| Setting - part 1 (FK DEV DIARY 2) |
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| Fantasy Kommander - Eukarion Wars (UD) (view all articles) |
| Scritto da Fabio |
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Setting (part 1): a global view.
Hi Generals!
Welcome to our second meeting of war!
As you can see from the map attached to this report, today I'll talk about the world where you'll lead your armies to a brilliant victory or a bloody defeat.
First of all, I have to confess that I love maps. Any kind of maps, ancient, modern, futuristic, on paper or on the screen. When I see a map with borders, streets, cities, my imagination starts to fly and I become a traveler, a free adventurer or the conqueror of the world! Any kind of world/s! So basically I have to confess to be a megalomaniacal crazy kid... maybe like Alexander the Great and his illustrious colleagues in history? Mmm, this is a question without an answer.
The map you see is the high-scale geopolitical map of the Eukarion continent in the year 800 A.D.
I suggest you to freely explore this map and start your journey in the fascinating, varied and complex world of Fantasy Kommander.
Comparing this map to Europe you will notice many geographical similarities.
In the center of the map you can see a pensinsula similar to Italy limited to the North from a chain of mountains akin to the Alps. To the east you can see a large mountain range that is similar to the Ural mountains. On the west you can see the “Iberian peninsula” with its Pyrenees mountains. Going north you'll see territories similar to France, Germany, the Scandinavian Peninsula and Great Britain. In the south you can recognize the Strait of Gibraltar, the Mediterrenean Sea and two islands that are similar to North Africa. The geographical elements that are most different from our real world are the islad of the supreme elves and the south-east. The first is completely invented (it's like the myth of Atlantis), the second (the south east) is a fusion of the Balkans, the Middle East and the Arabian Peninsula. Most rivers are modeled on the great rivers of Europe.
From a historical and political point of view Eukarion is like Medieval Europe inhabited by fantasy creatures and races like dragons, orcs, elves etc. On the historical level the background is overflowing with anachronisms. I mean , the fact that the map represents the continent in the 800 A.D., doesn't mean it's similar to the European political situation in that year. There's feudalism and a hierarchical society of nobility for sure, but the individual “states” on the map are designed with an anachronistic method. I will try to explain this better talking about single territorial entities on the map.
For example the biggest empire, Adamantia, is inspiered to the Carolingian Empire (9th Century, Dark Ages), while the smaller Grand Duchy of the Seven Towns is inspired to the Grand Duchy of Tuscany during the Reinassance (15th-16th centuries). So we have different ages, from the same period that we call Middle Ages, that live together in the same background. For this reason you'll see characters with equipments from the Dark Ages (viking axes for example) and early Renaissance (heavy plate armors). What you'll not see is what I consider “Fantasy Trash” like an Elven Ninja-Vampire in a gothic cathedral... for this kind of things we created the King's Island series and Defender of the Chicks, and if you want to laugh you should play these games and not Fantasy Kommander.
To all the crazy people that are curious to know more about the link I designed between real European history and Fantasy Kommander I give this simple list:
And now some questions for you (I hope you'll join the discussion):
In the next episode I'll talk about the other “full fantasy” Kingdoms and the place where the story of Fantasy Kommander-Eukarion Wars begins...
As always, feel free to ask me anything!
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Commenti
Buddyro2
Your questions have been asnwered thoroughly by everyone else, so I'll just say that when I play a strategy game, the most important thing to me is feeling like I want to learn more about that world I'm playing in.
I want the story behind the war, not just a series of battles on a rail. That detaches me from the game, and makes it just another mindless task.
I like when strategy games have a rich and interesting setting, backed up by an intriguing storyline that is so complex, that you could release a series of fantasy books around it, and I'd want to purchase them.
Warhammer is a good example of this. When I play a warhammer game, I know I'm entering a well established world with a strong story behind it, and interests me MUCH more.
Your map, and interest in history shows that you're taking the first steps to perking my ears up, and making me take heed to what you're doing.
Keep it up.
As you can read from the first shout of this diary it's very difficult to say a release date.
Anyway, I hope in the first half of the year (and before the end of the world
I'm really glad you like this map.
We'll do our best to write and give you a great storyline in the game.
We haven't the experience and the resources of the Blizzard, but we're working really hard to reach the best game we can.
A little gameplay feature that we added to help the narrative feature is the in-game dialogue that you'll read during the battles (if you want
Stay tuned!
Yes the game will feature Easy, Normal, Hard levels at the start of each campaign.
That said, I don't feel like the setting is used very well, or much at all, in the series. I don't really feel like I am where I'm supposed to be in each battle. Maybe this requires more attention to level layout aside from just more or less mountains. The maps in any given area should have a certain character or feel to them, like lots of rivers, or archipelagos, or forests with roads and clearings, etc. Maybe also several skins for each terrain type, for variety and character, and of course different enemy types, but that is already done to a degree. On the map level, maybe make the story less linear , so you can chose where to go next, and maybe completely conquered territories offer bonuses or resources of some sort that fit with their character.
Do you like/don't like the setting of the game?
Yes! And I must say that I am impressed with your map-making skills and the thought that went into this map!
Do you prefer fantasy or historical settings in a strategy game?
Fantasy based upon a "loose" connection to a historical context.
How important is for you the setting in a strategy game?
Fifth in rank of importance for this type of game; right behind (1) Playability, (2) Game Balance, (3) Game Sequencing and (4) Troop-type availability.
How important is for you the setting in Fantasy Kommander?
Again, rated Fifth on my 'list'.
What aspects of the game setting do you want to know better?
No comment on this, yet.
Citazione Fabivs:
Difficulty Levels? If by that you mean that the player can select (like) Easy, Normal, Hard, Impossible at the beginning of the game, then I applaud you! You can 'tweak' the AI, include more or less opponents, and control the monetary reward based upon the difficulty selection.
More later.
BDJ
A big news in this game will be rivers and snow.
Unfortunately there will be not a naval warfare. But if the game will be a success (as we hope) we'll add very fast the naval battles.
I'll say more about the armies in the next episodes of this diary
Don't worry about difficulty, the game features difficulty levels and really good tutorial to unveil all the tactical and strategical secrets on the battlefield.
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