Afterlife Empire is the upcoming isometric strategy game by The Fine Young Capitalists, developed in partnership with Colombian based Autobótika.
Having raised over $70,000 dollars on an IndieGoGo campaign with the support of 4chan and Reddit, The Fine Young Capitalists’ mission is “to create media using under represented labour”.
We had a chance to put some questions to Danielle Maiorino, the designer of Afterlife Empire, in order to get some insights into the game, crowd funding and the community which has developed as a result of TFYC’s work.
Which gameplay mechanic would you describe as the most defining and unique trait of a game such as Afterlife Empire?
“Planning the perfect series of traps to scare the most amount of people at once, and having to adjust your strategies on the fly based on the unique NPCs who enter your house.”
You mention that the game, whilst inspired by Theme Hospital and Dungeon Keeper, focuses on character interaction in addition to the base building mechanics. To what degree will you be able to interact with NPC’s? Will they be more than just sprites on a screen?
“We are still in the design phase of the game, so certain specifics are not concrete yet. That said, scaring the NPCs is the focus on the game, and interacting with them both directly and indirectly is how you accomplish that through the traps you place and the bigger scares you can build up your fear level to unleash.”
The idea of “Notoriety” sounds reminiscent of experience points from RPG’s. Will there be a degree of character building (eg. skills/perks) involved in the creation and progression of your ghost?
“Notoriety will be used to upgrade the house and purchase new traps to use. Some of these traps may be more similar to skills for the ghost, but there is not a skill tree involved. Hopefully we’ll be able to create DLC once the game is released, to add some special ghost types that the players could use. These would have several unique skills for each type and those skills would be unlockable in a similar manner to the traps.”
One of the best things for me about a game such as this is the scope for procedurally generated levels and characters. Is this something that will be present in Afterlife Empire?
“The levels will not be procedurally generated, as the players will be the ones creating their own houses and customizing the traps inside. We will try to have the NPCs who enter the house be randomized, in terms of their individual fear tolerance levels or phobias. Appearance has been discussed as well, but for now the team has been working on the base models and animations, so we’ll see if we can implement that.”
How integral will microtransactions be in terms of accruing “notoriety” and “fame”?
“I would not want to add any microtransactions to the game, at least none that would add in-game advantages for a player. Ideally I would like the game to be a flat price, with any created DLC or expansions paid if we have the chance to create them. Any paid content besides that would be purely cosmetic.”
You had several other games up for consideration. To your knowledge has anyone contacted those women to make their games?
“I personally do not know if they were contacted. I hope so, since I did really like their projects as well. They do own the art and any coding or demos created during the beginning portion of the contest, as far as I know, so I hope they could use them to pitch their games to anyone interested in supporting them!”
Do you own Vivian and Gilda, or are they under fair use now?
“As far as I am aware, both Vivian and Gilda are fair use. No one owns them.”
You’ve had an unusual situation where people who would traditionally have supported you didn’t, but 4chan did. How did that develop and how is that relationship today?
“Honestly I’m not entirely sure how that came about. I thought that other feminists and creators would embrace the project for being so supportive for women, but sadly that was not that case for the majority of them. What I think the entire situation shows is how deep set everyone is in their narratives – that is, the way they see the world and other people. If this group is categorized a certain way in your mind, there is almost nothing that can change your view of that group. They will always be X, and you will always be Y.
Obviously the world is much more complex than that. Supporting someone doesn’t mean you have to agree with everything they believe, and helping people despite our differences is a great sign of how we can mutually respect each other and work together.
So while I’m disappointed that people I respect and admire ignored or shunned the project, I am glad that those who choose so did. Everyone I’ve spoken to about it are incredibly supportive, and genuinely want to see the project succeed. I appreciate everyone who helped us, even if they couldn’t contribute financially.”
What advice would you give to women who want to have a career in the games industry? Are there any communities, courses or resources that would help them in their journey?
“First I would have to say that a traditional education is not necessarily needed to have a career in the industry. There are very few schools that even offers degrees relating to it, and you have to be careful about the numerous for-profit colleges and their dubious claims. In fact, depending on your financial situation, it may be better to wait until you have a better grasp of what you want to learn the most and specialize in classes just for that.
There are already a ton of great resources to teach game design for anyone who wants to learn, especially coding. There’s codecademy.com, girldevelopit.com, girlswhocode.com, and a ton of great tutorials on Unity’s website available for free to get started.
For someone who has the education or may be a bit lost on what to do next, I’d recommend Game Mentor Online. It’s sponsored by Women in Games International and it’s a free service that pairs you with a professional in the industry and lets you talk one on one with them and get advice on how to break into the industry.
As for advice, that’s hard to say. Everyone is going to have a different experience and a unique position that they’re coming from. Generally I would say to only focus on why you want to be in the industry, what games mean to you, and how you want to create your own unique impact. While controversy and drama may seem too compelling to ignore, do your best to stay out of it and focus on your own education and career. The industry is made up of passionate creators and fans, and that passion can turn ugly very easily. If you are swept up in the ugliness you may lose sight of why you want to develop in the first place. Surround yourself with positive influences and create all you can. Your work should speak for itself.”
What future plans do you have? People seemed to really respond well to your concept after it was publicized, will there be a sequel if things work out well?
“Ideally I would love it if the project opened up some doors for me so I could get hired to actually work in the industry. I entered the contest in the first place just hoping to have something more I could add to my resume, and the result has been much more than I hoped for. An even bigger dream of mine would be to create my own company and hire a team to make more games, including a sequel if Afterlife Empire sells well. I have a lot more ideas and I’d love to share them with everyone!”
You can follow the ongoing progress of the project on Twitter @TFYCapitalists