Tom Higgins
United States
Portland
Oregon
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I started this as a geeklist over at http://www.boardgamegeek.com/geeklist/35492. This should be the place to plot and plan the big picture stuff.
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(I tried this 2 years ago but got bogged down in daddy duty. Having gotten things to a point where I can get back to it properly .. I am suggesting the MDC III. Here are the initial notes, some recycled from the last attempt..)
In the 10 years since the first ever MDC there has been an emergence of game developers I do not think even the most optimistic player could have imagined. As with many things the internet seems to have been a force multiplier of the sort that makes little things grow in leaps and bounds.
So what is this MDC going for?
-----The Metagaming/TaskForce Game That Got Away-------
Think of this as a homage to those great microgames of yore. Layout, format style, topic, look and feel...all these should go into the mix. Getting it all to print out and fit in a ziplock baggie would be a plus. What topics do you think they would be doing up in this era? What if the microgame market held stronger than it did and some of the ideas that went into euro style games went into the microgame format?
Ideally these would be newer ideas you come up with, but it would be aceptable if you have an older idea that you could fashion into this format.
Given the expansive wonder of resources that is the internet, and BGG in particular, it would be fun to see people group up and work on the games more as teams than as single devs trying to do it all. Graphics are not my strong suit and I would probably look in the forms for a graphics person to help out...and yes a proof reader is key to any project.
I wills tart a thread in the Dev Forum for an easier way to converse. The games and comments will show up here.
I would love to shoot for having the games all in by Dec 31 2008
(more as it happens)
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Andrew Tullsen
United States
Tigard
Oregon
Game Parts, Custom prototypes, Print & Play Games
-
Can we use an existing design that has already been worked on?
Or does it have to be a new design, starting from now?
Thanks for starting this up, I hope many designers will participate.
This is a great way to add more free PnP games to the database.
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Antonio Fonseca
Brazil
Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro
-
Tom , hi !!
Can you send to me more details about the contest ? I´d like a lot to participate !
Cheers
Antonio Marcelo 
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Tom Higgins
United States
Portland
Oregon
-
Idea and games that you have plotted out before would be ok , the thing to keep in mind though is to make it look and feel like something that would have come out of Metagaming or Taskforce. Paying tribute to the past greatness by showing what it might look like if they never stopped publishing...that sort of thing.
I know for some, I know its true for me, designing the look and feel of a game sometimes takes much longer than banging out a working game.
At the end of the contest we all should have some ziplocked games that could well be mixed up in a Metgaming/Task Force collection.
-tom
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Tom Higgins
United States
Portland
Oregon
-
I should have more hard and fast details in the next day or two.
For now think of the general concept of the MDC III. If you need inspiration The Mav's site is a great place to start [url] http://www.angelfire.com/ca/themav/mic.html[/url]
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Tom Higgins
United States
Portland
Oregon
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First cut at the rules of the MDC III
The Microgames Design Contest III Rules
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The rules are based on the MDC I and MDC II rules. Much thanks to Joe Hartley and the crew of that first MDC for their great works from which all other MDC's have followed.
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1. The game may be about any subject. As this MDC is an homage to the Metagamin/Task Force microgames when printed out and assembled they should have the look and feel of those games. The following are guidelines to that end.
2. Physical Considerations
2.1 The rules need to be at least 1 word long and should not exceed 6000 words. As a rule of thumb it should be no longer than 9 8.5x11 sized pages using a 10 or 12 point font.
2.2 The map must measure no more than 2 8.5 x 11 sized pages.
2.3 You may have as many unit counters as you wish, but all unit counters must fit within a 8.5x11 page. The counters may be double- sided. Please allow for .05" gutter between counters.
2.4 Dice, markers and common game bits can be assumed to be supplied by the player (a Cheapass Homage ..which should be a contest for another day)
2.5 The final game and all its parts should be submitted in the PDF format.
2.6 As this MDC aims to pay tribute to the old Metagaming/Task Force games, the printed and assembled game should in some way look as if it could fit in a collection of those games. Fitting in a ziplock baggie would be a plus.
3. All entries must be posted on the MDC III geeklist ( http://www.boardgamegeek.com/geeklist/35492) by 11:59 PM (PST), December 31st, 2008.
