Nick Bentley Makes Games
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nickbentley.bsky.social
Nick Bentley Makes Games
@nickbentley.bsky.social
910 followers 830 following 1.5K posts
Posts about game design. Director of Game Design at Dolphin Hat Games (Taco Cat Goat Cheese Pizza), former President of Underdog Games Studio (The Trekking Trilogy), former Director of Online Marketing at North Star Games, former Neuroscientist.
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nickbentley.bsky.social
Nick Bentley Makes Games @nickbentley.bsky.social · 12h
Thanks. Trying to be useful.
nickbentley.bsky.social
Nick Bentley Makes Games @nickbentley.bsky.social · 18h
I've gotten the sense many designers don't have a good bead on how ignorant we all truly are about our creations.

The illusions of our own expertise blind us.

(I found the above quote in the BGG designer diary below)

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Designer Diary: Pacts | BoardGameGeek News
boardgamegeek.com
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nickbentley.bsky.social
Nick Bentley Makes Games @nickbentley.bsky.social · 18h
I’d also add:

One thing designers know least about what it’s like to play their game for the first time - the play that most shapes its commercial success - among other knowledge gaps.

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nickbentley.bsky.social
Nick Bentley Makes Games @nickbentley.bsky.social · 18h
"On one hand, you are intimately familiar with every detail. You have opinions about how a single card on turn one will affect the rest of the game.

On the other, you are way too close to its creation to have any real idea how much fun it is or how much potential it has."

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nickbentley.bsky.social
Nick Bentley Makes Games @nickbentley.bsky.social · 18h
I LOVE this:

"There exists a paradox in game design. You are simultaneously the most knowledgeable and least knowledgeable person about your game..."

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nickbentley.bsky.social
Nick Bentley Makes Games @nickbentley.bsky.social · 2d
Great commercial art requires deep study of others' minds.

As a former neurobiologist, I find profound fascination and beauty in this.

A few designers’ tastes naturally match the zeitgeist, and for them there’s no dichotomy between auteur and commercial art, but that’s rare - and not me.

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nickbentley.bsky.social
Nick Bentley Makes Games @nickbentley.bsky.social · 2d
I’ve worked professionally in tabletop game design for 11 years.

I doubt I could have if I hadn’t shifted from prioritizing my own opinions to prioritizing others’.

It's the difference between auteur and commercial art.

To me, commercial art is no less artful, just different.

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nickbentley.bsky.social
Nick Bentley Makes Games @nickbentley.bsky.social · 5d
always cool to see your visuals
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nickbentley.bsky.social
Nick Bentley Makes Games @nickbentley.bsky.social · 6d
maybe even moreso for graphic design than rulebooks
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nickbentley.bsky.social
Nick Bentley Makes Games @nickbentley.bsky.social · 6d
Totally agree. The same designers who write the rulebooks as they design and let the handshake between the two guide decisions.
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nickbentley.bsky.social
Nick Bentley Makes Games @nickbentley.bsky.social · 6d
Yeah it's really hard.
nickbentley.bsky.social
Nick Bentley Makes Games @nickbentley.bsky.social · 6d
A belief (which I can't prove):

In tabletop games, the best rulebooks are hard to recognize because they make complex games feel easier.

So we perceive them as average rulebooks for easier games rather than elite ones for harder games.

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nickbentley.bsky.social
Nick Bentley Makes Games @nickbentley.bsky.social · 8d
This is a great answer. The market cap thing is important.

"Design where the money is" - this can be hard for designers, who usually get into it for the art of it.

I'd add: to make a hit, you have to design a great game AND a great product. They're different things. Get good at both.
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nickbentley.bsky.social
Nick Bentley Makes Games @nickbentley.bsky.social · 8d
I work for a publisher (director of design at Dolphin Hat Games).
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nickbentley.bsky.social
Nick Bentley Makes Games @nickbentley.bsky.social · 8d
cool I'll play with it thanks.
nickbentley.bsky.social
Nick Bentley Makes Games @nickbentley.bsky.social · 9d
never heard of it. will check it out. thx.
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nickbentley.bsky.social
Nick Bentley Makes Games @nickbentley.bsky.social · 9d
true
nickbentley.bsky.social
Nick Bentley Makes Games @nickbentley.bsky.social · 9d
let me know how it goes!
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nickbentley.bsky.social
Nick Bentley Makes Games @nickbentley.bsky.social · 9d
oh cool! is it public?
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nickbentley.bsky.social
Nick Bentley Makes Games @nickbentley.bsky.social · 9d
once you get your first taste of data merge, you'll never, ever go back
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nickbentley.bsky.social
Nick Bentley Makes Games @nickbentley.bsky.social · 9d
I'm constantly amazed how much more I like Figma than Illustrator for making prototypes.

Most things in Figma take me less than half the time they used to in Illustrator

(thanks to @marcelineleiman.bsky.social for showing me the light)

Youtube tutorial on Figma Data Merge below.

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Syncing Google Sheet Data to Figma
YouTube video by FigmaTalk
youtu.be
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nickbentley.bsky.social
Nick Bentley Makes Games @nickbentley.bsky.social · 9d
Tech tip for tabletop game designers:

For me, Data Merge for Figma (which requires a plugin called "Google Sheets Sync") is less fiddly and more reliable than Data Merge for Adobe products. It's AWESOME.

Made this deck and populated directly into print-and-play template with a click.

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nickbentley.bsky.social
Nick Bentley Makes Games @nickbentley.bsky.social · 14d
very cool!
Reposted by Nick Bentley Makes Games
weheart.games
Crownfell preorder: Nov 18 @weheart.games · 14d
Board game development tip:

Changes that allow you to remove rules from your rulebook without altering the core of your game are *usually* good changes. 🎲✂️
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nickbentley.bsky.social
Nick Bentley Makes Games @nickbentley.bsky.social · 19d
yeah it's absurd. TCGCP is a once-in-multiple-lifetimes product
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