Q&A met Bruce Allen, de auteur van Tobago

[Arzach]

33) A difficult question: which question were you dying to answer, but hasn't been asked by anyone here so far? Is there anything you had hoped for we would ask you? Something you wanted to talk about?

Well, you all asked lots of great (and sometimes tricky) questions and you asked about the expansion for Tobago.

If you have played Tobago I have two questions for you:

No. I: What do you think is the most important rule concerning the mechanisms in Tobago in my opinion? I don't mean the main reduction mechanism but a small often overlooked rule without the game wouldn't work.

No. II: What would you like to see in an expansion for Tobago or another new game?

[Arzach]

Earlier you told us that you are a software engineer.
34) Does your education / profession is an advantage in developping games?

Yes, I think so, when designing a software application you often have to think along the lines of:
What will happen if the users do something strange, or which coincidents have lead to this situation which isn't covered by the programme yet and how do I fix it.
Or in Database Design: How are the different things related, which information do I need where. So this is a lot like game design.
But you can't "programme" fun into game, so that is totally different and what makes it exciting for me.

[Arzach]

The question was actually that you get to keep one game or you will loose your significant other. The general consensus was that single life isn't so bad at all

Great, my girlfriend said: "Well, that's what you get, if you ask a gamer to do such a thing."

Since I'll be driving to Essen right behind Bart chances are that we will see each other.

Great, too.

35) Which languages do you program in ?

Right now, I do more database design and project management than programming, so now it is mainly SQL and ABAP. Before that was lots of PL/SQL and the 4GL language of Oracle, and a long, long time before that Fortran.

[P.T.]

Aren't we mixing up people here? We have a "Bart" and a "Bartjes" here. (Both have the same name "Bart" )

I think Fatum is driving right behind "Bart" while Bruce is meeting "Bartjes"

Or I am mixing up things

[fatum]

Aren't we mixing up people here? We have a "Bart" and a "Bartjes" here. (Both have the same name "Bart" )

I think Fatum is driving right behind "Bart" while Bruce is meeting "Bartjes"

Or I am mixing up things

Ok, now I'm completely confused

A quick warning ! Playing Tobago can harm your 4*4:
Tobago search light

To answer a question of yours:

What do you think is the most important rule concerning the mechanisms in Tobago in my opinion? I don't mean the main reduction mechanism but a small often overlooked rule without the game wouldn't work.

The turning of the statues ?

For the expansion: islands maybe ? Or new ways to influence the finding of treasures.

[Arzach]

To answer a question of yours:

What do you think is the most important rule concerning the mechanisms in Tobago in my opinion? I don't mean the main reduction mechanism but a small often overlooked rule without the game wouldn't work.

The turning of the statues ?

Not quite, but it has to do with the amulets (and the treasures).

[Bartjes!]

36) Tobago is nominated for the "Nederlandse Spellenprijs" (Dutch game award), along with Brass, Dixit, Fresco, Funkenschlag, Roll Through The Ages, Steam and Vasco Da Gama. Which game do you think will win this award?
37) If you were allowed to vote: which games would be your numbers 1, 2 and 3?
38) Describe in 20 words why we should all vote for Tobago

[Bartjes!]

Today is the last day Bruce will be our guest, here at Bordspelmania.eu.
If you have any questions left for him, feel free to post them here before 9pm CET.

For now, I'd first and foremost like to thank Bruce for his presence here, for extensively answering our questions, for his patience (when a time out error occurred again with his connection ) and of course for taking part in this experiment!
See you at Spiel 2010!

Secondly, thanks to all our members. Hopefully you enjoyed 'talking' with Bruce and reading what he had to say!

[Bart]

39) This one is a bit inspired by question 36).
Tobago is also on the long list of the Gouden Ludo, the Flemish game award. Next month 4 games from this list will be nominated. Which 4 games would you nominate?

40) Have you already visited the Netherlands and Belgium? What did you like in our countries?

41) Do you know any Belgian or Dutch game designers?

[Bart]

To answer a question of yours:

What do you think is the most important rule concerning the mechanisms in Tobago in my opinion? I don't mean the main reduction mechanism but a small often overlooked rule without the game wouldn't work.

The turning of the statues ?

Not quite, but it has to do with the amulets (and the treasures).

The combination of the amulets for finding and driving to a treasure, together with the protection against te curses?

[Arzach]

36) Tobago is nominated for the "Nederlandse Spellenprijs" (Dutch game award), along with Brass, Dixit, Fresco, Funkenschlag, Roll Through The Ages, Steam and Vasco Da Gama. Which game do you think will win this award?

Is the "Nederlandse Spellenprijs" decided by the vote of gamers? Then I guess it might be Funkenschlag because there will probably be more "heavy" gamers voting than casual gamers. That is the way with the Deutsche Spielepreis, but it might be different in the Netherlands.

[Arzach]

37) If you were allowed to vote: which games would be your numbers 1, 2 and 3?

As I only have played Funkenschlag, Dixit, Roll Through The Ages, Fresco and Tobago yet, my list would be
......
1 Tobago
2 Roll Through The Ages and
3 Dixit (for light mood)
or
3 Funkenschlag (for heavy mood)
I know that are 4 games. Number 3 would depend on my mood at the time I vote .

[Arzach]

38) Describe in 20 words why we should all vote for Tobago

Perhaps because it works well as a gateway game but the only good reason is that you like it.

[Arzach]

39) This one is a bit inspired by question 36).
Tobago is also on the long list of the Gouden Ludo, the Flemish game award. Next month 4 games from this list will be nominated. Which 4 games would you nominate?

Endeavor, Havanna, Rattus and ...Tobago

[Arzach]

40) Have you already visited the Netherlands and Belgium? What did you like in our countries?

We made a Fietsen(?) Tour in the Netherlands: Enschede, Apeldoorn, Lelystadt, Enkhuizen, Leeuwarden, Groningen, Beerta (these are the names I remember). I really enjoyed it. Everyone we met was very friendly to us (I guess the bicycles helped ). I remember an art museum in the woods with lots of van Goghs, swimming in the Ijsselmeer, lovely old town in Enkhuizen, wind always blowing against us , loempia. I visited Amsterdam, too. I spent half a day in the Van Gogh Museum and hours in the Stedelijk Museum (Modern Art) and in the Vondel park and shopping. I visited Brussels twice, the Rathaus impressed me as did the Atomium and the Erasmus house.