Adam Poots BGG Post 1

I am still working on exactly how to address "gameplay dullness" as it will require a very concise explanation of the KDM experience with a light sprinkling of the thoughts behind the design and a small dessert of my personal opinions as a gamer.


@Štěpán Honc,

The problem I have with fixed scenarios is that they don't feel fresh for very long. After the initial excitement of learning the scenario and running it, it's usually does not offer much replay. When I was in the early design phases of Monster, I wanted to ensure that the game was more of an experience and less "10 scenarios" in a book that were fun once.

A great throwback example of this is hero quest, with its limited scenarios vs warhammer quest which could be played 100% randomized. The design conclusion I came to is ( i feel ) a more modern combination of both of these amazing game experience types.

There is a storybook that comes with the game, depending on financial / printing realities it might just simply become a part of the rulebook, but the hope is to have it a fully independent book. The storybook is designed to be your starting point in KDM and the first few pages will have the introduction story that is in the game pitch video. Directly after being introduced to the starting survivors you will be lead into the first "showdown" that will give a quick introduction to the game rules. You will learn by going thru the battle. The story then continues bringing us to the settlement and going over how to use the resource cards you earned from the battle.

At this point, that is where the story leaves you. Nestled right up against the dawn of your civilization. From here you will play and make your own choices until the game system prompts you to re-open the story book for a "story event".

Then gameplay will proceed, directing you to major "story events" when appropriate. They are triggered in a wide variety of the ways and some of the events themselves have multiple outcomes. The "story" of your settlement and survival will be a combination of the experience you have playing the game, major story events and most importantly the decisions and outcomes of the many pivotal moments that develop during game play. Keep in mind that many of these story events are not essential to completing the game and you may have a campaign that ends up only ever touching on a few!

That is essential the "campaign mode" of the game and is it designed with the intent of being a repayable sandbox. It's not really possible to see all the content in a single play thru and between gaming groups the overall experience should be quite different.

Some stretch goals have introduced another game type within the game that I am pretty excited about. I couldn't fit them into the initial scope so I am pleased that we were able to add them. These are the one shot challenge scenarios. These are planned to be designed more like a puzzle. You will start with very specific conditions and will need to work towards an objective to win. It might range from a "kill this monster, with this exact gear and here is it's exact AI deck". Or it might be a longer single shot giving you a certain number of lantern years ( the in-game time unit ) to topple a challenge.

I feel very strongly that a proper story is "shown" instead of just told. In game terms to me, that means its something you experience in game, instead of just reading a few pages in a rulebook. The game is designed so you will learn more about the story as its happening to you.

That is of course, unless you are the type that likes to skip ahead and reads everything beforehand! Thankfully doing so will not spoil everything as it will only reveal what can possibly happen instead of what WILL happen.

Will talk more later!