Interview with Be Legend: Ragnarok Creator

Good morning, This is your host, Jesse Fernandez, also creator of Dymino Monsters. I am here with the creator of Be Legend: Ragnarok.
An interview with David Dylan creator of Be Legend: Ragnarok.

JF:
Hello welcome. How are you?

David Dylan:
Well im doing well, the david dylan is a combination of two peoples middle name Mark David Laufer which is me and Wesley Dylan Grey our writer. He was helping out with the social media in the beginning and was setting up accounts and that's what he came up with.

JF:
Great combination. So let's go back to the beginning. The process into your first game: Be Legend: Ragnarok.

David Dylan:
Well before Be Legend was another game called Orbit which was a upright metal dodecagon 12 sided and was using magnetic player pawns moving around the board. Collecting points by knocking down other player pawns and landing on certain spaces. Sound familiar doesn't it. I made the first prototype out of a curtain rode. Which I still have today, some to manufactures and found out the cost would of been crazy. The game was shelved on getting the concept to be flat in the board. Dice were in the original design these were replaced with cards to eliminate luck.

JF:
Fascinating idea and the concept is surely original with your design.

David Dylan: Yes it is.

JF: Thank you for allowing us to help you out.

David Dylan:
Still play it today kinda hidden secret game

JF:
Lol. Cool. I love hidden games. During from old hidden game; Orbit to Be Legend, was it a difficult choice or an easy conceptual plan to change genres? From Space to Legends of Greek and Norse Gods? Or better phrase what changed your guys design for the new game plan?

David Dylan:
It was difficult designing games is like having a pet , oh its here now lets teach it. Then to find out its to expensive to keep. But you loved hopefully you don't have old yeller it. It turned out to be easier to adapt to a flat board and I always liked Norse mythology easy fit. The expansions are even easier with the winning objective always being the same. The mechanics became second nature when designing cards for new characters I asked myself what would this character do and how would it feel to be that character.

JF:
You have mentioned expansions. How many will there be or how many does your group plan to have?

David Dylan:
There are four more beyond King's Court

JF:
So four more expansions. Sounds interesting. Will there be any changes in game mechanics or game play style or stay the same as you mentioned?

David Dylan:
Well most of the mechanics will stay the same depending on the character but no two characters will be the same. Area effects like the red dragon will be expanded on from Kings Court. Some more characters will have more direct manipulation effects. But over all nothing that would over power a character from earlier sets. I still think that Freya and Hel from set 1 are the strongest of that set. Out of King's Court Merlin is pretty easy to use but Arthur is pretty strong as well. I still like to use Loki because of teleport and trickery. Nothing like stripping your opponents down.

JF:
Awesome. Variations are essential for an all around game play and even for replay value. How many players to play?

David Dylan:
2-4 players with a possible future expansion on one verse others

JF:
Nice. What is the difficult range on your game?

David Dylan:
A first time gamer can play with some points of the game explained. But heavy gamers have enjoyed greatly cause it's a complete deduction game with programed movement. So every round that goes by you know what choices your opponents have left as opitions. Also depending on your play style in magic the gathering you can easily find a character to match that style

JF:
Oooh. I'm intrigued.

JF:
Other than your team designing Be Legend: Ragnarok, have you sought out feedback from outside your normal group?

David Dylan:
Yes we did some local game store events at Critical hit, kitchen table, books at park place and serenity games. Plus we sought out Nick from board game brawl to evaluate our game he did do two preview videos as well. Plus we were on Game Crafter who had our art rated and instruction manual.

JF;
How is your Kickstarter doing?

David Dylan:
It is paced at the moment a lot of traffic but people are leary of first time publishers. Social media and our website has grown in viewers. Plus people like you helping in spreading our content. We are nervous but it is a good kind of nervous, the kind that makes you aware of whats going on.

JF:
That is true and we are glad to help you move along with more viewers, Kickstarter backers and who ever else is watching your group's development in this venture and beyond.

