This weekend I happened to have Under the Bed, The Mountain Witch, Polaris, and Breaking the Ice all at my house.

They look good. They don't look like anything I've ever seen in a game store. They look like awesome game objects I want to own.

Mostly I'm just bragging about having seen 'em, but if those four games are any indication, we're really onto something. Our games are striking. At GenCon we're going to be a booth full of books you can't stop looking at.

-Vincent

Vincent, I'd appreciate it if you refrained from posts like this. Some of us read the Forge while we're at the office, and bouncing up and down in our chairs, saying, "Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy..." doesn't go over well.

Seriously, I'm totally psyched about GenCon, because there will be so many games out that I'm looking forward to, most notably Breaking the Ice. Every time I see a new version, its coolness seems to have at least doubled.

</enthusiasm>

Good! That's something I've been working toward and championing since I started this craziness. I'm pleased to have a hand in Polaris' look, and I'm eager to see the others as well.

I think we are on to something here, and that something is appealing to more people through attractive design and presentation. I believe that people do have hang-ups about how a book or product looks and feels. The slicker and more professional we can make our products see, the better I say. Whether we like it or not, it is an issue for us.

What Matt said.  If last year's GenCon taught me anything, the look and feel of a product is more important to the game than the content itself.  It's what sucks them in and the game itself makes them stay.  From the stuff I have already seen at what will be at the booth this year, we as a group of designers with similar ideas about gaming have come a long way from industry to craft, which is a damn good thing.

Of course I ignored all my fucking training as an artist and graphic designer and experience in marketing and various types of design when I first put out CoS last year, which is why I am an idiot.

Keith

Hiya,

Look & feel certainly drives purchase. I also think many of the games we're talking about pay off in terms of repeated play-experiences and inspiration as well - i.e. the cake looks good and tastes good. Or the new guitar looks great and sounds great.

I had a similar experience to Vincent's last night, with an extra bit to it. Our neighbors came by for grilling dinner and seeing a movie, and I had on hand my brand-new copy of The Mountain Witch (first outta the box!). That led to a quick stack of a bunch of games, including Elfs, Universalis, Dogs, Conspiracy of Shadows, etc ...

... and the guy, who works in publishing, was really impressed, and both he and his wife pegged both Fastlane and PTA as their instant choices for "we wanna try this."

In other words, they not only liked the products/objects, they wanted to play. Which will happen on my return from GenCon.

Best,
Ron