Court of the Medici Design Contest Winner

The winner of the micro design competition for a three to four player expansion to Court of the Medici is:

Shadow Alliances by David Hampton.

As a key component of the design, Shadow Alliances replaces the Inner Circle game zone with a set of three “shadow alliances” controlled by each player. These shadow alliances are beyond the reach of cards at court until they “Strike from the Shadows” and reveal themselves. As long they are outside of the game, they do not count towards a player’s influence total and the game ends whenever one player uses his final remaining shadow alliance. So, the game only ends whenever one player can perform a finishing blow on his rivals. However, since each shadow alliance contains members from more than one house and one of the two cards is kept face down until the alliance is revealed, it is actually not so easy to finish off the competition and players are kept in a constant state of trying to figure out just who is going to strike from the Shadow Alliances.

The rules for each entry along with feedback can be found on Board Game Design Forum:

Congratulations David!

Nuts Sound Effects Project Description

Introduction
It’s autumn and the leaves have begun to fall.  Hazelnuts, chestnuts and acorns line the ground and the ominous drop in temperature signals that winter is on its way.  As a bunch of backyard squirrels, you are in a race with each other to collect nuts.  You will have to forage, stash and even steal as many nuts as you can before winter arrives.  For, only the squirrel with the most nuts at the end will survive.  With simultaneous secret decision-making and piles of nuts constantly trading hands, all the competition could very well drive you Nuts!

… More about Nuts here.

The Project
We need the following sound effects for the game:

  1. Nuts dropping to the ground
  2. Shaking of branches (in the wind)
  3. Leaves on branches being parted
  4. Nuts being fed down a tree trunk
  5. Nuts being stacked
  6. Squirrel Chuckling
  7. Squirrel Frustration
  8. Option Selection (appropriate to theme but innocuous)
  9. Back a level (appropriate to theme but innocuous)

Style
Stylistically, it needs to match the cartoonish artwork of the game.  In the case of the sound of the squirrel characters, the sound needs to be cute more than realistic.

Time Frame
As soon as possible.  Send us a draft of the sound files you have in mind and your estimate.  If we like them, we’ll sign a contract.  If anything requires a revision, we can work out the details over email.

Format
Please deliver the draft of the sound files as an MP3.  Final sounds need to be delivered as .m4a files.

Compensation
Give us an estimate and we’ll arrange a way payment.  You’ll also receive credit for the illustrations in all versions of the game that are published in iOS.

Grant of Rights
As a work made for hire, Evertide Games will own the copyright.  If you choose to use any sound effects in the creative commons, you must furnish Evertide Games with a complete Chain of Title for each such sound.

Contact Us

Preview of the Nuts Squirrels

A preview of the characters in Nuts: Winter’s Coming is available here.  Players will have the opportunity to select their personal representation from one of the four different squirrels when they Tap to Join a game. When playing against the computer, Zippy, Scooter, Crazy and Belle will each have a unique play style and set of thoughts which match their image.

Chosen Code to Develop Straw

Evertide Games has reached an agreement with Chosen Code to develop Straw into an App for the iPad.  Chosen Code will adapt the game mechanic from Straw to the Apple mobile operating system and incorporate the cartoonish art developed by Octographics for the version of the Straw released by AEG.  The game will include animations for the camel and genie, a sound track to match the ancient Arabic setting and an intuitive AI similar to the one developed for Nuts.  Straw HD is scheduled to be released for the iPad in February 2011.

Design Contest for Expansion to Court of the Medici

Evertide Games announces an open competition to design a three to four player expansion to Court of the Medici.  The design must conform to the guidelines of the rules of the contest.   And, if a winner is chosen from the entries, the designer will receive complementary copies of both Court of the Medici and the expansion, tentatively called “Houses Rising”, along with a cash prize and designer credit for the game when it is published.   Designers have two weeks to submit their designs for the expansion and the winner, if any, will be announced two weeks later.   All entrants of the contest whose rules conform to the guidelines of the contest will also receive feedback on their design.

Nuts Design Concept Complete

After two weeks of R&D, the design team has completed the design concept for Nuts.  Players will see a top down view of the backyard and ‘tap to join’ the game from one of the corner trees.  To start each round, players will have to shake the nuts loose from the trees and, to keep their choices hidden from each others, players will be able to cover over their corner of the board with their hands while they make their selection. The game will focus on a multiplayer hot seat play experience but there will also be a solo and multiplayer online version available as well.  You can view six of the screenshots available to the developers here.

Nuts Illustration Project Description

Introduction
“Nuts: Winter’s Coming” is a family oriented multiplayer game for the iPad where you play backyard squirrels in a race to gather nuts before winter. The squirrel that gathers the most nuts from each of the three trees in the yard by the end of the season survives the winter.  But, you also have the option to steal nuts from other squirrels while they’re off collecting from the trees.  Or, if you think you’re going to be the victim of theft, you can bury your nuts. The yard is also stalked by a cat, who occasionally prevents you from collecting from one of the trees. So, you will have to keep an eye on the competition and choose where you forage carefully.

Nuts is the iOS adaptation of the game Stones.

