eXplorminate Intro:
This is an article series dedicated to the smaller developers, some of whom may not have managed to get onto the SteamFest. While we at eXplorminate do like the bigger games in the genre (Eo, Old World, Age of Wonders etc) I thought this was a great chance to highlight visibility for the smaller developers. I think the best ideas often come from smaller developers, who are more willing to bend the rules, challenge conventions and take risks.
Game: Imperial Ambitions
Developer: Aoiti (same on the discord)
Game Description, from Steam:
Imperial Ambitions is a 4X strategy game where the players will take over one of the European superpowers that existed during the age of discovery and renaissance and lead them to imperialism.
From Aoiti:
The whole journey started on a request. I am a uni professor. I found it easier to teach students science using simulations. So I set a itch.io account. There I put a DNA simulator, climate simulator, Physics based games, etc. Even an evolution game. Till a year ago I had been making youtube videos where I talk about the science and math behind these simulations. One day I received a request on pathfinding algorithm. I cudnt think of any science simulations that can benefit a pathfinding algorithm. So I decided to make a small game… oh “small” it ended up being. I enjoyed it from the very first moment, so I though “Well! This was fun! I think I will continue working on this” I had this craving for old strategy games, those that shaped my and many others life, Heroes of might and magic (HMM), Imperialism, Settlers, Colonization of the new world (CNW)… So I decided I’ll fuse some of them. Labor allocation, production chains and social classes from Imperialism, the Era from CNW, hex tiles from Civ and the heroes from HMM. But ofcourse, I had to put my own twist too. Befitting to my own love for dark humor, I wanted to include the darker side of the empire building, such as founding syndicates, smuggling goods, creating monopolies, exploiting opium addiction, slavery, hiring privateers, discrimination… I think I might have gone a bit overboard there.
But hey, I am indie, only thing I am risking is my time. I can understand why AAA studios play safe
So, for a long time I was making bits of the game and kept sharing the process on youtube. As the game gets more and more complicated it started to get really hard to edit my videos, and I wasn’t having as much fun as making it. So slowly I found myself gave up on the youtube, unfortunately.
I was excited, set up a Steam page, and saw alot of attention. Found groups like eXplorminate. and I was lucky to find huge a support.
The name idea came from one of the fans on discord.
Another fan shared his artwork for me to use as the first capsule image, another did some amazing work on animations (yet to be implemented in the game).
Link to that artwork.What makes Imperial Ambitions unique are,
- each pop, unit, agent has traits, expressing states varying from religion to disease, from depression to crime tendencies…
- units can act on their own, depending on their traits.For instance, if you leave units in a town after a recent battle, they might find the locals, “intolerable” and massacre. or greedy units might pillage locals without being commanded. The best part, the player is still left with the diplomatic consequences.
- the not-so-innocent methods of empire ruling, which I have mentioned, smuggling, establilshing syndycates, privateering…
- Oh and that pathfinding algorithm I had to develop… That allowed me to move units interlinked, in a single column formation. Not a huge addition, but unique
- Ability to replant resources, given that you can find the right conditions ( combination of humidity, temperature and shade) But each time you try you get a clue about the right conditions.
- creating trade routes as a chain of waypoints, town to town, resource to resource. To make a trade route lucrative, players has to connect them in the right order.
- even ore discovery process is unique. You dont just blindly search for ores, but instead you are given clues with traces of resources in neighbouring tiles. For example, rivers can carry traces of gold, so if you find some around the river, you know it can be anywhere around the river
Adding so many new features, though, comes with a cost… the learning curve… I applaud my testers for not giving up on IA.
I made 7 tutorials, to teach each aspect
About the art style… Maybe because I was recreating old classics, maybe because it is easier to draw, or maybe just to balance the dark aspect of the game with cute nature of the style, I decided to go with pixel art.
Over all this was a great journey… doing something I enjoy, even as a hobby so far, meeting people with common ambitions and creating something unique.
eXplorminate Thoughts:
What a story!
I am intrigued by the military system, specifically “We’ve redesigned the way that armies move on a campaign map, so they act more like real-world military units. Large armies can move in column formation, making it harder to move and requires more tactical thinking to prepare for the battle. The regiments can be split from the main army for small tactical excursions, or sneak into enemy lines for crossfire. For the same reason, attention is required to avoid leaving gaps on your frontline.” I wonder how it works in practice.
I believe some people will find the graphics a bit too cartoony, and feel it may hinder reading the game board, similar to what we said about Songs of Conquest.
eXplorminate Outro:
As a reminder, eXplorminate is an independent community, all about the games and gamers, but we cannot make things happen without your support. Please donate to the Patreon, visit our YouTube, listen to our podcast and join our Discord, if you want to support us
