Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you: No adverts like this in the forums anymore. Times and dates in your local timezone. Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance. Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely. Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net. If you are already a member then feel free to login now.

It's sounding like we're going to play D&D: Gladiator edition.

What?! Are you not entertained?!

pox wrote:

Yes we do- As I've said I'm working on getting permission to post his WIP sculpts for everyone to see!

(hopefully I'll get that email today )

Good looking miniatures will not cause a "revolution" in miniature war games. It doesn't matter if they are cheap, or well sculpted, or pre-painted. good miniatures can enhance a game, but they are not the game itself.

How about getting permission to talk about the game rules? What makes this game stand out? I know the sculpts will look good, but you want to excite me, tell me the miniatures are as bad as Chronopia miniatures, but the rules are just as good.

Tell me the game has the complexity of Battletech, but the ease of play and learning curve of Bloodbowl.

In other words, what about the company or game is new and exciting? do you have a "page 5" mantra like Privateer Press? Are you targeting a specific demographic? Is the game like playing an RPG but with miniatures? Is it more like playing a card game? Is it set in its own world, or are you making a modular game similar to VOR?

How are you involved in the company? Did you do the concept art in the first post? If you cant answer these questions, can you tell us why? can you direct someone higher on the company food chain to this thread, and have them talk to us?

These are some great questions- I'll answer as many as I can and yes I am pressing for more info because if I were in your shoes I'd feel the same.

The game will stand out because of the dynamism of play style (including battlefield) and the intensity of combat.

I work for Dark Art Miniatures as an illustrator and concept artist. I did make the concept art above which is being used as the basis for the miniatures which will follow. I'm also spreading word about the game at the request of Klaus, owner of Dark Art Miniatures.

Nurglitch wrote:What?! Are you not entertained?!

Did I say I had any problems with a D&D-ish gladiator game?

I salute those who are about to die!

Sounds good, so it is an NDA type situation. Tell Klaus that you need to be able to give more info at this time, if he really wants to spread the word and drum up interest.

Whats the selling point of the game? "dynamism of play style (including battlefield) and the intensity of combat " (sic) just doesn't tell me a lot about how the game works.

Is it turn-based or alternate activation? how detailed are the units? For example, do you need just a quick stat line for reference, or a Horde/Warmachine style card, or a full character sheet like D&D or Battletech?

Is it high fantasy or low fantasy?

You really should ask Klaus to put together some kind of press release. maybe not all that formal, but you should be able to explain your product in a few paragraphs. If you were selling this at a dealers booth in a con, what would you say to make me buy the starter game?

Nurglitch wrote:The "complexity of Battletech"? I think he's supposed to be selling us something good!

You damn kids, with your slick rules and your good looking miniatures. Why, back in my day, we only used wooden pegs and a corkboard map. The only dice we had were stolen from SORRY! and Monopoly. We didn't have choices like race and class, they were the same! (elf, barbarian, fighter, cavalier, thief, wizard.) You kids got it all now.......with your MTV and your make-out parties.......(Grumble, grumble)........ZZZZzzzzz...(snore)......

JohnHwangDD wrote:

Nurglitch wrote:What?! Are you not entertained?!

Did I say I had any problems with a D&D-ish gladiator game?

I salute those who are about to die!

I see what you did there

Yakface had a dream that was Dakka. This is not it. THIS IS NOT IT!

Dynamism of play can be taken to mean how much changes on the board on any given turn; Battlefleet Gothic is a good example of a dynamic game. Jetbikes chases are also good examples of dynamic games where the leader establishes the direction and the scenery moves counter to that direction. Dynamic scenery can also be represented by modular terrain that is swapped in and out as it gets addressed by active elements of the game; my brother once made an Imperial Bastion where each segment of the wall could be replaced by a damaged and a destroyed panel, for example.

Alternately it can be taken to mean that the game-play itself is involved and active: Apples to Apples, for example, has dynamic play thanks to the alternating judge mechanic, and the last-card-down rule. In terms of a miniatures game, I imagine it could mean something like a card-activated turn where a deck of actions is shuffled by players slapping down cards.

Take, for example, a modified version of Rock-Scissors-Paper whereby a player wins if the last card that gets put down beats the previous card. Player A has (Rock, Rock Scissors, Paper) in her hand, and Player B has (Scissors, Scissors, Paper, Rock), with Player A leading with Rock (good old rock). Player B slaps down a Paper, leading to A putting down Scissors, B follows with his Rock, A puts down Paper, B Scissors, A Rock, and B loses because his last card is scissors.

You can replace the Rock, Scissors, and Paper, with Slash, Parry, Stab (Parry beats Slash, Stab beats Parry, Stab beats Stab), to represent duels. Throw in some wild-cards (like a retiarius counting a Stab as a Parry), and positional results (a Gladiator behind another Gladiator counts a prior Parry as a Slash), and you have a dynamic game and intense game where you're trying to distribute resources against both your opponent and the position of your models.

