Author: Sarah Northway

Rebuild 3: Paper dolls

Adam’s been busy making mix & matchable characters for Rebuild: Gangs of Deadsville. They remind me of the digital kisekae dolls I used to collect. We’ll have thousands of unique survivors by the time he’s through, from cops to road warriors to half-starved hipsters and every hybrid thereof.

They’ll have unique personalities too: some are greedy, some lazy, others heroic or ridden with guilt. The longer you know them, the more their backstories will be revealed.

I’m adding a second inventory slot, so survivors will be able to equip both a weapon and a tool. I haven’t figured out which slot chainsaws go in yet…

The three male body types: skinny (does he look familiar?), bulky, and heavy. The third type will be rare – staying overweight during the zompocalypse isn’t easy, and you probably don’t want to know what they’ve been eating.

June 24, 2013
Rebuild 3: Survey Says

First: there’s a new Rebuild 3 survey out – take it now!

I started a survey back in November 2012 asking fans of the Rebuild series what they’d most like to see in the next game. It was advertised on the Rebuild 3 ideas wiki which at first was mostly visited by players from Kongregate, and later also mobile players. I collected the first 100 responses after a few weeks, then the full 1500 after six months.

1. & 2. Demographic

The most surprising fact to me was that the results from the first 100 were mostly within 5% of the results of all 1500. The only variation was that later respondents were more likely to own the mobile version and pay more for Rebuild 3. No shock that these things correlated, but what else did? Do those people who’d pay more want something different? Well it turns out… no. They all want the same things in Rebuild 3:

3. Play style

Most people (66%) play Rebuild 2 until they get every building in the city. I’m more inclined to stop after the first ending or when I know I’m going to win, so this is good to know.

4. Art

The consensus is that the art should be more polished, and bloodier is better. This latter might be because I called the other option “cuter”… but at any rate this is the only place where I’m going against fans’ wishes and instead making the art less gritty and gruesome. This is a) because I want to and b) to appeal more to new players who might have been turned off by the creepy art in Rebuild 2.

5. Complexity

Almost a no-brainer. Fans want more complexity and more numbers. Me too!

6. Stories

While everyone can agree that Rebuild 3 needs more random events, they’re split between wanting more funny or more serious. Well… more of both it is then!

7. Combat

It surprised me that 45% like the combat from Rebuild 2 just fine – I personally thought it was a little dull. 33% are interested in seeing it go more tactical, which works for me because I’d like to take it halfway there. I’m this out: zombies that approach and attack the fort as usual, but you can see and preemptively attack them or shore up defenses where you know they’re going to hit.

8. More of what though?

Everyone wants new buildings and events, but nobody cares about new endings. Makes sense if most people play until the whole city’s saved. This works for me; I’m thinking of taking alternate endings out entirely and showing (very simple) cutscenes for major achievements instead.

9. If you had to choose…

Overwhelmingly, if fans had to choose between deeper fort-building strategy, better combat, bigger cities, more events, or better graphics – they’d pick deeper strategy. Second comes more events/plots/endings and both will I provide!

10. Put a price on love

Believe it or not, I was pleased to see only 40% of fans wouldn’t think of paying for a Rebuild game. I know most of them (75%) have only ever played the free Flash versions of Rebuild, and I assume as with all surveys there was a bias towards respondents with more spare time than money. Of those who would pay for a downloadable pc version, the average was $10, which sounds fair to me.

Of course I’ll still release a free version of Rebuild 3 which will be lighter in content and bells & whistles, but won’t cut off halfway or do other annoying demo things. I’m still super nervous about backlash from either those who pay then find out it’s free, and those two don’t then find out they’re missing content. But for the most part people on the ideas wiki have been supportive about it.

And heck, maybe I’ll reach a totally new group of people with this game who’ve never even heard of Rebuild before. With that firmly in mind, I go to do my fans’ bidding.

June 4, 2013
Rebuild 3: games you should play while you wait

Rebuild 3 (ahem, I should get used to saying “Rebuild: Gangs of Deadsville”)… is going to be awhile. I’ve updated my release date to Spring 2014, which simultaneously feels forever away, and far too close. While you’re waiting, here are some similar games to play that have been a big inspiration for the Rebuild series and the new game.

