ATTENTION BOARD GAME GEEKS:
Team Hammerforge's first debut print-and-play, 2-player miniature-wargame, SKIRMISH! is now available FREE on www.teamhammerforge.wix.com/hammerforge
Make your own battlefield to play in with free props to print out and fold! Play with as big or small an army as you prefer!
(Please note that SKIRMISH! Is still in heavy development, and will prosper with your support, constructive feedback and testing!)
No offense, but what new features your wargame offers? Why choose your ruleset over any other existing one?
I've tried going through the "rules", but they only give a general overview and lack many details.
Pixelart units are cute though.
I agree with ElKobold on the lack of details. There is a reason as to why games such as Warhammer have rulebooks hundreds of pages long: most of them are needed. I have played games of Warhammer where I needed rules that was not to be found despite the huge rulebook.
Also, the units are of an interesting construction, but unless you glue something heavy onto them, like a coin, I fear they will be blown away too easily.
Lastly, unless you make WAY more than six units in total, the game will soon become boring. Warhammer is fun because of the many ways in which you can build your own unique army. Only riders, or only ranged, or a nice blend of light troops and heavy cavalry, or some flyers and artillery, or maybe test this school of magic this time, or that expensive but exciting magic weapon for your general... You get the picture.
Thanks for the feedback! We do not seem to have very special rules at the moment, but if you check the props and tiles (although there are not many at the moment), you will find that they have their own property. Say, the water tile acts differently as compared to the dirt tile. The rules expand with us, with new units, props and tiles. Players have the freedom of customization. For example, the free basic starter set can be printed multiple times to enlarge the map, or increase army size.
This is not all. We are always developing new ideas. One such idea that we are currently working on is the variety of game modes, such as capture-the-flag and 4-player Skirmish.
We hope you are still interested in the game, and wish to follow us on our journey to being a more advanced, yet-simple-to-learn-hard-to-master game.
This is a pretty tough sell, especially for us miniature wargamers. I feel kind of ghetto even using the standups in Okko. As much as I love pixel art when I'm playing tablet games, especially Pixel Dungeon, it kind of feels like Super Dungeon Explore, Endless Fantasy Tactics, and Boss Monster were the logical translations onto the tabletop.
As with any other wargame, your gallery should show images of the game put together at the highest standard possible. For example, use a sharp edge to crease the corners of your figures and build your boxes around a foam core. Build it so that it looks commercially viable, which will also be an asset if you do any demo games. Also, consider a more interesting composition than two factions lined up on opposite sides of a river. If your game is dynamic then show it.
One huge thing you are missing is any sense of elevation or terrain. Yes, there are crates, but this game won't look complete until you have something like walls, trees, high grass, etc.
Thanks for the feedvack! The version of the game at the moment only features very little variety in terrain, but fear not. We have already started on making new terrain for the purchasable set, including a sell point that may interest players more- game modes. Instead of just the typical Deathmatch, we will be including new varieties of how to play the game, which wargames hardly do.
Our Wargame is designed to be different, slightly simpler to learn, and not too serious with heavy lore and takes of growing darkness. In fact, we have stripped down most rules to make our game more fast paced. The pace, of course, depends on how the player makes their map.
We apologise for the rather shabby looking gallery but it was placed there in a hurry (and the person in charge of cutting did a bad job). We will work on it as soon as we can.
We hope you are still interested in our game. Again, it is plain at the moment, but the new purchasable set will include new units, tiles and props to make the game more complete. The basic starter set is really just there for players to get the feel of the game. Sort of like a tutorial, really. We recommend you to give it a whirl, with a friend or two. We had doubts about it but upon trying it out, it was quite entertaining.
We hope you will still follow us as we progress into making a better game! If you do intend to try it, please tell us ways to improve and what you do not/do like!
I think that alternate games modes is a good area to focus on. Simple, streamlined rules are good, as is fast gameplay. As mentioned above there's no way you can compete with Games Workshop, so try to focus on what GW is not.
What other game modes were you thinking about?
Regards,
kos
Hi there! We will be adding Capture The Princess, a more frantic and fresh take on the classic Capture The Flag mode. We will not reveal more about the gameplay for this new game mode until it's release along with the purchasable set.
We will also be introducing two new armies from the Elven race in our next update, along with the option for a 4-player Skirmish (will not work with small tables or lack of friends).
A future update will also include a purchasable set that is currently titled as Skirmish! Tag. It is a 2-6 player rumble, including elements of MOBA. Each player will have to take control of a single unit that has multiple special abilities to destroy one another, both in team Deathmatch or regular kill-them-all.
We hope you are just as excited as we are to include these game modes as soon as it is ready!
Making a free PnP wargame for beginners is one thing, selling it...
Guys, you should really streamline and proofread the rules and work on the presentation before you consider selling this.
