Hey Reader!

David Kessler here.

SMART goals are a standard framework for setting and achieving goals. Many people use the the acronym to create Specific, Measurable, Assignable, Realistic, Time-bound goals–but it might not be the best for creative projects. Our very own newsletter writer Emily Vincent was discussing this very topic on the Building the Game Podcast, when show-host Jason Slingerland joked that game designers need to have STUPID goals. And, you know what, I think I agree.

Leave it to game designers to take a joke and run with it.

STUPID Goals: A Goals Framework for Creative and Iterative Projects

Xoe Allred, Chris Michaud, Heather Newton, Jack Rosetree, Rosco Schock, Jason Slingerland, Emily Vincent, and Michael Wostbrock, from the Building the Game Podcast and Protospiel Online communities, got together to create a goal framework for creative and iterative projects. The idea came out of a conversation about design goals and how it is sometimes hard to make goals when you don't know what the end state actually is.

The authors of STUPID Goals expect that designers in the PO community have probably also spent time thinking about their goals, whether for game design overall or for a specific design project. While many folks have run into goal frameworks at their day jobs, these frameworks are not always the best fit for creative projects. STUPID Goals could apply to lots of different projects, including software development. It's an alternative way to think about goals. The authors want to encourage people to give themselves permission to take risks, to fail, and to abandon their goals entirely if it's just not working. Much like the way we design games!

Read more about STUPID Goals on Emily Vincent’s blog!​

Listen to the conversation that kicked it off on the Building the Game Podcast!​

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And, while we're talking about Building the Game, we have some fun news to share: it's almost time for the 600th episode!

To celebrate, show host Jason Slingerland is asking people from around the tabletop games industry to create a 1-2 min recording to be played on the 600th episode, sharing their name, industry role, and how they define success.
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Jason would like to use this opportunity to feature some new voices on the podcast. If you'd like to add your thoughts to BTG Episode 600, you can email your audio recording to buildingthegamepodcast@gmail.com with the subject line "Define Success".

Or, if you don't have a favorite way of recording and emailing audio files, you can click here to use a web-based tool to record a message that will automatically drop into Jason's inbox.

A few tips for using the web-based tool:

• It records both audio and video. The audio is the only part Jason will use, so you can skip the webcam and record a screen share.
• Be ready to enter an email address Jason can use to contact you if he runs into trouble with your audio track.
• Make sure to record a few seconds of silence at the beginning and end to avoid clipping part of your message.

If you'd like an example to give you an idea of how to structure your message, you can listen to our lead organizer, Heather Newton's, Define Success message here.

"Define Success" submissions for BTG's 600th episode are due September 30, 2023 at 11:59pm EDT.

📣Announcements Announcements Annooouuuncements!

Hasbro has announced their Women Innovators of Play design challenge. They are searching for the next great woman-led mass market toy or game. The challenge is open to anyone who identifies as a woman. Submissions are open until October 12th. Read more about it here!

That’s it for now. Stay tuned for more awesome events, community opportunities, and updates about games tested at Protospiel!

~David

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P.S. If you have something you'd like to see featured in our Community Newsletter, you have 3 options -- either submit an official feature request, reply to this message, or post in the #🙌share-your-wins channel in the Protospiel Online Discord server to let us know the details. We'd love to celebrate you!

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