The Project
We need the following illustrations for the game:

  • App Store / Button Logo
  • Splash Screen for the Game
  • Background for the Opening Screen
  • Background for the Play Screen
  • Background for the Victory Screen
  • Background for the Menu Screen
  • Navigation Button
  • Play Button
  • Scoreboard
  • Three types of Nut: Acorn, Chestnut and Hazelnut
  • Three types of Trees each in Four Layers*: Oak, Chestnut and Hazelnut
  • Two types of Green Trees in Four Layers*: Corner of the Screen, Side of the Screen
  • A Cat
  • Leaf pattern (overlay for the Play Screen)
  • Rainstorm pattern (overlay for the Play Screen)

*Each tree needs to have an underlying layer with its trunk, branches and a few leaves as well as three other top layers of leaves that can be removed during play to make the tree look like it is losing its leaves.

Style
Stylistically, it needs to be wildishly cartoony.  With squirrels, trees, nuts, a cat and a big back yard drawn in vector graphics with autumn colors in a highly saturated cartoon style.  As the days proceed, the trees will start to lose their leaves and the daylight will become weaker.  So, the final victory scene will show the victor all comfy inside his winter abode snacking on a pile of nuts while his competitors lay frozen to death outside in the snow.

Design Considerations
For the gameplay, it is designed to be primarily a hot seat multiplayer experience, with up to four players which can play at once.  Each day of the game, each player has to decide whether he’s going to collect, steal or bury nuts.  In his corner of the screen there will be three buttons, as well as a few sub-selection buttons to choose from.  When the player wants to make a choice, he uses one hand to cover up the corner and the other to select his option for the round.  His selection is then covered up by the App until everyone has made a selection.  At that point, the options are revealed, the nuts are divided up accordingly and they go to the next day.  The game end at the end of the 14th day when it snows and the winner is declared.

Time Frame
You will have 4 weeks to complete the artwork.  Based upon the design material provided, you will draw up a concept image for each item.  We can discuss alterations (if any) that are necessary and then, after we agree upon the color palette, you can go ahead and make the final imagery.  Throughout the project, I’ll be there to provide you with any other reference material, feedback and advice that you need.

Medium
To be able to resize the artwork appropriate for each iOS device, we need the final format for each piece to be delivered as a vector image with separate color and line layers.

Compensation
Give us an estimate and we’ll figure out the total and arrange a payment schedule.  You’ll also receive credit for the illustrations in all versions of the game that are published.

Grant of Rights
As a work made for hire, Evertide Games will own the copyright.

Interested? Contact Us

Common Extract to Develop Nuts

Evertide Games has reached an agreement with Common Extract to develop Nuts into an App for the iOS. Common Extract will adapt the game mechanic from Stones to the Apple mobile operating system and incorporate the cartoonish theme of backyard squirrels racing to collect as many nuts as they can before winter. Nuts: Winter’s Coming is scheduled to be released for the iPad by Christmas 2010.

Z-Man Games to Publish Lords of Scotland

Evertide Games has reached an agreement with Z-Man Games to publish Lords of Scotland. Lords of Scotland will combine the artistic vision of Gabrielle Levion with the game design of Richard James into a 99 card game of strategy and ambition for the Scottish Throne. Lords of Scotland is scheduled to be released by Z-Man Games in Spring 2011.

Pakaba Illustration Project Description

Introduction
Pakaba is an abstract game of war between ancient Mayan rulers.  As leader of your faction, you move to eliminate your opponent’s pawns across a map of intersecting territories.  By sliding your pawns across the board between two allied territories, you can intercept your opponent and eliminate one of his pawns from the game.  Then he gets a chance to do the same.  Control for the board is fought by this process of move and capture until only one player controls two out of the three alliance and is declared supreme king.  Read more.

The Project
We have signed a license agreement with an App developer to develop Pakaba into an iOS App. As part of the agreement, we need to provide the following illustrations for the game:

  • App Store / Button Logo
  • Splash Screen for the Game
  • Background
  • Menu Board with Buttons
  • Gameboard
  • Game Components (Pawns)
  • Mayan King Opponent
  • Spoils of War Victory Objects

Style
We are looking for battle artwork inspired by the stone/wall artwork and glyphs of the Ancient Mayan people.  As rulers of city states and commanders of great armies, the players direct their warriors to attack their enemies and capture certain territory by sliding them across a map of allied territories which is different each time they play.  But, these troop movements occur across all of Mayan civilization.  So the style of the game needs to capture the combativeness of war while at the same time conveying the big-picture strategic decision making that each player is called upon to perform.  Using the existing artwork of the Mayans as well as reference material drawn from strategic battle style games, it will be up to your imagination to bring this abstract game to life.

Time Frame
You will have 6 weeks to complete the artwork.  Based upon the concept images you draw initially, we’ll discuss alterations (if any) that are necessary and after we figure out the final design, you can go ahead and make the final imagery.  At the beginning of the project, I’ll provide you with all the reference material I have and we can discuss the color palette.  Then, throughout the project, I’ll be there to provide you with any other reference material, feedback and advice that you need.

Medium
We need a digital copy of each image with separate black & white and color layers.  Vector drawings are thus preferred.  But if you feel more comfortable composing in a physical medium, then the image should be scanned before and after coloring at a resolution of 600dpi or more so that we can adjust that we have room to adjust the size downward later.

Compensation
Give us an estimate and we’ll figure out the total and arrange a payment schedule.  You’ll also receive credit for the illustrations in all versions of the game that are published.

Grant of Rights
As a work made for hire, Evertide Games will own the copyright.

Interested? Contact Us