A lovecraftian XCOM => Rise of the Elders: Cthulhu

[Strange Matter]

Hey guys !
A good friend of mine who is hanging around a lot on this forum suggested I post here to talk about my project. I am not going to lie to you: I created an account specifically for that purpose But hey, I didn't know this place and I really AM a huge strategy fan (COH2, Axis&Allies, XCOM, Star Wars Rebellion, TI 3rd, etc) so maybe I'll stick around

Anyhow, I just wanted to let you know that Rise of the Elders: Cthulhu is now live on Kickstarter!

The game is an attempt to bring together the best of boardgaming (tactical turn by turn challenge), pen & paper RPG (flavor, character progression), and of course video games (accessible, intuitive, solo)... I like to think of it as being somewhere at the crossroad between Eldritch Horror and XCOM...

If you like the idea of travelling the world searching for ancient relics that will fry your brain, then maybe this game could be appealing to you!

If you want to support our endeavor you can join us on Kickstarter, Steam Greenlight, Facebook or Twitter... Or all of them

(°,,,°)

 

[thesheeep]

Interesting enough to wave over a few $$, I think.

 

[Darth Roxor]

Men, whatever made you think Call of Cthulhu was good material for a strategy/tactics game?

 

[Gondolin]

Men, whatever made you think Call of Cthulhu was good material for a strategy/tactics game?

I wouldn't mind a Cthulhu-themed game built on top of Invisible Inc.: ancient temples and ruins instead of corporate offices, eyestalks instead of cameras, shuffling horrors and cultists instead of guards.

 

[Azrael the cat]

Would be totally and utterly contrary to the Cthulu themes and feel, but I can see promise in a tactics game based on 'Cthulu got knocked out by a large ship, these days we have nukes' game. Asymmetrical 'cultists and magic with destroyer-of-worlds elder gods' vs 'automatic rifles and tanks with destroyer-of-worlds nuclear weapons'

 

[duanth123]

Men, whatever made you think Call of Cthulhu was good material for a strategy/tactics game?

The way has already been paved, at least thematically, by Delta Green.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delta_Green

Though, as with all things Lovecraft, self-restraint with the setting will be key.

 

[Strange Matter]

Interesting enough to wave over a few $$, I think.

Cheers, man! Much appreciated

Men, whatever made you think Call of Cthulhu was good material for a strategy/tactics game?.

Several things led to that:
a. leading the mobile port of XCOM when I was working for 2k Games back then... XCOM is basically about Mankind vs Aliens ; and one day my mind simply wandered off satring to imagine what it could mean for mankind to be facing the most badass alien threat there is... namely, Cthulhu.
b. playing the Call of Cthulhu (pen&paper RPG) a lot when I was young... I liked the survival horror aspect, but what fascinated me the most was the backstage: the pantheon of alien gods, that world full of hidden relics and secret places... I loved the Masks of Nyarlathotep because you visit 5 different countries! And to experience that epic aspect of the Mythos you needed a more "zoomed out" POV for the players.. one where Investigators can die like ants!
c. playing Eldritch Horror. I don't know if you're familiar with this boardgame but it's basically about travelling the world and making small encounters (a couple of lines of text, a die roll). And I absolutely loved it! I loved Arkham Horror before that, but Eldritch Horror brought the series to its full potential thanks to that strategic overview IMO (in addition to fixing some obivous design flaws like having to pass a whole turn when attempting to close a portal!!)

Last but not least, we believe they are enough "claustrophobic survival horrors"out there already (released or being developped)... We wanted to try something new, see if we could broaden the horizon a little bit

Thats how interesting things are born.

Oh, hell yeah!

I wouldn't mind a Cthulhu-themed game built on top of Invisible Inc.: ancient temples and ruins instead of corporate offices, eyestalks instead of cameras, shuffling horrors and cultists instead of guards.

Mmmh... I am intrigued!

 

[thesheeep]

Wait, I didn't say all those things

 

[Galdred]

Men, whatever made you think Call of Cthulhu was good material for a strategy/tactics game?

I remember our party purchased a 75 mm gun, lots of dynamite, a flamethrower, and a machine gun to handle the problem while playing the TT RPG back in the day (it was not in the spirit of the RPG at all, but it was pretty close to what you do in Arkham Horror).

 

[Agesilaus]

looks like knights of the chalice 2

 

[Strange Matter]

XCOM or X-COM?

XCOM: EU and EW

looks like knights of the chalice 2

Wow... indeed! I didn't know that project... Seems like a jacked up version of FantasyGrounds! I'll have to give it a try!
For those who wonder by Agesilaus mentioned it:

Also fyi - there are 2 other games with a similar "topview pawn design" that I know of :

GALACTIC KEEP:

CABALS:

 

[Wintermute]

XCOM or X-COM?

