The Plan

I don't want to get ahead of myself here and dive right into the details without a plan. So here is THE PLAN:

Step 1: basic concept.

Already done, since this is an idea I've had since forever. In fact, I've already posted about it. Hooray, I'm making progress!

Step 2: core mechanics.

Hammer out the base of the game. Create a simple rule set that works. It doesn't need to be super polished, and nothing is going to be nailed down. There are a lot of ideas and concepts I want to play with, but I need a framework to play with and build on before I start adding options and complexity. I'm thinking of this as a first draft: a solid core that I can tinker with, expand on, and cut down if and when it becomes necessary. One of the most important elements of this step will be getting an estimate of how long it takes to play the game, and keeping that time manageable. During this stage I'll be running frequent solo playtests with varying numbers of simulated players.

These are the mechanics I want to have working in a basic capacity before I add anything else:

• Board. Each of the 3 regions will have a handful of different environments.
• Movement for players and enemies - how you move around the board, and how quickly.
• Core player resources: heat, endurance, health - how they're gained and how they're lost.
• Skills: the interaction and conflict resolution mechanic. Fewer is better - I want to consolidate as many types of interaction into as few skills as possible.
• Simple item system. Mechanics first, details second. How to obtain and trade items comes before specific functionality. I'll map out the functions I want but numbers aren't important yet.
• Encounters. Map out broad encounter types and/or themes for different board regions and come up with some basic rules, using skills as conflict resolution.
• Teamwork. Ways for the players to interact and cooperate.
• Finale: the game end conditions. When and how you win and lose. Probably involving some kind of showdown or boss battle: a specific obstacle to overcome, which the players build toward over the course of the game.

Step 3: first playtest.

Collect the rules into a somewhat presentable first draft and build makeshift play materials. Run the game a few times by presenting playtesters with the rules and the pieces and watch them play on their own - I want to see if they can figure out how to play without me explaining anything, and watch how a session runs without my involvement. If anyone has trouble figuring out some or all of the rules, I need to make them easier to understand, or potentially do an overhaul on the troublesome element(s).

If you know me personally, there's a good chance you'll be dragged into this :p

Step 4: expand the depth.

Here's where things get more experimental. I'll start adding depth, by which I mean more options and choices. Ideally these will come across as natural evolutions of the core systems that offer choices and options to accommodate for play style and variability between play sessions, without increasing the complexity too much. If anything gets too complicated, either cut it or make it optional, possibly presenting the options as different levels of difficulty. 

Here are some possibilities I want to explore when the core game is working:

• Character selection. It'd be neat to have the option to play as different characters with different resources, skills, and unique abilities - maybe even going so far as to have some sort of role system.
• Day/night options. Currently the idea is that each round of the game represents one day. I'd like to offer players a choice between moving during the day or during the night, with different risks and rewards for each.
• Weather. Mobile storms or cold snaps - an additional element to watch out for when moving around the board.
• Diversified items. More interesting stuff than bonuses or immunities.

Step 5: second playtest.

Run the game some more with the expanded rules in the same way as the first playtest: give it to a group and don't interfere, watching to identify any problem areas. As before, refine or overhaul any issues that arise so that gameplay is easy to understand.

Step 6: third playtest.

Now that the game is theoretically working with all the systems in place, I'll open the playtest to a wider audience, likely by making a download available on this blog and asking for feedback via a survey (or whatever, I'll decide when I get here). I'll still look for the kind of problems I mentioned for previous playtests, but this is where I'll look more closely at balance: do any abilities or items come across as too powerful? Are any areas of the map too safe or too dangerous? Are the risk/reward systems fair?

Repeat and iterate until the game is polished.

Step 7: business.

If and when I get to this stage, I've built a whole game and hopefully it's fun and works pretty well. That's awesome, mission complete! I've learned about games and the design process, and the whole project might even be a nice addition to my resume.

However...

If there's some interest, I'll start looking into presentation, art, and production. Make things look nice and maybe even run a Kickstarter. Of course, if it does go this far, it's basically the start of a whole new project - I don't know much about advertising, fundraising, production, or publishing, but I do know that it's a lot of work.
But this is all hypothetical - there's a lot to do before I want to even begin thinking about business crap.