Interviews by an Optimist #104 - Marcel-André Casasola-Merkle

Interviewed by Tom Vasel
Edited by Tom Vasel and Laura Vasel
July 18, 2006

Marcel says this about himself…

I was born in Nürnberg in 1977 just 10 minutes walking distance to the international toy fair. Since 1985 I have been publishing a little magazine called “Das Floh Paket” (the flea package). Just for fun, just for me and just 1 piece per “print run”. My first games were supplements to this magazine. Dumb little dice based no brainers controlled by shoveling pawns from the starting field to the goal. But it had been this early when my passion to games had been ignited. Inventing new rules for “Risk” had been a big part of this among strange attempts to develop a cardboard restricted version of “Dark Tower” which caught my interest as an eleven year old.

After an intensive time when I felt totally comfortable with making video films, I got back to gaming at the Alibaba game club in … uh… 1995, 1996 where I met Rüdiger Dorn who just had published “Ex & Hopp” at Ravensburger. Some awkward designs later I attended this dubious civilian service seminar in 1997 where “Elements” finally came to birth. Since then I’ve been working in such different jobs as a game designer, illustrator, developer (as a member of Team Annaberg), publisher (Lookout Games) and as successor to Alan Moon first chairman of the game designers association SAZ.

Read more about the development of my games here: http://www.boardgamegeek.com/geeklist.php3?action=view&listid=888

Ludography:

1997 Elements
1998 Verräter
2000 Meuterer
2000 Lift off
2002 Attribut
2003 Bakerstreet
2003 Attika
2004 Flunkern
2004 Fiese Freunde Fette Feten

P.S. And yes, “Fiese Freunde Fette Feten” is a true collaboration with Friedemann Friese by the way the funniest game designer around.

Tom Vasel: What made you decide to start designing games?

Marcel-Andre: It was not exactly a decision. I have always been fascinated by designing and inventing, and soon as I started doing such things, I also was thinking up games. For a long period games have been just a little part of this creative process besides writing, film making, acting and stuff like that. My decision to invest a whole bunch of time into designing games can be dated back to my first publication. The feeling “hey, you can really do this” finally caught me when I glared at this shiny, tiny, red “Elements” box featuring my bizarrely long name.

Tom Vasel: How much work was it to get your first design accepted by a publisher?

Marcel-Andre: The first year I was sending my designs directly to publishers by post mail. After some weeks I got them all back with a friendly note. I refined the concepts, sent them to other publishers and… got them back. Well, with one exception. My game “Zitadelle” (English: “Citadel") never returned from Ravensburger. It was such an awesome concept (you had to play cards to move the others, not yourself) that I’m heavily inclined to the theory that an overly eager intern stole it for playing it the whole day through, publishing it in China and earning a lot of money. Hey folks, I am still waiting for my contract!

Doesn’t sound very lucky? Well, I was. In the end I didn’t have to do anything else then sitting at my table at my first game designers gathering in Göttingen and waiting for Bernhard Naegele from Adlung Spiele. He ransacked my little collection of game designs, took “Elements” with him and after two weeks I got a call that it would be published in Essen 1997.

Tom Vasel: What games and designers have been most influential on you as a designer?

Marcel-Andre: Every game that I play has some influence on my designs - positive or negative. Sometimes I am enthusiastic about the dynamics of a game; sometimes I realize what I really don’t want to do in a game. Thematically and dynamically I am very fond of Friedemann Friese’s designs. I think most people don’t understand why his games are so different. It’s not only the funny theme; it’s the way the game flow and feeling reflects the thematic background. The meta game, the interaction of the players sitting around a table is very important. You can’t judge a game by just concentrating on its mechanics and not keeping in mind what happens emotionally between the players.

Tom Vasel: Of your games, which are you most proud of?

