Fanstratics – Update #18 – Snakish Brigand creature and Tutorial

Author: Liso1 January 4, 2022 0 Comments

Fanstratics Troop: Snakish Brigand.

Within the Boggish roster, the Snakish Brigand is a staple Troop known for its slithery tactics.  As it is lightly armored, the Brigand prefers ranged assaults, featuring pronged arrowheads soaked in its own venom, to whittle down a target before finishing it off with equally venomous melee strike.

Originally, for this month, Justin and I had another Troop in mind, but after thinking it over, we decided to pivot toward another.

At first, I was a touch hesitant, as the Snakish Brigand is actually a relatively standard Troop type.  When thinking of inspirational Troop types, ‘snake man’ isn’t the most exciting idea.  However, we have Justin at the wheel.  😉

For those of you who want to see Justin actually create the drawing, you can always watch his Twitch stream.

Fanstratics – Update #17 – Cyclops Siege Breaker, Art Mock-up… and COVID (again)

Question: How will the game teach its mechanics and general systems?​

When HoMM3 was being developed, tutorials were largely limited to game manuals.  Games were starting to incorporate interactive tutorials, but weren’t given a lot of attention as they took time away from primary game development.  Today, players expect games to be just as complex, just as difficult, but more friendly.  While I have yet to design the tutorial, I have contemplated three potential options.

1. ‘Go Here Do This’ tutorial
   Every gamer is familiar with this typical type of tutorial.  If you are like myself, you don’t find them informative.  Instead, you find them annoying and boring.  Should my other efforts fail, or should I run out of time, this tutorial is my fallback position.

2. Self-directed tutorial
   Most gamers learn various games by diving in, making their mistakes, and learning from them.  Provided the game is relatively fun… gamers keep playing.  A self-directed tutorial would be a ‘trial and error’ experience, but accelerated with a touch of developer guidance.  This tutorial approach is arguably the most difficult to make, but with the most ‘fun’ potential.

3. Video tutorial
   Twitch?  Youtube?  Sometimes, it’s simply better to watch someone else play a game for 5 to 10 minutes.  With this approach, you can also subdivide into basic, advanced, expert, and subject specific tutorials.  If I had to make the tutorial today, I would choose this option.

Question: Are there plans to include a manual?​

I expect Fanstratics to be generous with tooltips and exhibit an in-game encyclopedia.  A physical manual would be limited to a collector’s edition (assuming we have one).

Fanstratics is currently in pre-alpha production. For future updates, please subscribe to newsletter.