First of all, I try to only take projects based on IPs that I actually like. This sounds obvious, but sometimes rent money is rent money, and sometimes I'm unfamiliar with an IP initially, but really like it when I do my research on it.
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I always begin with rigorous research into the IP. A lot of times, when I'm a casual fan of something, I don't remember all the little details of it. However (and this is important), I make a note of what stuff I knew without having to do any research.
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That stuff that I casually knew often will line up with what other people casually know about the IP. "They're ninjas, they're turtles, they're brothers. Donnie is smart, Raph is cranky, Master Splinter is their father." etc. These things become what I call "touchstones".
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The touchstones are the most important things to communicate through the game. If they are met, then most casual fans will be satisfied that the game "feels right". That's not the entire audience you need to get on board, but it's a good chunk of it.
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Next, I look at what activities take place in the IP. What are the characters always doing? Now, the very best licensed games will make you feel like you're doing those things, but honestly, some IPs convert easier than others. And sometimes the publisher's goals will fight that.
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When an IP doesn't convert well or your publisher's goal conflict, you have to abstract things or try for a bit of a twist on the basic formula. You're always going to get some pushback on that from fans, but you don't always have a choice.
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I'll often fill up notebook pages with lists early on in a game design. Important characters and their traits, common IP activities, recurring locations, important objects, etc. Anything I can think of, really.
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Once I've deeply familiarized myself and made my lists, I choose a goal for the players. What do they want to accomplish in the game? Sometimes it's simple ("Reach the end of the level" for Doom) other times it has to be a bit more flexible ("Usually win fights." for TMNT).
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Once I have the endgoal for the game, I start looking at play patterns. What is it that that the characters do over and over again? There's usually a fairly small set of activities that they return to all the time. This is your ideal play structure, ultimately.
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I call the things that the characters keep doing over and over their "routines".(super original, right?) And like I was saying, having the players act out these routines is pretty much the purest form of a licensed game you can make. It will ring the most "true" to fans.
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So, here's the hard part/where the craft comes in. Now I take their routines, and I start converting them into game mechanics, referring back to my list of touchstones over and over again. I think about fans of the show and decide what kind of mechanics they would best enjoy.
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If you followed my recent tweetstorm on playing, this is where I take a bunch of game components somewhere and play with a slinky while I try to brainstorm what the most fun version of the game would be. I also usually try to track down a friend of mine who's a fan of the IP.
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I run my initial plans past them and make sure it all rings true to them. Now, often a hardcore fan will have some very specific thing that "must" be in the game, and I'll usually try to slip that in as a reference or an easter egg rather than a mechanic.
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A word of caution though: Don't build a game design out of "deep knowledge" of the IP - stuff that only a few people would recognize. You'll really impress a small group of people who play the game and confuse the rest. That's why I make those things easter eggs.
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Those super specific bits of info are great for establishing your "street cred" as a fan of the IP, but building mechanics off of them are going to lead you down the rabbit hole. Where do you stop including detail? And the answer is, focus on the touchstones.
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And really, that's the bulk of my process for creating a licensed game. Boil it down to the most important stuff, and make a game that simulates that. Making it fun and novel takes another layer of skills, and that's not really something I can teach in a single tweetstorm.
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Oh, one last caution. You don't approach publishers with licensed games. They approach you and ask you to design a game based on a license they have. Don't randomly send a Scooby-Doo Mystery Inc. boardgame to a publisher, because it's going to get bounced HARD.
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It's not easy to acquire licensing deals. So publishers aren't going to run out and acquire a license to go with your design all special-like. I know, it sucks, but that's how it works.
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