Well the teaser campaign is proving to be a bad idea. But now we have more concrete details about the game.
Our website went live this morning at:
www.arcadamia.com.
And we sent out another press release.
'
arcada mia' - Sophistication, now with pictures!
22 September 2010 - Mousechief, Co. (multiple I.G.F. finalist and highly awarded developer of 'Dangerous High School Girls in Trouble!' ) reveals preliminary artwork for their next game. (image URLs below) In addition the thematic image, Mousechief clarifies prior descriptions.
Because the game is so original, until the demo is released, description, even pictures will be inadequate. But that won't stop us from trying.
We tried relating 'arcada mia' to earlier works. The natural assumption has been, "Oh, it's
that kind of game!", which will lead to broken expectations. So this time we'll declare our game (especially its core mechanic) is
not like any of these:
a) 'Civilization' by Sid Meier
b) 'Puzzle Quest'
c) 'Oregon Trail'
d) 'King of Dragon Pass'
e) 'Passage' by Jason Rohrer
...but '
arcada mia' has qualities of each of them:
a) The game presents a vast sweep of time and discoveries that influence culture.
b) A central, casual mechanic, deep enough for core gamers, drives a narrative.
c) Strategize to survive events across time.
d) Navigate narrative challenges with interesting choices that rarely repeat.
e) Story emerges from play actions during each generation's lifespan.
Finally, '
arcada mia', is a casual game of rare sophistication*.
To date, casual games have been wrapped in fairy tales and comic books, because few understood that games can be fine art. Not to lessen the greatness of many existing games, literary interactive storytelling is difficult to make accessible and engaging. Perhaps, as Hemingway helped break literature out of stuffy tomes, a casual game will emerge to bring fine art to a ready audience.
In '
arcada mia' story emerges from play like a monument emerging from bricks which emerged from clay and straw. Your tactics set up little stories. Choose ways to resolve them like a mason sorting bricks to build the monument of your family legend. In turn, stories reward or challenge. They influence tactics.
*Full disclosure: not exclusively sophisticated, because life is more livable with a dash of mischief.
'
arcada mia', Raise a dynasty to master the ages.
(Begetting around:
Early 2011.) Visit 'arcadamia.com' for more info and images.
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