#ten aces

Square Tetromino: hi there, just a second please Mike Papagathangelou: hey Square Tetromino: hmm okay Mike Papagathangelou: first of all thank you for the preview Square Tetromino: welcome, you guys sure about this don't you? I mean this conversation will be on the site unedited :P Mike Papagathangelou: yeah no problem at all Square Tetromino: okay we can use this time to clear up some stuff about the game Mike Papagathangelou: sure Square Tetromino: firstly the chance factor Square Tetromino: there will be no critical hits? Mike Papagathangelou: there will be absolutely no chances after the matchmaking Mike Papagathangelou: maybe the perspective of a chess like game is the right one Mike Papagathangelou: we want the players to focus on strategy not on math Square Tetromino: well sounds fair Square Tetromino: and let's say a player casted a magic attack, there won't be a chance for additional effects? or any kind of additional effect will be 100% be cast? Mike Papagathangelou: the game is ability based Mike Papagathangelou: when you want to do a magic attack on an enemy Mike Papagathangelou: the attack will be done 100% unless the opponent has an ability about it Mike Papagathangelou: for example there is an ability called "Dodge" Mike Papagathangelou: this allows the unit to avoid the first attack in the game towards it Mike Papagathangelou: the first attack will miss 100% and every attack after this one will hit 100% Mike Papagathangelou: but you dont know if the enemy has it Square Tetromino: hmm there is still some curiosity or let's say "unknown" when playing then. Mike Papagathangelou: well yeah. it is like this. you see an assassin. you know assassins are fast so he may be able to dodge me. but then again not all assassins can do this Mike Papagathangelou: and this is transfered in the stats of the units as well Mike Papagathangelou: say a character in our game has 50 atk Mike Papagathangelou: and in any other game this character would have 100 atk with 50% hit chance Mike Papagathangelou: it is the same thing, but we want to have the players focusing on "reading" the opponent, not hoping that he won't miss Square Tetromino: i have to admit misses drive people mad, including me Square Tetromino: and about kickstarter any details about a goal? 5K? 10K? Mike Papagathangelou: well we are probably going to focus on a small goal in order to complete the single player first ( 5kish). but the real juice is the multiplayer Mike Papagathangelou: so getting that strech goal will be more costly and important Square Tetromino: I also want to know how Indie Devs are affected by crowdfunding. Mike Papagathangelou: regarding? Square Tetromino: Do you think now that the crowd funding is popular people are just forcing their luck or it has become mandatory for nearly every Indie Dev to have a campaign of some sort? Mike Papagathangelou: well since the last year, crowdfundng in games exploded Mike Papagathangelou: i wouldnt say its mandatory Mike Papagathangelou: but it is probably the best way Mike Papagathangelou: not only for funds Mike Papagathangelou: but for spreading the word as well Mike Papagathangelou: because it is not like you get 10k and thats it Mike Papagathangelou: you already have a playerbase of hundreds Mike Papagathangelou: and thats the best start one can make Mike Papagathangelou: publishing your game in steam or desura is such a long shot Mike Papagathangelou: you might get a few people in the first weeks and then nothing Square Tetromino: speaking of which, we have many people complaining about how greenlight works but they submit their game anyway. Do you see it as a money thrown out for nothing? Mike Papagathangelou: well steam is for the few lucky people that can qualify for it Mike Papagathangelou: but if someone is popular enough for entering steam, he has already made a name Mike Papagathangelou: steam is not for indies probably Mike Papagathangelou: it does support them but not made for it Mike Papagathangelou: just my opinion Mike Papagathangelou: and we havent made a move there yet just because of it Square Tetromino: oh and also you guys mention possible other platforms for the game, have you got any plans for any major console? now that Indie support is a big thing for many people when buying a console. Mike Papagathangelou: well the game is on unity so we have access to many platforms Mike Papagathangelou: althought now that ps4 and xbox one will be out it will be kinda dificult from us Mike Papagathangelou: but tablet and psvita are our first options Mike Papagathangelou: we are planning on making a phone app for customazing your army too Mike Papagathangelou: maybe the whole game too Mike Papagathangelou: the playstyle of the game makes it innapropriate for phone Square Tetromino: cursor is needed, right? Mike Papagathangelou: this isnt the major problem Mike Papagathangelou: the resolution and size of the phone is the problem Mike Papagathangelou: imagine a battlefield in a just a few inches Mike Papagathangelou: it won't be practical Mike Papagathangelou: but we will see Square Tetromino: i see Mike Papagathangelou: if i may add something about the game Mike Papagathangelou: the whole gameplay was designed around the player Mike Papagathangelou: and it's logic behind it Mike Papagathangelou: is that there are no excuses Mike Papagathangelou: no chances,no unbalanced battles, no premium content Mike Papagathangelou: every player will be able to win every player Mike Papagathangelou: your only weapon will be your smarts and experience Square Tetromino: hmm let's move to another aspect, there