Scivatan

Scivatan, also known as the “Mountain Empire,” holds lands primarily amongst the largest mountain range on the planet of Bryche, the setting of Project Aleutian. The mountain range is rich in a yellow crystal that remains hot and never seems to cool down. It was used early in the nation’s history to keep their mountain homes warm, and at the dawn of industry it quickly became a sought-after heat source for steam powered machines as it was more reliable. Access to these crystals has led Scivatan to be a leader in the development of new engines and tools used by all nations.

Navaire

Navaire is a coastal nation on the planet of Bryche, the setting of Project Aleutian. As a coastal nation with a rich naval tradition, they are well known as experts in navigation. As such, they are renowned makers of traditional compasses that use the magnetic field of Bryche to aid in traversal of the seas and skies. They also developed special compasses that use their nation’s blue crystal to point toward and help find specific resources on the planet. Their ability to locate crystal deposits for themselves and other nations has led to Navaire being one of the richer nations on Bryche.

New Nations

I’ve developed two new nations that I’ve started playtesting along the existing four. Their abilities are aimed at adding some interesting interactions between the different players such as swapping cards and triggering espionage. It will also add some more variety to the different nation ability combinations when playing with four players.

Welcome Madelyn!

I’m excited to announce our new partnership with Madelyn Hogrebe, @heartoflakesandmountains, who is on contract, as of this week, to be the concept artist for Project Aleutian! After several weeks of discussing the scope and theme, last week was my first time showcasing the game to her and showing some physical cards.  We can’t wait to see how we’ll bring the game to life through this collaboration!

Experimenting with Grunge

Over the last couple of weeks, I’ve been experimenting with some different looks for the design and layout of the card fronts. One thing that I started experimenting with were grunge textures in Inkscape to get a bit of a weathered and organic paper look. When applied to other symbols, I also found that grunge textures also gave them a more rugged and realistic appearance which in contrast with some more elegant embellishments in the corners gave a look that I was pleased with. This image is a result of some of that experimentation using the Antibyss logo as the subject symbol. I’ll be continuing to experiment as the visuals around the theming for Project Aleutian really start to take shape.

Project Aleutian V10

I got to work incorporating some feedback from the prototype con over the last couple of weeks into Project Aleutian. This was focusing on some of the mechanics and balance of the game. Luckily, it didn’t require a complete reprint of Project Aleutian, the adjustments were mostly centered on the points in the stone cloud deck and the actions in the espionage deck. After the very short life span of V09, the new version, V10, is getting its first plays. While we continue to playtest V10, I’m planning to focus on revising and detailing theming for the game.

Dice Tower West 2024

It was a fun weekend at Dice Tower West this year with a lot of exciting games and other prototypes being showcased! I am so thankful to everyone who took the time to play Project Aleutian! During Project Aleutian’s two playtesting sessions I got a lot of great input and feedback that will be instrumental in making the tweaks and adjustments for the next version of the game.

It was encouraging to see the prototype testing tables so busy while I was there. I am thankful to everyone at the con who took the time to play a prototype! It was a great source of encouragement and feedback for game designers like me, and I’m excited for the next steps my game will take!

Getting Ready for DTW 2024

After a couple months of testing with the previous version (V08) of Project Aleutian, we’re implementing feedback and updating some of the card graphic design elements to make some aspects of the game clearer. We’re excited to test this new version (V09) with a few rule tweaks in preparation for Dice Tower West in two weeks! Now we’ve just got to cut and sleeve all these cards…

We’re Going to DTW 2024

Antibyss will be at the Prototype Con at Dice Tower West this year to showcase Project Aleutian! Project Aleutian playtest times are Thursday (3/7, Table 05) at Noon and Friday (3/8, Table 03). If you don’t have a badge already, online badge sales for Dice Tower West end on 2/21! If you are planning on going to the con, you can sign up for the prototype session in your my.cardboardevents portal. We hope to see you there!