I would just ask some folks who are fluttering fans and firing shots across this guy's bow before we've seen anything to just hold fire a while and lets see the product first. We are not talking about some multimillion dollar movie and we aren't film critics. We are talking about a cottage industry product which individuals have sunk personal funds. I'm all for kicking multinational corps like the greatsatan GW in the crown jewels any time we like, they are big and ugly and can handle it, but I want to see what this is offering before the barracuda close in and start biting chunks out of it. Support the smaller companies entering the fray, they need nurturing and the hobby is enriched by the diversity.

Klaus, thank you for whetting our appetite on this, I am certainly interested. If you have pictures or press releases or excerpts from the rules or fluff behind it, we are all keen to see them.

I want this game to be like Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome without the kids in furs from the crashed plane. Crazy dudes with close combat weapons!

Glad to see Aragorn/Alexandre Marks working on a new game. I've seen his recent work for CMON and it makes me nostalgic for the happier days of Confrontation



Will this game be released in english initially?

Mastiff wrote:Glad to see Aragorn/Alexandre Marks working on a new game. I've seen his recent work for CMON and it makes me nostalgic for the happier days of Confrontation



Will this game be released in english initially?

Glad to see we have a fan! Yes the language will be in English since Dark Art Miniatures is based in the UK.

Mastiff wrote:Glad to see Aragorn/Alexandre Marks working on a new game. I've seen his recent work for CMON and it makes me nostalgic for the happier days of Confrontation

You and me both, Mastiff...

Alpharius wrote:

Mastiff wrote:Glad to see Aragorn/Alexandre Marks working on a new game. I've seen his recent work for CMON and it makes me nostalgic for the happier days of Confrontation

You and me both, Mastiff...

Ah, another Rackham exile?

I keep trying to get up enough excitement to finish painting my 2,000 pt Dirz army, but I just get bitter about the circumstances and sulk instead of accomplishing anything. Well, at least Rackham succeeded in driving me back to 40k.

Back on topic, does Dark art miniatures employ any other sculptors? Apologies if you already covered the question, I skimmed over some of the angst postings and may have missed it. On that note, skip the "revolutionary" talk until your work can speak for itself. As you can see, hyperbole almost completely derailed your promotion. Dakka's a pretty jaded bunch, we'll decide if something is revolutionary or not.

Mastiff wrote:

Alpharius wrote:

Mastiff wrote:Glad to see Aragorn/Alexandre Marks working on a new game. I've seen his recent work for CMON and it makes me nostalgic for the happier days of Confrontation

You and me both, Mastiff...

Ah, another Rackham exile?

I keep trying to get up enough excitement to finish painting my 2,000 pt Dirz army, but I just get bitter about the circumstances and sulk instead of accomplishing anything. Well, at least Rackham succeeded in driving me back to 40k.

Same here - though I sold ALL of my Rackham off (at a loss, but I wasn't going to use it, so...) after the big Confrontation 4/Ragnarok 2 Bait-n-Switch Debacle.

It did manage to 'reinvest' me in GW's world though...

Mastiff wrote:

Back on topic, does Dark art miniatures employ any other sculptors? Apologies if you already covered the question, I skimmed over some of the angst postings and may have missed it. On that note, skip the "revolutionary" talk until your work can speak for itself. As you can see, hyperbole almost completely derailed your promotion. Dakka's a pretty jaded bunch, we'll decide if something is revolutionary or not.

I'd be happy to hear that more ex-Rackham sculptors are on board!

Alpharius wrote:
I'd be happy to hear that more ex-Rackham sculptors are on board!

At the moment I've only seen Aragorn's work, but if I get indication of other sculptors I'll let you guys know

Hi guys n gals.

Just popping by briefly to say thanks to nick for giving you all a little teaser of Brutal.

My name is Dave and I am the co-designer of Brutal. Klaus and myself have been working VERY hard on this game for a number of years and we honestly believe that it is going to great.

Just to confirm all the points that Nick has told you....

- The game can be played with as little as 2 players and 2 minis (although more players/minis can be used depending on the match type).

- Aragorn Marks has created some amazing sculpts for us. They really are fantastic.

- The scale is 32mm

- The game is played on a board (the arena) but we do have provision for other environments for a future expansion project.

The official launch of Brutal will take place at Game09 (Gamecon) in Manchester England (16th-18th October 2009). We look forward to seeing some of you guys there.

I'll leave Nick to continue getting you all excited about this, although if any of you would like to speak directly to the developers about anything (please bear in mind that we have to keep a lot of details to ourselves before the big launch) then please feel free to mail me direct at dave@darkartminiatures.com


Happy gaming.

Dave (Dark Art Miniatures)

Will the launch happen in the US at the same time as well? Will you have a list of retailers available?

This has my attention, just curious how easily will it be for US vendors to get some of this in stock? The concept art looks amazing and the sculps shown show a lot of promise! Also, pre-painted?

