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Questions about fan game creation

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Questions about fan game creation

Postby Plesin » Fri May 28, 2021 9:50 pm

Firstly, what version of the game should I aim to make it for to reach the most people? I wanna do the DVD/app version because it's the one I know the best but I'm in the process of trying them all as I've heard people prefer Harbingers, and the app game is the most accessible at the moment.

Secondly, how complex is too complex for those versions of Atmosfear? I have an idea for a system where there are cards that inflict "status effects" which you can take instead of staying banished and force you to move in different directions or react to the host differently, etc. My only fear with it is that they will become too much to manage on top of time/fate/chance cards. I do have a document with about seven pages worth of those ailment cards, but I wanna get some feedback before I share those.

Finally, for makeup, how would I make a full face mask work with the general design since it wouldn't change much and potentially cover my whole face? I'd think to apply some blood and ooze material and maybe have it come off a bit during certain events. While a mask isn't final when it comes to my choices, I'd prefer to use one for personal reasons.
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Re: Questions about fan game creation

Postby marr0w » Fri May 28, 2021 11:23 pm

I'm not sure if there's a certain "standard" for fan games that you need to follow. In my personal projects I tend to think of things that would work best for the widest range of games you can grab. (For example, you can technically use the original tape with later games, or the app version with the originals because there's never much call for a specific feature of one game or another.) This breaks down on the "side games" however as they tend to be much more specific. (Bathory and her Rose cards, for example)

All games but Khufu and Soul Rangers use a general "go clockwise around the board" and "collect X number of keys" concept with black holes and time/fate cards. As long as you make sure those things are followed, you can plug in any new rules or concepts without too much fuss. That said, the board for Harbingers brings in a lot of new additional things which people have to manage in addition to these core concepts so if you're adding a new element it probably isn't the best to focus on.

Technically I wouldn't say the app version is the most accessible. Here in the US we still don't have a release of it at all and unless people picked up the first DVD game when it originally came out they won't even have the board to try accessing it anyways. (This is really not intended to sound discouraging, I'm just being overly specific and nerdy. I'm pretty sure everyone here at least owns one or the other.)

Let's see... how complex is too complex? That's hard to say, really. Do a test run of your concept and see how your group fares. If it's too difficult, tone it back a little. There's been a lot of people to add extra layers to the game and as far as I know they've had success with them. I'm not personally one who enjoys making it more complicated, but to my knowledge I'm in the minority on this. Go wild and give it a shot. You never know until you try it!

Makeup - That's also more of a personal preference thing. Most tend to try and ape the gimmick of the original games where the face of the host evolves somehow over the course of the session. This simply does not work when you start trying to make things more random. That's the reason later instalments did away with the idea. Generally you want something attention grabbing because people are going to be staring at it for about an hour - but not something that makes it difficult for you to be heard. There's no real set style guide for hosts. I've seen everything from hockey masks to rubber clown masks at this point. (Although my favorite so far is someone growing a beard with a marker as the game goes on) Just do what works best with you and remember to try and make it interesting. No one is going to want to stare at a motionless image the whole time.

I hope this helps somehow! Good luck!!
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