As if my blog hadn’t managed to establish as a given fact, I’m a nerd. “Geeeeeeeeaaaaeeeek,” is a phrase that describes me and I have no reservations in that. Though I do remain steadfast in my un-dorkiness. But the splitting on hairs aside, I had a revelation while playing Magic: The Gathering – Duels of the Planeswalkers on Xbox Live the other day. Magic: the Gathering (M:tG) (note: distinction is made between the XBLA title and the actual card game) is game designer training ground. Alright, let me rephrase that a bit more carefully. M:tG at its best is game designer training ground. At its worst it is what most online massively multiplayer games are, a race towards the nearest game crushing spoiler deck. However, those skills too are crucial for the game designer to stress and test their own designs. So, even at its worst it is a productive space for aspring game designers.
Shall we step back a few steps? Indeed. Continue reading »