The Great Designer Search

A few years ago, Magic R&D held something called the Great Designer Search. It was an online contest for a job at WotC designing Magic cards, where thousands applied and were eventually weeded down to 15 finalists. Then, those finalists were put through a series of elimination rounds, the final-finalists getting a job interview for the position.

Watching the GDS was a pretty big deal for me. I was just finishing high school and had recently decided that I was probably never going to be a famous novelist or comic writer. But watching the GDS, my thought was, "I can do that. I could be one of the best at game design if I work at it." Since then, I've always considered game design to be my eventual calling. I designed an RPG System for my senior project in high school and have tinkered with it quite a bit since. I design board game rules and Magic cards when I get bored in class. I write this blog.

This January, Aaron Forsythe (the head of Magic R&D) dropped a hint that led me to believe we might see a second GDS this year. As I'm graduating from college this year and looking for my place in the world, it seemed all-too-perfect and I spent a few days fantasizing about the possibility before filing it away. Then, last week, Mark Rosewater ended his column with, "Join me next week when I rinse and repeat (plus I have some exciting news you are not going to want to miss)." It all came flooding back. Was there really a chance? I wondered, Could there be a second Great Designer Search this year?

This week, it was announced that the Great Designer Search 2 would begin this month. I nearly died. I was simultaneously out of my mind with joy at the opportunity and terror that I might screw it up after all waiting all these years. Now, a few days later, I have calmed down enough to discuss the situation rationally, but overwhelming joy/terror still describes my feelings accurately.

I'll be spending the next three weeks studying design articles and the previous GDS, practicing card design, and going through all my old notes. I might not succeed in the end, but it won't be for lack of trying.