[1] Game Overview
The Way Things Were is a detective role-playing game combining elements of deck builders and action roguelikes, set in the small town of Marangad in the Holy Amaran Empire. The winds of change are sweeping across the lands as explorers bring tales of a new world across the ocean, and once-peaceful neighbours threaten war, but the people of Marangad have been set in their ways for the better part of a millennium. You play as Hazim Ra Janil, a newly appointed member of the Imperial Revenants—travelling peacekeepers equally feared and respected across the vast continent, named after the ‘death’ or rather total memory wipe undergone during training. Officially, you’re in Marangad investigating rumours of heresy against the young and naive Empress. But when an old man offers you a draught that turns your dreams into strange visits to the spirit world, you begin to unravel a tale hundreds of years in the making, regarding the very founding of the Empire, and the dirty secrets behind the mystical powers of the throne. Along the way you will discover that, like all stories, it is about people. And there is rarely so simple a thing as good or evil.
[A] Mission Statement
Create a cast of multi-dimensional, flawed, and deeply human characters existing in a fictional universe that is as layered as our own. Build complex, yet intuitive strategic card based detective gameplay that is easy to understand but hard to master. Make fun, engaging, and fast paced combat sequences that complement the slower gameplay and feel well interwoven with it. Force the player to make difficult decisions between mechanical win conditions or narrative win conditions in order to make them truly consider the morality of their actions, and the nature of the world—both real and fictitious.
[B] Genre
RPG, Strategy, Story Rich, Deckbuilding, Trading Card Game, Choices Matter, Fantasy
[C] Platforms
Primarily targeting Windows—Steam, Epic and GOG. Will plan for possible console release while designing user interfaces. Mobile is an option as well, but monetization will have to be decided.
[D] Target Audience
- Existing fans of narrative-heavy RPG games such as Disco Elysium, VA-11 HALL-A, Baldur’s Gate 3, and the Persona series.
- Existing fans of deck builder’s and other strategy focused games such as Slay The Spire and Inscription, as well as deduction games like Papers Please, Return Of The Obra-Dinn, and the Ace Attorney series.
- Existing fans of action roguelikes like Hades, Hollow Knight, and Dead Cells.
- Fans of other indie titles that have been extremely well received on platforms like Steam, looking for tightly focused, more intimate gaming experiences largely absent from recent AAA gaming.
- Additionally, the worldbuilding and thematic influences from South Asian sources can appeal to gamers in these regions, who have not seen much representation that caters to them.