Game update

Hoping to hear back from "the specialist" today which is cool. Thinking of talking to a graphic designer to do the card design for me since I'm really not great at that kind of thing.
My main worry now is about the business end of it all. Technically I'll be making a product that I then sell. Even though we're talking minor profits, it still sounds worryingly like a business to me and I'm wondering if I need to register or report financial stuff for tax or stuff...

Weekend

So, bit of an odd weekend really. Spent most of Saturday waiting for Anya to come back from her Britain's got Talent audition so that Cerys (and me) could have a nap. Things ran late at the audition so eventually I put Cerys (and me) down to sleep and as sod's law dictates, (coach) Laura rang about 15 minutes later just as we'd both fallen asleep.
Saturday night was the big cheerleading night out which started well at Lloyds Bar, progressed to TV21 which was fairly quiet which gave us all a chance to chat but then ended badly in Hula Bar which was seriously dire. By the time we'd had one drink there everyone was ready to go home.
Next time we should definitely just go to Fab Cafe and then to Walkabout or something. Everyone just wanted to dance and the Northern Quarter was not the place.
So, obviously Sunday was mostly just being hung over and getting through the day so all in all, not a great weekend. It was good to chat to the team and I definitely feel like I know some of them better than before, just a shame it didn't end as well as hoped.

Game

Prototype for testing gameplay - check
Expert on board - check
Manufacturer located - check
Photographer on board - check

It's slowly but surely coming together :-)

Gaming update

I'm feeling a little happier about my game.
I worked out that I can afford to get it manufactured at one of the places in the US as they only charge $0.075 for each card which is fine. I've also got a quote coming in (hopefully today) from a company in Scotland which I'd prefer as it's closer to home but we'll see what the cost is first.
I've also made the decision to reduce the number of cards by about half. That takes it from somewhere in the region of 150 cards to about 75 which reduced the cost of the game by about half. Assuming I use the US manufacturer, that means that rather than it costing about £9 per deck, the cost is now down to just under £5 - this doesn't include the box or rulebooks but it means I can reasonably charge abuot £10 for the game which is a big plus.
My concern with costing was that whereas someone like me who understands that a card game with 150 cards in it will cost you about £20, my target market will just see "a game" and the number of cards in it will be irrelevant. Basically, the cheaper the game, the more I should sell.
It's a shame to have to reduce the number of cards but I'm not sure it was going to work the way I wanted anyway. Now rather than leaving all cards on the table, they are immediately discarded and when the deck runs out, it is shuffled and reused.
I'm also now planning on combining the two side decks since I think they'll work ok as a dual function card and thinking about it, they would have looked fairly blank anyway since there wouldn't have been a picture on them like on the cards in the main deck.
So yeah, I'm feeling better about it today. I'll broach the game with my "specialist" later on today to see if they're interested in helping out. If it's a yes then I can make the game more accurate in terms of scoring and stuff which then means I can launch into proper playtesting. While playtesting I can start getting photos and working on artwork and it should all come together to be manufactured :-)

Gaming stuff

So I'm developing a game at the moment. I'll steer clear of details but I just wanted to say - how difficult can it be to get a game printed?
I've looked all over the place, following advice left right and center and for some reason, every solution looks like it'll cost more than you could ever reasonably sell a game for. All I can say is WTF?

Keeping up with it

So I did the exercise bike last night, went for a run this morning and went swimming at lunch. Two things though. First, I hate running. I don't know if it's because I'm doing it at 6.30am in the cold and wet or if it's just a bit boring but I'm really not enjoying it. Need to find some alternative exercise for the mornings. Second, there's a big difference between lane swimming and adult swimming. Lane swimming is good - three clockwise swimming lanes at different speeds, people giving way to those that are faster etc. Adult swimming is bad - no lanes, more like a free for all with the front crawlers unapologetically racing into other swimmers, non-swimmers constantly getting in the way etc. I seriously don't get why people turn up 20 minutes before the pool is closing, sit and chat in the pool for the majority of their time and do possibly half a dozen lengths. I can only imagine they go home, get on the scales and wonder why their swimming isn't helping them lose weight...

Cheer stuff

So at the start of this year Cathy finally convinced me to go along to try out at Phoenix Cheerleaders. I went there for a few months before a comedy of errors resulted in myself, Cathy, Ciara, Jen and Riley all leaving. The latest I've heard is that they've been banned from all leisure centres for not paying their bill.
Anyway, the good news is that after leaving Phoenix (and after briefly toying with the idea of starting our own team) we found Manchester Lightning Cheerleaders who myself, Cathy and Ciara joined.
This team is far better coached than Phoenix and is far less cliquey which means the team as a whole is a lot closer and there's certainly no bitching about others.
The weekend before last we competed in the BCA Northern Classic which was a major thing for me. Being in front of an audience has been my biggest fear as long as I can remember and it was the scariest thing I've done that I can remember. A strange thing happened afterwards though - I found myself wanting to go back out and do it again.
I've always felt valued at practice because being a guy, I'm naturally stronger than most of the girls. (even in my terrible condition...) This is great because it makes me feel that I contribute to the team in a positive way and when we were joined by another guy I was initially wary as I was aware that it reduced my usefulness. I soon put that behind me as I became friends with him and started working with him of course.
Anyway, when we were at the competition there were more male cheerleaders there who were incredibly fit and strong. They put my "strength" into perspective and so I've begun a new exercise routine which I'm hoping will make the difference. Basically I'm exercising whenever I can. This new thing started yesterday when I ran before work and went on the exercise bike after work. Today I ran before work and went swimming at lunch time - I also plan to go on the exercise bike when I get home.
I'm hoping I can really stick to this and incorporate weight training as well to build on my strength as well as my general fitness.
It's all good anyway. I'm really happy about cheerleading and its definitely something I look forward to every week. Our coach sometimes thanks us for attending extra practices or performing at weekends to promote the team but honestly, I can't think of anything I'd rather be doing with my time :-)

Day 1

So today is day 1 of trying to start my blog up again. It's been nearly a year since I've posted and I do miss writing so I thought I'd give it a go again.