The neighborhood *is* a bit rundown. But it’s also a short walk to the metro station!
It’s a rare 4X strategy that fails to cast you as a high-minded prodigy and social architect–even if the title then gives you room to craft your “perfect” world through either deft political maneuevers or ruthless warfare. Whether it’s as a historically proven leader in Civ or a Tolkien knockoff in Age of Wonders, your avatar will see themself as the hero (even if you’re playing as a villain).
Antihero is, naturally, the counterpoint to this. The game’s an in-development, streamlined 4X that sees you as a gentleperson thief running a guild of Victorian street urchins and fellow pickpockets. A recent announcment in /r/gamedev revealed that Antihero now has the billowing London fog (orphange-factory runoff) befitting its setting, as well as some improved visuals.
Designer Tim Conkling has also told us, via email, that this fog isn’t just a literal take on fog of war–rather, these new visuals herald “a significant change to the game’s dynamics.”
Previously, the layout of a stage was wholly visible, with opposing units unseen, initially. “The new fog obscures geography, of course, which makes the early game exploration phase more rewarding–and also adds new strategic considerations to scouting,” writes Conkling. “The tiles surrounding a ‘location of interest’ give an indication of what that location is,” he continues, “so, for example, a tile with urchins around on it indicates that an orphanage is nearby from which you can get new recruits.”
Conkling also mentions plans for fog as a resource which players can leverage against one another, possibly by “refogging” explored tiles. “We need to playtest new mechanics around fog to figure out what works best,” he says.
Expect Antihero early in 2015 on desktops, followed by a mobile release. One of those damnable kinetoscope trailers below.
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