Prototypes and Unpublished Designs

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Current works in progress (August 2011)

Posted by Nigel Buckle

26 Aug 2011

Nigel Buckle

(bucklen_uk)

United Kingdom
Forest Hill
London

Now called Omega Centauri (by Spiral Galaxy Games) release date tbc

* (Alien) Ascendancy

Originally JKLM agreed to publish Ascendancy in 2006, and opened pre-orders in Feb 2008, but it never actually got published. JKLM liquidated in Feb 2010, and finally I got the rights back in September 2010.

Now Spiral Galaxy Games have taken on the game

but it needs a new name and the final decision over the name isn't mine to make.

I've made some changes to the game compared with what JKLM were intending to publish (most of these are reversing some of the changes JKLM made, such as limiting races to 4, some are alterations I've wanted to make but didn't suggest it for fear of delaying the game further!). I posted some of them (although they've been altered a bit after testing)

I've pulled these all together, done some more playtesting and submitted everything to the publisher.

* Invader Sector 831

A 'filler' level sci-fi themed multiplayer game, where each player takes a succession of races (each with a unique technology) and invades a sector of space.

Submitted to several publishers - no interest

now considering reworking this to (re)use my old Ascendancy prototype ... so there is a variable map and better back-story for the races.

* Ascendancy Express

A rework of Omega Centauri using dice drafting rather than focus cards/actions as the central mechanic. Shorter, faster and more tactical. It needs rulebook rewrite then it could go out to blind playtest, but I'm not saying much more as I don't want to distract from Ascendancy.

* Deck building game

Dusted off an earlier design and done some work to retheme it and try to use part of my Ascendancy prototype (so it's almost Ascendancy the deck building game) where the central mechanic of pick 3 from 5 focus cards is changed to a deck, and as the game progresses you modify it, needs work as currently takes much much too long (around twice as long as Ascendancy ...)

I'm writing a blog about this games development if anyone is interested ...

* Drafting game

Undergone several reworks including retheming - initally I designed this game after playing Fairy Tale and wanting more 'game' along with the draft mechanic.

Several publishers have looked at the various versions, no interest and now probably eclipsed by 7 Wonders. Well on the back burner now.

* Dungeon Crawl

I loved the concept of Dungeon Lords but it wasn't the game I was looking for. I want to play a game where I build a bunch of heroes and raid an opponents dungeon, while building my own and fighting off my opponents.

Still kicking ideas around, stitching the 2 parts is problematic - nothing firm enough for a playtest

7 Comments

Fri Aug 26, 2011 2:41 pm

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Barry Kendall

(Barry Kendall)

United States
Lebanon
Pennsylvania

Nigel, thanks for the update. I like the idea of the reciprocal dungeon-crawl system (invade one, defend one), but I hope you'll do it in such a way that the penetratin of one dungeon and the defense of another does not have to be carried out simultaneously. My brain has a limited capacity for identifying with divergent missions; directing a dungeon party while coordinating a command of orcs, spiders, trolls, rats with hyperactive thyroids, bats, balrogs and whatever else inhabits the neighborhood would be rather taxing.

I'd prefer being able to play the sides sequentially; perhaps others won't agree.

Re "Invader Sector 831," is there any chance this could be re-themed to earth in the early colonization era? Perhaps the publisher problem is a matter of too many space-conquest games just now.

Actually, what I'd really like to see is this game turned into an alien invasion of earth in the contemporary era, but perhaps your system wouldn't work for that. Just a thought.

Posted Fri Aug 26, 2011 3:28 pm
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Nigel Buckle

(bucklen_uk)

United Kingdom
Forest Hill
London

Now called Omega Centauri (by Spiral Galaxy Games) release date tbc

Barry Kendall wrote:

Right - that's one of the problems. I don't want 2 games in one that you are playing simultaneous. So the way you build your dungeon and your heroes needs to be linked or similar, equally there needs to be some way to ensure you don't concentrate on one and ignore the other (such as forcing you to adventure with your 'heroes' so you can't just build an impossible dungeon, or similarly recruit/train a killer band of characters to stomp your opponents while leaving your dungeon as a small hole containing 1 gp guarded by a half blind insane goblin).

It all sounds great in theory, but is proving a headache to design - and I don't want to rely on players behaving 'sensibly' for the game to work.

Don't expect this will be in a form suitable for playtest anytime soon unless I have an epiphany.

Barry Kendall wrote:

Re "Invader Sector 831," is there any chance this could be re-themed to earth in the early colonization era? Perhaps the publisher problem is a matter of too many space-conquest games just now.

Well when I was first pitching Omega Centauri back in (starts counting on fingers ...) 2005 I was told "Space Games don't sell" so my track record of designing for maximum sales isn't great!

Original theme was conquest of Britain (Pre-Roman to Norman) - but in the process of submitting turns out a certain publisher would object seriously to any game themed around that ... whistle

Early Colonisation era has the problem you play a nation and go smash the natives, which is fine, but my game has waves of invaders.

Ancient era already has lots of these types of game. Plus I'm a sucker for Sci-Fi, you don't have to try to model 'reality'

Barry Kendall wrote:

Actually, what I'd really like to see is this game turned into an alien invasion of earth in the contemporary era, but perhaps your system wouldn't work for that. Just a thought.