are debates about being a full time Indie Dev and not so what's your take on this? do you guys have jobs and life apart from your "virtual presence"? Mike Papagathangelou: most of us are in universities, so we don't work. Being full time indie, sounds impossible, at least if you need to make a living Mike Papagathangelou: the game until now was with practically 0 budget Mike Papagathangelou: but we are 5 people Mike Papagathangelou: reaching the point where you make a profit of 5-10k every month seems truly impossible Square Tetromino: well you are less known, there are exceptions :P Mike Papagathangelou: sure in everything Mike Papagathangelou: but most times indie Mike Papagathangelou: not always, but most times indie means low-no budget Mike Papagathangelou: surely everyone would like to live from this but it takes a lot of hard work Mike Papagathangelou: we have been working on this on roughly 8 months Mike Papagathangelou: summing a normal cost for each of us, the amount is huge Mike Papagathangelou: for the regular standards i mean of course Square Tetromino: yeah, unless we start to live in huts :) Mike Papagathangelou: exactly Square Tetromino: may i be right if i said the team mostly comes from strategy gamers? Mike Papagathangelou: actually not really Mike Papagathangelou: i myself i am more of an RPG fan Mike Papagathangelou: but the last years i developed a sympathy for more strategic games Mike Papagathangelou: we got casual gamers too Mike Papagathangelou: we are quite a mix Mike Papagathangelou: no fps fans though Square Tetromino: ahahaha Mike Papagathangelou: the game was designed before the team got formed Mike Papagathangelou: and it had been through lots of phases Mike Papagathangelou: initially it was designed as a pen n paper concept (very early) Mike Papagathangelou: then developed into a card game Mike Papagathangelou: but it met its finally destiny Mike Papagathangelou: a video game needs a team thats why it was the last option Mike Papagathangelou: (most times at least) Square Tetromino: well it might seem easy to grasp for you as you people are working on it for a relatively long time but is it too complicated for a beginner? What can you say about the total options/strategies/number of abilities that are possible in the game? Mike Papagathangelou: we gave it to a few people to try out Mike Papagathangelou: truth is we expected them to find it harder Mike Papagathangelou: and they werent tactician masters Mike Papagathangelou: i would say that it is simpler than most tactical games Mike Papagathangelou: cause all you have to learn is the abilities Mike Papagathangelou: the stats are super simple Mike Papagathangelou: and there are no chances and such Mike Papagathangelou: but in order to help the first timers Mike Papagathangelou: we are plannig on releasing a number of videos Mike Papagathangelou: showing some handfull tips for every nuit Mike Papagathangelou: we will provide builds of units and leagues, serving different purposes Mike Papagathangelou: for example we will show what abilities to select in order to make a swordman aggresive or defensive Square Tetromino: have you played other grid based games for referance? Mike Papagathangelou: not many Mike Papagathangelou: disgaea and fire emblem are clasics Mike Papagathangelou: final fantasy tactics of course Mike Papagathangelou: x com Mike Papagathangelou: nothing too special Mike Papagathangelou: so its not like the game was designed by someone playing games none has ever played Square Tetromino: and about pricing although I would suggest selling the complete package, selling each campaign seperately is also a fine option but you know it shouln't feel like a half-game. It pisses people off. :P Mike Papagathangelou: well packages for lower prices will be available Mike Papagathangelou: but we wont update content Mike Papagathangelou: adding more characters as often as possible Mike Papagathangelou: so this model fits us although its not final Mike Papagathangelou: think of it as browser game where you play for free but if you want some extra campaigns you will have to purchuase them Mike Papagathangelou: these campaigns will not affect the multiplayer Square Tetromino: that's good to hear Mike Papagathangelou: it will be only for those who are lone wolves or  want to learn the story Square Tetromino: hmm i guess we missed desura, considering its more indie-friendly will it be the main platform for distribution or an alternative? Mike Papagathangelou: we plan on focusing our action there after the campaign is over Mike Papagathangelou: we will continue providing alpha versions and preorders through there Square Tetromino: and lastly let me ask some off topic questions. Square Tetromino: nintendo or sony? Mike Papagathangelou: SONY Square Tetromino: Final Fantasy or Fallout? Mike Papagathangelou: Final Fantay of course Mike Papagathangelou: you got yourself a fanatic Square Tetromino: ahaha:D Square Tetromino: black mage or fighter? Mike Papagathangelou: black mage Mike Papagathangelou: no w8 Mike Papagathangelou: is it Vivi-black mage? Square Tetromino: FF1 :P Mike Papagathangelou: nah ill take the fighter Square Tetromino: 8bit or 16Bit? Mike Papagathangelou: 16 Square Tetromino: and last of the last, latte or regular coffee? Mike Papagathangelou: can i just take the milk? Square Tetromino: ahahah okay. well it was nice to talk to you and hope you guys get this game released. Good luck! Mike Papagathangelou: Thank you so much and thank you again for your time Square Tetromino: ciao ciao!

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