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Welcome to PulsipherGames.com/Pulsipher.net, a web site for supplementary material and playtesting of games designed by Lewis Pulsipher (Britannia, Dragon Rage, Valley of the Four Winds, Diplomacy variants, RPG material, etc.), and for teaching about games. I started playing games more than 50 years ago. I started designing games more than 45 years ago. My first published (non-commercial) games appeared in the early 1970s, and my first commercial game over 30 years ago, in 1978 (Diplomacy Games & Variants), followed in 1980 by Swords and Wizardry. After publication of several commercial games, and after I earned my Ph.D., I took 20 years off from designing games, though I played and made up adventures (which is level design) and refereed lots of Dungeons and Dragons while learning computing, programming, networking, and making a living. In 2004 I decided to get back into game design rather than write computer textbooks, though my primary profession is college teaching. I taught my first course in game design in fall 2004, though I did not teach games full time until fall 2007. I do not run a public Web discussion board on this site, as Boardgamegeek.com serves the purpose very well. The Eurobrit Yahoo Group is the main location for Britannia discussions. Fantasy Flight Games also has a discussion board (generally inactive) at their Britannia site. Most of my new writing about games is posted on my blog, http://pulsiphergamedesign.blogspot.com/ or at http://teachgamedesign.blogspot.com/, or on GameCareerGuide.Com. I am lewpuls on twitter; I see twitter as of use only for publicity, so I hardly ever use it, but decided I ought to be on it. Dr. P's personal recommendation for those who want to get into the game industry and live in this area (central-eastern North Carolina). Disclaimer: occasionally people send me unsolicited ideas or concepts for games. Be aware that when you do this you acknowledge that I may use your ideas in any way I wish without legal obligation. (I'm unlikely to do this, but I may have the same idea already, and I have no desire to be sued by someone who doesn't realize that ideas are not protected by copyright law in any case.) Conventions. I enjoyed GenCon, my first time there. The next two years it is at the same time as WBC, so I'm not sure which I will attend. I'm putting some comments engendered by the conventions on my blog. I am a contributor to Family Games: the 100 Best, which will be published later this year. I've been asked to contribute to another anthology, a book about non-electronic game design, to be published next year by ETC Press. My book "Get it Done: Designing Games from Start to Finish" is at 115K words. I'm trying to cut it down because the original aim was 100K. I have posted the Britannia rules which accompany the 2008 edition, incorporating errata from the 2006 edition, and one small change in how Romans can withdraw when a nation submits. These come from my contact at Fantasy-Flight, and should be posted on FFG's site soon to replace the 2006 rules. (FFG link) More articles on Gamasutra/GameCareerGuide: "All I needed to know about games I learned from Dungeons and Dragons" 18 Aug 09 "Game Curricula: Differences in Focus" 4 Aug 09 "Industry Hopefuls: Prepare Intelligently" 7 July 09 "Student Illusions About Being a Game Designer" 7 May 09 "Expert Blogs": Triangle Game Conference, Law of Gaming, Effect of Reviews on Video Game Development, What Games Amount To. A modified version of the first is now on Gamedev.net. "Twenty Essential Design Questions" 14 April 09 "The Nine Structural Sub-Systems of Any Game" 17 Mar 09 The Nature of Games in the 21st Century 5 Mar '09 "Opinion: What Does 'Game Developer' Mean?" 2 March '09 Why Design Games 13 January '09 I am teaching curriculum game creation classes at Fayetteville Technical Community College (NC). "Simulation and Game Development" is a new Associates Degree program at FTCC. This is a program for artists and designers as well as programmers. More. Link to FTCC game development Web site. I have updated my list of Britannia-like games. I have posted mp3s of my talks at Origins 2008, Powerpoint slides are already posted. I've also posted a talk by Ian Schreiner. All here. I'll not be posting mp3s of the 2009 talks, I think. Most of my present gaming activity is in revising games and trying to write a game design book (the articles on Gamasutra/GameCareerGuide are sometimes excerpts). I am a contributor to Hobby Games: The 100 Best, an anthology book that came out at GenCon this year. Press release. Britannia is one of the "100 Best", I'm glad to say. I wrote about Stalingrad. Update: this book won the "Origins Award" in its category, as well as an "Ennie" award. The initial print run of Britannia sold out in 2007. It was reprinted in November 2008. International editions (German, French, Spanish, Hungarian [sic]) were printed at the same time. ** I have developed