Marcel-Andre: There are stories to tell about each of my games, and all of them are important to me, but I think you can break it down to three milestones. “Verräter” was my first hit. The role mechanism and the idea to squeeze a boardgame into this little card box had some impact and are still charming. “Attika” on the other hand was my first big box game. I really like its elegance of the rules, the tenseness and the incredible depth in play.

The third one “Fiese Freunde Fette Feten” is my first game where you are able to immerge completely into the theme. Every game you play; you experience a real life with all its fun and fierce consequences.

Tom Vasel: What first gave you the idea of the role mechanism in Verrater? What do you think about the popularity of games such as Citadels and Puerto Rico that use a similar mechanic?

Marcel-Andre: There were two basic ideas that led to the development of Verräter. First I longed for a game where two different parties fight each other and the players may switch sides during the game. The role mechanism itself was born when a friend of mine and I were thinking of producing a magazine with a game on the backside. Well, you are not able to put that much on a little magazine page, and so I was thinking about a card game with only 6 to 9 cards. That’s hard to do, and the only thing that came to my mind was to use the cards as efficiently as possible by choosing one and passing the rest to your left neighbour.

I’m very glad that this basic idea got so popular, although in contrast to Bruno Faidutti’s Citadels, Andreas Seyfarth mentions that Puerto Rico isn’t based on Verräter at all. Game design is like evolution, and it’s very nice to be a part of it and to see that your brain children start to walk and develop on their own.

Tom Vasel: Do you think Verrater has received too little praise?

Marcel-Andre: In fact Verräter got pretty much attention in Germany back in 1998. I’m not so sure about America, because it was published during the pre-Boardgamegeek era and was already old when German Games came into focus. Another drawback has been the fact that it has never been natively available in English.

Nowadays the people are quite used to role mechanisms in games, and so it’s easy to overlook the real potential of the Verräter: the bluff, the double guessing and the tough tactic decisions. But be warned. You have to play with gamers who understand the flow of the game, because otherwise their decisions will be completely random.

All in all Verräter has been quite important for my game designing career, and the very good reviews favored a pretty quick and successful start.

Tom Vasel: Is it easier to design a small game like Verrater or a bigger box game?

Marcel-Andre: It’s much easier for me because you don’t have to deal with topological aspects. At least not that much because you don’t have a game board. Nevertheless I think designing the topological part of a game is a great chance to get much gameplay without many rules, so I am working hard on getting bigger box games done, too. I’m pretty sure my future games will be a fair mixture between small and big ones.

On a side note bigger box games get all the praise while the small ones are naturally ignored. That’s a pity because it usually doesn’t pay to invest much time in developing great but small games.

Tom Vasel: Many people consider Verrater a board game disguised as a card game. Do you feel that is disadvantaged, without a pretty board and nicer components?

Marcel-Andre: On one hand it’s clearly at a disadvantage, because today’s expectations regarding the game components are rather high. On the other hand the uniqueness of a card game feeling like a board game weighs out this handicap, because you get much more bang for the buck, and you can travel everywhere with the game in your pocket. I have to admit that it’s one of my secret dreams, designing a boardgame version one day, but I feel it would need a refinement of the topological structure to guarantee that you don’t just play a card game on a board.

Tom Vasel: How do you determine what companies to submit your games to?

Marcel-Andre: Each company has a specific profile of games they are publishing, so the first step is to think about where my new game would fit best. As much as important are the people working at a publisher and how talented they are in making a good game shine. Some companies have never heard of such a thing as fine tuning, and I prefer not to send them any games. Another rule of thumb is to show it first to preferred publishers with better sales figures

Well, it’s quite rare that a publisher meets all these criteria, so there are always only a few (maybe two or three) which get to look at a new prototype of mine. If they are not interested I might give it to another one or two, but I don’t tend to send a game to publishers which do not fit.

There’s another experience that I would like to share: If you get a contract, but the people in charge are not interested in your game, you have already lost. They will publish an awful monster that will only survive for one winter. It will be dead and buried and your brilliant idea with him. Never give up your baby to a publisher that doesn’t fall in love with it just to see it published. It will be raised by a bad mother.

