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Old February 19th, 2013, 02:15 PM
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Re: The Pre-SoV Workshop

Quote:
Originally Posted by IshMEL View Post
Looking forward to this! Maybe you can outline how you see this group in relation to the 3FG, the CHCG24, and your new playtesting exchange group. For a beginner, having a "road map" would be helpful in thinking about where to go for advice.
Hm. I don't really have a road map because every designer is different and not all customs should be made for the SoV. The liveliness of the customs department would be hurt, I think, if people stopped making customs that are too outside-the-box for the canon in one way or another. For a beginner I want to suggest a number of things.

*Playtest for the C3V. If you do this a lot, you'll have a shot at the Public Access Program, which is quite possibly one of the best learning experiences for a customs designer if you make use of it. Even if you don't get to be a C3V Public Access Member, the experience of analyzing the units and playing with them will give you a better feel for working with customs.

*Alternatively, playtest in the Playtest Exchange. If you're not interested in the C3V PAM (Public Access Member) route, this will serve a similar purpose as far as experience with analyzing and playtesting goes, and will also help you to build up points for when you have a unit you want others to playtest.

*Follow the customs threads of designers more experienced than yourself. Participate in conversations there. I suggest Son of Arathorn, Scytale, Lamaclown, and Super Bogue as examples, just to name a few. If you participate in their threads and have helpful, constructive dialogue it is more likely that others will be interested in giving the same in your own thread.

*Keep a journal (or folder, or whatever) of ideas. Let them sit and marinate some. Play with them. Wait to post them to your custom thread until you feel they've matured past infancy. What I've noticed about most of the good customs designers is that they only post one idea (or sometimes a group of closely related ideas) at a time, so that they can give people time to process and think about their design. They also don't seem to post every idea they have. Much like you might hear someone suggest for creative writing, I don't think its best to share something until you've had the chance to edit and rework it a few times on your own, in private. Sometimes after some time has passed and you see it with fresh eyes, you'll know what needs to be changed so that it works--or you'll realize that it's not an idea worth pursuing. You might decide to share it at that time.

*Keep in mind that not every idea is destined for the canon. One of the joys of custom design is the creativity of it. If you try to make every custom something that would be approved at the SoV you'll miss out on some fun opportunities to think outside the box and do something more original.

*If your goal is to make customs that are in-line with the canon, think about precedent. You don't have to have the same ideas as myself or anyone else, but you should seek to gain your own understanding of what has been done before and what hasn't, and why; and what is okay to do for the first time and what's not, and why.

*Have your units peer-reviewed. You may get enough feedback from comments in your thread, but if not, try to get the unit through 3FG or a similar workshop.

Formerly known as capsocrates
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Remixed Master Sets - challenge yourself with new terrain combinations!
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Colorado Fall 2023 Multiplayer Madness
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caps's Customs Redux - caps's multiplayer maps - caps's maps - Seagate

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Continuing Classic Heroscape: C3V SoV

Last edited by caps; February 19th, 2013 at 02:46 PM.
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