Went to browse the store for the DHMG product lines, and each time I tried to click on an animal sub-category, I got an error screen (PC, Firefox browser)
"Page not found
The requested page "/store/category/rabbit-sized-games" could not be found."
Also, is there a breakdown somewhere of what the different animal lines mean?
There is a description on the DHMG website: http://www.dicehatemegames.com/games/categories/
Cute.
Just assume I'm always doing that.
Damn it, Ronway!
FYI, the box size names all come from the Chinese Zodiac Calendar/Signs.
On twitter: @getlouder
That doesn't make them more comprehensible to someone new to your products. IMO, a simple tee-shirt sizing system would serve just as well and be less confusing. Plus, I'm not sure what knowing the size of the box tells me about the game. I would imagine there's a rough correlation between box size and the number of components I'll get (hopefully), but it doesn't give me any useful info about the complexity or type or theme of the game, which are things I want to know when deciding on a purchase. Unless it does?
I'm sure once a customer gets comfortable with your products, they'll know what to expect from the different box sizes, but making a new customer click through each category to figure out what games you sell seems like an unnecessary hurdle you're making them jump before they can give you money. At least, that's how it seems to me.
Spiff's SotM site: www.spiffworld.com/sotm
I agree that having those as the 'entry way' to the catalog is a bit backwards and it is on the list of webstore revisions to have fixed.
On twitter: @getlouder
I half see the appeal of the categories, but as a way to break down the catalogue it's different to how I approach games - I look for theme first, with weight as a secondary consideration. If the theme has no appeal, then the weight and (even the quality) of the game won't persuade me to buy it. That said, I expect that there are people who are the opposite of that, not caring about theme, but really interested in mechanics and play weight so would know which categories they'd find most appealling.
Alas, Bottom Of The 9th falls foul of the theme thing for me. Baseball bores me rigid. I love the sound of the mechanics, I will probably enjoy playing it, but there is no way I'll buy it. Now if you do a tiger or dragon level game about running an NFL franchise, I'll be all over it!
We could call it:
"How to violate all the national labor laws, rip off taxpayers and get away with it."
But then it could be any professional sport.
What would be a great game would be a dice based fantasy sports simulator.
That would be fun, esp. if it was tongue in cheek. The bidding and bookkeepping, it would be the worst game ever.
And I'd love it.
Level99 are working on a game to simulate Collectible Card Games. I have no idea how they're going to achieve that, but that's not a million miles away in terms of strange themes!
The relationship between sports and labour laws is an interesting area - if people could quit to go to an employer who could pay them better money, it'd cause havok, but that's the norm in any other industry. The laws about signing youth players is a difficult area in particular
What makes the NFL appeal is that with the salary cap/revenue sharing to equalise resources, and the draft helping teams that are behind catch up, it actually has the hallmarks of a Euro. The difference in resources in European soccer would lead to the most ridiculously unbalanced starting positions any game could ever have