Mice and Mystics is a game that was developed because the designer, Jerry Hawthorne, wanted to help get his daughter excited about reading. It comes to me that we have a perfect example in our own library of games. But as far as that tabletop experience, I think the social experience and the fun factor are the things that we’re going to nail down first, rather than what kind of message we’re going to send. I think that if had a fun game and saw a way, I don’t think we’d be afraid to do it. With board games, it’s considerably tougher to make potent statements. Whereas board games are pretty strictly emergent experiences, unless you’re going to cross into role-playing games, where you’ve got someone committing a lot of time to pre-construct a story and take people through it. They’re able to tell a chunk of linear story within an emergent experience.
#Plaid hat games store movie
Do board games have the power to spur some hard thinking about similar issues?Ĭolby: Video games handle that really well, just like a movie or a book can handle it, because video games have progressed to the point where they have really strong linear storytelling capabilities. Video games like BioShock presume to comment on philosophies like Objectivism. I realize this is a detour into territory we don’t usually talk about when we talk about board games, but I’m interested in whether you see a place for games to meaningfully comment on aspects of society. BioShock Infinite weaves in themes of Manifest Destiny and American Exceptionalism. Mark: The original BioShock was such an interesting property in part because of its subtext of Objectivism. And the things we executed on were the things we talked about in that early meeting. We discussed wanting to go big with it, doing the plastics, that we didn’t want to reuse CG art from the game. They’re star characters, so having them in it was important. We knew we wanted to include Booker and Elizabeth.
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the Founders, because we felt like that’s what board games could do better than telling the story of a single character. When we pitched them, we had worked up some prototypes, but they were just broad ideas: that we would pull back and tell a different story, of the Vox Populi vs. We had to throw out quite a few iterations of the idea before one stuck that we were happy with. And of course, you don’t have a game idea when you get the call. Also, everything goes through an additional approvals process when you’re working with a licensor. We didn’t have perfect sight on the finished product. Can you talk a bit about both the good and the bad there?Ĭolby: We were developing the board game at the same time the video game was being developed, so we weren’t working with perfect information. Mark: There must be huge advantages to working with a really high-profile property, but there must be drawbacks as well. To be a growing company and be right where we feel the cusp of that growth is of course immensely exciting. Video gamers is a growing market for board games, so a project like this is right there in the sweet spot of growth for the industry. That they sought out a board game rather than being pitched on it means that they know about this world, and they’re into it. The interesting story there is that they approached me. How does that feel, to go from being an unknown publisher four years ago, to shepherding one of the coolest, most high-profile game franchises into cardboard?Ĭolby: It’s pretty shocking. It looks like you’re sitting on the edge of what could be a huge mainstream success. You’ve just released the board game of the hit video game. Mark: I want to jump right in by mentioning BioShock. Instead, he came back with this interview.] We sent Actual Journalist Mark Wallace to find out what makes Colby such a nice guy. With the publication of BioShock Infinite: The Siege of Columbia, Dauch’s young company is suddenly much higher - brighter? - on many more radar screens.
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After starting Plaid Hat Games at the ripe age of 27 with a game of his own design, he’s managed to publish one very interesting game a year (from different designers) in each of the four years since, and has grown from Heroscape fanboy to capable and committed entrepreneur - a transition that many designers-turned-publishers make with far less aplomb.
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BioShock Infinite: The Siege of Columbia, Summoner Wars, Mice and Mystics, Dungeon Run, City of Remnants