Klausmasterflex wrote:Here's some more info:

Direct quote-
In regards to the miniature range, there are currently 7 classes of
fighters with 6 playable races (True Human, Near Humans, Textrix, Durus,
Excorio and Kombots) plus special star fighters known as Pit Ronins who
hire themselves out to players on a fight by fight contract.

Dude!
Tetris?
I'm SO in. That's been, like, my favorite video game since I was a kid.
The first time I ever played it, I was hooked.

For a long time, now, I thought a miniatures game based on it would be cool.

I...

...What?

Textrix?
Oh...

:sad:

Hi Klaus and Dave,
I think the development of a new game is always interesting. Could you say something about the game´s story? ( Why and where they are fighting and so on "What, you need a cause to fight?" ) Also, how big an enterprise is Dark Art Miniatures? I´m asking, because in germany there´s a bunch of pulp/adventure-fans and they built up their own tabletop-game, Triumph&Tragedy. It´s a big success. So, anyway, good luck!

Hi all!

Wow! such interest although most was brought on by that "R" word . That aside, I've got to thank Nick for the work he has done for us so far and raising eyebrows here.
Well i guess the 'goblins out of the bag' and you all have sooo many questions that it only seams fair that they get answered. Me and Dave will start on a information pack regarding Brutal and the Brutal miniature line in the next couple of weeks and add a link here for all you guys!

Many thanks for your interest. Due to my workload please forgive if i don't reply soon but like Dave says, give Dave or me (klaus@darkartminiatures.com) a email!
Take it easy
Klaus

apt quote i think
“Win over the crowd and your life is half saved. Lose the crowd and you are already dead.”---- Tharl the Merciful (Brutal fighter).

Mastiff wrote:Glad to see Aragorn/Alexandre Marks working on a new game. I've seen his recent work for CMON and it makes me nostalgic for the happier days of Confrontation



Will this game be released in english initially?

That Orc looks like he's really a ferocious fighter, when he's not accidentally smashing the handle of his axe into his own nuts!

thats the real reason he's screaming

This is great. I think everyone involved in the development of this game has posted so far, from concept artists to game designers, and yet no one has posted anything of substance as far as what kind of game/background/rules you guys are going for. from the description it seems like its a gladiator board game that I buy miniatures for.

Let me paint a paint a picture. I'm walking down the midway at a con. all the barkers are there, doing game demos and hawking their wares. I spot Dark Art miniatures, and I'm impressed with your booth. I saunter over, my guts churning from too much excitement, Cheetos, and Mountain Dew. I either look at a pamphlet, play a quick demo, or talk to a sales rep, your choice.

What do I read, see or hear?

pox wrote:This is great. I think everyone involved in the development of this game has posted so far, from concept artists to game designers, and yet no one has posted anything of substance as far as what kind of game/background/rules you guys are going for. from the description it seems like its a gladiator board game that I buy miniatures for.

Let me paint a paint a picture. I'm walking down the midway at a con. all the barkers are there, doing game demos and hawking their wares. I spot Dark Art miniatures, and I'm impressed with your booth. I saunter over, my guts churning from too much excitement, Cheetos, and Mountain Dew. I either look at a pamphlet, play a quick demo, or talk to a sales rep, your choice.

What do I read, see or hear?

Dude.
Give the man some breathing room.
He told us everything he can right here:

Well i guess the 'goblins out of the bag' and you all have sooo many questions that it only seams fair that they get answered. Me and Dave will start on a information pack regarding Brutal and the Brutal miniature line in the next couple of weeks and add a link here for all you guys!

Eric

The post Dark Art Miniatures wrote was written as if someone "leaked" the info. The OP was a concept artist for Brutal. It was they who let the proverbial "goblins out of the bag," not some random stranger trying to bring down thier company.

I'm assuming from everyones reaction over at Brutal games that you guys weren't ready for a launch then, and have no info you can release? If that's the case then I totally understand, someone just released info before you guys were ready.

I'm probably just displacing anger over GW's and PP's recent PR reactions to people trying to get info about whats next. I just don't think gaming companies should be looking down on me for trying to get information about their games. I'm not the bad guy here, I'm the target audience.

Because of my disillusionment with most current popular games, I thought Brutal would be a good alternative. I still play a lot of tabletop games, but have not bought anything outside of new rulebooks for about a year and a half now.

I apologize for asking questions or being rude. are you going to just post the press release in this thread, or make a new one?

I'm a limited contractor for DP9. However, if I say anything about upcoming releases beyond what the boss says to post, I'm exceeding my authority, really. So I can't tell you about the...

Ha! Thought you'd get me to slip up, did you!

It does sound like this BRUTAL game could use some effort put into 'good' hyping... Letting some info slip without raising expectations too much. (The GW Mystery Box seems to be an example of 'bad' hyping.)

I can also understand if there are legal reasons, for example if they're still locking down copyrights, trademarks, and just the IP in general.