Posted on : By : Neutrino Burrito Posted in : Blog: Game Development

Spooky October updates from Otherworld Games

Hello Otherworldly Beings,

Happy spooky scary skeletons month!

As the leaves turn and the dead come back to life, it’s a good time to reflect. I like to take this time to think about the important things, like do I have enough garlic and holy water to ward off creatures of the damned? The answer is yes.

I want to share a bit about what’s going on with Otherworld Games for October and the coming months…let’s go!

Play Color Space and leave me feedback!

Color Space has been out on Tabletop Simulator for a couple of months now. I’m going to add some extra touches to the game in the coming weeks but the game is ready for you to play. All you need is a copy of Tabletop Simulator, then you can download the Color Space mod for free!

Color Space box art
Play Color Space on TTS

Expect gameplay videos soon!

To show you a bit more about how Color Space and One Last Job play, look out for videos on the Otherworld Games Youtube channel soon. (These will be my first videos, so go easy on me.)

More on that in a future update.

One Last Job is still in the judging process

I’m so anxious to see how it does in this contest. I’ve also been working on fun changes to the game that I’ll release post contest. These changes include, but aren’t limited to…
• A new character with the D10 die (D10 currently isn’t in the game)
• A slightly bigger bank (2 extra coins)
• A new mechanic where the dice placers DON’T choose can work for or against them

AND you can expect One Last Job to come to Tabletop Simulator soon!

One Last Job logo
Access print & play file

I’m planning to spring ahead next year

You may have noticed that this new one-person board game studio hasn’t yet released a physical board game. There have been set backs, as I’ve noted in prior updates. But it’s looking good to start my first Kickstarter next spring! Originally, the plan was for Color Space to be the the first game. But the more I think about it, the more I think One Last Job is the better fit.

The reason? One Last Job uses more standard components than Color Space. I had been working with manufacturers to get the Color Space pieces just right for a slick-looking prototype and just never got there. I decided to take a step back and think. I decided that Color Space needs more time but One Last Job is rearing to go! I think it could make a great mint tin-style game.

Stay tuned on One Last Job developments in the future!

Okay, that’s really all for now…see you around, Otherworldly Beings.

Posted on : By : Neutrino Burrito Posted in : Uncategorized

End of summer update from Otherworld Games

Hello Otherworldly Beings,

The end [of summer] is nigh! Here’s an update on what Otherworld Games has been cooking over the season.

Color Space digital is available FREE on Tabletop Simulator

You heard that right. If you have Tabletop Simulator on Steam, you can download and play the digital Color Space mod right now for free. Give it a try to see if it’s the type of game you’d like to play in the physical world.

A poster for the game Color Space, out on Tabletop Sim for free. Kickstarter for the physical edition will be available next year.
Visit Color Space Tabletop Sim page

Color Space physical edition Kickstarter has been delayed…

Due to the rising cost of freight and materials, the Kickstarter for Color Space has been delayed to some time next year. That just means there’s more time to playtest. 😀

One Last Job is in a contest!

Back in July, a little 1-card print-and-play game known as One Last Job was launched. It’s free to download and play right now, as long as you’re willing to print and cut out a card and 2 player aids. You’ll also need a small collection of assets. (Dice, chips, cubes—that sort of thing.)

Title art for the 2-player dice-rolling game One Last Job
Learn more about One Last Job

That’s it! Oh wait, actually…one last thing

A new game is in development! With the working title “Cosmic Voyage,” this is a co-op game about space exploration and scientific discovery. Think of something that fuses together the vibe of games like Tokaido and Forbidden Island but has unique aspects such as career advancement and dealing with mental health on an extended space mission.

It’s still in early prototype stages but it’s coming along nicely. We actually just played a new prototype today and the game is fun and solid! More on this in the future.

Okay, that’s really all for now…see you around, Otherworldly Beings.

Posted on : By : Neutrino Burrito Posted in : Blog: Game Development

June updates from Otherworld Games

Happy Summer!

What a time it’s been. The pandemic has rearranged and marred our lives but it looks like we’re seeing the light at the end of the tunnel across the globe. Fingers crossed! Here are some updates on what this small design studio. (I mean, really small, since it’s just one person.)

