Game Design — Usual Musing

To be clear, this is my first crossword puzzle to design, not solve.

I’ve been a crossword addict for a long time, and after stumbling upon a blog series by editors and contributors of the New York Times daily crosswords I decided to try designing my own.

It’s hard.*

Click on the image to download a PDF copy.

I used Crossfire, a crossword editing tool, which helps tremendously. Besides formatting the puzzle correctly and helping you build the grid, Crossfire suggest fill words, based on dictionaries that you can either download from crossword constructor sites or create on your own.** After discovering how challenging it is to create a workable puzzle with a great tool like Crossfire, I’m even more amazed at the people that did it for decades completely by hand.

I’m not going to submit my first puzzle to the NYT because (1. the theme is solid, but not clever, 2. I used compass directions twice to make the fill work, 3. I feel there are just a few too many esoteric or outdated words.)*** However, if you’d like to try it, you can download and print the PDF file right here.

So, I’ve created my first crossword puzzle. Next step is to create my first really good one. :)

* I’m guessing it gets easier when you’ve done it more than once.

**I’m creating a dictionary right now of all words and phrases related to the best era of music in the history of mankind, the 1980s.

***In other words, I’m certain that I’m not a crossword-designing prodigy whose first attempt was brilliant.

One of the first subjects I studied in college was magic. Specifically, stage magic, as opposed to supernatural magic or Magic: The Gathering. The latter wasn't first published until a bit later in my college career, and the former didn't offer a full four year degree. You can get all sorts of degrees in it now, but instead of "witchcraft" it's referred to as "data analysis."*

Anyway, I quickly learned two things about sleight of hand. First, the texture and finish of the cards significantly impact the mechanics of card manipulation. Second, the audience's perception of magic is driven by many factors beyond your sheer mechanical skill.

While working on Film Tycoons I've greatly enjoyed the search for a manufacturer -- this has been a great learning experience and now that we're in the final stages the selection of printing materials is a critical task. A few companies have been very responsive to my inquiries but Longshore Limited of Hong Kong shines.

Not all cards are created equal. Magicians prefer to use Bicycle and Bee back cards because they have a very high quality air finish with just a slightly rough texture. In short, they're excellent for card manipulations.** Even a non-magician can tell the difference between Bicycles and a dollar store deck -- pick up ten cards and fan them. Bicycles (and Bees) will spread evenly and the cards glide against one another. Lower quality cards will stick to each other and clump.

Not surprisingly you'll find a wide range of paper and finish qualities when shopping for card printing. When you're looking at mass production you really want some basis for comparison beyond, "I really like Bicycle playing cards, do you have something like that?" Longshore has many permutations available and I can't tell you offhand the difference between a 330g black core and 250g white core cards. Last Wednesday night I mentioned this in an email to Nancy, my brilliant contact at Longshore. By Monday morning FedEx had delivered a box of samples to my house.***

That's overseas shipping in two business days, and I've yet to actually place an order. In fact, as potential customers go I'm probably a real pain in the neck. As we've iterated on the game development process I've updated our component list numerous times and Nancy cheerfully provides me with new quotes every time. She's also patiently answered two dozen questions about the production process, recommended freight forwarders, and provided suggestions and options.

Different experience with another company. (This isn't another manufacturer competing for our Film Tycoons business, it's a provider here in the U.S. with a service that we needed pretty quickly for another aspect of the game development.) I placed an order with them last week. The automated reply estimated a shipping date of March 10th. Okay, we can wait that long. Last night I thought I'd check the provider's system to see what information I can get about my order status. Turns out they do have ongoing updates -- my order is now estimated to ship on March 13th.

I'm not happy that my order is now arriving three days later. My perception of the company's reliability just took a hit. And since I had to find that information myself rather than being notified, I'm certainly not feeling valued.

I'm confident that both Longshore and the other company can deliver -- that's the mechanical part of the process. Longshore, however, demonstrates all those other behaviors which positively influence my perception of the company, and any magician will tell you that both those things are necessary before magic happens.

* When I started college the only computer discipline offered was "Computer Engineering." Yeah, we didn't even have Business Information Systems yet. You sure as hell couldn't major in "Creating Gaming Apps for iOS."

** If you'd like to learn some fun card manipulations to amaze your friends, I strongly recommend Jeff McBride's video series. He's an amazing magician and his how-to videos are actually excellent teaching aids.

*** I was going to share a picture of the sample package from Longshore but I haven't asked their permission, so I decided not to. Take my word for it that this isn't just an envelope with four or five cards in it -- it's a box full of cards, pawns, dice, timers...like a Loot Crate for aspiring game makers.