KickStarter Atomic Society: Be judge and lawmaker of your own post-apocalyptic city

[ScottFarRoad]

Hi everyone.

Atomic Society is a new city-building game that lets you run society the way you want it.

We are currently on Kickstarter and could really use your support!

Someone on this forum already backed our game on Kickstarter (so the analytics tell me) so I thought I'd best tell you a bit more about it.

It should appeal to city-building/sim fans and rpg players who love making tough moral choices in their games.

Atomic Society is set after a devastating nuclear war reset the laws of civilisation. Now it is your chance to rebuild them – however you see fit. Be tyrant or a saint... Or a tyrant-saint?

As you struggle to expand your settlement, new survivors will arrive. Each of them will have different traits and personalities.

For example, a murderer might come to your town. He kills a child. You must decide how your town sentences murderers. Will you execute them? Exile them? Re-educate? Lock them up for life? We’re offering lots of choices and solutions and many issues to deal with as you try and build/grow your town.

Whatever you choose modifies the simulation. You never know who is going to turn up on your borders.

You can also vote for the game on Steam Greenlight and help us out there.

If you have any questions or first impressions of the game, I’d love to hear this forum’s impressions.

You can also sign-up for updates and find out a bit more on the game via our website.

Thanks,

Scott

 

[ScottFarRoad]

Your opinion definitely matters, it all helps! (Brazil, third world? Come on...)

- It is sandbox only, because the sandbox is so big every game should have so many stories within itself. I'd love a campaign myself as well, because I'm a writer, but one step at a time. Better to create a great sandbox and layer plot on top of it.

- Yep, that's already in the game. One of the rewards on Kickstarter is being able to write backstory for such places.

- No other settlements yet. The core focus will be trying to keep the last city on earth alive. Later on there are plans in this area. The plot of the game is the government sent you out to rebuild society. I think they might be pissed if you don't do it their way... (but we've got to get to that point)

- There are already environments ranging from deep canyons to arctic islands. Each will have a unique weather/terrain "perk".

- You can enslave people, yep. There are some pretty bizarre laws, such as ordering people to be celebrities.

Any more questions, do ask.

 

[ScottFarRoad]

Yes, a massive unscripted sandbox. We set the citizens off, but what they do next is up to them.

There are no invasions or “raiders”. The focus is on building up a big community of survivors. However, there is combat among your own people, which the police force break up.

Until you set an official penalty for murder, the citizens will be free to deal with lawbreakers as they see fit. This will often boil down to a fight or flight response. For example, someone rapes someone else. This rapist is flagged as a serious wrongdoer for a period. This makes the rapist liable to attacks from others (the closest thing to a lynching)

Certain citizens will have the “vigilante” trait, which would make them more likely to attack a wrongdoer. This could cause their own death if they lose the fight.

It is your task to stop this anarchy by giving your city an official stance that goes beyond this petty violence (or doesn't, if you choose to tolerate the status quo.)

In order to do this, you would need to employ guards, build a police station, prisons, etc.

On a side note, I am personally interested in how crime unfolds in communities where the population is constantly in flux, where there isn’t a gang/faction/group that rules because there is a lot of change. Such as a refugee camp. Your city in Atomic Society will at least start out feeling more like a refugee camp than anything else, and one that has to be self-sufficient. It can't rely on charity as there isn't any. I’d like to read something about that. And how survival changes the nature of crime. These are people who are one meal away from death, etc.

 

[Burning Bridges]

The problem with such projects is they never get anywhere.

I think of the Maia guy who always does a bit here and there but has never delivered a real game. That is because placing 3D objects and characters on a topographic map is deceptively easy but it doesnt make a game.

Also if I really wanted something like this there is already Kenshi. It has the same problems I am foreseeing with this, but is quite complete.

 

[laclongquan]

There is definitely gangs in refugee camp. It's a way to protect yourself, and in someway employment. You ever heard the term "the only economy is black economy"? It's true in camps.

 

[ScottFarRoad]

Thanks for the comment, Burning Bridges. I definitely agree with you. I totally underestimated the rightful suspicion of people towards games like this. Too many Early Access disappointments. It was one area I was blind to and that's why our Kickstarter is a bad ol' way! Obviously I trust the game I obsess over each day, it blinded me to how outsiders would feel.

But one good thing is I found this forum, which is cool.

We'll probably (baring a financial miracle) have to go away and lick our wounds for a bit until we have enough content that we don't have to make promises. Instead, we'll be able to just say "check it out and see". Hopefully we can afford to carry on to that point without a Kickstarter, but that's indie dev for you!

If you don't mind, I'd love to get occasional feedback from you in the months ahead? Another mistake I made was getting feedback from people who already believed in the game, when I should've been talking to those who are understandably wary. They're the people who count. You just have to tell me, "nope, still looks like an Early Access disaster in the making" or whatever you feel. Would that be okay? (That's an open offer to anybody who looked at our trailer and didn't trust it.)

I haven't played Kenshi (my own fear of buggy games put me off it!) but from what I've read it isn't anything like Atomic Society (it sounds more like a tactical combat game with light-base building?). We're more like Banished/Tropico/SimCity, with an ethics system and an early Fallout theme.

 

[WhiskeyWolf]

I totally underestimated the rightful suspicion of people towards games like this. Too many Early Access disappointments.

Sorry but the suspicion comes mostly form the fact you are on the Codex, if you think you seen 'feedback' you should see the baptism by fire the Hard West developer got down at Strategy Gaming.

 

[Baron]

I liked the soundcloud track on the kickstarter page, great choice.

https://soundcloud.com/scottfarroad

Every man and woman who comes to your city will have interesting traits based on real issues. For example...

