Het spel van Demir Debanic
Good evening Demir, Nice to finally meet you!
Hello Dick. Likewise. At last!
Can you tell us something about yourself? For example, do you have a relationship, children, pets? How do you live? What do you do for a living? Do you have any other hobbies? Tell, tell, tell!:
In a relationship, 2 cats, 13 chicken, living with a garden (vegetables and fruit). Board game designer and publisher for a living (last 3 years - before I was a Captain on a LNG tanker). Hobbies: Nature, reading, RPG-s and Warhammer 40k
This interview will be published op a website that is prmarly dedicated to Board games. There is probabbly no-one that will know what Warhammer 40K is.
Warhammer 40,000 (sometimes colloquially called Warhammer 40K, WH40K or 40k) is a miniature wargame produced by Games Workshop. It is the most popular miniature wargame in the world.
Is it?
Yes, and is particularly popular in the United Kingdom. The first edition of the rulebook was published in September 1987, and the tenth and current edition was released in June 2023.
And you play this?
Yes. And I collect. As in other miniature wargames, players enact battles using miniature models of warriors and fighting vehicles. The playing area is a tabletop model of a battlefield, comprising models of buildings, hills, trees, and other terrain features. Each player takes turns moving their model warriors around the battlefield and fighting their opponent's warriors. These fights are resolved using dice and simple arithmetic.
But we are not here to talk about Warhammer 40K
I hope not
The game we are going to talk about today, can you please introduce that to us?
Propuh is a "Superstition themed board game", we have based it on Slavic/Balkan superstitions specifically on the superstition that being in a draft can hurt you (or kill you). The theme came by accident - a door slammed because the window was open.
What kind of game is it?
It is a 1-2 player trick taking game
In what does your game differ from similar (same type) games?
Design - Wooden box that is part of the game, wooden components and a specific theme,
It was published by which publisher?
Inter Human (my publishing company)
Is it still for sale? What's the price?
Yes. It in on sale on GameFound for 19 Euro (VAT not included) and will be on sale on the SPIEL for 24 Euro
It seems to me that this is way to cheap if I see all the work that has to be done to produce the game. I know you use machines but hey... it is still a lot of labor!
Yes it is... but the cost of living in our part of the world is lower than at your part. We don't need much.
Do you think that's a good price? Is it worth this?
Yes. The boxes are manuafcured and assembled by us in our worksop making each game unique. The gameplay is fast and easy to learn.
When did you come up with it and what exactly triggered that first ideas?
Last year after my previous campaign.
A door slammed because the window was open.
Can you tell us about the development process. How does something like this work for you?
I so designing and developing at the same time, the difference is who my collaborators are at each stage. I start with a theme or idea and make the game around it. Sometimes the end result is quite different.
Did you get help from others, are there people you play the prototypes with?
Yes, I have a lot of friends in board gaming, and we have a designer group in my home town.
When you went searching for a publisher. Was this a hard road??
I am my own publisher, so usually it works OK.
Then the publisher is going to produce it... do you still have contact or influence in that process on how it will look?
I influence it to the end.
Finally the game is ready and the boxes are in the shops. What is your role then?
Promoting and distributing.
In which countries (and languages) has your game been released?
Languages: English, Croatian, German, Dutch, Czech, Italian, Polis, Spanish, French
Are you currently working on expansions, or busy with another game? Tell!
I am working on a new game, We will bring a prototype at the SPIEL the name is "Fear of the Dark" and it is a solo game. It is horror themed and the mechanics are tile placement and push-your-luck.
Are you now a full-time professional game developper?
Most of the time, I have some other occasional "gigs" like scenery and lighting/effects on music videos.
If you could start all over making your first game, what mistake would you not make again?
Fewer copies and simpler mechanics - smaller number of mechanics definitely
Are there other game makers who you admire and why?
A few of my local friends (not published yet but creative), Jaime Stegmaier and Alan Kwapinski - they have a nice approach and are good at sharing experiences.
And illustrators, are you a fan of any of them?
None specific
Do you want to say anything else. Did I forget to ask something?
Not much. Maybe that contrary to most of my friends I enjoy the production and crowdfunding part almost as much as designing games. It is all part of an adventure for me.
Did you enjoy this interview?
Yes :)
Do you maybe have pictures? At least one of your own. Photos from the development process, sketches, rejected versions? It would be nice to show these.
You can find most good photos here.
