Started working on my 4X Emperor game thing :)

Chris · 2017-04-05T15:58:43

For almost two years I was making various posts here about the Empire builder thing and... finally I gave it a green light and started work I'm after tech demo and preparing a prototype. Kind of wanted to "make it right" this time, with proper promotion and whatever, so, it might be useful to you to observe how it unfolds (from the late design phase/tech demo to release). I'm also open to various tips of any kind and feedback (it's the first standalone commercial game I make - previously these were either browser MMOs or freeware - so it's kind of new to me ) =============== Platform: PC (Windows) Genre: Strategy (4X) Theme: Space Empire Builder Technicalities: Turn based, single player, asymmetric gameplay, should run on low spec machinesCore design goals - You are the Emperor, not a logistics officer (no micromanagement, no dealing with individual ships, grand strategy level decisions) - Epic scale without the slowdown (you run 100-200 planets empire but rarely deal with individual planets - you are the Emperor, not a planetary governor) - Aliens are truly aliens (AI plays by different - unique - rules) also they don't try to "win the game" but follow their own agendas and goals. - Challenging AI that can't be easily abused by the player =============== Marketing plan (just since you might be interested): - Sell via Humbe Store widget + GOG + Steam - Quite possible crowdfunding (Kickstarter or Indiegogo) - Budget (money) my own purse for initial graphics to make it rolling (sigh...) + crowdfunding later, also I have an option for an investor but I don't know if I want it... - Budget (time) below 1 year - Marketing minimalistic (Facebook+Twitter+Reddit+YouTube+my websites), also I know 2 (yep, only two ) websites that deal with 4X and I could send them emails Schedule plan: - make a rough version with all core features ASAP (what's new here ) - playtest it a bit, get acceptable graphics, organize crowdfunding and release it as alpha to donators - make beta for donators - make a full version (unpolished and without all features), in short I want to release it early (as a player I HATE waiting for a game for years), release on Humble Store and GOG - make a polished version and proceed to Steam - continue working on improvements (usually that part takes half the total time of a project, but it's much easier since there is money already and all core stuff is there and tested, so just tweaking and improving) - maybe some expansion if everything goes well... (OK, to be honest, I use "I will do it in the expansion, not in the basic game" sentence to fight the feature creep ) EDIT: The game has been greenlit. =============== LINKS: * Homepage: http://www.silverlemurgames.com/ (almost no updated, interesting only if you want to check my other games) * Twitter: https://twitter.com/SilverLemur (the most frequently updated one - RECOMMENDED) * Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/StellarMonarch (not so frequently updated) * YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCps-DZqxTNj7vrTMvSfml1A (some interesting videos) * Tumblr: http://silverlemur.tumblr.com/ (blog, contains walls of text - best if you want to read about specific mechanic) * Newsletter: http://eepurl.com/blcMDr (only announcement about release/greenlit, etc - best for people mildly interested who don't want to forget about the project - first 2k subscribers will get a small cosmetic pack/DLC (like different gfx set, additional gfx of the imperial throne to choose from, etc)) * IndieDB http://www.indiedb.com/games/pocket-space-empire (GalaxyViewer download) OTHER: * Steam: http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=472423794 (greenlit already :)) * Crowdfunding: http://igg.me/at/pocketspaceempire/ (ends soon)