I'm afraid you're placing a cart before a horse.
Once again I agree with ElKobold. Look at what Spotify did. It was free for a long time, generating interest and acceptance before announcing that it would not be free anymore. By then most people payed, because they liked the service Spotify provided. Consider doing the same. I don't think that six free units and a thin rulebook is not going to generate enough interest.
I agree with past commenters...after reading through your rules, I can't say for certain what sets your game firmly apart...other than the lack of depth. For such a simple game, you really need a fantastically innovative and fun mechanic that becomes a cornerstone of your game. Something that makes players say "wow" and get excited for combat. All of the other stuff like active/passive abilities serve to enhance that core mechanic.
It can be easy to get wrapped up in the idea of publishing your own game, especially with how relatively easy Kickstarter has made things for designers. This is also why there are so many poor games on KS...people "put the cart before the horse" as ElKobold put it, and end up with an unsuccessful game, simply becuase they didn't take it far enough, do enough blind testing, tear their own game apart (critically speaking), etc.
There's a lot of talk about expansions, new game modes, etc...which is getting ahead of yourselves without the firm foundation of an exciting and unique core play pattern.
You guys clearly believe in what you're doing, which is great and absolutely necessary to launch your own game/publishing company. Just be sure you're asking yourselves the hard questions and not getting blinded by your own shiny pixelated brilliance!
You may also want to check out your established competition, like the One Page Rules stuff:
https://onepagerules.wordpress.com/
And . . . well, really Warhammer Fantasy, which will have a 4 page rulebook as of July 4th. Free, simple, easy to play rules don't set a game apart from the pack anymore.
Thanks for all the feedback!
We agree that our game indeed lacks depth and unique features. If you have any suggestions as to what gameplay mechanic we could add, please feel free to do so! SKIRMISH! Will be propped onto the drawing board to focus on more heavy development.
We agree that our game indeed lacks depth and unique features. If you have any suggestions as to what gameplay mechanic we could add, please feel free to do so! SKIRMISH! Will be propped onto the drawing board to focus on more heavy development.
The first thing that you need is an actual title. "SKIRMISH!" is akin to opening up "COFFEE SHOP!" It more than adequately conveys what you are selling, but it can't hope to create the brand loyalty of Warhammer or Starbucks, nor can you really hope to trademark it. You want a name that is memorable, establishes your product identity in the mind of the consumer, but also expresses the defining elements of the game.
You need to find your niche in a market so saturated that the industry leader just scrapped its 30-year-old fantasy wargame in favor of a new model to appeal to a broader audience after years of declining sales. If you want an example of a fast-paced, generic skirmish system that has found an audience, it's worth checking out Ganesha Games' Song of Blades and Heroes. Plenty of people have lauded that game's system (not so much the artwork) even though it has no miniature support. What can you offer players that other games can't?
I think that with the pixel art you are doing, people want to see the boundaries pushed a little, not just simplified versions of what they already have. The environments should look more like this:
http://10steps.sg/wp-content/uploads/article47/zi2.gif
There should be something unique about the races that sets them apart from the standard fantasy tropes. Dynamic poses help.
http://orig15.deviantart.net/deb3/f/2013/016/a/9/the_king_of_dragons_orc...
But even when it comes to simplicity, you want to craft units that attract interest and then build on that with some really good fluff.
https://jaredwriteswords.files.wordpress.com/2013/09/orccatgif.gif
http://thumb7.shutterstock.com/thumb_large/886151/139012325/stock-vector...
Having them posed together creates the basis for a narrative, and including animals is fairly important for any game shooting for the cutesy element.
Thanks plenty, sir Soulfinger.
Regarding the name, we will think of a catchier title.
The art style is meant to be very simple, so do not expect anything too complicated, which will be applied on more complicated games we produce in the future. The new map we are focusing on will attempt a dynamic lava cave, with elevated tiles, base building, lava tiles and lots and lots of pushing units off. We intended to add a sheep-like creature (which may be included in future game modes).
You might be pleased to know that we have included some extra units to make these armies special, including Ogres and Ogre bombers for the Orcs, and a Hunter unit for the Humans.
Although this is still in development, base building might become a feature, and the addition of points (in the form of fried chicken- lore included) that increases over time. These points can be spent on fortification or summoning a unit.
Also pushing. You can push people now. If they fall, they die.
We will make the Lava Cave a fixed map so that we can have a little planned strategy.
Any units/props that you might want to see added?
ranged units like catapult/ballista crossbow
Mounted and flying units. Heroes, unit leaders or army generals. To be able to modify a units armaments.
Nice ideas! We will be upgrading our graphics up a notch to create some diversity in units, such as mounted units and crossbow units! Be sure to stick to our website to see updates on units as they go through a layer of fresh, pixel paint!
How's about any ideas on a game name that is both silly but catchy?
Or any mechanics you want to see added?
