Writing a PBEM game

   As an author of a game, you need to be everything to all people. The old saying is that 'you can't please all of the people, all of the time'; and it holds very true in designing a game.

   Early in the process you have to come to terms with the fact that no matter what you try and do, someone will not like it. The difficult trick is to find the right mix of content and challenge to attract and hold your audience.  One way to begin is to research what other similar game ideas are already out there. Nothing can be more discouraging than realizing that it has already been done, many times.  What you want is something unique. When I say unique, I mean not just sounding different, but really being different.

   What kind of players do you want to attract? What age group would be interested in your idea? How can you make your game attract the kind and age of players that you want to have join? These are difficult problems to overcome. Very young players don't have a lot of background information with which to identify with and appreciate the depth of your ideas. Older players are very busy with work and family life, including other hobby interests, and may not be able to handle a game with quick turns or demanding roles.

   The best advice I can offer is to not believe your first effort is going to survive or remain intact. Prepare for rewrites, failures, many re-starts, and much criiticism as you develop the final product. There is no way you, the author, can know how the public will accept your offering until you put it out there and see.  This will bring in much needed feedback of both good and bad comments. Don't lose heart. Be thankful for both kinds. The encouraging good comments will fuel your desire to keep at it. The most valuable comments will be the bad ones, if they contain some detail.

   The player who quits with reasons why is actually doing you a favor. From his comments you can learn a lot. Do not let pride keep you from realizing that for every one who voices an opinion, the same opinion is likely held by ten others who are silent. From your collection of negative comments you can put together a picture of what will work. You can make improvements.

   Don't make too many changes to a game in progress. That will confuse the players and frustrate them. They are playing with one set of rules and will begin to lose faith in their decisions when the rules keep changing. It is better to collect ideas for a next run of the game. Of course, if a rule is just not working it must be changed. You can do this by a suggested change and a poll of players. Another idea is to announce a rule change to take effect at some future turn, rather than immediately or retroactively.

   Every rule change must apply to all players with any vested interest in the subject, and never burden one more than another. A 'suggested' rule change might bring you some very useful additional ideas that will make the game better.

   Keep your previous versions. Future rule changes may not last or you may want to refer back to your texts again. It is much easier to cut and paste from text you have already worked on than to rewrite whole passages every time.

   Last advice, if you are moderating your game, don't play favorites. Make sure that all players get all the information due. When assigning new roles or replacing leading roles, have details in your rule set governing how that will be done, and stick to it. Keep in mind that the players don't know the whole story as you do; and so they are depending on you to guide them when adrift. Never assume a player has read, memorized, and understands all of your game rules.

Mike Raymond

Author/Moderator

WW2 The Big One  http://ww2thebigone.webs.com