Sam “King of the Hilltop”
When I first start a project, I love to do research. It’s something that I quite enjoy; in fact, we will be working soon on the characters for our game, Cult of the Deep. In this process, I have been reading and searching for art references for the different people but most important to me is to have the time period and look of the game make sense. In that search, I have been spending hours looking for articles, books, images, art, and videos about fashion.
It’s not something I ever thought I would be doing but, I never thought we would actually be making a board game that could be funded through the means of crowd-funding either. However, throughout this process of research, it’s important to find good sources that can yield a lot of good information. So, today I am going to share with you some good sources of information I have been using to fuel my board game publishing journey. I will try to add a few different mediums since depending on the time of day, your mood, or even just your preference, there will be something for everyone.
**Warning: I have been doing clothing/fashion/costume research so there is a link or two in here for those of you who are interested.**
The Written Word –
Bellatory.com – This has been a more recent find but there are TONS of references and articles about clothes and fashions from different time periods, styles, etc. It has been a great resource that has led to even more resources. If you are looking for period fashion research, this is a pretty good place to start. Especially read the bibliographies and the comments, some helpful tips and sources for more information.
James Mathe – This is an older but incredibly good source of everything from board game design to publishing. Great material to search through.
Stonemaier Games Blog – Jamey Stegmaier has been a great force for good in helping people start that Kickstarter Journey and even has a book that pulls a lot of his advice into a single, physical copy that can be a handy read on the road.
Brandon the Game Dev – Brandon has some great play by play articles and has set-up a series of articles that walk you through the process of game design or publishing in chronological order.
The Spoken Word –
Secret Cabal Gaming Podcast – A fantastically fun podcast that gives quick overviews of games as well as a series of relevant topics to board games. A whole lot of fun!
Kickstarter Journeys – This is a podcast by Wes Woodbury that talks with various Kickstarter creators and how they were able to fund their projects successfully. A good listen on the Apple Podcasts. Been enjoying this one and I only expect it to get better.
Board Game Design Lab – Gabe interviews people every week from the industry to help bring different thoughts, ideas, and best practices to his listeners. Can help provide a great foundation for board game design.
The Visual Word ?? –
Bernadette Banner – Bernadette is a stickler for getting the details right and has some charming and funny videos about historical fashion. I highly recommend if you are interested in either costuming or looking for historical perspective on clothing and dress. You can find her videos on YouTube.
Wood-Fired Pizza, It’s The Best And Its Just Like Game Creation
Ed “Duke of BAzlandia”
Since my brother has already covered how to research and find information, I am going to go off on a little bit of a tangent and talk about pizza.
To start off, I have spent some time on the island of Crete in Greece. It was a wonderful place and it was awesome to experience the culture there.To be able to walk around and just see ancient stuff and be surrounded by beauty was amazing. While there I discovered wood fired pizza. I know, I know, I am an uncultured swine but the point is, I discovered it and when I got home I wanted it, so the research began.
I did a Google search and looked at multiple websites but the one that I found to be the most helpful is Forno Bravo. They provided a lot of information and even had plans. From there I went to other sites, compared information, and then went into the planning and gathering of material stage.
In this stage I finalized my plan, and due to material cost and availability I actually changed my plan a few times to cut cost and still get the end product I wanted. I had to check with a couple of different suppliers for the different materials
Once I had all the material I started the building process. I poured and finished a concrete slab, laid down the cement block and rebar, grouted the blocks, poured the slab on top of the block, laid down the fire brick base, created a tool to create a firebrick dome, insulate the dome, and the process went on. After construction was completed I had to dry out the cooking dome by having a fire in the dome every day for a week with each fire being progressively bigger and hotter to slowly dry everything out.
Then it was back to research but this time it was for making the best pizza possible. From the dough to the correct tools to cook the pizza, I looked at everything. Once research was completed and tools arrived it was time for pizza and it was delicious. However, there is always room for improvement and I continue to change the recipe and toppings every time I cook. I also now have a new project of adding an outdoor kitchen to the pizza oven.
Now many of you may ask what does this have to do with anything, let alone board games. Well building a board game is very similar. There is research, planning, actions that are taken, plans adjusted, creation/building, refinement until completion, and then you repeat the process with a new idea/game.
That is how pizza and board games are the same.
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