a 6 turn version of Britannia, using the current set, that actually works, and takes me about two hours to play (first time play by others takes a lot longer, of course). This is being tested; I intend to distribute it as widely as possible to help those who dislike the 4-5 hour playing time of full Britannia. Just for the heck of it, I developed a "broad market" version of Brit (the kind of thing that would sell with Risk and similar games). History may be too serious for a broad market, especially medieval British history, but it's an interesting exercise. I already have "Brit Lite" version, and that can be played by casual gamers, but I'm aiming at the sort of folks who might play Risk and Monopoly and a few other games, but not much else. I have liked the result so much that I am developing a series of games using the same rules (with exceptions), beginning with a new version of Barbaria that has turned out very well. I've added a podcast (11 minutes) "Quick Guide How to Play Britannia." I have started an announcement-only newsletter for new information about Britannia. This will include new editions, new variants, new articles, new reviews, new FAQ, anything that may be noteworthy for fans. Hence there probably won't be more than ten or so messages a year. To subscribe, go to http://pulsipher.net/newsletter/?p=subscribe. The information gathered will never be used for any other purpose. I received a certificate awarded November 2006 to Britannia by the Viennese Games Academy: "Vienna Selection of Games, 2006" 99 games are selected each year. According to the accompanying letter, this certificate has been awarded annually since 1996. Their Web site: www.spielen.at (mostly in Austrian). My article "Uncertainty in Wargames" appeared in "Against the Odds" magazine, #18, late in 2006. Tom Vasel reviews dozens upon dozens of games, but he is not a wargamer, rather he's a Euro gamer. I have wondered whether he would review Britannia at all, but he has, very positively in the circumstances. See http://www.thedicetower.com/thedicetower/index.php?page=britannia. This only reinforces my intention to make shorter versions of Britannia (and other games) that don't use the old combat system. I have played both "Britannia Brevis" (10 turns, no dice used) and "Britannia Minimus" (6 turns, much less luck in the dice system). Unfortunately, FFG has no interest in expansions, as the numbers just aren't there. But I have finally devised a version of Britannia using the same pieces, sides, colors, that lasts just six turns, yet seems to reflect everything that happens in the longer Britannia, just much faster (and with more attacking). When finished this will be posted (free) in as many places as possible. For now you can find the draft at the Eurobrit Yahoo Group. There is a Wikipedia entry for Britannia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Britannia_%28board_game%29 Boardgamegeek has the following entry for Britannia: "Nominee for the 1987 Charles S. Roberts awards for Best Pre-World War II Boardgame (Charles S. Roberts Awards)." I had not known this, as by that time I had "left the hobby". My blogs: http://pulsiphergamedesign.blogspot.com/ http://teachgamedesign.blogspot.com
Local (North Carolina) game links (video and otherwise) I have never designed a published "computer game", largely because I have not known anyone able and willing to do the necessary programming and artwork. Nowadays, of course, computer games are the products of large teams, not of individuals. Back when one individual could write a game, I was a database programmer, which doesn't help much with computer games, nor do I have a hint of an artist in me. Why would I want to design electronic games? I'm better off as is:
People become computer game designers after working on computer games for a company in other capacities, especially level designer. Practically no one is hired directly as a computer game designer, though level designers (a subset of game design) may be hired directly from school. The production costs for "big" off-the-shelf games ($5-25 million) make a person without a track record too much of a risk. Dr. P's personal recommendation for those who want to get into the game industry and live in this area (central-eastern North Carolina). Hits since August 07:
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"Always do right--this will gratify some and astonish the rest." Mark Twain"A designer knows he has achieved perfection not when there is nothing left to add, but when there is nothing left to take away." Antoine de Saint-Exup'ery"A teacher is never a giver of truth - he is a guide, a pointer to the truth that each student must find for himself. A good teacher is merely a catalyst." (Martial Arts quote)"We have met the enemy, and he is us." Pogo (Walt Kelly) "Enjoy the Journey"Send mail to webmaster (at) pulsipher (dot) net with comments about this web site. Last modified: 07/15/10. Copyright 2009 Lewis Pulsipher |
