in studio end of August
Tidy up house, yard work, maintenance most of September
Website launches (work work) all of September
Kitchen reno all of October
Closet reno in October
Running errands every weekend since the move
Trying to keep in touch with friends and family, always!
Move office boxes to studio in October
Set up bookcases, TV and entertainment in November
More Kitchen reno in November
Unpack half my boxes: Shelf books and board games late November
Doing freelance work after hours EVERY month til now

December

Which brings me to December. Yeah. I’ve been busy. And no real excuse but I’m tired. Drained and mentally exhausted to even bother with updating my sites or socials. Totally my bad. But yeah, let’s keep this train going. 2017 proves to have a lot in store over the horizon. CnC Tees & Novelties is getting a reboot and board game design never really died. ADLi vlog and AutoVlog is just around the corner as well. I’ve had to piecemeal so many things I think I might burst. Time to let loose. Just looking to playtest some more and get demos out to game jams. The holiday season doesn’t help either, but I will embrace my 9 days after the 25th so I’m amping myself up to get a lot of things done. Whomever may be reading this, I hope to see you there. On with the game dev.

Season’s Greeting

Next time I’ll try to keep the ranting posts on here to a minimum. To all my friends, family, and followers, have a Merry Merry and a Happy Happy. Drink, eat and be gay. Be safe and have fun.

Just News, Just Talk, Unrelated

Finally Moved to Barrie

adminSeptember 2, 2016 0

Yeah, you may have not known but I had moved from Brampton to Barrie. If you haven’t read the precursor to this please do. It’s been a pain in the ass trying to manage a crazy busy schedule at work, pre-packing for the move, maintaining websites and meetings with clients, all while trying to STILL do game design stuff AND sleep. Not to tall of an order most might agree, but when you have negative time in the day after crunching the numbers sanity seems to crumble over time.

“So why did you move?” you ask. Well, it was a combination of things. We were already living outside of Toronto and the commute to work for me was alright. I was driving into Mississauga every morning. For my wife, she had it bad. Driving to Orillia, which by the way is 1h 40m on average, was more than exhausting for her. Plus she would leave on a Wednesday morning and stay over nights until Friday, sometimes Saturday before coming home. I wouldn’t get to see my family for 3-4 days and then jam all the family time in on Sunday. Play with my son for 1hr on Monday and Tuesday evening, then he’s gone again for the week. This was putting a damper on the family fun and on my wife’s composure. Yes, I was free for those evenings but after a while sleeping in an empty bed and not hugging your son gets a bit too much. I had worked so hard to build and maintain a balance of creative solitude and family fun that when the pendulum swings too far in either direction I get anxiety.

Because of Reasons

Other reasons fell under the obvious guises of money and cost of living. The commute was going to be farther (but not necessarily longer, funny enough) and more room for the buck, plus cheaper EVERYTHING. Limited access to Toronto and Mississauga, but not too far that I couldn’t make plans to make trips to see friends and family, or go dining or entertainment venues. Plus, Barrie is a growing mini metropolis with a hometown feel to it. Moving there for me wasn’t going to be any type of culture shock. If anything it’s a little more laid back. I like that.

So now we’re in our new place. The month of July was filled with anxiety and frustration due to house upon house being sold in a day or not quite being what was proposed. Without getting into a long story about a place on Chieftain, as well as dealing with a real estate agent that passed us off on his sales associate who works primarily in Orillia and not Barrie, we ended our journey on a high note. Awesome home, oldish but comfy, private backyard, mature trees, cul de sac, two story with extension over garage, 4+1bdr, 3bth and finished basement. I’d say we made out like bandits. House needs updating though. Like, everything needs updating except the windows, furnace and A/C, and carpet upstairs. The previous owners did some hack-tastic updates to the home and I’m pretty much tearing it all up and doing it proper.

It’s Renovation Season

Reno again, and again, and again. It’s okay though. That’s the fun thing about moving into a new place. Customizing it to be your own. Can’t wait to get my office in order. And when we finally tackle the basement, setting up a little workshop for my more adventurous crafting.

Just thought I’d share with you guys a little about what’s been going on since July 5th (my last post). Still have a truck load of Drafts to proof and publish, and I’ve been thinking a lot and have a few more ideas to share here. Well, on with the renovations and on with the game designs. See you soon and thanks for reading.