• One citizen might hate immigrants and attack them.
• One citizen might be a racist. Another a thief.
• Someone else might be a drug-addict or a cannibal.
• You will see these issues being acted out in front of you.
• You can then decide how to punish or encourage the behaviour.

This is like a /gd/ simulator. I dub this new land... CODEXIA!!

 

[Burning Bridges]

ScottFarRoad Do yourself a favor and have a look at the number of EA games on Steam right now. You will never be able to finish the search because there are simply too many, most with the same outlook as your project. All theoretically very interesting ideas, but ultimately badly thought out, half-assed, unfinished and abandoned projects. If this campaign had launched in 2012 it might have been funded but now you are years too late.

This should not keep you in any way from making the game if you believe in it so much, but most people will want to wait until you have something else to show than this video. The video I saw is just a sample map with a few houses, lemmings wandering about without point and a few menus that could theoretically do something but all look like placeholders. If you ask me how much I would spend for such a game right now the answer is exactly zero.

The idea of a post-apocalyptic city manager is great. But I find the stuff that you write too vague. All that is clear is that you will somehow make decisions and manage a city and people. Now a typical city builder is one thing, but concerning your ideas for people management: have a look at for example Republic The Revolution how terribly such ideas can go wrong.

 

[Burning Bridges]

Kickstarter failed. apparently the game will go directly on sale now

https://www.kickstarter.com/project...ild-society-and-laws-after-a-nu/posts/1527486

 

[Kev Inkline]

I liked the soundcloud track on the kickstarter page, great choice.

https://soundcloud.com/scottfarroad

Every man and woman who comes to your city will have interesting traits based on real issues. For example...

• One citizen might be a racist.

This is like a /gd/ simulator. I dub this new land... CODEXIA!!

Codexia with just one racist?

 

[Zombra]

Atomic Society has continued to develop. The (pre)-alpha is on its 5th major iteration and is available via Humble store here. Also it has a Steam page here.

Plus, pre-alpha trailer!

 

[Zombra]

Apan

 

[Feyd Rautha]

Apan

U know me? I've actually been following this game since the start at moddb.com and I backed it on kickstarter

 

[Zombra]

Apan

U know me? I've actually been following this game since the start at moddb.com and I backed it on kickstarter

You were the one who first posted about how cool it looked and I didn't know if you were aware of the current state of development. Figured you'd be interested.

 

[Agesilaus]

Just remake Castles 1 already

 

[kris]

As you struggle to expand your settlement, new survivors will arrive. Each of them will have different traits and personalities.

For example, a murderer might come to your town. He kills a child. You must decide how your town sentences murderers. Will you execute them? Exile them? Re-educate? Lock them up for life? We’re offering lots of choices and solutions and many issues to deal with as you try and build/grow your town.

how is this set up really? I suspect it is not as dynamic as I would like it. Or as life-like. In your description it sounds like there is some person with a "I am a child murderer" t-shirt coming into town and then doing what he do best. When in reality most murderers are not exactly born that way. Murder should come up mostly in situations as when a wife is unfaithful (helped if law is lax on the matter) or someone drunk murder that guy that can't keep his mouth shut.

What I wonder is, how do you do it?
Also, how are the survivors setup?
do you have a character in the game or are you a God that someone decide on these things?

If I did a game like this I would make it simulated by character characteristics and mechanics, but that is just me.

 

[Turisas]

Why would I want to punish or re-educate a murderer? Sounds like a real go-getter and a good asset to have in glorious post-apocalyptia.

 

[laclongquan]

Less stress on morality and more on economic encouragement please.

 

[Zombra]

Less stress on morality and more on economic encouragement please.

Disagree. There are a thousand economic city builders out there already. Law and morality set this game apart.

 

[laclongquan]

Then you are set to fail. Morality is a very fuzzy concept in frontier, post apocalyptic society. If you follow the realistic course, you might invite more fire than you can handle, mostly from the SJW corner, bad PR. If you follow the gamey course, you are going to invite veteran gamer's scorns, which is bad for selling.

 

[shihonage]

Guys I found another video of this game

 

[kris]

Then you are set to fail. Morality is a very fuzzy concept in frontier, post apocalyptic society. If you follow the realistic course, you might invite more fire than you can handle, mostly from the SJW corner, bad PR. If you follow the gamey course, you are going to invite veteran gamer's scorns, which is bad for selling.

So you think all games should aim at not upsetting SJW? I mean that sounds like what you are saying. Games should free themselves from the shackles of hecklers. for good and bad.

 

[laclongquan]

What I think doesnt matter. What the devs think they can handle is what matter.

To clarify: I think concentrating on morality aspect instead of (ingame) business encouragement is a bad idea.

Also, further clarify: I dont think most game devs care for the bad PR aspect. The SJW can be quite vindictive, even more than Codex. Since most devs barely tolerate our level of cynicism and pessimisms, I dont think they can or choose to invite the fire from the SJW crowd. Which is as it should be. We need them to be game devs, not fighting SJW.

 

[Zombra]

We need them to be game devs, not fighting SJW.

We really don't need them to be game devs if they're just going to make another city builder we've seen a million times before. I can already play SimCity.

I agree that it's generally best to avoid controversial subjects in a game if there is no reason to add them. But the whole point of Atomic Society is law and morality. Take that away and you have nothing left of any interest.

If you had a great idea specifically for a game about a transvestite, you wouldn't take the transvestite out later when you realized some people might complain about it. You'd be left with a game about nothing. Decline.