{"id":91,"date":"2020-01-19T02:27:11","date_gmt":"2020-01-19T02:27:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/brown-sheep-511001.hostingersite.com\/carla\/?p=91"},"modified":"2020-06-23T20:34:50","modified_gmt":"2020-06-23T20:34:50","slug":"advanced-prototyping-nandeck-and-polyominos","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/weirdgiraffegames.com\/carla\/2020\/01\/19\/advanced-prototyping-nandeck-and-polyominos\/","title":{"rendered":"Advanced Prototyping: Nandeck and Polyominos"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Nandeck is a great tool to make cards and things like tiles or tokens. You can generate PDFs based on a spreadsheet so that after you playtest, you can simply update your spreadsheet and regenerate your PDF. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

You can learn more about Nandeck here: http:\/\/www.nand.it\/nandeck\/<\/a> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you’ve never used Nandeck, I highly suggest you read a few tutorials before going through this one. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Polyonimos or Tetrominos are shapes that are like those in Tetris. They’re in games like Patchwork, Indian Summer, and Number 9. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Download Files: https:\/\/www.dropbox.com\/s\/70upck0mgjb6b6s\/Polyominos.zip?dl=0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Open up the .txt file in Nandeck and the excel file. When looking at the .txt file, you’ll notice it’s super short! It’s mainly just saying how big each ‘card’ is and where each icon is. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Icons are essentially images that you can use by referring to their letter. For example, if I were to have something that said, ‘ppp’ it would have three of the images that are located at Images\\purple.png. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

You’ll need an image for each base square of your polyominos. I use one for each different color, but you can add textures and other things to mix and match on the same ‘card’, if you wish. You’ll also need an image that’s the same size as all your other images that’s just white. This will be used as to fill in the space where you don’t want the polyomino to do. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now, looking at the excel file, you’ll see the following: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

We’re creating a three by three grid. 11 refers to the first row and column, 12 is the first row and second column, etc. Nandeck is using the all column, which essentially brings together all the other columns and puts a ‘w’ in for each empty column. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The first ‘card’ has an o in spaces 11, 12, 22, and 23, which presents itself as the card below: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

