Kem0sabe
Arcane
Kickstarter: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/kingdinosaurgames/that-which-sleeps
Steam Greenlight: https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=316173232
http://kingdinosaurgames.com
That Which Sleeps...
is a turn based strategy game in which the player takes on the role of an awakened evil from the world's past and must manipulate a living, reactive world from the shadows using a cast of unique corrupted Agents. The player must balance an aggressive approach utilizing his considerable power and eager hordes with the need to remain unknown to the Champions and Heroes of the world. You must be sure that when your name is again spoken by mortal tongues that it is spoken in dread, for it is too late to stop That Which Sleeps.
Features
Screens
F.A.Q
What is That Which Sleeps and how do I play it?
That Which Sleeps is a unique turn based strategy game where you play an evil banished long ago who has recently awoken to find himself greatly weakened but filled with a desire for vengeance. You will recruit Agents to perform Challenges in different Points of Interest which can be villages, cities, farmland, and ruins. These challenges will be contested by meddling heroes and champions which may cause your agents to flee or battle, sometimes resulting in their deaths. Succeed in the challenges and you can cause famines, produce slave revolts, and even assassinate kings. Even success breeds danger because your agents leave behind clues that savvy heroes will research, getting closer and closer to the truth that you are rising to destroy the world.
The Game Itself
The game is turn based, with an intended playtime of 3-5 hours - the player acts as an awakened evil who begins the game incredibly weak but grows stronger over time and due to certain actions on the map. The player manipulates the world by recruiting Agents, most of whom can be recruited when certain criteria are met (such as infiltrating a guild, or burning an elf village). Agents move around POIs (Points of Interest) and perform Challenges such as Infiltration, Terrorize, and Ritual - these challenges take multiple turns and have several tiers of difficulty for the actions.
The speed at which the challenge is performed is dictated by the Agents relevant skill for the challenge vs the Regions defense against that particular challenge and any opposing leaders/heroes. While the agents slowly perform these tasks, they generate Threat based on their profile and the type of action being done, a high enough threat attracts random heroes or even worse the attention of the nation itself, which may send a champion to stop you. Heroes and Champions will have to find you in the POI, and at that point a battle may occur.
Whenever you perform a challenge, successfully or not, you leave behind clues which heroes will decipher. Basic clues may only help the heroes hunt down that particular agent, but if you have agents working together or have bolstered them with dark power the clues may suggest even more - which will eventually lead the heroes to learning about the your return. They will attempt to inform the leaders of the world to this fact, and if they are trusted, the world will ally against you to destroy you. Hopefully you have destabilized the world enough by this point that your armies, or agents, can guarantee your victory.
Scenarios
The world maps are custom made, and populated "logically" with interesting and thematic factions. Though this takes us longer to do than having a random setup, the worlds actually enhance the value of replays as you come to learn the characteristics of the world leaders and the map itself.
In addition, you can select from scenario options at setup. Not just the Old One that you will be playing, but also how you fell, what you did as you slumbered, and how your agents worked to bring about your return. This can greatly affect the world, and your strategy to overcome it.
Also importantly, we have a fully-functional in-game editor that makes creating new scenarios a breeze. This means that user-generated content should ideally extend the lifespan of the game for a long time (hopefully).
Values Based AI
One of the best aspects of the game is the Values Based AI, both for leaders and heroes. The AI in the game is playing "The World" and not you, generally speaking you are simply an irritant to most of these powers at the beginning. Understanding how the AI thinks is key to winning the game.
Some examples: a Sentimental Hero will return to his home town if something happens to it, a Vengeful Barbarian will pursue the agent who killed his love against all other considerations, a Glory seeking King may do the right thing often enough but if no routes lead to glory he will create one.
That's not to say behaviors are entirely predictable, Heroes and Leaders have a Spirit attribute that works much like health - the lower it goes the more "unstable" they are and prone to follow their vanities and whims. A high Spirit hero will be much more likely to do "the right thing."
When will it be released?
We are hoping to launch a kickstarter to gain more art assets in the upcoming months, and should have a release shortly thereafter. We estimate Q4 2014 at this time.
How can I help?
Follow us on IndieDB, join our mailing list, get involved on our forums - we appreciate all kinds of feedback and really want to get the community involved in the final crafting of our game.