Tom Vasel: What advice would you give to an aspiring game designer?

Marcel-Andre: Design the games you would like to play. Keep an eye on the dynamical and emotional flow of your games. Be inventive, and don’t loose your passion. Do your homework, and learn to understand how games work. Don’t fear to make games other than others. Never give up and, yes, join SAZ, the game designer’s association.

Tom Vasel: How much playtesting do you put into each of your games? How do you conduct it?

Marcel-Andre: That heavily depends on the game, its complexity and how fast I am reaching a point where the game works. “Verräter” had been playtested about 4 or 5 times before I showed it to the publisher, while I had to conduct dozens of “Meuterer” sessions before sending it to Adlung Spiele.

I have to admit that in the past two years intense playtesting suffered massively because of my studies at the Academy of Media Arts Cologne.

I split playtesting into two phases. In the first phase (and always when I make important changes) I’m part of the playtesting group, so I can get a grip on how the game feels. Do I get the emotional responses I planned to emerge during the game? The second phase is when I let the game be playtested by other groups and ask them for their feedback. It’s always important not only to notice the statements of the game groups but also what type of gamer gives you a specific comment.

Tom Vasel: Have you ever “scrapped” a game because of poor playtesting?

Marcel-Andre: In fact this is quite common. The first reaction to poor playtesting of course is to make changes to get rid of the problems. But that doesn’t always work. If I don’t get the feeling that a game is on the right path, I won’t show it to a publisher. It would be just a waste of time for both parties. I’d rather keep the good aspects of those failed game concepts in the back of my mind, because I’m sure they’ll come in quite handy someday in the future.

Tom Vasel: How important is theme to a game?

Marcel-Andre: Theme is one of the crucial aspects of a game. If the game dynamics reflect the theme, you get a much more intense gaming experience. It’s not important to integrate every aspect of a theme into a game, but the overall feeling and mood of theme and game should match quite closely. I know that not all of my games succeeded in this, but I’m proud that Fiese Freunde Fette Feten is spot-on. Sometimes it’s better to go abstract if you don’t find a theme that fits; sometimes you choose a compromise. A theme that helps to explain the rules may be better than none. A theme that’s so harmonious that it can’t be separated from the game is awesome.

Tom Vasel: What do you think about themes that cause controversy? How much should they be avoided?

Marcel-Andre: The absurd fear of German publishers of producing games that could ignite even just a small bit of controversy is ridiculous. It causes a bunch of tamed down ever repeating themes that get squeezed to death.

What about all the films that wouldn’t have been made; what about all the books that would not have been written if publishers had been afraid of discussion? Not every game has to match the taste of everyone and so doesn’t the theme.

Don’t get me wrong. I don’t appreciate offensive themes that are just pasted on to get a little bit more attention; but if a theme fits and the game is fun and there is a target group, then I would consider it.

It’s not always easy to decide how far you can go. You have to make delicate decisions, and surely there is always a threshold not to pass; but it is definitely not the border of ancient Egypt.

Tom Vasel: What publishers in Europe are the best, in your opinion, and why?

Marcel-Andre: That’s hard to decide. I like publishers which are closely cooperating with the game designer and are eager to optimize game mechanics to let them shine. I like those who are taking risks concerning the theme and those who try hard to produce appealing bits and pieces. A good distribution is another important part of the game as a fair share of royalties. You’ll rarely find all qualities in one publisher, but there are some that fit the bill quite well.

Tom Vasel: Marcel, thanks for the great answers! Do you have any final thoughts for our readers?

Marcel-Andre: Please keep promoting modern board games around the world. Stay fascinated and enjoy all the different aspects of this great hobby. You are the people who are bringing our inventions to life.

And Tom: Thank you very much for this refreshing interview.

© 2006 Tom Vasel

---

Comments:

You must register with BGN in order to comment. Registration is free!

No comments yet.

< Back Home