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Whats in a name?

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Mon, 08/08/2016 - 17:08
mcobb83
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So, I have been working on this game for some time (about 7 months now) and things are going well. It performs very well in play tests and people are always hard pressed to come up with negative comments. Things are going so well in fact, that we have planned our schedule to have the game on Kickstarter before Christmas. But there is one glaring issue.

The name. What to call the game.

Throughout production so far the game has been known as either Great Heathen Army (a reference to the miltary expedition of 866 in England by the same name) or Viking Invasion. We've come to the point now where we want a name to publish under, something with a little flare and excitement. My co-publisher and I have come up with some ideas, but we aren't certain which one is best. I'd like to know what you all think.

(game background- its a cooperative game where the players must work together to protect Wessex from raiding vikings whilst at the same time striving to build up the country to withstand a large scale invasion)

Ideas-
Defenders of Wessex: Viking Horde
The Viking Terror
Fury of the Vikings (or Fury of the Northmen)

Thoughts?

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Mon, 08/08/2016 - 18:19
#1
ElKobold
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Whatever the name,

Whatever the name, releasing before Christmas is a decision you will regret.

it's extremely short time to prepare a campaign.

Just some of the things you need to take care of:

- Create a page on BGG
- Make a presentation video.
- Make a campaign page which looks professional.
- Create 3-5 prototypes.
- Find reviewers who are available and will be able to review your game on time.
- Negotiate with production partner
- Figure out the exact weight of your game, find the fulfillment partner, calculate shipment expenses.
- Plan stretchgoals and plan how they affect your production and shipping costs
- Book advertisement slots
- Plan how you will deal with post-KS (pledgemanager)

etc. etc. etc.

Making the game is maybe 10% of the whole effort.

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Mon, 08/08/2016 - 18:32
#2
mcobb83
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Most of the things you have

Most of the things you have brought up have been planned for.

Once artwork is complete and the first printed copy is in hand, the BGG page will go up. (Should be within 6 weeks).

My co-producer also studied TV and film production at university and as soon as the printed copy is in hand we will be creating several videos.

My brother is a talented Internet design sort of person and will be handling the campaign page when we are ready for it.

We will be using The Game Crafter for printing and shipping the campaign, which handles both the production partner and fulfillment partner requirement.

Stretch goals and pledge levels are planned.

Once art is complete, but before the finished copy arrives I will be contacting reviewers (I have a list of about 12 so far to contact) and sewing what their requirements are to put together a review.

So really the big hurdle right now is artwork, but before artwork can conclude we need to decide what title to put on the box. Which brings me back to the original question....

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Mon, 08/08/2016 - 19:10
#3
X3M
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Viking-Fury! As addition.

Viking-Fury!

As addition. Don't assume that the printing is correct right away. Get the 3 to 5 copies first as "end" prototypes. If these are correctly printed (mistakes can happen!) you are good to go for the major bulk.

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Mon, 08/08/2016 - 19:14
#4
ElKobold
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Btw, it was a while since

Btw, it was a while since you've promised to share some glimpses of your game with us. A rulebook maybe?

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Mon, 08/08/2016 - 19:38
#5
mcobb83
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Yes, the v2.1 rulebook should

Yes, the v2.1 rulebook should be up tonight or tomorrow. I discovered as I read through it that there is an insane amount of cumbersome wording and a few things that don't make sense because of changes that were made but not fully implemented in the rule book. So I have been editing away, and it should be done in the next few hours if the kids go to bed well.

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Mon, 08/08/2016 - 21:01
#6
Zag24
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mcobb83

mcobb83 wrote:

Ideas-
Defenders of Wessex: Viking Horde
The Viking Terror
Fury of the Vikings (or Fury of the Northmen)

The name should describe what they players are doing, not what they are fighting against. (Pandemic is the obvious counter-example, but I think that with that name, it's pretty obvious that the players are not taking on the role of the pandemic.)

The first name, therefore, is the only one that fits this criterion. However, that sounds a little like the name for an expansion. I might overlook it because I don't already have "Defenders of Wessex."

