Kennedy credits the final version of the interface to his freelance UI designer, Martin Nerurkar, who has a background in digital card games. His worlds are steeped in lore, often with intriguing references to faraway places and mysterious figures. It’s an interesting decision, because a main feature of Kennedy’s work is his text, and in his previous titles, I’ve enjoyed the chance to take my time reading. Every minute, your funds are used up, and sometimes you have to race against the clock to stay alive. Unlike Fallen London, which also uses a card system though with a much different user interface, Cultist Simulator features timers. You can choose whether you want to use reason or passion, though regardless of those decisions, you’ll still have to find a way to earn funds to stave off starvation. It’s replete with the sense that you’re dabbling with the unknown, and it encourages experimentation. You earn cards like Notoriety, Erudition, and Fleeting Memory, evoking abstract ideas that can be examined and somehow turned into actions. There is something about expressing all that symbolism in a card and then just letting the player deal with it that allows the designer to be terse and poetic in a way that other metaphors don’t.”Īs in Kennedy’s other games, atmosphere is paramount. “And tarot, of course, is the ur-deck, the original source of card games. “I’ve always loved cards as a game metaphor, and my previous work keeps coming back to them,” said Kennedy. You can place the cards in different slots, such as Work, Dream, and Explore, and trying new combinations can effect different events. You have health, passion, reason, and funds, which are needed to execute certain actions. The playing field is set up like digital card game version of a tarot reading. I checked out a prototype of Cultist Simulator, which is free on Itch.io. “Although it looks increasingly like it might actually be a commercial success, my main aim was to try out some ideas I had about choice and narrative, with total creative freedom.” “Cultist Simulator is experimental, alright - a timer-based Doodle God-inspired narrative crafting card-based quasi-Lovecraftian occult horror life simulator? What?” said Kennedy. Since leaving, he’s worked on the Horizon Signal DLC for Paradox Interactive’s Stellaris, along with projects in partnership with BioWare’s Dragon Age team and Telltale Games.īut Cultist Simulator will be the first full game that he’s releasing under the Weather Factory moniker. Kennedy says he left Failbetter in order to work on more experimental projects without worrying about generating the revenue needed to pay a full-time team. I thought: what if you were actually that occultist?” You’re always picking up after the rash occultist who summoned the thing. “There are plenty of horror games, but there aren’t many games where you get to establish the backstory. “I like making games where the player makes the kind of choices that game characters usually don’t get to make,” said Kennedy in an email. It should debut in May 2018, and it will be available on PC, Mac, and Linux. It’s raising funds on Kickstarter now and met its goal in a little over 12 hours. A little over a year ago, he left Failbetter to form Weather Factory, and Cultist Simulator is this studio’s first game. He’s best known as the founder of the indie studio Failbetter Games, where he created and wrote text-heavy titles like Fallen London and Sunless Sea. Most of Alexis Kennedy’s games gaze into the crystal ball of madness, and Cultist Simulator is no different. Missed the GamesBeat Summit excitement? Don't worry! Tune in now to catch all of the live and virtual sessions here.
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