King of Dragon Pass

I can’t believe I only just played this game from 1999, but I can tell you it still holds up. It’s a wonderfully rich storytelling experience, a strategy game where you manage a clan while being barraged with moral dilemmas. It’s set in a super deep fantasy world based on gods and mythology that goes on forever in such detail, all of it illustrated with these huge hand-drawn pictures. I’ve never played anything like it. It’s inspired me to make the text events in Rebuild 3 even longer with more explorations of the world and events from that terrible “first year” of the zombpocalypse.

They more recently released an updated iOS version and have a great development blog for it. I highly recommend it to fans of strategy and storytelling.

Dwarf Fortress

Now showing in the New York MoMA, this game is without a doubt a work of art. The product of years of obsession; Toady’s unrelenting drive to simulate the running of a dwarven city in raw and ridiculously minute detail. With ascii graphics. You need to squint and use your imagination to see the blonde/brunette/redhead, but part of the appeal is that the game is in your head. But to be honest… I prefer Mayday’s graphical edition, and though I know it’s sacrilege I’d kill for a full-mouse interface.

Despite their lack of visual representation, those little dwarves have so much character that they inspire epic works of fanart/fiction. I come back to them when I’m brainstorming new survivor enhancements like perks, backstories, individual happiness, relationships, kids… it’s hard to know where to draw the line. With Dwarf Fortress there is no line since it’s a perpetual work in progress, which I guess in a way Rebuild has been too.

SimCity

Though not totally accurate, I sometimes describe Rebuild as “SimCity with zombies”, and my earliest prototype used modified building graphics from SimCity 1. Mostly because I needed some quick and recognizable placeholders, but also because the first two SimCities were defining games from my youth. I later played every other simulation game I could get my hands on, but these were my favorite.

So I was heartbroken that the newest SimCity is riddled with always-online DRM which means I can’t reliably play in the remote places I live half the year. No surprise their servers didn’t handle the day 1 load, but it was inexcusable that EA claimed the always-online was to offload processing, which was a bald-faced lie. I’ve also heard the new game itself is a disappointment, but you can always go back and play the earlier games.

Space Rangers

Recently remastered as Space Rangers HD: A war apart, this space trading/piracy game breaks up the strategy with delightful interactive fiction events. Sound familiar? This game was on my mind when I came up with the initial concept for Rebuild: a strategy game broken up with text that tells a much deeper story.

Rebuild 3’s going to have even more, longer events with more complicated decisions to make than just “yes” or “no”. They may not have you performing espionage at alien cocktail parties (a plotline I seem to recall…) but hopefully will be just as compelling.

May 22, 2013
Rebuild 3: Interfaces & common resolutions in 2013

The target aspect ratio for Rebuild 3 is widescreen 16:9. Rebuild 1 and 2 were 4:3 which is pretty normal for Flash games that have to appear on sites like Kongregate with ads and stuff around them. But the PC/Mac and mobile versions of Rebuild 3 will support glorious fullscreen, where 16:9 is the new norm. Check it:

My dubious hobby/addiction to making colorful graphs

So the plan is to design an interface that fits snugly on 16:9 iPhone5s and wide PC screens, but scale and move around to fill more square screens. Here’s a few ways we might do it:

Concept art for Rebuild 3 at 16:9 and 4:3

Alternate concept with broken sliding hud

Concept with menu down the left, taller menus.

I hope my addiction to mockups leads to something useful. Adam’s doing the same thing on his end, finding inventive new ways to convey a ton of information without looking cluttered. I want the game to feel natural at any resolution, so you don’t feel so much like you’re buried in an endless stack of menus. Which… come to think of it, is not a totally inaccurate description of the game.

May 15, 2013
Rebuild 3: First look concept art

After an exhaustive search for a Rebuild 3 artist, sifting through 150 applicants and agonizing over the decision for months, I chose the art and style of Adam Meyer (of Steamroller Studios and Crystal Clear Art). When he’s not working with me on Rebuild 3, Adam’s got a zombie game of his own on the go – the beautiful Deadwood with a super unique art style involving wooden people.

As for the style of Rebuild 3 (tentatively called “Gangs of Deadsville”), we’re going to go for something cleaner and more cartoony than Rebuild 2… but not nearly as cheesy as my stickmen from Rebuild 1. Here’s a rough mockup of what we have in mind:

Adam’s mockup for the new look to Rebuild 3.

The new characters have so much… character! They’ll have mix & match features like earlier games, and a bunch of new clothing options. Hipsters, geeks, cops and cowboys – I can’t wait to make my last stand with these adorable bastards. I’ll leave you with some of Adam’s survivor sketches:

May 9, 2013