The Gamers Table reviews Space Fleet Alpha

The Gamers Table reviews Ultimate Driver 300

This week we’re back in our home state of Wisconsin to have a chat with Larry Carriveau of Ship Shape Games.

How and when did you first hear of The Game Crafter?

The owner of a store I was selling my first game in was at a game convention and brought back your brochure sometime in 2009.

What games have you published through The Game Crafter and what is the name of your game design label?

I have published “Pirate’s Keep” which is a distilled version of my very first game and is sold on your site and also locally.

I have also privately published; “Caverns of Gold” a treasure hunters nightmare set in underground labyrinth, and “Space Jump” which involves science ships racing to collect parts of a machine while controlling the use of resources and slowing the competition. I am currently working on converting these to be sold at GC since the new 18x18 quad board is now available. In development are two other family board games, one involving other family adventure venues. I also have some simple wooden box games that sell locally and at craft events.

My game label is, “SHIP SHAPE GAMES”.

Had you ever published a game before using The Game Crafter?

Yes I have! It is a hand crafted hand painted Pirate game on a cloth game surface called; “Pirates Demise” with a sister game using the same components; “Trade Winds of Terror!” housed in a wooden treasure chest with a secret compartment. It had hand casted ships created just for the game and home printed, cut, and laminated cards etc.

How long had you been designing games before using The Game Crafter?

I started some time in 2006 when I was attempting to improve a game I received for my birthday. It proved impossible so I created my own from scratch.

How much time do you spend on designing and playing games?

Hard question to nail down, but for example it took 3 yrs plus, and some tweeking since to get my first game completed. My family was pressed into game testing nearly every weekend for that 3 years while I developed and debugged the game during the week.

What keeps you motivated to continue designing games?

I love the time spent with my family and enjoy the smiles and pouting while we play. I also love the challenge of creating both game and art.

Have you learned anything from your experiences that you’d like to share with The Game Crafter community?

Yes I do! One thing leads to another so don’t be afraid to take some chances. I may never get Dollar rich doing this but it is an enriching experience for me personally and for those around me.

What is The Game Crafter’s killer feature and why?

For me it was originally the cards, but now it is the large pro quality 18x18 game board. The full color cards and the game parts moved my games up to a more professional appearance. The one thing that has been the biggest obstacle was a quality game surface. The cloth surface from my first games gave me the ability to produce my own game surface and opened up the world of game design possibilities. Now with the large quad board my gaming possibilities have taken on a whole new life.

What game conventions do you usually attend?

Sadly none to date!

How would you describe yourself?

A creative family man.

Are you married, dating, or otherwise involved?

I am married to a wonderful woman.

Do you have any kids?

I have two children my son Ehren and a daughter Amy. Both are married now which makes my game development and testing more difficult.

Do you have any pets?

A little Yorkshire terrier named Furgie, who thinks everything in her view is her territory to protect.

If someone visited your area, what’s something they must see or do?

I would say the lighthouse tour in Port Washington a bit south of Sheboygan.

What do you hate?

Getting up when it is still dark during the winter!

What do you love?

Flying my mini helicopter around the house.

What’s the last CD/MP3 you bought (or downloaded)?

Soundtrack from the movie “You’ve Got Mail”

What’s the last movie you watched?

The Incredibles

You’re stuck on a train/plane for 6 hours and bored out of your mind, how do you pass the time?

Work on one of my new games of course!

Any last words?

I’d like to thank the GC staff for their continuous march towards improving the game development experience. The possibilities opened by your efforts are the fabric to make dreams a reality. Thanks!

Due to greatly increased demand The Game Crafter is announcing a delay in order delivery.  We are continuing to work to bring the order queue down as quickly as possible however, you should expect that orders will not be sent out for delivery for at least 15 business days after placing them.  We ask that you please plan accordingly when placing orders so that you receive your games and parts in time for your cons and class due dates.  We realize this is an inconvenience to all of the community and are working diligently to improve processes to account for the increased demand.  We appreciate your understanding.

Jason Frost of Fridgecrisis Games will be exhibiting at CONduit as part of our Designer Table Sponsorship Program on May 25th. If you happen to be in the Salt Lake City area you should go check out CONduit and say hello to Jason.

He’ll be demoing his game Villages while he’s there. However, he’s also willing to showcase other designer’s games, so get in touch with him if you’d like him to show your game.

Here are your finalists for in the RPG Challenge:

• Lady Pirates on Terror Island
• DWARF•KNUCKLE
• Haunted Tales
• SWAT
• Hapless Labyrinth
• Baldrich’s Tomb
• Nickropolis

Our guest judge Jason Tagmire is already playing these games and scoring them trying to determine an overall winner. This is a lot of games to play and review so it will take some time. We hope to announce the winner in the next few weeks.

Father Geek reviews Dog Collector

The Gamers’ Table reviews Global Control

Here are your winners for the “Best Of” categories in the RPG Challenge. Each winner gets a prize of 10,000 crafter points.

The winner for Best Artwork goes to SWAT. Our guest judge, Jason Tagmire, had this to say about it:

The artwork in SWAT drew me in from the start. It’s very simple, yet wonderfully executed. The style is consistent throughout the entire game, and it feels like we’re looking at the final version. The fonts are just right, and the blueprint tiles really capture the feeling of the theme.

