 | I created my first game in 7th grade. At the time I was living overseas and attending a one classroom American school with about 30 students, 1st through 8th grade. We had many tournaments, including Go, Chess, and Checkers but something was missing from these games- a wider variety of tactical options (probably not the way I would have worded it then), and the element of chance or luck.
My first game used a Go board, with the black and white stones representing opposing infantry. I gathered small spiral seashells from the beach to represent armored units. I randomized results by writing on (empty) Juicy Fruit gum wrappers and pulling them out of a hat. I’ve been hooked since.
When I moved back to the U.S. in 8th grade, a new friend introduced me to a game by Avalon Hill called 1776. It was like discovering the Holy Grail- a set of extensive rules, varied units, combat tables, etc., all done by professional developers, writers, and artists.
To give you an idea of the depth of my psychosis, early on I created a baseball game using the existing statistics for the players. Any action came down to a percentage roll (or rolls), but I only had six-sided dice- a large improvement from Juicy Fruit wrappers for sure. I hand calculated all the different combinations of dice rolls to achieve the various odds and wrote them in a notebook I still have around (somewhere) today. In hindsight there were easier ways to do it, but why use brains when brute force will work? In college I wrote campaign rules for Avalon Hill’s “Squad Leader”, which already has an extensive rulebook. Of course I added some “needed” rules like command and control, supply and maintenance, and off board artillery. Like I said, it’s a sickness…
I love playing games, building games for myself and my friends, and world building in all its forms. Creating a self-contained, consistent, immersive world is a big challenge, but a fun one! |