JF:
Do you see any new games in the future for your group to work on or is this just see where it leads you all in the future?
David Dylan:
I am currently busy with the Kickstarter, but I'm working on a pre-prototype game based on a party battle system and resource

JF:
Who is the artist for Be Legend: Ragnarok?

David Dylan:
Artwork is done by Rafael Domingos from elance.com and will be our future artist as well. Reviewed his prior work and the work he didn't show me I initially loved and from that spawned a good working discussion relationship.

JF:
Production manufacturing: are you staying with the U.S. companies to manufactur Be Legend or overseas?

David Dylan:
I'm working with QPC games in Orlando, FL. I will be visiting their facility in December. I was going to go with pandagm but their high quote requirements pushed our funding goal into 19500.00 which was way to high for a first time designer.
I hope I'm not taking a loss on not having miniatures but there's so much of a price increase that was the hardest decision I have had to make so far. But Kickstarters with miniatures have such a success rate its hard not to think of.
Oh stay away from campaign boosters soon as you make a Kickstarter. You will be flooded with them in your emails. Money for promises so beware.

JF:
Good advice for first time kickstarter projects.

JF:
So tell us the sypnosis to Be Legend: Ragnarok.

David Dylan:
Story or game mechanics

JF:
Story sypnosis.

David Dylan:
The human existence has been extinguished. A collector comes to earth and many worlds before it and looks for artifacts of existence. Coming across a barren world he discovers under ground libraries. With books after sometime this advance being was able decipher words into sentences. Unable to understand fact from fiction he collected books that intrigued him. The collector has a massive collection of human tetherings but only a certain amount to can be cataloged. So instead deciding, he will let the literature decide to be able to bring the pages to life. He has them battle those who survive become legend and become cataloged. Rest become dust

David Dylan:
Just a brief synopsis lol

JF:
Interesting story. In the expansion decks, will your story continue as back stories like flashbacks to bring in new points of view from the libraries of the first Be Legend game or will the expansion decks have a true ending on who becomes the Legend of Ragnarok?

David Dylan:
On the play board you have their point of views.

JF:
Nods head.

David Dylan: We're thinking on doing a graphic story like oh intro video.

JF:
Thats great. There is a very large audience for graphic anime story lines. Will the graphic story have voice actors or just moving pictures?

David Dylan:
Haven't hammered out details yet

JF: I know a few people to send your way and see if they would like to participate. Let us know and we can set things up.

David Dylan:
Okay well thank you

JF:
Your welcome.

JF:
So where can everyone find you, your team member and your game updates to Kickstarter and other media sources?

David Dylan:
Belegendgame.com facebook.com profile and page plus twitter belegendgame.
Theres a blog on the website as well we I've been working on there's strategies talk about future expansions soon

JF:
Is David Dylan your team name?

David Dylan:
Just to the accounts

Silence between both parties.

David Dylan:
Well looking to the future I would like turn this into a franchise or its own mythos.

JF:
So in the future franchise or its own mythos, are you both going to go with the entire Norse and Greek mythology? I think that will be an incredible adventure.

JF:
What about other culture mythos? Will you be using those as well or just stay in the original realm?

Sorry. Those two last questions just popped up after your last statement.
Lol

David Dylan:
Well you have Arthurian, Greek 2 expansions, Asian mythos, all dragons and Lovecraft have to look at legal use for it
Everything is going be brought into the collector's realm.

JF:
That wraps up our interview. Thank you for allowing us to write an article for you and this wonderful interview.

David Dylan:
Thank you.

JF:
So there you have it ladies and gentleman. Be on the look out for Be Legend: Ragnarok on Kickstarter, media updates on facebook, twitter and their up coming blog.

From the team Twin Eagle Graphics independent group and on the fields of TriiDorium, See you all next time.
Happy Hunting;
Jesse Fernandez, Creator of Dymino Monsters.