Game Theory

On AI at CPG

On AI at CPG

Far Away: Corporate Espionage has a new behavior module for the alien creatures. In the lore, they are controlled by a nanobot AI. These days, the term “AI” has become overused and dripping with connotations skewed based on how much of your net worth is tied to a tech company. While I hold the controversial view that board games are not “art”, board games are one of the mediums that stand to be affected by the recent surge in AI technologies, much like illustration, graphic design, and writing. Generative AIs can create card art, write manuals, and make advertisements, all in service of Cherry Picked’s goals. Those are also things humans do. Given the tension around these AIs, I wanted to describe how CPG views generative AI and plans to use some of these tools.

Children and Secrets

Children and Secrets

Between our Tabletop Simulator mod and the world opening back up, we’re able to get more playtesting reps with Hair of the Dog. It’s great to see people loving the concept and trying to pet all the pups. We want to make this game real and get to Kickstarting it, but there are a couple of design issues to tackle first. Hair of the Dog needs to be both enjoyable at all player counts and have that undeniable Cherry Picked feeling.

CPG Design Questions - Answered

CPG Design Questions - Answered

A couple weeks ago, we shared our Cherry Picked philosophy to game design. We listed out five questions that guide our development. Since we hadn’t formalized this set before starting on our next game, we thought it would be fun to revisit our current game lineup and fill in the answers for each game. We hope this reveals our design insight and can help aspiring designers analyze the key points of their own games.