The winner for Most Creative goes to Trailer Park Papparazzi. Jason’s comments were:

This was a the hardest to pick, with a few really close runners up (Temporal and Road Trip Dungeons), but I would have never expected the big four monsters to flip trailers to avoid being photographed by the paparazzi. This one still boggles and blows my mind as I think about it.

The winner for Best Written Rules is Campaign Trail. Jason had this to say:

Campaign Trail has really well written rules, that are very easy to read and understand. The visual examples and bolded key words take away any possibility of confusion, which is key when reading rules for the first time. There were other entries with great rules, but this was the clear standout.

We will be announcing the finalists soon. Stay tuned!

This week we head out to New York to talk to Clay Ewing of DataPlayed.

How and when did you first hear of The Game Crafter?

I found it three years ago when I was trying to find game parts for my thesis at Parsons.

What games have you published through The Game Crafter and what is the name of your game design label?

Just one, Hustlin’ Health Care. I release games under the label DataPlayed.

Had you ever published a game before using The Game Crafter?

Yes.

How long had you been designing games before using The Game Crafter?

Not that long, just a few months.

How much time do you spend on designing and playing games?

A lot, I’m a game designer. I also teach game design at Parsons The New School for Design and Hunter College.

Interesting. Can you tell us more about the game design program you teach? Is it for electronic games, board games, or both? Is it part of a larger program or can you earn a degree in “game design”?

The course I teach is an intro to games. It’s half design (non-digital) and half trends/history (both digital and non-digital). We make 2 to 3 non-digital games over the course of the semester. It’s changed a bit each time I teach it. Currently the first game has the constraint of taking 10 minutes to play and on the second game each group is given a mechanic that they have to use. If a group is really motivated, I’ll allow them to try and make a digital prototype with something like GameMaker, GameSalad or Flash.

At Parsons, there is a graduate program in Design & Technology that offers more game design courses, although the piece of paper they graduate with would say “MFA Design & Technology” and they would follow an Interactivity track. The course is the only one of it’s kind at Hunter.

I’m actually moving to Florida in August to teach at the University of Miami. I’ll be teaching game design classes, but currently there are no plans for a specific game design degree. I’m of the mindset that everyone should learn how to make games. Learning how to design systems and tear them apart is a skill that’s really valuable.

What keeps you motivated to continue designing games?

When you design serious games, you’re constantly learning new things from really smart people. It’s hard to not be motivated.

Have you learned anything from your experiences that you’d like to share with The Game Crafter community?

I think anything I’d share they already know. Making games for yourself is awesome.

What is The Game Crafter’s killer feature and why?

If there’s a killer feature it’s being able to print on demand. For small runs and polished prototypes, you can’t beat it.

What game conventions do you usually attend?

GDC

How would you describe yourself?

I tend to classify myself as a nerd first and foremost.

Are you married, dating, or otherwise involved?

I have a girlfriend.

Do you have any kids?

Nope.

Do you have any pets?

If I had a backyard, I’d have a dog.

If someone visited your area, what’s something they must see or do?

I think the best thing to do when you go anywhere is eat.

What do you hate?

I get pretty angry when I think about the ethics of politicians and our march towards a police state.

What do you love?

I have an unhealthy love of Netflix and Hulu. I’ve been known to watch entire series without many breaks.

What’s the last CD/MP3 you bought (or downloaded)?

I think it was the latest Gomez album.

What’s the last movie you watched?

Bridesmaids on Netflix.

You’re stuck on a train/plane for 6 hours and bored out of your mind, how do you pass the time?

I’d probably be reading a book, although with 6 hours I could probably get in a failed series on Hulu or Netflix if I had wifi.

Any last words?

Not until I’m on my death bed.

Matt Worden is featured in the July 2012 edition of Games Magazine! (pages 75-76) Matt has been a loyal member of The Game Crafter community since we opened our doors in 2009 and we’re really impressed with what he’s been able to accomplish. This interview is well deserved after his game, Jump Gate, was selected as the “Traditional Game of the Year” in Games Magazine. Not bad for a guy just self-publishing a game through The Game Crafter!  :)

In the interview, Matt talks about the games he’s designed, resources that have made an impact on his game design approach, and the merits of The Game Crafter. (Thanks for spreading the good word about TGC!)

Here’s a link to the digital publication of the issue:
http://www.zinio.com/reader.jsp?issue=416215585 

Matt’s full blog post about this exciting event is here:
http://www.mwgames.com/?p=1293 

How would you like to participate and be featured in our booth at Gen Con Indy this August? Gen Con Indy is the largest gaming convention in North America. This is your chance to get your game in front of publishers, distributors, and 36,000 gamers!

You’ll get a table and four chairs to show off your games in the booth:

We’ll also talk about you in our blog and social media sites, and give you 25,000 crafter points. 

We have eight half day blocks available to chose from. You can sign up for more than 1 block if you like. Each half day block is $200.

If you’re interested, you can apply now. We don’t expect these will last long.

There needs to be more places like Snakes and Lattes. 

Father Geek reviews MERC

We’re pleased to announce we’ve just received our 10,000th order. To commemorate the occasion we’re giving 10,000 pennies ($100) to our 10,000th customer. That lucky customer happens to be Jonathan Kantor of TalkingBull Games. Congratulations Jonathan!