A friend recently asked about the Doomed Colony board game.
“What ever happened with that thing? I liked where you were going with it. It looked to be shaping up nicely, but we haven’t seen anything about it on your blog in a while.”
The answer, which I’m sharing you with you now, is that the game is lying fallow.
In other words, I’ve put the game on the shelf for now, but intend to come back to it later. By stepping away for a while, I can come back to the game with fresh eyes, and have a better perspective on what’s working and what’s actually a hideous tumor of a mechanic clinging to the game like a malignant leech.
Sometimes a game design goes fallow because I need to turn my attention to more pressing matters, like making money so my family doesn’t starve.
Other times, I let it go fallow because I’ve hit a wall: the game isn’t quite working well enough (or at all) and I see no clear path to improvement. Rather than bang my head against that wall, I set the project aside so I can take another run at the wall after I’ve had a chance to think of its weak spots and build up my skull.
With Doomed Colony, it’s a bit of both. The game is pretty good right now, which isn’t good enough. And while it’s fun to work on, it’s not paying the bills (yet) so it needs to go to the back burner to make room for projects with dollars attached.
Not every game design needs a “fallow” stage. Not even all of mine go through this. But if you find yourself bored, frustrated, or distracted with your game design, I’d encourage you to consider walking away for a bit. You never know what fresh inspiration you’ll find when you come back to it.
