Service: Game design, writing, promotion, crowdfunding and project management
For: Ada Press Games (me!)
Project: The Taming of the Slugiraffe
Scope: A 20-page solo ‘zine game for ZineQuest3

The Taming of the Slugiraffe is a solo dice game design by me with artwork created by my partner. We had set aside a day to write and illustrate a game and came up with the intitial concepts. We spent the next few weeks iterating on the game and creating additional art assets. Eventually we ran a Kickstarter for the project.

The game takes from a mix of influences. We use an inventory-meets-health system that is inspired my Mausritter. I also used a smart encounter gating system where the number of different biomes you have unlocked on your journey increases the size of the dice rolled for encounters. Naturally, the more difficult to deal with enemies are at the upper end of the table – so as you explore the potential threat increases.

Combat used a Tunnel Goons style ‘2D6 plus stuff vs a difficulty score’ roll. Beat the score, which is also their health, and reduce the next score you need to beat.

While combat is needed for survival players need to collect gear to help them capture the Slugiraffe itself. This means players have to balance safety items with non-offensive items in the late game.

Part of why we wanted to make a game is to understand the Kickstarter and crowdfunding process from the inside. I wrote some relatively effective sales copy for the page that quickly laid out the point of the game, it’s benefits, and why you should care. You can have a look at the Kickstarter here. We asked for £100 and were backed for £1111.