I kind of like just "Defenders of Wessex," but I think I am biased because I know a lot about that time period, so the name Wessex already carries, for me, a lot of positive energy.

Does one of the players take the role of Alfred? How about Alfred the Great? (Checking the dates, I see you're just before his time.)

What about Æthelred (Alfred's brother) or Æthelwulf (Alfred's father)? For people who know the name, they'll immediately know what the game is about. For those who don't, it is exotic and memorable, I think. Your game is actually set during Æthelred's tenure, long after Æthelwulf was dead, but Æthelwulf is a cooler name.

So here are my ideas. I'm not convinced there's a winner, there.
Æthelwulf
Æthelred
Æthelred of Wessex
Æthelred, King of Wessex

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Mon, 08/08/2016 - 23:03
#7
mcobb83
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Actual game play begins in

Actual game play begins in 871, the year of Alfred's coronation, th ought it references the previous 5 years to give back story.

The players each take the role of a member of Alfred's Witanagemot (his body of advisors basically). I did that because none of their names/personas are recorded and it gave me the freedom to design the characters according to the game needs.

The only reason the game isn't already called "Defenders of Wessex" is because (as has been pointed out to me by multiple people) not many people actually know what Wessex was, and it was thought that incorporating Vikings into the title would draw more attention. Personally myself, a game called Defenders of Wessex would draw my eye if I saw it on the shelf, but then I am a historian so I already know what it is.

But good thought anyway! I will keep it on the short list.

I look forward to other comments! Every little thing helps.

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Tue, 08/09/2016 - 01:51
#8
Soulfinger
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Well, I dig "Great Heathen

Well, I dig "Great Heathen Army" if it isn't too much of a turnoff for your core audience of Pentacostal soccer moms. As I understand it, having "Viking" in the title won't exactly set you apart from the competition. You could do the cover art with this big looming monolithic title overshadowing all of England.

Just make sure to have an stretch goal expansion that allows one player to control American reinforcement. Having bailed the U.K. out in WW1 and WW2, it is just inevitable that we'll go back and pitch in throughout all of history. Like the War of Independence where United States soldiers arrived to help the British fight off the terrorists who were trying to take over America. Woops.

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Tue, 08/09/2016 - 13:10
#9
Zag24
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mcobb83 wrote:Actual game

mcobb83 wrote:
Actual game play begins in 871, the year of Alfred's coronation, th ought it references the previous 5 years to give back story.

The players each take the role of a member of Alfred's Witanagemot (his body of advisors basically). I did that because none of their names/personas are recorded and it gave me the freedom to design the characters according to the game needs.


I like this a lot. I assume one character is a painfully pious Bishop, another a recently-converted Saxon lord (whose true conversion might be in some doubt), another is the spy-master, etc. Do they have different abilities? Is this an actual historical game, or is it a fantasy version of the time?

I hate to say this, but I don't want to see this as a true co-op game -- I want there to be infighting within the Witenagemot. (Note the spelling, btw. Edit: This seems to be spelled both ways. I got mine from Wikipedia, but I see other sources with your spelling.) Perhaps where cooperation and success gains Alfred's favor, and any backstabbing will lose it. But that's a totally different game.

Anyway, with your theme, I think "Alfred the Great" works well as a title.

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Tue, 08/09/2016 - 17:16
#10
mcobb83
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There is a bishop (well,

There is a bishop (well, about anyway) among the characters. The game is as historical as I could make it, so no weird creatures or magic. Everything in the game follows it's historical name (eg the light infantry are called fyrdmen) and the game board is a close as possible in regards to locations of towns and monasteries as possible to Wessex circa 871.

The original version was much more of a not true coop, where players could pursue their own agendas to the benefit or detriment of everyone else, but that was one of the features that got trimmed during play testing. It was too much in terms of game play.

And yes, while all characters have core abilities in common, they all each also have special abilities that set them apart and make them awesome in their own right.

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