Maybe some weather events
Earthquake (roll to see who falls over/misses next turn. different rolls for mounted/doesn't affect flyers)
Sandstorm/wind - ranged units cant fire
Blizzard - slow movement/no ranged units can fire
Blazing sun - ???
Hmm, interesting mechanic!
We is currently working on the new, graphically improved units! Here is one of them, work in progress of the new Bloodhorn Raider- http://piq.codeus.net/picture/314038/orc_raider_design_1
SKIRMISH! has been renamed FOR THE KING! and is now undergoing a graphic and rules overhaul. Currently, we can only reveal the FTK main page and FTK Lore on our website, www.teamhammerforge.wix.com/hammerforge
Check back often to find new and amazing and awesome stuff that may/may not be as new or amazing or awesome.
SKIRMISH! has been renamed FOR THE KING! and is now undergoing a graphic and rules overhaul. Currently, we can only reveal the FTK main page and FTK Lore on our website, www.teamhammerforge.wix.com/hammerforge
Check back often to find new and amazing and awesome stuff that may/may not be as new or amazing or awesome.
Check back often to find new and amazing and awesome stuff that may/may not be as new or amazing or awesome.
Any relation to these guys? http://www.fortheking.tv/
But seriously, I feel like you moved from one generic name to another slightly less generic name. You need to give your ideas a little more time to percolate. I mean, c'mon, "Bloodhorn Raider?" Are you wanting to compete with Games Workshop for puerile unit names geared for preteen angst? I'm not sure you can win, what with Murderfang and Skullblood McGrimdark the Bloodyblood taking the gold and silver respectively.
The biggest problem for me is that "For the King" makes me think of "In the Name of the King," which is a Uwe Boll movie. Associating a Uwe Boll movie with an unrelated product is like thinking of my grandmother during sex, especially now that she is a skeleton. Secondly though, is your game really going to be about doing stuff for a king? Could it end up being a game where elf fights orc, and one of the orcs yells, "Are you guys doing this FOR THE KING?"
Then the elf shouts back, "No. We are part of a Kakistocracy. Our ruler is a sock puppet. Would you like to say 'Hi?'"
"Uh, sure."
"Hello!" the elf says from the corner of his mouth as he holds up their ruler. "Are you guys fighting FOR THE KING?"
"Nope. It's just shits and giggles with us. I think the humans have a king though. Maybe the designers should have accounted for the great diaspora that would exist outside of the traditional monarchy presented in the starter set for this game."
Take a look at the Battle Rocks thread, which I think shows a progression from a kind of off title to a quite compelling one.
Hi! We have decided that For the King! Is going to be a game that is simple to learn, hard to master. For that, we have made the decision to make it a silly, fun game with gags and jokes. To do this, we will have a pretty generic game.
For the King! has never been planned to compete with the Giants of Wargames, but we wanted to make a game both memorable and easily accessible (as well as suitable for players of all ages and experience). It's like that black sheep in a family of very rich and serious businessmen, trying to do something different.
Granted, it may turn off many experienced players, but the key feature of a game is how fun it is and how much you enjoy it, especially with friends. We don't focus on the depth and complexity that most games have, but instead on the fun factor.
Additionally, we DO have a lore if you check our website which regards the title.
The little snippet of an encounter between those two armies is exactly where we land on. We don't want a serious lore where those armies have a deep grudge against each other and therefore must slay them to drink their bloods and avenge their ancestor whose name is Wizungär Fiërinstone.
HOWEVER, we do have champion units with unique names, such as our Bloodhorn's Beer Baron Baludair, and our Valleyhold Great Sorcerer Axiban.
when you said it was called For The King, I imagined the King would take a bigger part in things. At least like a general/standard bearer in warhammer
For now, King Atrocios will not play as much a major role as the title would imply (other than the fact that he will distribute tokens to players who complete achievements to use for spells and resurrection).
However, gamemodes are a thing in FTK, and we have planned for a gamemode revolving around this royal bastard.
Hail humble squires! We have updated our website with a new gallery for FTK. We have only completed the Bloodhorn Orcs revamp at the moment, so you can view the units in their full pixel glory here: http://teamhammerforge.wix.com/hammerforge#!ftk-gallery/cs71
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Thanks for the feedback. Yes, the rules are simple as intended- we try to minimalize its heavy contents to make it more approachable and easy to learn. One can learn its general rules in a few minutes.
That doesn't mean we won't expand. At the moment, we are working on a more premium, purchasable set that includes multiple units to maximize army creation, new higher quality looking tiles and props, and printed and expanded rules.
Also, we recommended thicker paper like cardstock, as this is a print-n-play game, which generally means using paper and not say, plastic.
Our approach to wargames is a straightforward one. It may not excite an experienced player of this field, but for clueless new players or those who found said games too complex, our game would fit them.