My husband's work
My husband, as I may have mentioned, spends much of his time working on Civil War games, the old-fashioned kind with paper maps and cardboard counters. I don't often understand a great deal of what goes into one of these things, so I enjoyed reading this interview with the fellow he works most closely with. As the article points out, the author tried to get an interview with Greg but was referred to his developer, Bill. Greg's clear message was, "I don't do interviews." Luckily Bill gives a great interview and understands the game design process inside and out. Bill is an interesting guy, who has come and stayed with us here twice. He and Greg stay in close contact by phone and email.
I knew someone who had a wargaming phase once. I think we played twice before he figured out that he had a lot to learn about war, and lost interest.
ReplyDeleteThe 3 most difficult games were recently ranked in 3 groups:
ReplyDeleteMost difficult at position 1: War games.
Second most difficult: Simulations like chess
Third most difficult: Eve Online
That's a problem with a lot of gamers in general. If they don't immediately master the game, they lose interest.
ReplyDeleteHaving spent most of a lifetime playing these sorts of games, I've got some opinons on the genre, and often I see games or game systems where the modeling forces the player to wear "too many hats" that is, not only is the player the general, the player also has to micromanage every unit. Can't be done very well. The modeling is all important.
I have a friend who is a wargame designer.
ReplyDeletehttps://assistantvillageidiot.blogspot.com/2012/12/wargaming.html
Eric, that's a problem I've noticed as well. Do you (or anyone else) have any recommendations for wargames that don't do that? One that immediately comes to my mind is "Squad Leader."
ReplyDeleteFor that matter, does anyone have any good recommendations for war games, board or computer, that are not first person shooters?
ReplyDeleteAlso, Tex, didn't you once tell me about a website or websites where war games can be played? Could you post that again, if the info is handy?
I'm about to finish a several-year project and will finally have some time for leisure this summer.
Well, here's an article w/ brief descriptions and links to 5 popular sites for gaming:
ReplyDeleteThe Five Best Sites to Play Free Board Games Online
I have always had fun with the old Avalon Hill classics. Battle of the Bulge, Tobruk, Victory in the Pacific. They were not always the most historically accurate, but they were always fun, and they always taught me something about military history.
ReplyDelete