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Thread: 'arcada mia' - a sophisticated, casual strategy narrative.

  1. #1
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    Default 'arcada mia' - a sophisticated, casual strategy narrative.

    Hello,

    Here's the scoop about my next game. No more teasers. (and the contest is still waiting for a winner)



    Mousechief has crossed the grand sweep of civilization with the family drama of generational epics to offer an intense, emotional experience of humanity struggling through the ages.

    Raise your family generations from simple laborers to rulers of the land. The journey is rich in discovery but fraught with ruthless competitors. The tides of drama, as civilizations rise and fall, challenge the hardiest dynasty.

    The gameplay is entirely new. Easy to pick up and play, its depth of strategy is dizzying. Every turn, optimize the creation and use of resources. Interact with peers. Make allies. Fend off rivals. Pursue romance for social, material, or love's advantages. Prepare children for adulthood. Navigate rites of passage. Build on the work of ancestors or establish new heritages, to withstand the tides of history.

    Every turn will leave you wanting to play just one more... but it's even fun to play a few minutes at a time.

    arcada mia - Raise a dynasty to master the ages!

    It's your family drama of civilization.


    arcada mia - Begetting around, early 2011.


    LINK TO CONTEST INFO (info at bottom of page)
    Keith Nemitz
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    http://www.mousechief.com/

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    Sounds about good... can't wait to hear / see more!

    As for the contest... I can't place it. All I can think is that your hint lines to me seem very Sufi or Taoist in message and content. Hafiz... "A Golden Compass" has about... half... of what you mention... at least implied.

    I'll never figure it out though. I don't really know anything about poetry!

    Are there more lines coming in the contest?

    btw - 2011! All we get is the title and a description?

    -Tim
    Nightmare Adventures: The Witch's Prison is now available on PC, Mac, iPad, and iPhone.

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    I've been working on the core game so long - we just got started on the art last month. And you know that's bound to change a couple times before we ship. At least, now I'm' really confident the game will be fun. My biggest worry is, I somehow F it up before shipping.

    The contest poem is complete, and we're waiting for a winner. I actually didn't expect it to last this long, but we'll keep it out there until someone makes a correct guess.
    Keith Nemitz
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    http://www.mousechief.com/

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    What setting? Historical, fantasy, future? I always vaguely wanted to do colony-settling games, expanding from the tiny handful of survivors of my crashed spaceship to a grand empire over the generations....


    (As for the poem, I haven't the foggiest, despite what I thought was a decent grounding in literature... Maybe I'm GETTING OLD!)
    Last edited by papillon; 08-02-2010 at 08:27 AM.

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    @papillon:

    Your family starts in ancient times. (western european perspective) The Copper Age, to be exact. You play the game to make discoveries and raise in social status. Your and your peers' discoveries propel the change of ages: to the Bronze Age, Iron Age, etc...

    The drama of interacting with peers influences your lineage's rises and falls. Imagine family feuds that last generations. The same is true for family alliances.


    btw, I like your crashed spaceship survivors concept. Go for it!
    Keith Nemitz
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    http://www.mousechief.com/

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    feh, as if I had the time to pursue every vague concept that crossed my mind!

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    The game concept sounds intriguing, looking forward to play the game

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    Pfuit, nothing new, basically is a "Civilization-like Visual Novel Strategy RPG game"...

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    Quote Originally Posted by Jack Norton View Post
    Pfuit, nothing new, basically is a "Civilization-like Visual Novel Strategy RPG game"...
    I hope that doesn't mean we're in a race to the market. :-)
    Keith Nemitz
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    Really looking forward to seeing the gameplay mechanic you've come up with. Best of luck!
    Sock Dash - online games portal | Game Socks - downloadable games portal | My Games

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    Sounds a bit like Europa 1400 to me.
    As for the poem, I have an idea about a poem that iss not english but I don't know the english translation.
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    Thanks, Andrej and Maupin!


    @electronicStar:
    I didn't know about 1400. Sounds pretty cool, except the time frame never changes. In arcada mia as discoveries are made, culture changes. (I really don't like to use the term 'progresses') So it's pretty different. Also 1400 isn't a casual game.
    Last edited by Musenik; 08-02-2010 at 06:47 PM.
    Keith Nemitz
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  13. #13

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    Quote Originally Posted by Musenik View Post
    I hope that doesn't mean we're in a race to the market. :-)
    No don't worry, mine is totally fantasy settings but haven't even started coding it anyway! A game that goes through generations is a great idea, I wanted to do that but always postponed it because seems a bit of work!!
    Really looking forward to see your game.

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    Thought I should bump instead of making a new thread, to announce our contest winner.

    The contest was to identify the poem being satirized by a series of hints about 'arcada mia'. Drew McKevitt, of Montreal, was the first person to submit the original poem. Drew has won the grand prize of the first commercial copy of the game and a bonus, Indie, prize of one dollar. (see below) More information about the contest and results can be found at mousechief.com.

    Our poem was:

    Ruler, Noble, Artisan, Drudge,
    Wealth and poverty distract
    Descendants feeble and sturdy,
    Notwithstanding nature's plagues and urges,
    From wheeling works, joyous and frightful.
    Tragedy and triumph turn the 'path to us'.


    The poem being satirized can be found >HERE<.






    Keith Nemitz
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    Use of the word "satirize" led me to expect satire...
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    satire |ˈsaˌtīr|
    noun
    the use of humor, irony, exaggeration, or ridicule to expose and criticize people's stupidity or vices.


    In this case, exaggeration. Not all satire is humorous. Comparing the two poems should reveal an attempt to kick the original in its dull pants.
    Keith Nemitz
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    so... not actually a well-known poem, then.
    Last edited by papillon; 08-09-2010 at 10:27 AM.

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    It was displayed on television, every weekday for years, as part of the show's title sequence. Millions of people have seen the original poem. (but not necessarily people poets would associate with professionally... ;-)
    Keith Nemitz
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    Actually I knew the poem, because All My Children was (is?) my mother's favorite soap and I watched it often as a kid. Never would have guessed it, however.

    Comparing the two poems I simply fail to see the satire. That is to say, how you've exaggerated (as you say) the original or criticized/exposed it...
    Last edited by Maupin; 08-09-2010 at 03:48 PM.
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