Titan - Tile driven challenge

This would be a neat game to play. Sounds like it would be a Final Fantasy Tactics Orge type game but it would'nt be Final Fantasy. I would like to help you on this game If you need help with Titan names or weapons or something like that?

Is the game that you have envisioned for 20+ years, the one in your mind, about the titans of mythology, or is it just a name that you liked and decided to use it as a temporary placeholder?

I am just wondering what the connection was between the Titans of mythology and jewels or buying/placing terrain on the board?

You could base the game on conflict between the Titans and the Olympians, of course - but, again, what is the connection between that conflict and placing terrain tiles?

Is it just the base mechanic of players taking turns laying terrain tiles on top of a base board of grasslands that is what you want to create a game from scratch from? Or are you wanting to incorporate the Titans of mythological fame?

You do know that Titan is the name of one of the planet Saturn's moons, don't you? You could retain the name, Titan (barring any existing copyright or trademark conflicts with other games of the same name), or if such conflicts exist (I'm pretty sure that I've seen a game titled, Saturn, before), you could just retain the Titan aspect as a setting for the game.

Players could explore the moon, Titan, and that could account for why they are laying terrain tiles, aka exploring as they go.

If you want to add a conflict dimension to the game, along the lines of Chess or Stratego, is there anything specific that you had in mind, combat-wise?

I've never seen that science fiction movie, Prometheus, which was an Aliens prequel, I think. The setting could be a planet in a far off star system, and it could be named Titan. Titan could be a ship, in the vein of the Prometheus ship of the aforementioned movie.

I'm not sure what you have in mind, or what you are after. I am just tossing out a few thoughts from off the top of my head.

In the movie, The Day the Earth Stood Still, there was an alien named Klaatu, who was accompanied by a robot, of sorts, named Gort (or GORT). Instead of Gort, have a robot of a similar nature named Titan (if you want to retain that place-holder name).

A game of conflict between Chess and Stratego could encompass pretty much anything. That's a wide berth to create a game in. It helps to know what you want or what you have in mind, or whether you have no clue or idea, but you just want something, you're just not sure what.

I played Stratego a lot, in years gone by, although I haven't played it in recent years. It's basically units with numbers assigned, with the exception of the spy, flags, and bombs. Terrain, a central component of the game that you have in mind, isn't a consideration, in Stratego, aside from the players not being able to move into lakes/water on the map.

Titan could be T.I.T.A.N. - An acronym for something, maybe secret military base, or an intelligence agency of some sort. You would need to decide what it stands for, in order to build a game about it, though.

Or, maybe T.I.T.A.N. is a war plan of some sort, a contingency plan for nuclear war, or for alien invasion, or for a zombie apocalypse - or for some other apocalyptic type of event.

Or, on the other end of the spectrum, think along the lines of the Genesis Device, aka Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan movie.

Titan could be a terraformer device. This approach could also incorporate the ability for players to continually change or move terrain tiles. Perhaps different alien races need to terraform planets or a particular world to different standards.

Whether players control the same kinds of units, or whether they control units unique to their own position (think Zergs, Protoss, and Terrans from Starcraft), you would need to decide.

In general, it is probably advisable to, when in doubt about a given mechanic or feature to be incorporated into your game's design, follow the K.I.S.S. formula - Keep It Simple Stupid - with the caveat being that this rule doesn't apply, if you know for certain a particular mechanic or feature that is really what you want to include.

Both Chess and Stratego are two player games. You could try for a game that works well for more than two players, or which is geared for solo-play by a single player. It's all in what you want to do.

Just some thoughts.

This game could have theme mechanic as a King of the Hill strategy game? Players build the board or grasslands as a giant hill. Jewels can add or minus height to the grasslands. Jewels can give extra tiles to the players or cause poison effects by slowing units down as an example.