• Home
  • About me
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Categories
    • Fashion
    • gdj
    • football
    • Meet me!
    • Wednesday
    • Saturday!
    • Special guest
    • Guest post
    • BGG
    • From office
  • Contact
  • Wersja Polska
Home
About me
Twitter
Instagram
Categories
    Fashion
    gdj
    football
    Meet me!
    Wednesday
    Saturday!
    Special guest
    Guest post
    BGG
    From office
Contact
Wersja Polska
Ignacy Trzewiczek's Blog - Boardgames that tell stories
  • Home
  • About me
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • Categories
    • gdj
    • football
    • Meet me!
    • Fashion
    • Wednesday
    • Saturday!
    • Special guest
    • Guest post
    • BGG
    • From office
  • Contact
  • Dark or Light mode
    • Dark mode
    • Light mode
  • Wersja polska
Fashion, gdj

First Martians: will they differ?

25 kwietnia, 2017 by Ignacy Trzewiczek 7 komentarzy

It was late at night, a few minutes after midnight. We’ve just finished the fourth game in the Lost signal campaign and we were preparing for the final episode, for the fifth, closing scenario. I was busy setting it up, while most of the other players went to get something to drink and took just a few minutes’ break before the final game. Two of us stayed at the table, David and me. He was helping me with the setup, and we were talking about the game.

After these four scenarios we were both impressed how the story developed, how the astronauts’ situation has been changing for the last two days of our playtesting and how many things happened in the HUB during this time. It was a crazy roller-coaster.

David asked: 'How much will the gameplays of different groups differ?’.

That was a very good point. Let’s talk about this today.
***

The stronger story you put into the game, the more interesting and better-designed turning points and twists you want to incorporate, the less freedom you leave for the players’ choices. That’s the main difference between books and board games. A writer creates an immersive story and puts the protagonists into it, while keeping a full control over every single decision a character makes. A designer creates conditions, a framework for the immersive story to emerge, then gives it to the players. They come and act like a bull in a china shop.

Now that board game designing trends change and players’ expectations evolve, we see more and more board games drift towards story-driven experiences.

The most famous last year’s examples are surely Pandemic: Legacy and Time Stories, but of course we’ve been seeing story-driven games for years. My personal favorite of all time is Sherlock Holmes Consulting Detective, but we definitely should mention Tales of Arabian Nights, the upcoming This War of Mine, or my very own Robinson Crusoe (especially with the HMS Beagle campaign expansion).

The question remains legit for First Martians as well as for every other game I mentioned. Can we solve Case #1 in Sherlock Holmes Consulting Detective in any different way? Can two or three groups have truly different experiences? Different paths to victory? Can we solve a Time Stories mystery in a few different ways? Can two groups of players discuss the game after they’ve finished it and tell each other two different stories?

The real question is actually different—the question is: 'Do we need to have unique experiences?’.

What would you choose if you had a choice: to have a freaking awesome story to discover but one that is pre-constructed to some degree with the main twists and plot points already fixed or to have a slightly less immersive story and experience but to have a full control over every single moment of the game and have no pre-constructed plot?
***

I put strong plot points into the campaign, I design epic events that will throw new tasks and quests at the players. They are scripted, they are the plot points, they are my huge story elements. At the same time I shuffle a ton of random shit into the event deck, hundreds of cards that will surprise the players. In Scenario #2, every group will face a sandstorm that will turn off the solar panels for the whole scenario. It’s scripted. One group, though, started this scenario with a destroyed oxygenator (a result of them playing Scenario #1), the other had a seriously sick astronaut in their HUB, the third one had a very low food supply because of a previous scenario’s pest.

The plot point remains the same, big and epic. The details, the scenery, the conditions—they differ. Two groups will, hopefully, tell a different story that took place within the framework I prepared for Scenario #2.

It’s hard. It’s like combining fire and water.
***

As always, I am super eager to hear your thoughts on the subject. Is pre-contructed immersive story good or bad? What do you think about Time Stories and its scenarios? Would it be a problem for you if you knew that a different group played exactly the same way? Is having only one way to solve a Sherlock Holmes case a problem for you? Have you ever thought about it when you played the game? Have you ever felt that playing a game with scripted events is just like reading prepared stuff?