I neglected to give a May update and almost neglected a June one. Apologies for being so absent. Life and other projects sort of took me over for a while there. I’m coming back with some strong updates, though. I’m also working on publishing a book of creative fiction scifi short stories and building out an Etsy store to sell my art prints—but enough about that. Let’s get to it!

Introducing One Last Job, a free print and play game

In an effort to be more active in the board game design community, I decided to enter the 1-card print and play design contest hosted by Board Game Geek. I’ve entered One Last Job, a two-player, rootin’ tootin’ dice recruitin’ game. You face head-to-head against someone, recruiting crewmates—in the form of dice—and rolling them to use their abilities.

Logo for One Last Job

Every aspect of this game, the mechanics, the artwork and design, all of it was made by yours truly. (Remember where I said I was the only person at Otherworld Games?) HOWEVER, this game still wouldn’t be possible without the amazing people who helped me playtest it; one of those being my wife and partner in crime. Thank you!

A photo of me playtesting an earlier build of One Last Job against myself.
Me playtesting an earlier build of One Last Job against myself.

Download the print and play file, print it and play it, then head over to my entry thread and leave a comment in the thread to let me know what you think!

Download One Last Job from Google Drive

Neat, but what’s going on with Color Space?

I’m still on track to kickstart the Kickstarter for Color Space on Nov 2nd. I’ll be talking the game up a lot more around that time. I’ll need all the support I can get to make Color Space a reality. Mainly money. Right now, I’m trying to settle on physical products for the game, including the game itself. What do I mean by that? I mean I’m trying to figure out how Color Space will physically look. Check out some of these prototypes!

A photo depicting four physical variants of Color Space. Top left: cedar and wax. Top right: acrylic glued in acrylic. Bottom left: epoxy. Bottom right: cedar and epoxy.
Four flavors of Color Space. Top left: cedar and wax. Top right: acrylic glued in acrylic. Bottom left: epoxy. Bottom right: cedar and epoxy.

But I want to play Color Space now!

Good news, everyone—you can do that thing! My lovely wife made a Tabletop Simulator version of Color Space that you can download yesterday. (Or today if your time machine is broken. My point is is that it’s been out for a bit.)

Grab this FREE mod and fire up the old Tabletop Simulator!

Get Color Space for Tabletop Sim

That’s all for now! Keep your board games cool out there. You know, so they don’t melt their assets off.

Posted on : By : Neutrino Burrito Posted in : Blog: Game Development

April Updates from Otherworld Games

Hello Otherworldly Beings,

Happy April! I’ve got updates on Color Space:

  • I’ve set a Kickstarter date (Nov 2nd)
  • The Tabletop Simulator version will be out soon for FREE; early access to newsletter subscribers
  • Physical explorations of Color Space are coming along nicely

Before we get to it, I want to mention that the best way to receive instant notifications on milestones and monthly updates for Color Space is through the Otherworld Games Monthly newsletter. If you’re coming here FROM the newsletter, please accept my apology for asking you to do something you’ve already done—and thanks for being a follower of the Otherworld Games Monthly newsletter! I may even have some goodies in the works for newsletter followers 😉

Join the Newsletter

Color Space Kickstarts November 2nd

That’s right, I’m finally in a place to set a Kickstarter campaign date. I want to keep in mind that the Kickstarter launch is NOT the same thing as the publish date. It will take more time to finalize everything, work out shipping, and all that good stuff after the campaign—assuming its success. (Don’t think about failure; don’t think about failure; don’t think about failure…)

I don’t yet have things like per-unit pricing, other merch, or stretch goals worked out yet as I’m still working on material design for the game. I’m focusing on Color Space first and foremost before expanding out to commit to a bunch of other merch and goals. One thing I’ve been toying around with is a poster, take a look and let me know what you think:

More updates on Kickstarter specifics as soon as I have them!

Color Space for Tabletop Simulator will be out SOON

The first iteration of Color Space for Tabletop Simulator will be out in the next few weeks—free of charge. People who join the newsletter will get early access to this, with instructions on how to download and install it. Note that you must have Tabletop Simulator to play.