I recognize those graphics, where are they from?
The map style is licensed from the Jon Roberts Annual using Campaign Cartographer, which creates very beautiful cartography but does not allow us to dynamically alter the underlying map - in other words we have to use it as a flat image. Many of the icons are from OpenGameArt.org, and some of the Menu elements are native NGUI. We love that the community allows us to easily create attractive games, but we're also hoping to raise enough money through Kickstarter to supplement these with some unique artwork. In addition, we are fully commited to giving back to the community by donating to OpenGameArt.org as well as releasing our own art assets (that we are able to) under the CC by 3.0 license.
We unfortunately have no talented artists at our tiny indie studio, so many of the assets of the game are from OpenGameArt.org, the most fantastic site I've found for art-challenged developers. In addition, our menus make use of various basic NGUI assets, and the map is an art style licensed from Campaign Cartographer. Altogether I'm pleased with how things have come along, but we are looking to generate some money from a kickstarter to actually hire an artist to help us with the Agents and Heroes.
Can I take part in early testing?
Anyone who contributes to our kickstarter will receive early access, but otherwise at this time we have sufficient testers for feedback. If you'd like to receive updates if this status changes please join our mailing list.
Why a devlog?
We've been getting the word about our game for a while now, but while we've had success generating interest we haven't found the proper venue to generate real discussion on the game, its development and its several unique mechanics. Hopefully we can get some of that going on here!
Previews:
RPS
IndieRPGs
Steam Greenlight: https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=316173232
http://kingdinosaurgames.com
"The world has forgotten your name"
Website | DevLog | Twitter | Facebook
Kickstarter Sep 22nd
Kickstarter
Greenlight
Video Dev Log #1Youtube
Video Dev Log #2Youtube
Video Dev Log #3Youtube
Website | DevLog | Twitter | Facebook
Kickstarter Sep 22nd
Kickstarter
Greenlight
Video Dev Log #1Youtube
Video Dev Log #2Youtube
Video Dev Log #3Youtube
That Which Sleeps...
is a turn based strategy game in which the player takes on the role of an awakened evil from the world's past and must manipulate a living, reactive world from the shadows using a cast of unique corrupted Agents. The player must balance an aggressive approach utilizing his considerable power and eager hordes with the need to remain unknown to the Champions and Heroes of the world. You must be sure that when your name is again spoken by mortal tongues that it is spoken in dread, for it is too late to stop That Which Sleeps.
Features
- Corrupt, conquer, charm, and manipulate - with a fully realized world driven by thematic AIs that follow their own interests you can pursue multiple paths to victory.
- Customize the world with your choices at the beginning of each scenario, choosing an Ancient Evil and selecting his origins and what dire deeds he has wrought on the world.
- Make difficult choices with limited agents, choosing to send your Prophet to rouse the orc hordes or beset Kings with maddening dreams will greatly change the flow of the game.
- Disrupt the Balance of Power by creating famines in the farmland, stoking the flame of old vendettas, or recruiting pirates to the sea.
- Watch the fame of your Agents rise and heroes will begin to hunt them down. Let them fall as scapegoats and keep your name secret, or imbue them with dark power and take the fight back to the heroes.
- Each action you take leaves clues behind that cunning heroes can decipher, eventually leading them to the truth. Kill or corrupt them before they find a receptive ear at court
- A fully functioning in-game Editor that allows you to create your own scenarios, old ones, heroes, artifacts, and even agents
- Localization supported for multiple languages and character sets
Screens
F.A.Q
What is That Which Sleeps and how do I play it?
That Which Sleeps is a unique turn based strategy game where you play an evil banished long ago who has recently awoken to find himself greatly weakened but filled with a desire for vengeance. You will recruit Agents to perform Challenges in different Points of Interest which can be villages, cities, farmland, and ruins. These challenges will be contested by meddling heroes and champions which may cause your agents to flee or battle, sometimes resulting in their deaths. Succeed in the challenges and you can cause famines, produce slave revolts, and even assassinate kings. Even success breeds danger because your agents leave behind clues that savvy heroes will research, getting closer and closer to the truth that you are rising to destroy the world.
