My game database has a front page! →

Well, that was a surprise

Thanks to everyone who gave their 2 cents yesterday in my dilemma over the inclusion of CCGs (and other collectible games) into my eventual game database system. I received a lot more response than I had originally thought I would, mainly due to a Tumblr tag curator inexplicably making my input request a “featured” post within the Gaming tag. I have no idea why they felt it worthy of the attention, but I appreciated it nonetheless as it meant I received far more than the 2-3 responses I had planned on getting just having my post show up in my friends’ Tumblr dashboards.

In the end, the greater number of respondents voiced the same concern I had myself. Including the ability to catalog every single collectible item within a certain game is likely asking too much of the system I want to build. There are other, far better systems out there that any devotees of a particular collectible game would likely already be using for their own vile purposes. And so, I’ll just let them be.

Instead, I’ll be making it so that any nerd can document that they own “X” game and “Y” expansions to said game. I may include a spot for the nerd to link to where they store their card-by-card catalog elsewhere, but to include such functionality at the onset is like begging me to not finish this project. Maybe that will be a project for another day.

In the meantime, work begins on my expanded scope document, and I’ll hopefully have something awesome to show off in the weeks to come. Thanks again for everyone’s input, and I’ll be back soon.

I need some nerd opinions regarding one of my web development projects

So, as some people who follow me know, I am currently working on a PHP/MySQL web development project that is a game database. The goal is to eventually make this a site that people can sign up for and manage their game collections, with the ability to share updates and game info through Twitter and Facebook and the like. We’ll see how that goes, but that’s the long-term goal.

In its current form, the database is only built to handle video games, and I have it in my mind to expand the scope of the system to encompass ALL of the entirety of the nerd game universe. So, we’re talking about being able to have a list of video games, but also cataloging your d20 systems, card games, board games, dice games - EVERYTHING.

It will be your one-stop nerd catalog.

However, in scoping the limitations of such a system, I have come upon a nerd-centric problem I need to solve: CCGs.

Most games would be easy to catalog. For instance, I own the original Munchkin card game set, along with the Unnatural Axe and Clerical Errors expansions. Easily documented. But for CCG games such as Magic: the Gathering, how would I build that? Most M:tG players prefer to catalog individual cards for referencing when building specific decks. But I don’t want to build such a large, complex system. Would it be enough to be able to have users document what expansions they own? Such as M:tG - Worldwake and M:tG - Scars of Mirrodin (like my Munchkin example), and then assume those users will utilize their own existing systems to take their cataloging even deeper than that? Or should I expect that my database would be useless to everyone save a tiny fraction of users unless I include the ability to completely document every card a person owns? The same question would also easily apply to essentially any collectible game, such as miniature games like Mage Knight and HeroClix.

Any thoughts, opinions, comments, and/or musings on what is truly the most vital question of our coming age?

Completed 4th week creative project: twin elemental spirits

Here’s my 4th week creative project. It’s twin paintings (a yin and yang, of sorts) of Agoram the water spirit and Maroga the fire spirit. This is my first real attempt at paintings, and I’m really happy with the results. Especially the water spirit. I was really impressed with how the blending of blue and white turned out.

I think I’m going to like working on paintings again in the future. That was a lot of fun.

Another short excerpt from my poem

I’m still working fastidiously on my creative project for this week. I’ll hopefully manage to finish it up today. But I can already tell, with all of the numerous distractions in my house, it’s FAR easier to work on a visual arts project during the week than it is to work on writing. Far, FAR easier.

And now, to go with the one I posted previously, a single stanza:

Now, Young Joey wasn’t stupid — he understood some things.
Like the cursed, malicious darkness an impending winter brings.
He knew that some things in this world were evil just by nature.
And he felt this man before him might well be just such a creature.

A short sample of this week’s creative project

I’m in the midsts of this week’s creative project. And, no, it isn’t another entry in my “Our Hero is in Another Castle” art series. This time, it’s a poem. About a boy fed up with his mother’s tyranny, who runs away, and meets a strange old man who can make all his dreams come true — at a small, nearly insignificant price.

Here’s a little taste. One stanza, near the beginning:

He stalked away and cursed his mother’s iron-fisted rule.
Her sovereignty was suffocating, unbalanced, and just cruel.
In the comfort of his room, young Joey opted not to grieve.
If he couldn’t live within her rules, perhaps then, he should leave.

My hope is that I will have the time this week to not only complete the poem, but add some small drawings as accompaniments every couple of stanzas.

If not, well, there’s always next week’s project.