Sharing my creative process

Why not? I often find it interesting to learn about how people work. Here was my process on this project.

First, random thoughts, ideas and notes on my phone

1. I usually write ideas as phone notes. I got a ton of them and I sometimes try to write some on paper, on a small notebook, since I always lost a ton when phone suddenly stop working. Some ideas are just two words while other are enough instuctions to play. It's then logical for me to often put the beginnings of a game by writing on my phone. When thinking about this game jam, I first thought about writing a solo game and wrote some setting ideas, this time directly in English. I ended up with a short list of possible settings (you can see the first one on this screenshot).
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2. Second step is the longest one: choosing and thinking both mechanics and settings matching each other. I decided to write a duet game instead a solo one. And I wanted a block tower and/or cards as the mechanic. I wanted something simple, quick to play and can't relate details but I had the core rules in head (the process of alternating between the first and second player, taking turns to pull a block from the tower but also being able to pull a block in place of the other player). I wrote these rules on phone, plus I completed this phone-note day after day with settings ideas based on "step 1" but also with new ideas. I quickly reached the limit of signs allowed by my phone, so I continued in a new note. I also added some possibilities for additional and/or variant rules to serve the atmospher: candles, cards, touching, mark on the body, etc.
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3. Once rules are clear and setting is chosen, I now write the foundations of the game. As this is for an English game jam, I'm thinking directly in English to write in this language. The game draft of the game is born!
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Digression: sharing thoughts on Twitter

This is not something I do each time, but, since it's for a jam, I thought it could be cool to share ideas in no more than a tweet. Since I got likes, it gave me a little motivation boost. I don't need boosts for each project but right here, I needed it a lot. Thanks all. Thanks a lot!

I shared thoughts on Twitter while I was on "step 2" in my creative process. I had the core rules and many setting ideas but nothing definitive yet.

A public digression helps me to encourage myself but also to make choices

Writing a tweet helps me clear my mind. We're limited in the number of words and signs. It's a good exercise to get back to the heart of the game and provide a concise "pitch." Even if I don't have any answers, it allows me to make a kind of mental playtest and to think about the setting(s) I want to develop. The choice is subjective.

At mid-December, we were three to go through health issues, each one of us facing a different one: parasitic infection; spasms and internal body failure; and suspected dysfunctional body organ. Therefore, I doubted a lot about talking about body, dysfunctions etc. and I got a ton of setting ideas. I also had a strong desire to make a game full of hope. Especially since last month I was very much into solarpunk. But my state of mind was body horror. Consequently the touch of hope in this is the co-op aspect.

Then, thinking about layout

As a graphic designer, I'm not able to think content without its form. So, while I thought about rules, I already had the idea of a game divided in two parts: 1 page per player. Because that's a duet and the goal is to print it as a double page in a book. So, even if my game is not chosen, I wanted to think it first as a "printed one" (and, if not printed in the book, share a printer-friendly file for people printing it at home).

For bigger projects, I do sketches, "thumbnails" etc., but I often already have "final" layout idea in head for short jam projects. As soon as I decided it would be a duet tower-block game with an "intimate cooperative" part, I thought it would be best to have both players facing each other. Here's why the reverse page.

I also wrote by hand a few stuff I currently deleted for the alpha version. I need to decide if it's enough fun and clear for the final version. For example cards prompts I got on my phone notes.

Scanning and playing with elements

I took time to play with colors to find the right balance between 2 distinct parts with harmony and readability. Plus I have chosen a font I'm used to.

Here is the current version!

After taking time to choose colors, this is how I got this first draft I then create on the computer, using Affinity Publisher. Because game jam projects are perfect to learn about this software (I want to get rid of Adobe InDesign).

As I'm fond of "visually handmade design", I kept a few hand-writen words but I wrote everything else on computer for readability and space saving. Accessibility is OK since I wrote the first sentences on computer with digital fonts too (it's under the picture, so voice readers softwares can read it!)

Next? The printed updated version

Now, I'm waiting to know if this game will be part of the printed "Tiny Tome" book. If so, it'll be a priority to update it. This is the boring part: proofreading my bad English and making small adjusts on rules to make it funnier/easier to play.

If this game is not selected for the printed book project, I'll do it and also providing a printer-friendly version but it won't be a priority. I got many other things to do and unfortunately low energy.

Thanks for reading, hope you'll have fun with this game!