3.1 All games remain the property of the author(s).
4. Judging shall take place on the MDC III geeklist ( http://www.boardgamegeek.com/geeklist/35492) The games shall be judged on the following 5 categories.
Homage Factor
How close to the mark did this game come to the look and feel of a Metgaming/Task Force micrgoame? Did it cover new ground while still keeping the homage factor? If so then it should rate higher than a rehash.
Mechanics
This category focuses on the strict mechanics of playing the game.
How smooth is the turn sequencing? How well are conflicts resolved?
How cumbersome is the record keeping? Did the game combine a couple of mechanics in a compact manner?
Balance
In a 2-player game, either player should have an equal chance at
winning. In a solitaire game, there should be a good chance of
winning, but it shouldn't be guaranteed, not should defeat be
inevitable.
Clarity
In a micro, it is important to be able to understand the game's
objectives and mechanics easily. This category rates the author's
success (or failure) in communicating these. If you find you need to
keep consulting the rules to resolve questions, then the game would
likely have a low score here.
Enjoyability
A real subjective category here; how much did you enjoy this game?
Was it an easy playing game, but one that made you think about
tactics all the time? Score it high! Was it such a drag that you
couldn't wait for it to end? Score it low! Would you play it again
after the contest is over? Does it stand up after 3-4 plays? This is
where those features get rated.
5. Prizes
TBD
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Andrew Tullsen
United States
Tigard
Oregon
Game Parts, Custom prototypes, Print & Play Games
-
You forgot to add what's under "5. Prizes" .
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Tom Higgins
United States
Portland
Oregon
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Howitzer_120mm wrote: You forgot to add what's under "5. Prizes" .
For right now TBD. My hope is to raise some GG on the geeklist for the contest, maybe look around my collection to see if there are anythings I could offer up. maybe see if others would offer up things to sweeten the pot.
In the end though creating a game that will pay tribute to the greats, be played by the hordes of microgame fans, bask in the accolades of .....oh who are we kidding...folks want goodies -
Seriously, I will see what can be got. If anyone has a line on prizes post em up here.
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Andrew Tullsen
United States
Tigard
Oregon
Game Parts, Custom prototypes, Print & Play Games
-
Let's see.
1st Place - $1,000
2nd Place - $500
3rd Place - $200
How's this?
Ok, just joking. 
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Antonio Fonseca
Brazil
Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro
-
I have a lot of Metagaming games in my collection. It´s good to try make anything in the name of the "old times"...
Well, let´s go !
Cheers
Antonio
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Jack Darwid
Indonesia
Unspecified
Unspecified
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After reading HERE, I am still not sure what microgames really are. It says: Inexpensive, Conflict Simulation, Small and Quick Playing. Hmmm... after checking around for a while, it's more confusing... there are card games and pen-paper games too !!
For example, IOD2, is it a microgame? (I'll playtest a new game with a similar concept soon, hope it will work well)
Or it must have hexes and counter ?
Thanks for the answer...
Jack
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Rod Batten
Canada
St. John's
Newfoundland
Civilized men are more discourteous than savages because they know they can be impolite without having their skulls split, as a general thing. --R.E.Howard
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I tagged the entries from the last contest. If anyone's looking for them you can find them here:
http://www.boardgamegeek.com/tag/MDC2002
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Rod Batten
Canada
St. John's
Newfoundland
Civilized men are more discourteous than savages because they know they can be impolite without having their skulls split, as a general thing. --R.E.Howard
-
Microgames usually feature a map, are often hex and counter and fit in a medium size ziplock bag or DVD case. They usually play faster than a wargame and use themes that fall outside the scope of traditional wargames.
Look up any of the Metagaming series for examples of historical microgames. The 1980s saw publication of dozens of these little games.
There's a great website devoted to microgames if you're looking for information: http://micro.brainiac.com/
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Antonio Fonseca
Brazil
Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro
-
One more question :
Can I open a BGG game entry for the Microgame, or only put an entrance in http://www.boardgamegeek.com/geeklist/35492 ?
