What is Open R&D?

[joshlytle]

Welcome to a bold new experiment in game design. Alright, maybe it's not bold but at least it's a little unusual. Let's see where this can take us. As you may or may not know, I've been working behind the scenes with Arcane Tinmen to relaunch The Spoils. For a while we've been ramping up, but now the official R&D effort is underway. And guess what? I need your help.

Well maybe it's not a need, but it will sure make things easier. I also think we'll end up with a better overall product this way. The only problem is that I don't really know where this is going to lead. We'll have to adapt as we go.

I'm going to do this Donald Trump style. This isn't going to be a democracy. We aren't going to vote on things. I'll have the final say on all issues. Period. You're just going to have to trust me. Can you do that? What I do want is discussion, and rigorous debate. To a certain extent, we've already run the game rules this way. I've listened to the opinions of the community and forum members have had direct impact on The Spoils. I'm simply going to extend this behavior to more of the R&D process.

You're not necessarily going to have access to everything I'm working on. I plan to set the overall topics of discussion. I'm going to make changes as we go, and I welcome all suggestions to the process.

So what are you waiting for? Dive in and start having an impact on the next release of The Spoils!

And now, for our attorney, here's some legal stuff:
Please be aware that by posting in this forum you wave all rights to any idea, concept, suggestion etc. that you present in this forum - and you also allow Arcane Tinmen to use free of charge anything presented in these forums (whether in part or whole) as Arcane Tinmen sees fit.

[Bizze]

Cool!

But... er... what are we supposed to do? Are we missing a link or something...? ^_^;

EDIT: Belay that, I just found out that all the "What the hell" threads were not spam. ^_^

[joshlytle]

I guess I could have worded those threads in a less-irreverent fashion. lol

[LucienofShadow]

This is a fantastic idea. Not an entirely new one- how many people here were aware of the 4gxg project? (4gxg.com is the site, I believe). I haven't visited the site in ages but I assume it has more or less shut down. In any case, I agree completely that you should have dictatorial powers, otherwise there's no guarantee any real decisions will be reached. Plus, I'm willing to admit that you're more knowledgeable in this area than I.

It will be interesting watching where this goes.

[joshlytle]

I was aware of 4gxg. Although, I was disappointed in the way they implemented it. Their design-by-committee approach is only going to lead to disaster. I think the right way to organize this is to have many people spouting ideas and one person (who is hopefully reasonably wise) sifting through it all to construct a final product.

[earley207]

Josh, love this idea! I think there are enough spirited and talented people to help prepare the next set for production. No epiphanies yet, but I look forward to tossing in an opinion or two.

[joshlytle]

I'm going to be on a mini-vacation for this weekend so I may not be as active in replying, but rest assured everything that's been written I'm going to personally read and interact with in some way.

[cravix]

This is a great idea.

[Bran Maniac]

This appeals to the game designer inside of me. And even if it fails, it should be interesting and give me some experience.

[ashleyfrahm2001]

Im so excited for this Josh. Way to go. Im glad that you have found a way to keep the fan base on your side. I will have to start logging in daily again.:)

[joshlytle]

Im so excited for this Josh. Way to go. Im glad that you have found a way to keep the fan base on your side. I will have to start logging in daily again.:)

Well that's good to hear. I hope you have a few ideas saved up to share as well. :)

[Falsesanity]

I took a little break from all card games and have not been around on this site in quite some time, but man am I glad I randomly decided to check in. I think this is a great idea and I really hope some great things come out of it.

[mrhobbitino]

I'm not sure if this has been talked about already, but what about multi-factioned thresholds.

[bigwillbigwill]

I like the idea of open R&D but it will only work if people stop trying to make amazingly powerful cards. People want to say i made that tournament staple card but if these cards are neutered and then sent to print in the process what will your reaction be? the creation of cards is fun but everyone has to realize that things have to be fair and balanced. A really powerful card that is agressively priced and has a low threshold will never make the cut, so stop making them and then getting all defensive when people say you need to cut back on the power level.

sorry about the rant but i feel it needs to be said at least once during this process

[joshlytle]

I like the idea of open R&D but it will only work if people stop trying to make amazingly powerful cards. People want to say i made that tournament staple card but if these cards are neutered and then sent to print in the process what will your reaction be? the creation of cards is fun but everyone has to realize that things have to be fair and balanced. A really powerful card that is agressively priced and has a low threshold will never make the cut, so stop making them and then getting all defensive when people say you need to cut back on the power level.

sorry about the rant but i feel it needs to be said at least once during this process

Well, rest assured that I'll catch what I can before we actually finalize the card concept! What I'm good at is sifting through ideas and helping to guide them to a workable card. What you're good at is coming up with lots of ideas to be sifted through.

It's a great combination, but I'll still offer guidance and feedback to anyone making cards that are too good.

[kallisti]

Please be aware that by posting in this forum you wave all rights to any idea, concept, suggestion etc. that you present in this forum - and you also allow Arcane Tinmen to use free of charge anything presented in these forums (whether in part or whole) as Arcane Tinmen sees fit.

Shouldn't this be waive?

:D:D

[TomekS]

I have a question: :tm: will tell us when our ideas are going be printed. Or some day I'll surprise looking at the printed card?

[Michael (Arcane Tinmen)]

I have a question: :tm: will tell us when our ideas are going be printed. Or some day I'll surprise looking at the printed card?

Which cards will be printed in a new set will remain a well kept secret until the day it releases. So yes, you may be pleasantly surprised in a new set one day :)
(of course we cannot guarantee that every card will make its way into an actual set)

Michael
Arcane Tinmen