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IntroductionHey there! This page is where I am organizing my brainstorms and design concepts for the GDS2, especially to be a resource for contestants. I make no claim that any of my design work is fit to be printed, but perhaps it may inspire you to make something that is.FEEL FREE TO COPY/BORROW/STEAL ANYTHING YOU FIND HERE. If you have any specific concepts or ideas you would like me to explore with you, please post to my Requests Page (yeah, I thought it sounded like a good idea at the time...) Please post any feedback you have for me in the discussion area. Or send me a note on Twitter @NMel0 (that is a zero). I look forward to working together with you all to plant some seeds for some great new Magic moments! The Finalists:Links to Current Finalists Pages:
Design Challenge 5:
Design Challenge 4:
Design Challenge 3:
Design Challenge 2:
Design Challenge 1:The 8 Finalists are revealed
Round 3 resources:
Blocks/ThemesFor a complete listing of themes, visit The Theme HubHere are a few concepts that have captured my attention: Cavern World
Exile MattersWorld Creative: Dammerung
Desert World
Colorless Matters
Primal Plane
Converted Mana Cost Matters
Other Random ItemsFor more individual mechanics, visit The Mechanic HubA few other items that don't yet belong in any theme I am currently exploring, but might be of interest to others...
Is it crazy enough?Make Niels Bohr proud - think like an insane genius (its a fine line between genius and insanity).You want something out-of-the-box? Thy this: Not even close to the boxSome Other Designer pages of Note
Other StuffAbout MeMy name is Neil Melville, but I am known in these forums and in Magic Online as Mage En Mel. I have been playing Magic since Antiquities, and have always enjoyed designing cards and sets. I am very excited at the prospect of giving back to this game I love. I made it to round 3 of GDS1, I hope to make it just as far in GDS2.I am a video game designer currently working in Salt Lake City. I have worked on fighting games, racing games, MMORPGs, and casual games. For more info you can visit My Website. My rants and blogging... Sep 29, 2010I am a little alarmed at what appears to be an overwhelming focus on creative, by which I mean backstory. I look at some of these pages, and the wall of text crits me for 100... I usually like to try to find a more bottom up design method, but together perhaps we can find a good balance.Oct 1, 2010"The reason we're holding off on the exams is that we want to get a conversation going on the Wiki. The GDS2 is all about evaluating the design work of others, so in order to make sure that there is plenty for our applicants to sift through, we wanted to let all of you start creating it today." - Maro.This Wiki is to house design work for the actual contestants to use or not use as they wish. Maro was not specific as to what kind of design work - but most people jumped to the world/block/theme design that is actually one half of the 3rd test for contestants and the contestants can use any of this if they want. Until the time comes that we find out who those final contestants are and what themes they are using, we have the opportunity to brainstorm together, riff off eachother's ideas, and try some wacky things. Let's push ourselves to ideate and iterate. It's okay if your ideas are silly, childish or unprintable - as long as we spur each other to be creative and explore new concepts... The contestants will have to evaluate how useful or relavant or printable they think these ideas are. Oct 4, 2010"While there is some value in spending time on things like names, the flavor I will be mostly evaluating is what I call mechanical flavor. How are you able to use your mechanical design to convey an overall flavor sense of the world? That means that you should spend less time writing up the story behind the world and more time figuring out how your cards and mechanics convey it." -Maro.This pretty much supports the angle I have been taking here. We do not have to tell about the world design so much as demonstrate it in how the cards and mechanics in the set are evocative of that world. "If you are ineligible or unwilling to take the internship, please do not enter." -Maro I was planning on entering, because I do have what I believe to be viable design skills and concepts. But the reality is, that based on having a pretty great job already (being a lead designer at EA), I would be unlikely to accept an internship, even at a great place like Wizards of the Coast. So I will be looking for any other hopefuls and pitching in where I can. Send me a note if you want any help from me! Oct 12, 2010Essay results are in - that was fast. (GDS1 had ~1200 applicants) I wonder if someone at WOTC actually read all the essays yet. I suspect that they were tested for word length, and deeper evealuation will come later...Oct 14, 2010Well the test results are in, and we have our 101 Round 3 Contestants! In 3 short days they will make their submissions. They are going to need everybody's help, and I have already sent some card suggestions for their worlds. Good luck to all of you, I expect to see some amazing card and set ideas!Oct 24, 2010It has been a week since the round 3 tests were due, and there is still a lot of activity on this site. I am not sure what people are working on, but I suppose it doesn't hurt to anticipate that we still need all this content to help with the upcoming design challenges. Personally, I have returned to work after my vacation and have not been able to dedicate as much time to this wiki. I hope to remain an active participant, and a resource to any who wish to likewise contribute to helping Magic to continue to be a great game.In related news - The names of the applicants that got the top seven scores on the multiple choice test have been revealed by Maro in a tweet: At 47, Curtis Himel, Dan Emmons, Jonathan Woodward, Ian Shore & Will Cooper. At 48, No one. At 49, Lucas Bertolini. At 50, Max McCall (The first ever perfect score on a GDS test). Congrats! Nov 11, 2010So we have our finalists, and they have their feedback from Wizards, and they have their first finalist challenge. It is interesting to watch it all play out... I have to admit that some of these worlds are more exciting to me than others, but sometimes because of the theme, and other times because of the mechanics. But not yet because of both - and that is what MaRo is looking for.Nov 22, 2010We have 24 hours until we see the judges evaluations of the first challenge. For those who can't wait, you can amuse yourself reading my somewhat less than actual expert evaluations - it does reflect my feelings and ideas about each submission. I am feeling better about some than I did 2 weeks ago, but I still don't see a clear winner in my mind. I am eager to get to helping on the next challenge (I'm hoping for some cycles soon), and anxious about who will get cut. You each have done great work making it to the top 8, and I wish you good luck in moving forward in the compitition. |