Give me your comments. I need them. I need your feedback on the subject. Thank you.

Share:
Reading time: 3 min

Kindle Edition

MY DESIGN PHILOSOPHY

I strongly believe that good board game is the one that tells a good story. You play it and suddenly you are sucked into it, you feel chills on the skin. Emotions grow. In a moment you defend castle. You hear roar of warriors. You smell boiling oil. You are into it. That's how I design my games. I always want to tell a good story. I want players to be into it. As deep as possible.

VISIT BTTS AT BGG

There is a mirror of this blog at boardgamegeek.com with lots of discussions, comments and community support. Pleas, join us here:

VISIT PORTAL GAMES

Visit Portal Games website to learn about my new releases and games I published.

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Twitter feed

Retweet on Twitter Ignacy Trzewiczek at Portal Games Retweeted
9 paź 1843979237730263474

BGG has some testimonials about AI Space Puzzle and I like them a lot! 📷

Image for the Tweet beginning: BGG has some testimonials about Twitter feed image.
Reply on Twitter 1843979237730263474 Retweet on Twitter 1843979237730263474 2 Like on Twitter 1843979237730263474 3 Twitter 1843979237730263474
8 paź 1843724895089504343

Just had a long call with Adam Kwapiński discussing abilities and powers in the faction I designed for Nemesis: Retaliation!

I cannot wait for you to change Island setting into Space base and die again... 😉

Image for the Tweet beginning: Just had a long call Twitter feed video.
Reply on Twitter 1843724895089504343 Retweet on Twitter 1843724895089504343 0 Like on Twitter 1843724895089504343 3 Twitter 1843724895089504343
Retweet on Twitter Ignacy Trzewiczek at Portal Games Retweeted
8 paź 1843668539691151812

1/3
🌴 Robinson Crusoé - Aventures sur l’Île Maudite 🧭
Ça y est, Robinson Crusoé effectue son grand retour ce vendredi ! Suite à un naufrage… vous serez confrontés à une aventure extraordinaire, dans laquelle il va être question de gestion, construction, exploration…

Image for the Tweet beginning: 1/3
🌴 Robinson Crusoé - Aventures Twitter feed image.
Image for the Tweet beginning: 1/3
🌴 Robinson Crusoé - Aventures Twitter feed image.
Image for the Tweet beginning: 1/3
🌴 Robinson Crusoé - Aventures Twitter feed image.
Image for the Tweet beginning: 1/3
🌴 Robinson Crusoé - Aventures Twitter feed image.
Reply on Twitter 1843668539691151812 Retweet on Twitter 1843668539691151812 1 Like on Twitter 1843668539691151812 3 Twitter 1843668539691151812
8 paź 1843607414106407042

Back in the office! Excited to dig into all these "I'll do it after Essen" topics! 😉

Image for the Tweet beginning: Back in the office! Excited Twitter feed image.
Reply on Twitter 1843607414106407042 Retweet on Twitter 1843607414106407042 1 Like on Twitter 1843607414106407042 38 Twitter 1843607414106407042
Load More

Instagram feed

trzewik

trzewik
Did you notice this little assasin hiding behind t Did you notice this little assasin hiding behind the post? #imperialsettlers #art #details #eastereggs
French edition of Batman: Everybody Lies. #boardga French edition of Batman: Everybody Lies. #boardgamesthattellstories #boardgames #batman
Preparing welcome bags for our fans. #portalcon #b Preparing welcome bags for our fans. #portalcon #boardgames
Sunday read! #tabletop #books Sunday read! #tabletop #books
Follow on Instagram

Kategorie

  • BGG
  • Books and movies
  • Conventions
  • Fashion
  • football
  • From office
  • Funny
  • Gaming etiquette
  • gdj
  • Guest post
  • I recommend
  • Meet me!
  • One Photo
  • Photography
  • Pressgram
  • rant
  • Reviews That Tell Stories
  • RPG
  • Saturday!
  • Special guest
  • Twitter
  • Uncategorized
  • Varia
  • wargaming
  • Wednesday

Search

Ignacy Trzewiczek's blog

Follow me on Social Media:

© 2022 copyright Portal Games Sp. z . o. o// All rights reserved | Privacy Policy