[Aztlan] First review!
I received my first review of Architects of Aztlanfrom chgriffen today! Yay!
Game: Architects of Aztlan (or Atzlan-it’s spelled both ways throughout)
Designer: Adam Dray
Sheet by: Mike Ramsey
Disclaimer: I consider Adam a friend and have played with him on the Foundry. This review is as objective as I can make it; it just happens to be a very well-developed game.
Premise:
In this two-player game, one player controls an Architect from Atlantis who travels through time to warn coming civilizations of their impending apocalypse.
Playability: 9
The 18-page ruleset clearly lays out all of the rules, including the division of authority, situation creation, resolution, and character development. There might be some kinks in there that will require playtesting, but at first and second glance, all of the rules are there and seem to work together well. Several rule ideas are really cool, such as the interplay between life-time (how much time the character has until the apocalypse hits) and insight (whether the character manages to stop the apocalypse), and how those bring up tactical decisions with the dice mechanic. The basic dice mechanic is also very cool, but explaining it would take too long at this point. It remains to be seen how it plays out. One of the concerns I have is that the characters are going to burn out permanently rather quickly.
Sheet Integration: 9
Adam used all of the parts of the sheet in several different ways in the game. The only one that seems to be missing is Life-Times Achieved (correct me if I’m wrong, Adam). Even small items such as Liege are given in-depth treatment.
Coolness Factor: 7
While the idea is great, it reminded me a bit of the Group Design Challenge premise at the Forge from a while back. Also, as Adam admits, there are obvious Dogs in the Vineyard influences here that helped Adam with the design, but make for a less-than-perfect fit. I’m just not sure that the way static traits are used gels well with the overall game-it feels like the way they are added up to get the four different arenas of conflict (among which you can escalate) are a leftover from the source of inspiration and feel somewhat forced (why use spirit+connection to kill someone when you use spirit+flesh to hurt them?). Still, overall the game looks great and I’d definitely play it. It has a lot of cool Color, too, such as the way in which Adam incorporated the Liege element from the sheet. The amount of effort and coolness that went into this game are overwhelming to someone like me who barely squeezed out three pages. Also, the layout is well done, art is included, and it overall looks highly polished already.
Total Score: 25
Wow! I'm so flattered to get such a high score from Christian, whom I respect so much. I have some comments on the review.
Yeah, I found myself misspelling Aztlan all over the place. My fingers wanted to type "Atzlan" for some reason and I didn't set up my spell checker to correct it. Oops.
I'm glad he liked the life-time and insight interplay. That was, I think, my best inspiration for the game and it drove many other design decisions.
I, too, worry that characters will burn out too quickly. I think I left out my planned rules for spending scenes on healing the spiritual damage. The idea is that if you're willing to spend life-time on healing, you can erase a box of damage. It's a tough strategic decision to make.
As for the "Life-Times Achieved" item on the sheet, fuck. I meant to integrate that. At the least, it's a counter for how many missions you've accomplished. If I'd have mentioned that bit, even as weak as it was, maybe I'd have scored a 10 in the Sheet Integration category.
I'm not at all aware of the Group Design Challenge from the Forge. I think I saw some of the subject headers in the post listings. I don't think I read any of them. The bad news is that means people feel my game is derivative at worst, done-before at best. The good news is I developed a game a bunch of people are already interested in.
I wasn't entirely happy with the derived traits either, so I give a firm nod to Christian in his criticism about the static conflicts. I had in mind some justification for the choices I made and probably should have included them in the text. Because the relationship between the Architect and the population he hopes to help is more spiritual than physical, killing a single person isn't necessarily this heinous, murderous act. I chose Spirit + Connection because that felt right for killing. Here's the breakdown and my explanations (even if somewhat forced):
So, are those choices weak ones? Yeah, probably. But that's what I was thinking when I wrote it.
Christian, thank you for the review!
Game: Architects of Aztlan (or Atzlan-it’s spelled both ways throughout)
Designer: Adam Dray
Sheet by: Mike Ramsey
Disclaimer: I consider Adam a friend and have played with him on the Foundry. This review is as objective as I can make it; it just happens to be a very well-developed game.
Premise:
In this two-player game, one player controls an Architect from Atlantis who travels through time to warn coming civilizations of their impending apocalypse.