Someone’s about to score two diamonds (their choice) from the 3 purple + 2 orange path
Close-up of the same path—a player could instead treat this as a 3 orange + 2 purple path (but can’t combine them or score from both paths on their turn)

I don’t have a release date yet, but I’ll send an email out to everyone once it’s ready. Expect that to happen in the next few weeks as we polish it up a bit. Thanks for your patience on this.

Physical Iterations of Color Space are Looking Great!

I’ve been working with The Game Crafter to deliver a beautiful physical version of Color Space. It’s not only important for me to deliver a beautiful game, but a game that feels satisfying to play. And it must be durable!
We have two different main styles of Color Space in these photos:

  • On the left in each photo is an epoxy style (similar to dominos or Hive tiles)
  • On the right in each photo is an acrylic inlay style held together with tough cement glue
  • In the middle is a wooden prototype we’re exploring that we may offer at a higher backer tier
  • Before durability tests
  • After durability tests

To be clear about these tests, an engineer at The Game Crafter left them in a rock tumbler for hours—they survived with a few scratches. The engineer then threw them at walls and the floor—probably taking some aggression out from me bugging them with all my requests for different prototypes and tests—and eventually the acrylics broke.

The pros with the acrylics are that they have a unique look which more closely matches the color scheme I want for Color Space, and it’s easier to maintain color consistency with the pieces. The cons are that they’re less durable.

The pros with the epoxy are that it’s durable as all hell and feels a bit smoother to hold. The cons are that it’s more difficult to get the colors right, and there may be more color variance in the design from unit to unit.

What’s next for Color Space?

Once I can settle on a decent physical version of the game, expect gameplay videos and trailers! Also expect a call for more playtesting—right now I’ve been playtesting with smaller groups of people—as the Tabletop Simulator version becomes more available.

That’s all for now.

See you later, Otherworldly Beings…

Posted on : By : Neutrino Burrito Posted in : Blog: Game Development

How I approached iterative designs for Color Space

Color Space has gone through several revisions to get to where it is now. Before it was Color Space, it was called A Colorful Game…

Imagine this folded into a double-sided card. You’d turn to reflect which color was active.

It was a 3×3 grid of cards that you shifted around to make your color, which you randomly drew at the beginning of the game. First player to make ten of their color won. It soon evolved to getting points for making combos of colors. First to score 30 points won. I designed it for one of the Button Shy Game’s 18 card game challenges. Don’t think they gave it more than a glance. They went with games that were far more visually attractive. But I knew I was on to something and I needed to take the board game design process from start to finish. From idea to a fun product that you can buy.

Hex Tiles and reference sheets, and score cards, Oh my!

Then, I added hex tiles, representing primary colors, and roads, representing secondary ones. You had a hand of cards and you’d create a path of color combos, then play a card from your hand to collect points. Something wasn’t quite right, so I just removed the cards. You then just needed to create paths. Depending on the path, you could collect a certain number of roads. First player to collect five of each secondary color won. That’s when the game became Color Space.

The most recent iteration of Color Space. There are a few things to tweak here and there, but it’s shaping up.

I’ve been playtesting and working on design iterations of Color Space for a few months now. The game has progressed quite a bit in that time. I’ve changed the design aesthetic a few times, but for the most part it’s been a similar game across the board—no major changes. That’s always a good place to be.

With the trajectory I’m on, I should be able to put this game on Kickstarter this fall (2021). I’ve still got things to do. Videos to make; photos to take. I’ve got to publish ads about the game. Oh, and I’ve got to finalize the designs and make sure that I’m getting a prototype back from the manufacturer I’m working with that has the best quality.

I’ve also got to think of pledge tiers. I think the aesthetics of the logo and box art design are fantastic. I’d like to make some prints and t-shirts for higher tiers. Beyond that, I’ll likely reach out and ask what potential backers want to see.

After all this time, Color Space is almost ready to launch. I couldn’t be more excited. I hope that anyone reading this will be too, especially after seeing some of the gameplay videos.

…Speaking of which, I’m going to go work on that stuff. Until next time!