A Maker Approach to Games: Pijin, Portland Makerfaire 2014
1. A Maker-Approach to
Creating and Manufacturing
Tabletop (Word) Games
TRAVIS FELDMAN!
OMSI - Portland Mini-Maker Faire!
September 14, 2014
2.
3.
4. THE PROCESS OF MAKING PIJIN:
• DEVELOPED IN 12 MONTHS!
!
• THREE MAJOR ITERATIONS!
5. GUIDING IDEAS:
1. YOUR EXPERIENCE MATTERS - “Spell What You
Hear”!
!
2. THERE ARE NO “EXPERTS” - No Official or External
Word Lists - Players Assess Each Move as a Group!
!
3. NO CHEAP STUFF - Use Good Quality, Aesthetically
Pleasing Materials for Game Pieces (Bamboo)!
!
4. MODULAR SYSTEM - Encourage and Build into
Game Openness, Variants & Expansions
6. As I
developed!
the game, I
learned
new things,
including
creative
ways of
working
rapidly with
the IPA
chart.
7. I took a
maker’s or
hacker’s
approach:!
!
learn what is
needed as it
is needed &
creatively
assimilate
found
materials. !
!
For instance, I
made this !
Table of
Elements.
8. We spent months
playtesting. Wine, it turns
out, often improves the
experience of phonetic
spelling.
9. By January 2014, I had arrived at a “working prototype”!
complete gameset, with graphics and branding!
10. In November and December 2013, I used
TaoBao, Alibaba, ThomasNet, Amazon
and Google searches to find different
suppliers for each part of the game.!
!
!
By January I had explored many
manufacturing options, I procured
estimates for the costs of making the
game using several different methods or
manufacturers. !
!
!
At the end of January, I shot tons of
photos, made a video, and was ready to
raise the funds needed to make the
game.
November
December
January
February
11.
12. THE GROWING BOARD GAMES MARKET:
Sales at retail game and hobby stores have risen
15-20% for each of the last three years
(ICV2.COM)
Amazon says board game sales increased by
double digits from 2012 to 2013*
On Kickstarter, the amount raised for board game projects
surpassed the amount raised for video games last year, !
$52.1 million to $45.3 million *
*NYTimes, May 6, 2014
13. So… on February 10, I launched on Kickstarter -!
Pijin: The Spelling Game of the Spoken Word
14. Kickstarter backers were !
interested in many facets!
of the game, including!
the materials and
construction!
of the grab bag.
16. …and this
“How To”
description
for making a
grab bag
from
recycled
materials.
17. I also shared
details of tile
distribution,
and
algorithms
used for
creating the
144 unique,
double-sided
tiles.
18.
19. THE KICKSTARTER WAS SUCCESSFUL.!
!
NEXT I ORDERED!
FROM MANUFACTURERS!
AROUND THE WORLD…
Tiles: Made in China!
!
Cards: Made in India!
!
Everything Else: Made in USA
20. When the
manufactured
parts of the
game arrived, !
about two
months after
orders were
placed, !
I asked friends
to help me
assemble and
box games!
for shipment -!
one night in
June, we put
together 200
game sets !
27. MANUFACTURING!
IS HIGHLY EXPLORATORY!
!
!
BE PREPARED!
TO EXPAND YOUR AWARENESS, !
THINK LIKE:
A DESIGNER!
!
A PROGRAMMER!
!
A MARKETER!
!
AN ENTREPRENEUR
28. AS FOR PIJIN… !
REWARDS HAVE SHIPPED,!
!
PRE-ORDERS FULFILLED,
SO WHAT’S NEXT?