Playability: 9
The 18-page ruleset clearly lays out all of the rules, including the division of authority, situation creation, resolution, and character development. There might be some kinks in there that will require playtesting, but at first and second glance, all of the rules are there and seem to work together well. Several rule ideas are really cool, such as the interplay between life-time (how much time the character has until the apocalypse hits) and insight (whether the character manages to stop the apocalypse), and how those bring up tactical decisions with the dice mechanic. The basic dice mechanic is also very cool, but explaining it would take too long at this point. It remains to be seen how it plays out. One of the concerns I have is that the characters are going to burn out permanently rather quickly.
Sheet Integration: 9
Adam used all of the parts of the sheet in several different ways in the game. The only one that seems to be missing is Life-Times Achieved (correct me if I’m wrong, Adam). Even small items such as Liege are given in-depth treatment.
Coolness Factor: 7
While the idea is great, it reminded me a bit of the Group Design Challenge premise at the Forge from a while back. Also, as Adam admits, there are obvious Dogs in the Vineyard influences here that helped Adam with the design, but make for a less-than-perfect fit. I’m just not sure that the way static traits are used gels well with the overall game-it feels like the way they are added up to get the four different arenas of conflict (among which you can escalate) are a leftover from the source of inspiration and feel somewhat forced (why use spirit+connection to kill someone when you use spirit+flesh to hurt them?). Still, overall the game looks great and I’d definitely play it. It has a lot of cool Color, too, such as the way in which Adam incorporated the Liege element from the sheet. The amount of effort and coolness that went into this game are overwhelming to someone like me who barely squeezed out three pages. Also, the layout is well done, art is included, and it overall looks highly polished already.
Total Score: 25
Wow! I'm so flattered to get such a high score from Christian, whom I respect so much. I have some comments on the review.
Yeah, I found myself misspelling Aztlan all over the place. My fingers wanted to type "Atzlan" for some reason and I didn't set up my spell checker to correct it. Oops.
I'm glad he liked the life-time and insight interplay. That was, I think, my best inspiration for the game and it drove many other design decisions.
I, too, worry that characters will burn out too quickly. I think I left out my planned rules for spending scenes on healing the spiritual damage. The idea is that if you're willing to spend life-time on healing, you can erase a box of damage. It's a tough strategic decision to make.
As for the "Life-Times Achieved" item on the sheet, fuck. I meant to integrate that. At the least, it's a counter for how many missions you've accomplished. If I'd have mentioned that bit, even as weak as it was, maybe I'd have scored a 10 in the Sheet Integration category.
I'm not at all aware of the Group Design Challenge from the Forge. I think I saw some of the subject headers in the post listings. I don't think I read any of them. The bad news is that means people feel my game is derivative at worst, done-before at best. The good news is I developed a game a bunch of people are already interested in.
I wasn't entirely happy with the derived traits either, so I give a firm nod to Christian in his criticism about the static conflicts. I had in mind some justification for the choices I made and probably should have included them in the text. Because the relationship between the Architect and the population he hopes to help is more spiritual than physical, killing a single person isn't necessarily this heinous, murderous act. I chose Spirit + Connection because that felt right for killing. Here's the breakdown and my explanations (even if somewhat forced):
- Talking -- Connection + Mind -- You're counting on your host to do the work, mostly, and you're guiding them. It's your Mind, though, so you get that trait. You need Connection to interface effectively with other people.
- Physical -- Mind + Flesh -- Flesh is obvious. Although this represents your (the Architect's) body, and you are using the host's actual physical body, Flesh represents your ability to use it. The Mind trait represents your mental abilities making you more efficient and effective at physical, non-combat tasks.
- Fight -- Flesh + Spirit -- Flesh is obvious here, too. You're fighting and it's all physical and gritty. Spirit is involved because it helps you do the right thing (if the dice are with you, it must be the right thing, no?).
- Kill -- Spirit + Connection -- Spirit plays a part again because you're trying to take a life and do the right thing. It's a moral choice. Connection gets involved because you cannot take a life without it being personal.
So, are those choices weak ones? Yeah, probably. But that's what I was thinking when I wrote it.
Christian, thank you for the review!