XCOM: EU and EW

 

[Saduj]

Best of luck with your project. Will be keeping an eye on this.

 

[Strange Matter]

Wintermute : fair enough
Saduj : thanks ! btw, if you guys have design suggestions we totally would like to hear them

 

[Strange Matter]

Two more things I wanted to share with the community:

• the explanations behind our game's DNA: http://strangematter.co/the-strange-matter-dna/
• our intro cut-scene:

​

Your feedbacks would be more than welcome!

 

[Strange Matter]

Hi!

Here are the links to our design updates for Rise of the Elders: Cthulhu, a tactical RPG set in the world of HP Lovecraft.
[Note: I will edit this post regularly in order to add the updates as we release them]

Design update #3 - Worldmap Activity
Design update #2 - Story Progression
Design update #1 - The Big Picture

If you would like to support our project, you can back our Kickstarter campaign, vote for us on Steam Greenlight, like our Facebook Page or follow us on Tweeter (@EldersRise).

Please feel free to share your comments & suggestions! I'll try to address them asap ^;,;^

 

[Lurker King]

playing Eldritch Horror

This! So now we have "Stygian: Reign of the Old Ones" and this game. Good.

 

[Strange Matter]

Indeed
Stygian is shaping up to be a great RPG

 

[Lurker King]

Strange Matter, I will not back this game because the last time I did this, my bank froze my credit card for security reasons. But I will definitely buy on release.

 

[Strange Matter]

No worries! We're already very happy knowing that you'll consider buying it upon release!

 

[Lurker King]

I think the main concern is that the Lovecraftian themes of cosmic horror and mankind's complete inability to even comprehend it does not lend itself to a EU/EW-style shootout between supersoldiers and mooks, nor does it lend itself to the typical power fantasy that is the RPG, which is why I am doubtful about Stygian as well. It's just fundamentally incompatible with horror that you can face down and evenly match an enemy.

You need to consider that most players are desperate for new settings and trying new things. If he manage to deliver a functional game with good thematic atmosphere, players will come.

 

[MRY]

One thing that irks me about this and Phoenix Point is the lack of acknowledgement that there already is a Lovecraftian X-Com, namely X-Com 2: Terror from the Deep. The final "boss" is an alien spaceship called T'leth that has been at the bottom of the sea since it caused the dinosaurs' extinction; enemies include Deep Ones, tentacle monsters that are described in game as Lovecraftian, etc. etc. I'm not saying that this game isn't different/better only that at least some hat-tip to TFD seems appropriate.

I share misgivings about whether the whole pace of X-Com games -- at least the DOS ones, I haven't played the new ones -- works for a Lovecraft setting. X-Com is basically early on, you are totally obliterated by the aliens and ill-equipped to fight them, while as the game goes on you become increasingly able to fight them off and even bring the battle to them. In essence, the rhythm of X-Com begins with an overwhelming alien unknown that cannot be faced and ends with a manageable known that can be defeated. But the rhythm of a Lovecraft story is typically the opposite: the threat starts off manageable and seemingly normal if a bit off, and then the more you learn about it the less manageable and more powerful it becomes until it ultimately obliterates your very will to confront it. To be sure, the aliens' strength in X-Com ramps up as the game goes on, and there is a categorical threat change when mind control comes into play, but I still think the game is an inverted Lovecraftian structure.

Still, people do like those kinds of inversions -- take Ghost Busters or Monster Squad or Hellboy or Pacific Rim. All of those basically say, "Rather than being about humans being overwhelmed by the supernatural, we're going to tell a story about bad ass humans winning the fight that you're accustomed to hearing about us losing." There's no reason you can't do that with Lovecraft, and in fact that's how most people treat Lovecraft in games anyway.

 

[Strange Matter]

Unfortunately I can't edit my first post anymore so I'll just post the link here:

Design update #4 - Random Events

 

[Abu Antar]

I reacted on the trailer.

It's its, it's not it's.

 

[thesheeep]

In essence, the rhythm of X-Com begins with an overwhelming alien unknown that cannot be faced and ends with a manageable known that can be defeated. But the rhythm of a Lovecraft story is typically the opposite: the threat starts off manageable and seemingly normal if a bit off, and then the more you learn about it the less manageable and more powerful it becomes until it ultimately obliterates your very will to confront it.

Wouldn't exactly be fun to play a game you know you will lose

Either way, I could see an X-Com like game with Lovecraft story work pretty well. I mean, nobody expects that you will be able to beat some Great Old Ones and stand triumphant on their corpse. Or a full-on battle against the armies of darkness
What is conceivable, however, is to thwart a plan of some cultists to cause a doomsday or something like that.