I definitely borrowed from familiar tropes when writing the game's setting, and I think it's a great way to immediately make a setting familiar to the reader/player. You're using a common language and it's easier to work from there as a starting point.
Not so much cliche. I felt more like borrowed ideas from ”Silent hill” and other horror games/settings morphed together with the created original ideas which made a clashing solo soup that is ”Under ashen skies”. I don’t know how you will take on this game and make it work procuderal and such but I know this game needs it :).
Thanks for great response with much to think about. Let me say that the combat will be more streamlined and there will be fewer things to track. I agree that’s all a bit much. I want the gameplay to be more fast moving with fast paced, brutal combat. Also there’ll be a lot more places to explore and side quests to follow!
I’m a long way off the play test phase, but please do volunteer when the time comes. Also you’ve got me wondering now if I should play Silent Hill to get the flavour of the game…
Well... I will try to explain and give some thought on this. Now I am no game designer at the moment. As I probibly have said before, I wrote a lot in the past... both short novels and adventures for my own ttrpg groups. So this is not trash-talk or anything like that at all. And it´s been a long time since I played this game.
I played the game in hope of getting a really dark setting, a apartment building with a lot of exploring, some philosphy and gruesome enemies/combat.
And yes a lot of it IS there-but for me it wasn´t working.
The enemies felt bland and uninspired. The combat...nah. I expected more feel to it. I like "theater of the mind". I practically never play with minniatures any more.. sold my collection...hehe.
So some sort of combat system with some narrative so to speak.
The tracking of time should be quite simple in this game due to its horror nature. You don`t want to get caught sitting journaling and being in thjs constant cycle of stress that feels more like bookkeeping and math than survival atmosphere. I mean that I would like to have a simple mechanic which makes me feel the stress. In other games I want more slow crunch and lengthy rules... (against the darkmaster, mythras etc)
When mixing these mechanics together it makes a soup with a little too many flavours :).
For example if I play in a mourge I want to track time (in this kind of game) by just ticking off boxes so to speak and know that if I do this or that the walking dead will catch up and there is a fight. I want to really feel the stress by have to use simple mechanics.
Or I hear a scream and the mechanic is telling me that my friend will be skinned alive in this amount of time and a clock gets going...
We discussed locations early on and I think that is a mayor thing in this game. Let the apartment building have some floors and an elevator that´s not working all the time.... And a town to actually visit outside with stores etc.
A hospital, some old museum etc.
Think about "legends" in "Forbidden lands". You can use the same map but have a few alternative stories to play through.
The apartment complex can have "a story about a missing child", a story about a "serial killer who disappeared in the walls", or a story about doors shifting depending on the day"...you name it. The place can be the same but with a lot of different "missions" using different aspects.
And I like the fact tha you don´t play a hero. It doesn´t have to be a villian with amnesia but as soon as I get to play ordinary people it gets exciting :). That´s why I like to play "Ker nethalas" as a commoner some times :).
I think (or know) that in the end when you as a designer has nailed every prompt for Your game without listening TOO much on other people, then you get the chance to show your own creation. And that is just what Alex did (does) with his games. But this one is not that good and I just had higher hopes for it.
But as for you Mr W. I think you are on right track for making this work.
And I would like to do some play testing when possible.
I definitely borrowed from familiar tropes when writing the game's setting, and I think it's a great way to immediately make a setting familiar to the reader/player. You're using a common language and it's easier to work from there as a starting point.
Fully agree with that, Alex. If we don’t draw on tropes there’s nothing for players to grab hold onto!
Not so much cliche. I felt more like borrowed ideas from ”Silent hill” and other horror games/settings morphed together with the created original ideas which made a clashing solo soup that is ”Under ashen skies”. I don’t know how you will take on this game and make it work procuderal and such but I know this game needs it :).
Thanks for great response with much to think about. Let me say that the combat will be more streamlined and there will be fewer things to track. I agree that’s all a bit much. I want the gameplay to be more fast moving with fast paced, brutal combat. Also there’ll be a lot more places to explore and side quests to follow!
I’m a long way off the play test phase, but please do volunteer when the time comes. Also you’ve got me wondering now if I should play Silent Hill to get the flavour of the game…
Sometimes my english doesn’t make up for all the thinking when trying to get the right words out… hehe. But hopefully you get the Idea :).
Could you maybe give me a quick “need to know” on what you think didn’t work with the original, so I can be sure to avoid it or revamp?
For example, could you amplify on “clashing solo soup?”
Hmmm... now I am on a spot here...hehe.
Well... I will try to explain and give some thought on this. Now I am no game designer at the moment. As I probibly have said before, I wrote a lot in the past... both short novels and adventures for my own ttrpg groups. So this is not trash-talk or anything like that at all. And it´s been a long time since I played this game.
I played the game in hope of getting a really dark setting, a apartment building with a lot of exploring, some philosphy and gruesome enemies/combat.
And yes a lot of it IS there-but for me it wasn´t working.
The enemies felt bland and uninspired. The combat...nah. I expected more feel to it. I like "theater of the mind". I practically never play with minniatures any more.. sold my collection...hehe.
So some sort of combat system with some narrative so to speak.
The tracking of time should be quite simple in this game due to its horror nature. You don`t want to get caught sitting journaling and being in thjs constant cycle of stress that feels more like bookkeeping and math than survival atmosphere. I mean that I would like to have a simple mechanic which makes me feel the stress. In other games I want more slow crunch and lengthy rules... (against the darkmaster, mythras etc)
When mixing these mechanics together it makes a soup with a little too many flavours :).
For example if I play in a mourge I want to track time (in this kind of game) by just ticking off boxes so to speak and know that if I do this or that the walking dead will catch up and there is a fight. I want to really feel the stress by have to use simple mechanics.
Or I hear a scream and the mechanic is telling me that my friend will be skinned alive in this amount of time and a clock gets going...
We discussed locations early on and I think that is a mayor thing in this game. Let the apartment building have some floors and an elevator that´s not working all the time.... And a town to actually visit outside with stores etc.
A hospital, some old museum etc.
Think about "legends" in "Forbidden lands". You can use the same map but have a few alternative stories to play through.
The apartment complex can have "a story about a missing child", a story about a "serial killer who disappeared in the walls", or a story about doors shifting depending on the day"...you name it. The place can be the same but with a lot of different "missions" using different aspects.
And I like the fact tha you don´t play a hero. It doesn´t have to be a villian with amnesia but as soon as I get to play ordinary people it gets exciting :). That´s why I like to play "Ker nethalas" as a commoner some times :).
I think (or know) that in the end when you as a designer has nailed every prompt for Your game without listening TOO much on other people, then you get the chance to show your own creation. And that is just what Alex did (does) with his games. But this one is not that good and I just had higher hopes for it.
But as for you Mr W. I think you are on right track for making this work.
And I would like to do some play testing when possible.
Have a nice day!
Clinche Island. Sounds like a world's name... or subsector's name.