I was working on a wine delivery game in which players make wine and then fulfill orders, represented by cards that gave points for certain combinations of wine of varying quality. I was showing it to Ben Rossett at Unpub, and he gave me one suggestion: Get rid of the order cards and just reward points for wines directly. What a marvelous instinct for elegance.
I think the "Keep it simple, stupid" IS what people are doing by adding, to them. To most, especially visual learners, it is SIMPLER in their brains to add something. The video you posted showed people designs to balance. They SEE an example of how one side is and how they can SIMPLY add that to the other side. Removing things requires IMAGINING things that they have no visual representation of and thus, it is HARDER to picture the final result.
Also, I am curious of the SPECIFIC wording they gave in instructions in that video. They sort of paraphrased what was instructed, but I can imagine that some wording choices could also influence choices people made in that video.
I think minimalism is hard to get to in game design because people have the fear that the audience was being bored. It's bolstered by "heavier" games taking over the top of BGG's rankings. I prefer the simpler games because I can teach them to any age group that sits at my table. Designing the next Codenames, Dominion, The Mind, or Just One is my personal goal, but I would be happier to see more games like Ticket to Ride get out there too. I just realize that the BGG's new Euro grognards will never allow it be on top for long.
The splotter designers have said as much too. There are lots of things in their games that are extremely simple, like starting a company in Indonesia is just an action with no cost, even though companies are extremely important, and you win the game with the most money.
You usually get a sense for the design space of your game, and what is truly important. However the ultimate is to just try it and see how it feels. Even if it doesn't work, it doesn't mean you go back to where you were. It may lead you to another, different, better solution.
I was working on a wine delivery game in which players make wine and then fulfill orders, represented by cards that gave points for certain combinations of wine of varying quality. I was showing it to Ben Rossett at Unpub, and he gave me one suggestion: Get rid of the order cards and just reward points for wines directly. What a marvelous instinct for elegance.
I think the "Keep it simple, stupid" IS what people are doing by adding, to them. To most, especially visual learners, it is SIMPLER in their brains to add something. The video you posted showed people designs to balance. They SEE an example of how one side is and how they can SIMPLY add that to the other side. Removing things requires IMAGINING things that they have no visual representation of and thus, it is HARDER to picture the final result.
Also, I am curious of the SPECIFIC wording they gave in instructions in that video. They sort of paraphrased what was instructed, but I can imagine that some wording choices could also influence choices people made in that video.
I think minimalism is hard to get to in game design because people have the fear that the audience was being bored. It's bolstered by "heavier" games taking over the top of BGG's rankings. I prefer the simpler games because I can teach them to any age group that sits at my table. Designing the next Codenames, Dominion, The Mind, or Just One is my personal goal, but I would be happier to see more games like Ticket to Ride get out there too. I just realize that the BGG's new Euro grognards will never allow it be on top for long.
I want to be a sculptor and chip away at the accumulated “stuff” in my life! Definitely good for my life.
The splotter designers have said as much too. There are lots of things in their games that are extremely simple, like starting a company in Indonesia is just an action with no cost, even though companies are extremely important, and you win the game with the most money.
Hidden brain has a great episode that goes in depth into this.
You usually get a sense for the design space of your game, and what is truly important. However the ultimate is to just try it and see how it feels. Even if it doesn't work, it doesn't mean you go back to where you were. It may lead you to another, different, better solution.