What Should This Game Be?
Two years ago (or so) Dave, Loren and I are at a convention in Oregon and we know we want this universe, but what type of game should it be?
We’ve all been gamers for a very long time and have played a huge host of games. So anytime you’re looking at a new game you have to decide a few things: Who will play this game? Why will they play it? And both of those questions automatically generate additional answers to the next set of questions to ask: how complex should the game be, how long should a “standard” game be, should there be an in-depth universe to go with the game, and so on. And of course the giant plethora of games we’ve played allows us to instantly compare what we’re thinking about to other games. “Well it will be like X, or it absolutely won’t be like Y.” And so on. Can be frustrating when you realize a mechanic you’ve come up with is a little too close to that X or Y…but at the end of the day, very useful.
The convention was a small one, so traffic by the booth was light. As such I was able to sketch concepts on a note pad for almost the whole weekend and the basis of the current game came from that time frame. Obviously it’s been heavily tweaked, both from my own thoughts as it progresses and from the “Leviathan Crew” of authors, not to mention continual play test feedback.
I’m trying to talk a very fine line, of course. When you’re producing a miniatures game that will be a line of products and be supported with add-on releases from the get go, the re-playability is paramount. However, with most miniatures games re-playability usually means great tactics and great tactics usually come at the cost of complexity. At the same time we want this to be a game that has a wider appeal and ease of picking up and trying than what a more traditional miniatures-style game might have (I think of it as being more “boardgame-like”). So the line I’ve been walking is trying to balance making it relatively easy to get into and play (that more boardgame-like), but with some great tactics once you get it (the miniatures-style player).
Now that’s nothing new, of course. Any game wants to try and strike that balance. But hopefully the way I’m going about striking that balance is a little re-freashing and a little new…because that’ll help spark interest and interest turns to enthusiasm and enthusiasm leads to giving the game a try…which is what this is all about, after all.
See ya next duty shift!
Randall
A long time ago, I asked a game writer friend of mine whether realism or playability should be paramount, and he passed on something another acquaintance of ours may have said once: “Do both, or don’t bother.” (Could I be a little more vague here? Why yes, Inspector, I could be.)
It took me nearly six years to realize how incorrect that really is.
The old, “realism-at-all-costs” games have all but vanished, with only GURPS still standing – and even that grand old system is gearing more and more towards pulp action. Catalyst’s flagship titles – BattleTech and Shadowrun – both try to balance suspension of disbelief (you can’t call giant robots and cybernetic trolls realistic) with ease of play and fun, and I believe they both succeed.
My hope is that Leviathans will do the same, walking the tightrope between “this sounds plausible” and “this mechanic is fun.”
There are many classic board wargames that live in memory for their attention to detail, and intensive research. Air War, Drang Nach Osten, Terrible Swift Sword, and of course Campaign for North Africa. There are others that started with a relatively plain base mechanic, which extended themselves to cover a plethora of options and circumstances. Squad Leader to ASL, Star Fleet Battles and its descendants, Starfire.
Virtually no-one plays these games any more. (Virtually no-one could play CNA even back then!)
Yet ‘beer and pretzels’ games – like Warhammer 40K, like Battletech – are still being played, by both old and new gamers. Why? Because they’re fun to play, IMHO.
Leviathans is meant to be – will be – and by the sounds of the playtesters is – fun to play.
Hello,
the game looks promising. I play a lot of boardgames(also Cosims) and tabletop
games.
The important thing is, that no one is able to event the wheel anew.
But the important thing about a new game is an innovative activation/initiative
system to simulate some kind of Fog of War and the unpredictability of your
opponents movement.
Good examples are: Order writing like Full Thrust and simultaneous movement
http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/3893
Card laying like Wings of War (not much bookkeeping)
http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/9203
Activation Markers like Waterloo
http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/36887
Chit Pull System like the World at War series
http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgamemechanic/2057
Shooting should be straight forward role a bunch of different dices (D4 light,D8 heavy..) meet a defense number and count the successes and let this be simultaneous so that both sides are permanently involved.
What is more important is how do I damage the opponents ship.
There was a great system from the old Fasa crew with different damage/ammunition templates like: Crimson Skies or Leviathan
Just my few cents
Greetings
Burkhard
Don’t forget the command system of Cold War Commander, that works pretty well to simulate fog of war.
da best. Keep it going! Thank you