Game Industry | Opie Games

Card and board game publishing is a vibrant and dynamic industry. With changes in the types of games being released and the organizational make-up of the companies producing them, there is much to watch and analyze about the industry.

It is not our primary mission to be reporters on the industry, but as we research aspects of the industry that are interesting to us based on the projects were have in progress, we can’t help but notice some events and trends that, if worth the effort to investigate, are worth the effort to report for the community to digest.

We will also provide commentary and access to resources reporting on the card and board game industry here.

If this content is of particular interest to you, you can subscribe to it specifically by clicking on the "Subscribe to..." link at the bottom of this page.

Resource Focus: Jamey Stegmaier

John Parker

Jan 18, 2015

Of the game design and development resources I have highlighted so far, this is the first that is a person rather than a brand. This is done with no intended slight to those highlighted previously; there are real people behind each one of them and in all cases a very small number of people (usually 2-4) behind each. What makes this case special is when I set out to write up this mention, I was at a loss to describe it in any way other than as Jamey himself.

Opie Games: 2015 Preview

John Parker

Jan 13, 2015

Community

Game Design

Game Industry

The easiest statement about what Opie Games has planned for 2015 is, “more of what we did in 2014.” Obviously, generally I would like to do everything better, too. A few, more exact, 2015 objectives are:

Opie Games: 2014 Review

John Parker

Jan 13, 2015

Game Industry

Although I was working on my current game designs much earlier and planning for my foray into the industry, I essentially started Opie Games in January 2014 so it seems natural (in addition to the new year) to review what has been accomplished through Opie Games in 2014 now. As identified on the About page, “Opie Games is the home of table top game designs and musings by John Parker and links to resources that may be helpful to the beginning designer or the person with an affinity toward table top games. Hopefully, you find the content here interesting.”

Hobby Game Trends 2000-2014 Round 2: Game Releases

John Parker

Jan 11, 2015

Analysis Paralysis

Game Industry

Game Publishing

Annual New Releases

Before we can begin evaluating any particular subset of games released (by category, genre, mechanic, etc.), we first need to establish a baseline for total games released.

Hobby Game Trends 2000-2014: Figures Part 2

Figures featured in the Hobby Game Trends 2000 - 2014 analysis. This is an extensive collection of graphs and charts (60 in all). Some are probably self-explanatory, but the assumptions and criteria are helpful for context, and the full analysis report necessary for interpretation.

This collection is broken into 2 galleries of 30 images each, purely for download considerations.

Hobby Game Trends 2000-2014: Figures Part 1

This collection is broken into 2 galleries of 30 images each, purely for download considerations.

Hobby Game Trends 2000-2014 Round 1: Game Publishers

John Parker

Jan 11, 2015

Analysis Paralysis

Game Industry

Game Publishing

Publishing Companies

A study of the hobby game market should naturally start with an analysis of the companies publishing hobby games. Given the lack of public information about publishers and distribution volumes previously described I can at best provide a survey and more speculation to add to what is already available.

Hobby Game Trends 2000-2014: Introduction

John Parker

Jan 11, 2015

Analysis Paralysis

Game Industry

Game Publishing

Introduction

The card and board game design and publishing industry has been growing rapidly in recent years. Some might call it a boom, some might worry that it is a bubble, and some optimists (like me) say it is only the beginning. Beyond the sheer quantity of cardboard distributed, the number of new releases is also rising and some argue that the general quality of design and production is improving; they suggest that we are in the “Golden Years” of game design.

Industry Analysis

John Parker

Jan 11, 2015

Analysis Paralysis

Game Industry

Game Marketing

Although the expertise and focus of Opie Games is not to analyze the game publishing industry, as we design and develop games we are considering the current marketplace when deciding which game designs to pursue. Time to design is always a limiting factor, if not the most limiting, so working on something for which the market is quickly diminishing or is over-crowded may be equally wasted. These studies may also be helpful in providing information for a pitch, to differentiate what Opie Games has designed from what is available. How this information is not being use is to determine what game to start thinking about. Ideation is upstream of this process.

Objective

Survey and analyze (to the extent reasonably possible) the game publishing industry to:

Inform the Opie Games process decisions from design into development.
Become knowledgeable about the game publishing aspect of the table top game industry.
Identify game publishing trends to forecast the market needs of the near term future.
Provide the game design and development community information that maybe helpful on its own or may seed further analysis.

Hopefully, you will find this analysis interesting and helpful in your own forays into the game publishing industry.

Resource Focus: The Dice Tower Network

John Parker

Dec 17, 2014

The Dice Tower Network describes itself so, “The Dice Tower Network is a group of podcasts and videocasts that promotes excellence and fun in board gaming.” At the time of this writing, the network is about 25-30 associated, but independent podcasts offering audio and video entertainment related to table top games, game reviews, and game design. All of these are worth a listen to see if they suit your needs and wants, but not all are actively producing content. Several of these services will also be listed here in the Opie Games resources separately; concentrating on the ones that I find the most interesting and consistent with my needs.

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