Cheers
Antonio
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Andrew Tullsen
United States
Tigard
Oregon
Game Parts, Custom prototypes, Print & Play Games
-
antonmarcelo wrote:
Definitely. Make a new game page for your game. It'll link better in the GL too.
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August Larson
United States
Utah
-
When you say you'd like them to pay homage to the microgames of yore, do you mean they need to be sci-fi/fantasy, and they need to be wargames? Or what? I'm not really sure what you mean...
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Rod Batten
Canada
St. John's
Newfoundland
Civilized men are more discourteous than savages because they know they can be impolite without having their skulls split, as a general thing. --R.E.Howard
-
tomwsmf wrote: Layout, format style, topic, look and feel...all these should go into the mix. Getting it all to print out and fit in a ziplock baggie would be a plus. What topics do you think they would be doing up in this era? What if the microgame market held stronger than it did and some of the ideas that went into euro style games went into the microgame format?
From that comment I'd take it that other themes are acceptable, and probably expected, explorations. Most microgames *are* wargames of some kind, with at least a map and some counters, but not necessarily a standard wargame theme. A few have geomorphic maps and most have a sci-fi or fantasy theme. A lot of the old, and some new, magazine games fall into the microgame class.
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Antonio Fonseca
Brazil
Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro
-
Thank you Andrew for your reply. I´m working now in my game...
Greetings
Antonio
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August Larson
United States
Utah
-
So what are we submitting exactly? Are we supposed to put together a PDF and submit that? Or Word Documents? And when we submit to the geeklist, do we post pictures of it? And Rules?
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Tom Higgins
United States
Portland
Oregon
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colmustard21 wrote: When you say you'd like them to pay homage to the microgames of yore, do you mean they need to be sci-fi/fantasy, and they need to be wargames? Or what? I'm not really sure what you mean...
Yes, either or and then some. Basicaly its to come up with a game that has the look and feel of a Task Force or Metagaming ziplocked microgame. Ideally this would have the look and feel of those good ole games yet maybe cover some ground that they did not, a different angle then they did...that sort of vector. Make sense.
Ok some examples..
What if Metagaming/Task Force was still putting out games, what sort of titles do you think you might see given the current historic conditions, the last decades of socio/poltical events, the new trends in some of the old topics like SF, historic what ifs, etc. Would they do something like a Settlers of Catan, would meeple make it to the unit counters sheets? What sort of game mechanics would they have absorbed?
I hope I have not made thing less clear- Let me know if the above makes any sense.
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August Larson
United States
Utah
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tomwsmf wrote: colmustard21 wrote: When you say you'd like them to pay homage to the microgames of yore, do you mean they need to be sci-fi/fantasy, and they need to be wargames? Or what? I'm not really sure what you mean... Yes, either or and then some. Basicaly its to come up with a game that has the look and feel of a Task Force or Metagaming ziplocked microgame. Ideally this would have the look and feel of those good ole games yet maybe cover some ground that they did not, a different angle then they did...that sort of vector. Make sense. Ok some examples.. What if Metagaming/Task Force was still putting out games, what sort of titles do you think you might see given the current historic conditions, the last decades of socio/poltical events, the new trends in some of the old topics like SF, historic what ifs, etc. Would they do something like a Settlers of Catan, would meeple make it to the unit counters sheets? What sort of game mechanics would they have absorbed? I hope I have not made thing less clear - Let me know if the above makes any sense.
Okay, I get it now! Thanks! I've got a fun idea in mind I'll like to try out. And another question: Where do we submit these games? Do we make a new page for our game? And if so, how do I do that, or where can I go to read some sort of BGG FAQ. I'm kinda new to BGG.
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Andrew Tullsen
United States
Tigard
Oregon
Game Parts, Custom prototypes, Print & Play Games
-
http://www.boardgamegeek.com/UserCreateItem.php3
Make a new game page. It has to be approved by the admins, and then you'll receive a message.
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August Larson
United States
Utah
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Howitzer_120mm wrote:
Okay, thanks! This'll be fun! I can't wait to see everyone else's entries!
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James Hutchings
Australia
Unspecified
Unspecified
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Tom Higgins
United States
Portland
Oregon
-
Doh, that was exactly what was in my mind when I wrote that. Amazing-
Great image
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