Exodus Of The Machine Teaser 1

[x4000]

It doesn't look strategic, or play like OT, or look like a tactics game.  It looks more like a certain generally-disliked game genre that you would not see on Steam in the main.  The graphics are great -- I think so, at least -- so it's not that.  It's just how we have to present the information.  In some ways its similar to how OT presents the info, but it's even more similar to how a more recent (much maligned) genre does.

In other words, this game doesn't look like any of the genres that it actually is.  And yeah that's kind of the problem, but that can't be changed (it wasn't my idea in the first place, but even if it had been I think the current way of doing it brilliant and the right way to go).

I'm probably killing enthusiasm for the game here, with all these admonishments.  I'm just saying it's a really unusual blend (isn't it always?) and people who are uninformed will jump to wrong conclusions without a nudge.  That's really the TLDR.

Tidalis didn't even get 30 seconds to make its case, because people would see the first screenshot and think "oh match 3" and click away.  Who wants that, right?  I think the same will be true here if we're not careful.

[keith.lamothe]

I don't particularly have fond memories of Oregon Trail, I always thought it was kind of a stupid game. But I remember as a kid that EVERYONE ELSE did

I'm not sure people so much enjoyed Oregon Trail as they enjoy telling jokes about how painful it was.

I played a few games of it while designing this and had some pretty serious RNG-rage (I'm doing awesome and I'm 90% of the way to the end and YAY a wagon fire just wiped out my huge food stockpile) and "this hunting minigame is total bs"-rage

I'm not emulating that.

[mrhanman]

Put another way, if we just showed a short bit of raw footage of the game, people would never guess the genre.

I think this statement needs a test.  Just show us the footage, and let us try to guess the genre! 

I wonder if the Skyward Collapse forum is jealous of this one... 

[chemical_art]

I think the same will be true here if we're not careful.

True that.

You have to decide how you want to reveal it.

Giving a shout it is great. But if you give it first, you are giving the impression it takes the largest share of inspiration, if not downright modding it. It is not easy to shake off that feeling after the fact. If you lead with your "thing", you give the impression it is more unique, a blend of ideas or new ones.

[Penumbra]

It doesn't look strategic, or play like OT, or look like a tactics game.  It looks more like a certain generally-disliked game genre that you would not see on Steam in the main. 

This should be your tag line. So intriguing! A non-strategic, non-tactics game that doesn't play like OT, but is like a strategic and tactical OT.... O_o

Does it look like.... a dating sim? A spread sheet? An origami simulator?

Wait, I know!

- The gameplay will be a mix of Tetris, Jenga and Hungry, Hungry Hippo.

[chemical_art]

I'm not sure people so much enjoyed Oregon Trail as they enjoy telling jokes about how painful it was.

I played a few games of it while designing this and had some pretty serious RNG-rage (I'm doing awesome and I'm 90% of the way to the end and YAY a wagon fire just wiped out my huge food stockpile) and "this hunting minigame is total bs"-rage

I'm not emulating that.

Also keep in mind the game is almost 30 years old. There are plenty of people who have no idea what it is aside from the jokes, if not more so. Since so many of those jokes are of RNG antics...the perception may not be so rosy.

[chemical_art]

It doesn't look strategic, or play like OT, or look like a tactics game.  It looks more like a certain generally-disliked game genre that you would not see on Steam in the main. 

This should be your tag line. So intriguing! A non-strategic, non-tactics game that doesn't play like OT, but is like a strategic and tactical OT.... O_o

You are right! This is what I mean. If at the end of a paragraph you think "I want to know more now!" Then mission accomplished, trailer successful.

[Wingflier]

It's like an OT that doesn't give you dysentery! Except when you deserve it...which is always...

[keith.lamothe]

It's like an OT that doesn't give you dysentery! Except when you deserve it...which is always...

Yea, we'll probably give you a medic roll.  To be nice.

You didn't run out of medkits already, right?

[Wingflier]

OKAY I'VE GOT IT:

It's like Oregon Trail, but with nukes.  Dysentery Nukes. Make your enemies feel their bowels your pain.

[x4000]

Well, we'll do the best we can on initial reveals of more info, and then seek more info for later materials from folks once they are in the know as well. For now we'll bear all the suggestions in mind and deal with the challenge of presenting it effectively as we can. Keith, you're free to say more but I don't want to step on your toes by revealing even the genre it would be mistaken as.

By the by though: we're still polishing things like the GUI visuals and don't want to show any of that until its something that could be (and may actually be) final quality. We are on something like major revision 32 of the GUI at this point. Not function, mostly, but just making the visuals more and more intricate and interesting.

[keith.lamothe]

It's like Oregon Trail, but with nukes. 

There's something to that.

Dysentery Nukes.

But not to that. Ew.

[chemical_art]

OKAY I'VE GOT IT:

It's like Oregon Trail, but with nukes.  Dysentery Nukes. Make your enemies feel their bowels your pain.

I lost my coffee...

[where are my forum buttons? I want to laugh]


I'm going to break the grain and wonder if somehow this is pre the civil war in ai wars.

[keith.lamothe]

I'm going to break the grain and wonder if somehow this is pre the civil war in ai wars.

Not pre-civil-war.

[chemical_art]

...Roguelike...

except it has already been hinted at it will be best suited to arcen in the future...

hmmm