Simon's Home
Society     Twine Games     Socialist Threat     Other Games     Donations

Thanks for taking a look at these projects - I do like to engage in game design and I hope that something piques your interest. Feel free to return to the main page whenever you're ready.

Society

Society (tentatively titled as such, sometimes referred to as Simon Joseph's Society) pictured in the top-bar, is the flagship of my line of games. Currently in its sixth major test version, the game is an simplified exploration of John Rawls' Veil of Ignorance. Simply stated, the players create a society, are assigned positions within it, and work toward an arbitrary win condition.

I started development of this game in the fall of 2008. As with any project, it has had its twists and turns: it exploded from a game of 156 cards (three poker card decks) that could be played with pennies to a 400-card behemoth which will be split into four releases. Why split the game? Production costs, breathing room on playtesting, and most importantly, the gradual introduction of complexity (for example, one release will add an entirely new system of employment).

Twine Games

I've been playing around with the Twine interactive fiction tool. So far I've created Mag Libs, a "fill in the word" style game for a friend; Breaking Bezos, an unfinished game about attempting to steal Jeff Bezos' yacht; and a few other weird little projects.

Socialist Threat

This is a tongue-in-cheek look at the things many associate with socialism - in the game, your life gets better as you come closer to 'losing' the game. All I'm waiting on is a board design - if you think you can create an early Soviet-style propaganda poster, please contact me at the email below. Until then, here's a print and play version.

Other Games

Like many people, I have a few other projects in the air, in various stages of completion. Among them:
  • Beehive - This went from a 'Chinese Checkers' style game to a possible suite of smart-phone apps. We'll see where it goes.
  • Constitution - An educational/social game about building a constitution. This may take two splits - one toward the educational and one toward the zany.
  • Continentals - A battle game with a mutable board. It's not based on any particular philosophy, but rather a blend of Settlers of Catan, Risk, and a novel battle mechanic I devised. The mechanic was originally going to be used to simulate combat between various factions in the American Revolution (the game's previous title), but that felt too restrictive.
  • Corporation - You play a corporation which bullies/bribes its way to winning through getting a legislator to pass favorable laws.
  • Distribution - A game wherein the player is given powers and must choose between keeping the power in order to check others and discarding it so everyone may win.
  • Equation - A minor, educational game. Players build an equation cooperatively, trying to match the number in their hand. I may put a version online for free.
  • Kafka & Karamotzov - A series of games which all use the same board, but different decks of cards: you work your way through a piece of classic literature, hopefully learning something as you do.
  • Power Play / Legacy - A game played over three generations, where a balance of politics/money/education would affect an unknown win condition.

Contact: Simon.Joseph86 [at] gmail.com