Hello Spectators!
As this is our first Dev Blog post, we thought it’s a good idea to explain our inspirations. The setting of our game is pretty unique, so it is probably worth a while to give you heads-up about the original idea.
First of all, we love tycoons, we play tons of them, but as fans, we still have this feeling that most of them are missing some crucial ‘narrative’ components. We did a decent research some time ago, and our conclusion was as follows: three key elements would make tycoons much more appealing: a deepened narrative with RPG, and simulation elements included. So, in a way, we have invented this Narrative RPG tycoon genre!
We have implemented some of these conclusions in Crossroads Inn game we have released in 2019. We have learned a lot while working on this ambitious project and decided to follow this path with our next game. And this next title is, as you can imagine, The Amazing American Circus! These two are of course a slightly different breed, but there are many common ideas in approach to gameplay and story-telling.
Why Circus? And why an American Circus? Well, it all started with this excellent documentary by PBS we spotted on Netflix. After watching it, we immediately felt this is a perfect theme for a video game! There are only a few games out there about Circus, while this setting has so much to offer! Vivid characters, spirited performances, and generous, sometimes funny, sometimes sad stories of circus artists. This vintage, somewhat magical form of entertainment gives a lot of o possibilities to create cool gameplay mechanics.
So, in The Amazing American Circus, we will tell you a story of the most iconic entertainment in American history. The USA, during the Gilded Age, is a turbulent place. On the East Coast springs up a modern metropolis, while in the west, cowboys and robber barons fight for their business. The new era is coming, and this is the last right moment for the Circus to flourish!
Gameplaywise, we were inspired by the most fantastic card game there – Slay the Spire! The Amazing American Circus's essential part is collecting a deck of cards, playing them wisely against the audience, and finding the best strategies throughout the game to create the best performance.
The second important element is exploration! In our game, you will travel across the United States, visiting towns and villages from West to East, searching for cash and glory. During your trip, you will recruit various performers, meet real historical figures, and face challenges of unprecedented scale. While designing this particular element, we had a famous Sid Meier's Pirates in the back of our heads but also the good old Oregon Trail!
Finally, the third crucial gameplay pillar is the management of your troupe and circus camp – here, we thought the Darkest Dungeon is the best benchmark. You will need to recruit performers, cope with their demands and needs, manage the resources, and upgrade your Circus.
So if You fancy this exotic blend of features, then please stay tuned with us for more DevBlogs coming soon, as the show must go on!