Today we’d like to introduce you to Don Eskridge.
Don, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
When I was little, I was always redesigning my favorite games. Connect 4 became Connect 5, Checkers became many, many different games, and so on.
I played Werewolf/Mafia for the first time during a study abroad in France and fell in love with it. It was awesome, but at the same time, I felt it could be even better.
So, I played with different ideas and eventually came up with The Resistance, which is like Mafia but excludes player elimination, the need for a narrator, and adds more clear evidence to the decision-making.
I upload the game for free to an online game archive (boardgamegeek.com), and it found an audience. A publisher contacted me about releasing the game commercially, and of course, I accepted. After that… I was a game designer!
I spent about 5 years working on Resistance and its versions and expansions and then moved into self-publishing. I created my own company, Orange Machine Games, in Chicago in late 2015. We published our first game, Abandon Planet, in 2016 and our new game, Black Hole Council, is currently in manufacturing and will be commercially available in September of this year!
Going forward, I plan to continue self-publishing, as well as doing freelance design work for other companies. I am currently working with a major publisher to develop a more ‘social’ version of one of their classic games.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
As a new designer, I had a lot to learn about working with publishers, and understanding that simply designing a game does not mean that you have a say in all aspects of the final product. It took awhile to learn, but now working with established publishers has become a satisfying experience – I do what I do best, and so do they!
Self-publishing games through Orange Machine Games have been a fascinating experience. That said, there were definitely struggles. Our first Kickstarter, for Abandon Planet, was a success – but there were definitely complaints about shipping prices and other aspects that I hadn’t considered. Directly corresponding with backers was a new challenge that I learned to embrace – and now I really enjoy talking back and forth with backers, hearing their ideas and seeing what we can do with them.
Self-publishing is not a small job, and projects can blow up…. or not! It’s sometimes hard to know what the market is looking for while balancing that with design intent.
Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about Orange Machine Games – what should we know?
Orange Machine Games makes board and card games that are more social than most games, yet retain a good level of strategy. Most games that play up to 8 players are fairly slapstick or humor-based, whereas ours can be appreciated by both casual and heavier gamers. We say that we make ‘party games for gamers.’
Any shoutouts? Who else deserves credit in this story – who has played a meaningful role?
I worked with art designer Bobby Reichle on our first two games, Abandon Planet and Black Hole Council. He deserves solid credit for the art direction for both games. Especially, Abandon Planet has a ton of awesome art pieces – 8 unique rockets, 6 types of unique wooden tokens, a modular game board, and more.
Outside of the company, my friends and family have been huge advocates. They are always willing to play-test new games a million times over, which can drive anyone a little insane. Luckily, they were already a little insane.
Pricing:
- Abandon Planet retails for $39.99
- Black Hole Council will retail for $29.99
Contact Info:
- Website: www.orangemachinegames.com
- Email: Hello@orangemachinegames.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/orange_machine_games/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/orangemachinegames
Image Credit:
Game featured: Black Hole Council
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