The board game design diary of “Movie Empire” (Part 1).
So, there you have it. That’s the (working) title of my first board game. Why a board game about movie-making and not slaying dragons? Take a seat, grab some popcorn and I will tell you why.
I always loved movies – not only watching but also making them. At the age of 8 I got from my parents my first book with behind the scenes looks on popular 80s movies. That completely got me hooked. How the key moments in Star Wars were made. The lightning strikes from Back to the Future were hand-drawn on celluloid. How intricate the suit of the Predator was. This felt like magic to me.
So in my head an idea formed. What about a game about the movie business? Grumpy producers, script bidding wars, production workflows? It sounded cool. But there’s always two sides to a great board game: a compelling theme and worked out mechanics. The theme was set. Now began the part of getting the mechanics right…
All game design diary entries
Follow me along on my journey on a bumpy road from the first idea to the (hopefully) delivered board games.
- Part 1: Ladies and gentlemen: “Movie Empire”
- Part 2: O mechanic, where art thou?