If you’d like to make the polyominos larger, simply change the cardsize line. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you’d like to add text or images, just add another column to the spreadsheet and add the image or text via the Visual Editor. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you enjoyed this blog entry, don’t forget to sign up for my mailing list: https:\/\/tinyletter.com\/carlakopp<\/a> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Nandeck is a great tool to make cards and things like tiles or tokens. You can generate PDFs based on a spreadsheet so that after…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":290,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":{"twitter_4766012646_4766012646":""},"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_wpscppro_dont_share_socialmedia":false,"_wpscppro_custom_social_share_image":0,"_facebook_share_type":"","_twitter_share_type":"","_linkedin_share_type":"","_pinterest_share_type":"","_linkedin_share_type_page":"","_instagram_share_type":"","_medium_share_type":"","_threads_share_type":"","_google_business_share_type":"","_selected_social_profile":[],"_wpsp_enable_custom_social_template":false,"_wpsp_social_scheduling":{"enabled":false,"datetime":null,"platforms":[],"status":"template_only","dateOption":"today","timeOption":"now","customDays":"","customHours":"","customDate":"","customTime":"","schedulingType":"absolute"},"_wpsp_active_default_template":true},"categories":[2,3],"tags":[4,5,6,7],"class_list":["post-91","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-design","category-nandeck","tag-design","tag-nandeck","tag-polyominos","tag-tetrominos"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/weirdgiraffegames.com\/carla\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/Slide14.png","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":679,"url":"https:\/\/weirdgiraffegames.com\/carla\/2021\/07\/06\/an-intro-to-codesigning\/","url_meta":{"origin":91,"position":0},"title":"An Intro to Codesigning","author":"Carla","date":"July 6, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"It's been about a year since I've written about codesigning and I've definitely learned more about it since! You can check out the previous article here. Why Codesign? In the last article, I completely forgot to talk about why codesigning is great! It's now my favorite way to design and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Game Design"","block_context":{"text":"Game Design","link":"https:\/\/weirdgiraffegames.com\/carla\/category\/design\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/weirdgiraffegames.com\/carla\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/codesigning.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/weirdgiraffegames.com\/carla\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/codesigning.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/weirdgiraffegames.com\/carla\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/codesigning.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/weirdgiraffegames.com\/carla\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/codesigning.png?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/weirdgiraffegames.com\/carla\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/codesigning.png?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":137,"url":"https:\/\/weirdgiraffegames.com\/carla\/2020\/04\/04\/when-you-get-stuck-on-a-game-design\/","url_meta":{"origin":91,"position":1},"title":"When You Get Stuck on a Game Design","author":"Carla","date":"April 4, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Sometimes you won't know exactly what to do next on a game. You could use your game design time to think on what to do and it's good to do so, but you don't want to do so for an excessive amount of time. Here's a variety of things that\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Game Design"","block_context":{"text":"Game Design","link":"https:\/\/weirdgiraffegames.com\/carla\/category\/design\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/weirdgiraffegames.com\/carla\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/Slide8.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/weirdgiraffegames.com\/carla\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/Slide8.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/weirdgiraffegames.com\/carla\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/Slide8.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/weirdgiraffegames.com\/carla\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/Slide8.png?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/weirdgiraffegames.com\/carla\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/Slide8.png?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1315,"url":"https:\/\/weirdgiraffegames.com\/carla\/2022\/01\/31\/more-ways-to-start-your-game-designs\/","url_meta":{"origin":91,"position":2},"title":"More Ways To Start Your Game Designs","author":"Carla","date":"January 31, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Here\u2019s another post on ways to get ideas for game designs! 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If you haven't read the previous articles, here they are: Alternatives to Mechanism First or Theme First DesignsWays\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Game Design"","block_context":{"text":"Game Design","link":"https:\/\/weirdgiraffegames.com\/carla\/category\/design\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/weirdgiraffegames.com\/carla\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/moreways.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/weirdgiraffegames.com\/carla\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/moreways.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/weirdgiraffegames.com\/carla\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/moreways.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/weirdgiraffegames.com\/carla\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/moreways.png?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/weirdgiraffegames.com\/carla\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/moreways.png?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1137,"url":"https:\/\/weirdgiraffegames.com\/carla\/2021\/08\/17\/getting-into-development-with-david-bruglia\/","url_meta":{"origin":91,"position":3},"title":"Getting into Development with David Bruglia","author":"Carla","date":"August 17, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"David Bruglia is the designer of Spook Manor, Project Pacific, and Scents & Sensibility, and he's developed Wicked & Wise and Fire in the Library: The Card Game. 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I\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Game Design"","block_context":{"text":"Game Design","link":"https:\/\/weirdgiraffegames.com\/carla\/category\/design\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/weirdgiraffegames.com\/carla\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/development-with-david.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/weirdgiraffegames.com\/carla\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/development-with-david.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/weirdgiraffegames.com\/carla\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/development-with-david.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/weirdgiraffegames.com\/carla\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/development-with-david.png?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/weirdgiraffegames.com\/carla\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/development-with-david.png?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1263,"url":"https:\/\/weirdgiraffegames.com\/carla\/2022\/05\/03\/game-design-going-off-the-rails-part-1\/","url_meta":{"origin":91,"position":4},"title":"Game Design Going Off the Rails – Part 1","author":"Carla","date":"May 3, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"There are a ton of ways your game design can go off the rails. 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Or maybe you somehow made a bunch of games with the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Game Design"","block_context":{"text":"Game Design","link":"https:\/\/weirdgiraffegames.com\/carla\/category\/design\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/weirdgiraffegames.com\/carla\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/game-design-rails.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/weirdgiraffegames.com\/carla\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/game-design-rails.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/weirdgiraffegames.com\/carla\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/game-design-rails.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/weirdgiraffegames.com\/carla\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/game-design-rails.png?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/weirdgiraffegames.com\/carla\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/game-design-rails.png?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":515,"url":"https:\/\/weirdgiraffegames.com\/carla\/2020\/12\/07\/organized-game-design-with-annamaria-jackson-phelps\/","url_meta":{"origin":91,"position":5},"title":"Organized Game Design with AnnaMaria Jackson-Phelps","author":"Carla","date":"December 7, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"AnnaMaria has designed Synchronized, HEAP, and Net Fishing, she is the social media manager for Pencil First Games, and is a content creator at Girl's Game Shelf. Watch the live chat below: https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=OzaDsGS8gXc&t Staying Organized in a Pandemic There are so many online resources out there! 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