Could do - although scale is larger than a single planet at the moment. I have an old design where each player was an Earth nation AND an alien, and the game was invade/defend earth, but humans could be an alien in disguise and aliens could be pro human ... but it was rather mind blowing trying to play 2 sides at once, especially with hidden loyalty. Could revist that I suppose (but why not just play BSG instead?)

Have you played Target Earth? I've not, but it looks like it might be what you're after ...

Edited Fri Aug 26, 2011 4:30 pm
Posted Fri Aug 26, 2011 3:44 pm
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Space Monster

(signjc)

United States
Canton
Michigan

Just brainstorming here - For you dungeon crawl game, you could combine with deck building.

Play some cards for gold to purchase heroes, monsters, equipment, traps, lairs and defenses. Play your remaining cards in two piles face down - one stack is your hero deck and one is your monster deck. After both players have taken their turns, reveal simultaneously and resolve.

Your monsters attack your opponent's heroes and vice versa. Anything that survives stays in play. Points are scored for trashing your opponent's cards. You could level up monsters and heroes and equip them. Other cards could provide modifiers while in play or maybe you could put the heroes and monsters into specific locations.

Something along those lines would meld the two aspects of the game together.

Posted Sat Aug 27, 2011 2:37 am
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Barry Kendall

(Barry Kendall)

United States
Lebanon
Pennsylvania

Nigel, thanks for responding.

I looked at "Target Earth" but prefer a different approach in which no Earth power aligns with the aliens but instead each walks a line between mutual support/cooperation (military, research, refugee sustenance) and seeking to maintain national survival with an eye to the "post-invasion world" (if there is one--hence the players' dilemma in a mixed cooperative/individual-goals game).

Re the dungeon game, I had a thought: could you employ the old siblings-cut-the-cake system (one child cuts the pieces, but the others choose their piece before the cutter) in which each player devises a dungeon, then bids for which dungeon their own party will explore--or, alternately, in a given gaming session one player outfits two dungeon parties and the other sets up two dungeons, then in each case the other player chooses which party to run and which dungeon to penetrate?

In this case players could play out one dungeon plunge in one session and the other in the next, comparing relative gains/losses to determine victory.

I like your concepts, don't give up, you'll find a solution.

Too bad about the conquests of Britain issue, surely there's space for more than one game on the subject. Just look at the Battle of the Bulge! Imagine if AH had nixed everybody else's Bulge game! Unthinkable.

I do see your point on the problem of trying colonization; it would almost have to be a situation in which colonizers encounter different indigenous peoples with different socioeconomic/technical/military systems. But there have been cases in which this was the case--just consider Africa from 1850 to 1900.

Good luck sorting it out, please keep us informed!

Posted Sat Aug 27, 2011 5:16 am
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Ethan Nicholas

(dragonnyxx)

United States
Wake Forest
North Carolina

What about an asymmetric dungeon crawl? One player devises the dungeon and traps, the other players form a party and navigate the dungeon? Obviously on first blush that sounds a lot like Descent: Journeys in the Dark, but I'm thinking there's room in this space for a game with a very different feel ("Dungeon Lords with player-controlled opposition").

So the first half of the game is the buildup -- the Dungeon Keeper gathers resources, recruits monsters, and builds and outfits his dungeon (face down!), while the adventurers try to thwart his plans, and in the process they level up, learn spells, and gather equipment. Then at some point the players are powerful enough to actually enter the dungeon itself and try to fight their way to the Dungeon Keeper for a climactic final showdown. What do you think?

Posted Mon Aug 29, 2011 8:17 pm
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László Stadler

(stadi)

Hungary
Budapest

Invader Sector 831 and Ascendancy Express sound great!

Keep the sci-fi theme, use nice art and then I'm in. Let us know if there are any news regarding these.

Posted Fri Oct 14, 2011 1:48 pm
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Nigel Buckle

(bucklen_uk)

United Kingdom
Forest Hill
London

Now called Omega Centauri (by Spiral Galaxy Games) release date tbc

stadi wrote:

Invader Sector 831 and Ascendancy Express sound great!

Keep the sci-fi theme, use nice art and then I'm in. Let us know if there are any news regarding these.

Well Invader Sector 831 is 'finished' apart from decent art (even have a rule book ... I hate writing rules), submitted to some publishers, no interest.

If/when I have time and inclination I'll revisit it to make a variable map and change the races to match Omega Centauri - so rather than have wave after wave of new races with new technology you get the same race with some minor change to it (representing different leaders, agendas, ship design etc) along with a new technology. Have what to do in rough notes, but not actually done it.

Ascendancy Express - which now needs a new name - Die-Cendancy maybe? whistle

needs the rulebook written (did I mention I hate writing rules?) and I need to work out suggested starting technologies for your first game for 2,3 and 4 players - so the first play experience isn't a disaster because only 1 combat technology was available etc [not that only having one is a disaster, as long as you know the game and how to deal with it ... for your first game you won't]

Posted Fri Oct 14, 2011 2:30 pm
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Prototypes and Unpublished Designs

Current works in progress (August 2011)

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