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Not more Eldritch Horror

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Tue, 12/18/2018 - 23:24
mcobb83
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Joined: 06/07/2016

To be clear, I think Eldritch Horror is a great game. The problem is that a concept I've been working on for a few months is coming together well, but it's also turned into an eldritch horror clone. There is a race to prevent the end of the world. Its coop. There is travelling to locations and overcoming obstacles...and, well, it feels like Eldritch Horror, but weaker.

So the question is, I want to distinguish it by altering the mechanics so it is not a copy of eldritch horror. What do you think would be good mechanics to achieve a race against time and a quest to prevent an evil entity from destroying everything.

I have already drafted in a rondell action selection, but I also kind of want to avoid moving to locations and resolving issues there in the manner that eldritch does it.

Thanks in advance.

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Tue, 12/18/2018 - 23:58
#1
questccg
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Joined: 04/16/2011
This is just my opinion

Basing a "design" on ONE (1) game usually leads to a COPY which is normally as you put "weaker". To break free of this, one approach (I'm sure there are others too) is to seek out elements in OTHER games that you enjoy sometimes just a "mechanic" that when included with your other games, makes for a distinctive and UNIQUE design.

Let me explain my Work-In-Progress (WIP) "Monster Keep" (MK) and you might get a better understanding.

So firstly the game is a TCG (Trading Card Game). And what I hope to achieve is limited availability of cards which "encourage" trading between players. Secondly it's very "loosely" modeled after Magic: the Gathering (Magic). So in essence you play cards that are Monsters in MK and this might feel close to Magic. Another aspect which may seem similar is the Keyword/Powerword system. My abilities are totally different from Magic. It's just that the "ability mechanic" is borrowed giving a familiar feel to players. Lastly it uses it's OWN UNIQUE "resource system", different from all the TCGs, CCGs, Card Games out there.

The similarities to other "Card Games" is acceptable because familiarity can be good especially for having something that combines uniqueness also. You kind of reach a BALANCE between having a game that can become very popular and one that has its very own distinct flavor and feel.

I hope this example may help you figure out how YOU can model a game after another and then introduce your own ideas, mechanics, systems, etc. to make the game something UNIQUE.

Cheers!

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Wed, 12/19/2018 - 00:07
#2
questccg
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Another case to help you out

"TradeWorlds" (TW) another of my designs is "loosely" modeled after Dominion. So it too is a Deck-Building game but instead of using a "common" market for cards, each player has their OWN "Market" to trade from and acquire cards. In a way it is also shares some similarities with Eminent Domaine (ED) because ED has several piles that allow the players to specialize in having certain cards. Where TW is DIFFERENT is that the cards you buy from your market are randomized and different... This adds a DISTINCT flavor to the game where you are trying to BALANCE your deck rather than specialize it.

So again similarities given inspiration from Dominion and ED ... but again UNIQUE in implementation and generally it's OWN game play and distinctive design.

P.S.: There are other aspects of the game that add more uniqueness too... But I just wanted to give you another simple example which can help yield a different END RESULT.

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Wed, 12/19/2018 - 00:34
#3
questccg
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Something noteworthy...

When you explained that your "clone" is similar to Eldritch Horror ... I though about that game in a different manner.

IF you want to have a "Game Board", well odds are you have to "move from location to location". This is the primary focus of ALL "Board Games". Games that fit into this category are Life, Sorry!, Monopoly, Catan, SmallWorld, etc. The list goes ON-AND-ON forever. So you NEED to have a "creative" Game Board if you want something DIFFERENT.

To help you, I will list TWO (2) DIFFERENT games which feature a "RARE" type of Game Board. It's usually NOT the norm that you find such a board... But it can HELP YOU (maybe).

#1. Lorenzo il Magnifico

#2. Alhambra

IF you take a look at EITHER of these two (2) GAME BOARDS they are very different from MOST "Game Boards". What these board aim to do is to play elements from the game in a "market" sense/approach. Each game uses the board to ACQUIRE certain "cards" which can be "money" or "buildings" or other elements in the game.

So maybe take a look at these two (2) examples of DIFFERENT usage of the "Game Board". You said you didn't want to "travel to locations". The other OPTION is to "get rid" of the "Game Board" and make the game a more "card-based" design with Player Boards as a way to keep track of progress.

No BOARD usually leads to a more "card-driven/dominant" type of game. Using a board as per the two (2) examples, yields a different type of experience which can vastly yield a different kind of game.

Anyways check those two (2) designs out... And maybe that can give you a NEW direction to explore with YOUR "Game Board".

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Wed, 12/19/2018 - 13:00
#4
larienna
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Joined: 07/28/2008
Have you taken a look at my

Have you taken a look at my Eldritch Express?

I intend to modify and retheme the game into a steam punk theme. I could develop the system further and support other theme.

Else, for eldritch horror, I am struggling to see if I keep or not the game. Yes, many mechanics were an imporovement to it's predecessor.

But the game is still about: moving somewhere, drawing a card, rolling dice and resolving the effect. That's it.

An find it pretty boring. One way you can test your game, like I did with AH at many years ago is remove the chrome, resolve rapidly the core mechanics where you succeed all rolls, and see if the game is interesting. This way, you know if there is strategy in the core game.

For AH, the game summarized itself as : Move to a gate, resolve the gate, reapeat and win. Very Boring.

One suggestion I made for EH that is that instead of moving somewhere to resolve a random event, what if I could have the content of the card before moving to destination. A bit like a quest.

Then I can choose where it's worth moving to resolve those card which adds some strategy. Quest could also be exchanged between players if at the same location.

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