Greetings!

Thank you for signing up for the Dittmore Designs newsletter. I will use this space to communicate any updates or exciting information about my game designs. This issue will share a little bit about my upcoming game, Adulting, which will be available tonight at the Indie Games Night Market at PAX Unplugged.

Adulting: From Wedding Gift to Indie Game

I learned the love of board games from my family. Games were often the chosen activity at family gatherings. When my older sister got married, my younger sister and I naturally decided to make her a board game as a wedding present. The concept started as a game about being an adult and dealing with the struggles that life throws at you. The "responsibilities" that players completed were based on real experiences from my sister’s life. There were a lot of inside jokes.

As we worked on this game, I fell in love with the game design process. I joined the online design communities of Break My Game and Protospiel Online. I was so inspired by the designs I saw in those communities and the warm, welcoming atmosphere they provided me as a fledgling designer. Eventually, we printed the game and gave my sister her gift (two years after her wedding…), but I kept working on the design as I believed it had potential to be something more.

In these online communities, one designer specifically, Xoe Allred, challenged me to think about design differently and to consider the message that my mechanics communicated. At this point, Adulting was a competitive struggle to “be the best adult.” This never sat great with me, as I never knew what the nebulous “adulting points” were meant to represent. Xoe’s video, The Emperor’s High Score, along with the creation of Lunarpunk Games to promote unranked game design, helped me see new possibilities for game design and lead me to turn Adulting into a multivictor game, in which players end game result is not simply a zero-sum win/loss condition.

The transition into an unranked game was neither quick nor easy. It took me a while to find the systems to provide an appropriate challenge that allowed for the right amount of player interaction and expression. As I began to feel ready to pitch to publishers, the Cardboard Edison Awards were approaching, so I submitted Adulting to see what feedback I would receive. At that time, I had a small publisher reach out to me with interest in the game. In both my Cardboard Edison feedback and the discussion with the publisher, I got a lot of feedback that the game needed to either be cooperative or have a single victor. Folks generally did not think the game would be published with the multivictor ending.

I sat with this and continued to develop the game. There were some other notes from Cardboard Edison feedback that I worked to smooth out. Soon, Adulting was in a great place. I was consistently receiving feedback that the game felt done, and folks were interested in buying a copy. As I was crafting a list of publishers to reach out to, I saw a call for submissions to the Indie Games Night Market at PAX Unplugged. I thought this would be a great opportunity to share the game with others without compromising on the unranked ending of the game that I thought was essential to the experience.

I am so grateful for the Indie Games Night Market for giving me the opportunity to bring this game tonight without compromising the rough edges that make it special. I also would be remise to not thank Dan Thurot for his amazing coverage of the game. He so beautifully articulated all of the feelings I hope to evoke with this design. With this review, I feel hopeful that this quirky and wholesome little game will find its audience.

Next Steps

Due to the positive reception of Adulting, I am considering shopping around to see if any publishers would be interested in a second, larger print run. If this happens, I’d love to develop a couple aspects of the game further:

• Player Count: I believe this game could work at 5-players, but never tested it and did not include enough cards in the base game. I’d love to test this and expand the player count for a second printing. I’d also like to refine the solo game a bit, as it can be a bit swingier than the other player counts.
• Art: While I love the cute monster icons that I got from The Noun Project, I believe this game would look great with card unique card art for each chore and self-care card. Imagine those cute little monsters sweeping the floor or taking a nap!

As I look to do another print run, there are some things I am not willing to compromise on. The multi-victor ending is a big one of these. Again, I feel grateful to Dan’s review for helping me articulate the design vision and validate that it is something worth pursuing. If I had to make changes that would compromise the warmth and relatability of the game, I would not proceed.

If you are unable to make it to the market, I plan on posting a print and play version of the game soon. I will include more information about this in my following newsletter after the IGNM.

Thank You!!

I cannot express my gratitude for all of the interest and support I have seen for this game. I am so glad that it resonates with folks. I am incredibly inspired to continue with my design journey and pour my soul into more games for you! What a wonderful hobby.

Sincerely,

Eric Dittmore

​DittmoreDesigns.com​