The Game Itself
The game is turn based, with an intended playtime of 3-5 hours - the player acts as an awakened evil who begins the game incredibly weak but grows stronger over time and due to certain actions on the map. The player manipulates the world by recruiting Agents, most of whom can be recruited when certain criteria are met (such as infiltrating a guild, or burning an elf village). Agents move around POIs (Points of Interest) and perform Challenges such as Infiltration, Terrorize, and Ritual - these challenges take multiple turns and have several tiers of difficulty for the actions.
The speed at which the challenge is performed is dictated by the Agents relevant skill for the challenge vs the Regions defense against that particular challenge and any opposing leaders/heroes. While the agents slowly perform these tasks, they generate Threat based on their profile and the type of action being done, a high enough threat attracts random heroes or even worse the attention of the nation itself, which may send a champion to stop you. Heroes and Champions will have to find you in the POI, and at that point a battle may occur.
Whenever you perform a challenge, successfully or not, you leave behind clues which heroes will decipher. Basic clues may only help the heroes hunt down that particular agent, but if you have agents working together or have bolstered them with dark power the clues may suggest even more - which will eventually lead the heroes to learning about the your return. They will attempt to inform the leaders of the world to this fact, and if they are trusted, the world will ally against you to destroy you. Hopefully you have destabilized the world enough by this point that your armies, or agents, can guarantee your victory.
Scenarios
The world maps are custom made, and populated "logically" with interesting and thematic factions. Though this takes us longer to do than having a random setup, the worlds actually enhance the value of replays as you come to learn the characteristics of the world leaders and the map itself.
In addition, you can select from scenario options at setup. Not just the Old One that you will be playing, but also how you fell, what you did as you slumbered, and how your agents worked to bring about your return. This can greatly affect the world, and your strategy to overcome it.
Also importantly, we have a fully-functional in-game editor that makes creating new scenarios a breeze. This means that user-generated content should ideally extend the lifespan of the game for a long time (hopefully).
Values Based AI
One of the best aspects of the game is the Values Based AI, both for leaders and heroes. The AI in the game is playing "The World" and not you, generally speaking you are simply an irritant to most of these powers at the beginning. Understanding how the AI thinks is key to winning the game.
Some examples: a Sentimental Hero will return to his home town if something happens to it, a Vengeful Barbarian will pursue the agent who killed his love against all other considerations, a Glory seeking King may do the right thing often enough but if no routes lead to glory he will create one.
That's not to say behaviors are entirely predictable, Heroes and Leaders have a Spirit attribute that works much like health - the lower it goes the more "unstable" they are and prone to follow their vanities and whims. A high Spirit hero will be much more likely to do "the right thing."
When will it be released?
We are hoping to launch a kickstarter to gain more art assets in the upcoming months, and should have a release shortly thereafter. We estimate Q4 2014 at this time.
How can I help?
Follow us on IndieDB, join our mailing list, get involved on our forums - we appreciate all kinds of feedback and really want to get the community involved in the final crafting of our game.
I recognize those graphics, where are they from?
The map style is licensed from the Jon Roberts Annual using Campaign Cartographer, which creates very beautiful cartography but does not allow us to dynamically alter the underlying map - in other words we have to use it as a flat image. Many of the icons are from OpenGameArt.org, and some of the Menu elements are native NGUI. We love that the community allows us to easily create attractive games, but we're also hoping to raise enough money through Kickstarter to supplement these with some unique artwork. In addition, we are fully commited to giving back to the community by donating to OpenGameArt.org as well as releasing our own art assets (that we are able to) under the CC by 3.0 license.
We unfortunately have no talented artists at our tiny indie studio, so many of the assets of the game are from OpenGameArt.org, the most fantastic site I've found for art-challenged developers. In addition, our menus make use of various basic NGUI assets, and the map is an art style licensed from Campaign Cartographer. Altogether I'm pleased with how things have come along, but we are looking to generate some money from a kickstarter to actually hire an artist to help us with the Agents and Heroes.
Can I take part in early testing?
Anyone who contributes to our kickstarter will receive early access, but otherwise at this time we have sufficient testers for feedback. If you'd like to receive updates if this status changes please join our mailing list.
Why a devlog?
We've been getting the word about our game for a while now, but while we've had success generating interest we haven't found the proper venue to generate real discussion on the game, its development and its several unique mechanics. Hopefully we can get some of that going on here!
Previews:
RPS
IndieRPGs
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