Update 8/10/13

Has it really been a month since my last update? Jeez, time moves too quickly. Well, let's see...  

Decoys, now far from stagnating, is going in several different directions. Pocket is working on dressing up the vanilla game, while another friend of mine is helping me make a variant that's similar to my Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy idea, and at the same time I'm working on finishing the old digital version in GameMaker.

Decoys - The Faces Of

Sean "Pocket" Dale is an amazing artist. Last week I contacted him about doing some concept sketches for Decoys' Spy Cards and this week he had six characters ready, one for each piece in the game. I sat down with him for a few hours to try and flesh them out and he really impressed me with how quickly and easily he could bring our ideas to life. I've been drawing my entire life, but I'm still not talented like that. I'm not too familiar with the traditional artistic process, so maybe my praise is a bit overstated, but still, watching an artist in flow is awe-inspiring.

So, what exactly are Spy Cards and why did Pocket draw them?

Update 7/9/13

It's been about a month since my last post, and I don't want to let this thing collect too much dust, so in this post I'm just going to give a little update on what I've been up to.

Decoys - Card Tricks

Well it's been a long time coming, but I finally finished the written rules for Decoys' card system, which dramatically changes the way the game is played. Download the complete rule-set here, or just the additional card rules here. And, of course, save yourself some time and get the digital board here (only works on PC).

I already wrote an in-depth post about how I came up with the cards and why they matter a few months ago, so I won't spend the rest of this post retreading that ground. If you're interested, check it out here.

Instead, I just want to thank everyone who's helped me get to this point. You know who you are.

And now, I continue my adventures in convincing people to play the damn thing...

Decoys - Now With 100% Less Honor!

When I first started showing Decoys to the world, people would ask how they were supposed to keep track of what objective points they captured, or how to prove they actually did so to their opponent. My answer was always 'The Honor System!' even though it didn't address the memory issue. And, rightfully so, a few people were turned off by there being no dedicated game system for tracking your progress.

Enter, the Idle Thumbs forum member, 'Berzee'. He suggested the use of grids in which to track pieces' progress around the board. I liked his idea, so I went ahead and made some new rules that introduce a new mechanic, Score Grids, to eliminate the need for a photographic memory and that pesky honor system.

Enjoy them here! Or, if you already have the core rule-set for Decoys, go ahead and download the addition separately here! And don't forget to save yourself some time by downloading a digital board (without the Score Grids, for now) on your PC here!

I'll spend the rest of this post talking a bit about the creation of the Grids, because I'm like that.

Decoys - A Video Game?

I've finally finished writing/editing Decoys' core rule-set, now complete with pictures!!! You can download it here!

I also accidentally made Decoys into a video game - well, more of a digital board. You can save yourself the trouble of drawing up a board and collecting game pieces by downloading it here!
(EDIT: I should note that the board only works on PC, sorry, Mac.)

I just ask that if you play the game, you email me at atdunaj@gmail.com to tell me about your experience! Thank you, enjoy.

I'll spend the rest of this post describing how I stumbled across a digital version of my game while making the rule-set, if you're interested.

GDC 13 and The Future of Decoys

I've just returned to New Jersey from the 2013 Game Developer's Conference. It was an amazing two weeks in the Bay area! The weather was near perfect, the food was top notch, and everyone was so nice - much more so than the East Coast! My dear friend, Kate Hutchinson, made a great host and tour guide, showing me as much as she could of the different pockets of culture. Having never been on the West Coast, it was great experience and I can't wait to go back.

But the real treat was GDC...