Resources
Getting custom game pieces can be expensive, and early in the design process, when you are not certain whether a given piece will still be needed by the end, it is often not worth the cost. Thankfully, there are several alternatives.Generic Game Equipment
Generic game equipment is any kind of game part that is used in so many games that it is easy to find the part by itself. The most common examples are dice, playing cards, and poker chips. These can be found in nearly any store that sells general goods. If you need less common kinds of dice, they can be found in many hobby or game shops, along with a vast array of other pieces that are often suitable for game design. Most generic game equipment is so cheap that you don't have to feel bad about modifying it to fit your needs, for example, drawing numbers or symbols on poker chips in permanent marker or writing on a deck of playing cards.
Repurposed or Improvised Game Equipment
Repurposed game equipment is parts scavenged from other games. Ideally it comes from games that you have lost parts to or otherwise do not care about, but you might even temporarily borrow dice or playing pieces from a game you still play. Sometimes though, you might just want to buy a second copy of a game already have and scrap it for parts.
I once bought several chess sets for pawns (in game design terms, a pawn is any piece used to represent a player, a character, or a unit). I then used the pieces from the chess games to construct sets for three players for my game, and I spray painted the third set to get the third color. Decorative figurines can also be used as pawns. Another common improvised game piece when people have lost pawns to a game is Lego figures or even just a few Lego blocks stacked. You might also borrow or steal a spinner or special dice (Warhammer has some interesting dice) from another game.
Repurposed and improvised game equipment work really well when you cannot find a suitable generic piece or when you just don't have access to a better option.
Custom Game Equipment
Custom game equipment is custom parts that you pay someone else to manufacture for you. There are many ways to do this, but the easiest is through a number of online companies that produce game parts. Generally ordering custom parts should happen late in the design process. It is unwise to expect your game to use all of the same parts at the end that it did when you first designed it. Ordering custom equipment early on is a good way to waste money.
Commonly available custom game equipment includes custom printed cards, tokens, and game boards. Some places may offer an assortment of different types of pawns, and if you need something that is just not available, you can even get plastic or metal (or ceramic, in some cases) parts 3D printed.
The problem with custom game equipment is that it is expensive. Ordering small quantities of anything custom made is expensive. On the other hand, if you are working on marketing your game, it may be worth the cost to be able to show photos of what the finished product will look like to potential customers. Another problem with custom game equipment is production and shipping time. If you have a strict deadline, and you don't know if the parts will arrive on time, you may want to go with the next option.
Homebrew Game Equipment
It turns out it is not horribly difficult to make your own game parts from scratch. A game board could be hand drawn on card stock or foam board. If you have access to a wide format printer, you might print the game board and then glue the paper to cardboard or foam board (use spray adhesive to avoid wrinkling your paper).
Some good materials for homebrew game parts include craft foam, chip board, card stock, paper, and bake clay. Craft foam is good for coins and markers, and it makes a good backing when printed card stock is not thick enough by itself. Chip board is the kind of cardboard that cereal boxes are made from, and you can get it in different thicknesses. It is good for game boards, coins, and markers. I have used chip board with a large hole punch (3/4 of an inch, I believe) to make game coins (I wrote the numbers in permanent marker). Card stock is easier to cut than chip board, and it comes in a variety of colors. It can also be printed on in most printers. If it is not thick enough, you can glue it to craft foam before cutting. Paper is good for a lot of things, but one commonly overlooked use is papercraft. There are instructions all over the internet for making 3D objects out of paper or cardstock, and many of these things can make good game pieces. Bake clay is for when you want a custom piece that needs to be heavier or more complex than you can make with paper. You just sculpt the pieces you need, bake them (according to the instructions on the package), and you have exactly the piece that you need.
In general, homebrew game equipment is less expensive than any other option, but it also takes more time. Sometimes though, you need a piece that you cannot get any other way.
Examples
Here are some examples of improvised and homebrewed game equipment my students have used (I will add more as I see more).
- Small action figures
- Plastic beads hot glued together to make pawns (different colors for different players/units)
- Guitar picks with nail polish text or graphics
- Glass fish tank beads
- Coins (usually pennies)
Artwork
Artwork is a problem for any kind of game design, and the difficulty of obtaining artwork has caused many independent game projects to fail. It is generally a good policy to start looking for artwork quite early on. There are several sources for artwork.Contracted
There are plenty of artists that are willing to make custom art for you, if you are willing to pay them. I don't have any experience with contracting out artwork, but when I asked a more experienced friend about what to expect, he said that artists found at game conventions charge around $100 for a piece of art you might find on a card from Magic: The Gathering. Contracting enough art for a serious game could run in the thousands of dollars at those prices.
Hired
You could hire someone to do all of the artwork for your game. This is what commercial companies do. You will probably pay significantly less than you would for contract art, but this is also going to be expensive. One benefit of hiring a graphic artist is that you will get a more consistent art style throughout your game than you will if you contract out difference pieces of work to different artists.
Purchase Existing Work
There are places online where you can buy the rights to use existing artwork. This is probably the cheapest way to buy artwork, but you will need to be careful to make sure you are completely aware of what you are getting. Many art sites that sell stock art have non-commercial use clauses that would prevent you from making any money from selling your game. Also, it can be quite difficult to find game quality artwork on stock art sites. Besides all of this, even at the cheaper price, this option is often out of reach of independent game designers.
Get a Friend to Do It
If you happen to know someone with decent art skills, you might ask them to do the artwork for your game, perhaps with some kind of agreement to give them part of the profits if the game is successful. Unfortunately, the average friend that can draw is not a trained artist, so the art quality is likely to be lower. Also, anyone who is not a professional artist probably has less time to work on your project, which means you will have to wait longer or deal with even lower quality from rushed work. For something like a school project though, this is probably fine.
Find Free Artwork
This can be an excellent way to get artwork for your game, but it comes with its own hurdles. It is unlikely you will be able to find exactly what you want, but you might be able to get close enough. Also, you need to be extremely careful about licensing. Some free art is licensed as non-commercial use, which would prevent you from selling your game. You should avoid using free artwork unless the source includes the exact license you are allowed to use the artwork under (some people release their art under multiple free licenses for flexibility, in which case, you will need to decide which license you are using it under). It is good practice to keep track of all sources for free artwork along with the licenses each piece of art can be used under. Before using free artwork, make sure you understand the license.
Free artwork is generally the best option for independent game developers (or students making games for a class). It can be hard to find suitable art though, so start looking for good art for your game early in the process. You don't want to get to the artwork part and suddenly have to stop. Also, make sure you understand any legal restrictions on how you use the art. If someone does challenge your right to use the art, any records you have kept of the source of the art and the license it is used under will be important in showing that you have not done anything wrong.
Once of the most reputable free game art sites I have used is OpenGameArt.Org. I even have a personal friend who has released artwork on this site. The site owner imposes strict rules on what can be submitted, and he takes some effort to ensure that any art put on the site is actually released under the licenses it is claimed to be released under. Also, the page for each art asset includes a list of licenses it is released under (generally with links to pages describing what they mean).
There are many other free art sites around. A quick Google search will bring up many of them. Just remember, it is ultimately your own responsibility to make sure you have permission to use the artwork you are using.
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