The map itself is the hardest and most critical component of variant
creation. The success of your variant (defined as people wanting to
play it) will be determined by how aesthetically pleasing the map
itself is, and how balanced the gameplay is.

As for aesthetics, that largely depends on where you start, and what
kind of graphic arts skills you have. In its most basic form, one
really doesn't need anything more than MS Paint and an outline map to
get started. Here's a site I use for a lot of my maps.

http://www.d-maps.com/

Of course, the more sophisticated (and successful) variant designers
use Paint Shop Pro or more advanced software to create much more
aesthetically pleasing maps. Their efforts are often rewarded in
player appeal, as very few will sign up to play on an ugly map.

Then there are the gameplay considerations. At the very least, I
recommend these rules of thumb:

1 - Each position should have roughly equal incentive to ally with
each of its immediate neighbours.

2 - Generally speaking, a good diplomatic dynamic is created in
"triangles" (groups of three powers being co-located, with buffer
zones or other disincentives sheltering them from early attack by
outside powers)

3 - Each power should have roughly equal prospects for overall victory.

Notice these are rightly labeled recommendations, not rules. Standard
Diplomacy at least partially complies with all three, but not rigidly.
I recommend #2 in particular for the first time variant designer,
because it provides a good starting point for achieving balance. One
can have the best looking map on the planet, but players will only
give it a single try and not return if they find that certain
positions (or certain alliances) are inevitable.

Finally - I can not recommend the Realpolitik adjudicator program
highly enough. It supports variants, has a very user-friendly
tutorial for the newbie variant designer, and is widespread throughout
the Diplomacy community. And of course, it's free, found here at the
creator's website -

http://realpolitik.sourceforge.net

Hope this helps -
B.

On 6/1/10, community(at)diplomaticcorp.com wrote:
Sean2010 posted in Community. The message was...

________________________________

"If you want any useful hints, perhaps you should
first relate to us what gives rise to this question. Do you have any
particular
project in mind?"

Yes, I have a thought for a Diplomacy variant (well a couple of variants),
but I've never operated an idea aimed to eventually be on the computer. How
would I go about doing this?

________________________________

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American Supremacy, and DarkAges Diplomacy Variants