I’m a terrible blogger – as you can see by the frequency of the blog entries. However, at this point in time – based on the site stats – I’m most likely posting for a small group of bots based in China scanning the web for any weakness they can exploit. I console myself that this may be written for future fans – who want to see what I was all about in my early days? While I type, my current audience is a stack of algorithms but in my mind’s eye, I am looking to you, future gentle reader.

Welcome to Deadly Serious Games.

I’ve not been idle. In the interim I’ve been working on a number of concepts – some to remain in the developmental archives for a while – but I’ve been polishing mechanisms, rules, and game flow ideas for Deadly Serious Dictatorship. I’ve struggled mightily with my abstract game (working title vacillating between “molecule” and “hex”) and am perpetually dissatisfied with the general game play. While the game created a very minor buzz at Madison Protospiel 2018 and even some good natured publisher interest – all of that has faded away. For good reason. It’s not ready – so I noodle with it in my head, take it out periodically and fiddle with it, inflict poor play testers with a new twist on the game….but mainly, it must rest for now. There is a game in there – I’ll find it. It’s just not ready yet.

I’ve worked hard on “Continuity” and have a good version more than half prototyped – but it will not be ready for Protospiel unless some sort of assembly fairy visits me in the night. Likewise for a rather unexpected prototype in progress – code-named “Body Shop”. The demands of work and a budding side gig in being a speaker at national conferences (DRJ Fall 2019) – and of being a present as possible father to one kid in Middle School, one in High School and one in College… and trying to be a semi-decent husband as well? My game development time and prototyping suffer.

Maybe I’ll bang out the components of “body shop” and get a play test in at Protospiel. Crazier still – maybe I’ll finish up prototype #3 of Continuity. If not I’ll focus on playtesting, learning and sharing. Meeting and reconnecting with developer friends (new and old). Craftercon should be wonderful. Protospiel as well.

I’ll report back and let you know what happened.