Mechanically Sound #1

Grant Rodiek | April 04, 2012
In addition to writing as ideas come to mind and posting guest submissions, I have a handful of semi-regular features I'd like to introduce. Mechanically Sound is the first.The idea is to share interesting mechanics from existing games in the hopes of providing inspiration for your own creations.
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The Idea Machine

Grant Rodiek | April 02, 2012
When I wrote Chasing Inspiration last week, I almost thought of it as a throwaway post. I almost didn't put it on the site. However, the reaction to it was incredibly strong (check out the comments).
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Chasing Inspiration

Grant Rodiek | March 28, 2012
This post is a bit of a case of "thinking out loud." It's not overly personal and shouldn't be awkward, I just wanted to arrange some thoughts that are relevant to design and my processes. Post by: Grant Rodiek I think every designer has inherent strengths, portions of the design process with which they have a certain affinity or strength.
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In Defense of Monopoly

Grant Rodiek | March 25, 2012
Post by: Grant Rodiek Monopoly is every "real" gamer's favorite game to hate. It's random, it takes too long, there are better games to play, people only play it because they don't know better...these are all some of my favorite critiques.
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Card Design Commandments

Grant Rodiek | March 21, 2012
I have a thing for card games. I like playing them and I like designing them. Every time I try to veer away from cards to tackle another component like dice, I always end up right back with a box full of index cards and penciled scribbles.
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Pitch Like a Pro

Grant Rodiek | March 19, 2012
I bumped into Corey Young on Twitter like I have many of my design peers. Like an athletic team recruiter seeking his first round draft pick, I began bugging Corey to write a column for Hyperbole because the man is opinionated, well-spoken, and has not one publishing deal, but many publishing deals.
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Marriage, Design, Sandwiches

Grant Rodiek | March 16, 2012
I had the pleasure of bumping into Jason Tagmire on Twitter...like you do. I was immediately drawn to him, mostly because in some photos he resembles rock god Dave Grohl. More importantly, Jason let me take a sneak peek at his game Sandwich City before he submitted it to The Game Crafter for their Resource Competition.
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For Love of the Tale

Grant Rodiek | March 14, 2012
Cole Medeiros is the cunning designer responsible for Gubs, published by Gamewright. I'd explain why I used the word cunning, but it's an inside joke. I've only known Cole for less than a year, but he's become one of my best friends.
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The Holy Grail of Game Design

Grant Rodiek | February 27, 2012
Ray Mazza is a Creative Director with whom I've worked for years at Electronic Arts. Ray has long been a design mentor of mine, primarily because Ray often comes up with the magical experiences you would have never thought of yourself.
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