Saturday, August 17, 2013

More Details on the Mega Man Board Game


Now that Gencon's done for the day, Boco brings us some additional details on Jasco's Mega Man board game. Mind, the Jasco people are bound to an NDA so there's still quite a few things they were unable to share at this time. Nevertheless, we've got a nice chunk of info (plus Kickstarter clarification) and a couple images to share. Read on for the lowdown!



Prototype Mega Man and Cut Man game pieces


Courtesy of Boco:

"It's a competitive game for 2 to 5 players. With expansions it will take up to 8 players max. Each player plays Megaman (for now, although they were talking about other playable characters as stretch goals for the Kickstarter). The player to your left plays challenges for you.

The randomizer in the game is a customizable card deck rather than dice or stuff like that. You are trying to be the first person to defeat Wily. In order to beat Wily you have to beat the Robot Masters, and to do that you have to get through the levels. To move through levels you face challenges, the more difficult a challenge the more movement you get from beating it. If you fail a challenge you take damage, run out of life and you die and have to start the level you're on over again. You do gain new powers from defeating RMs [Robot Masters].

The base game will cover the first game (Cutman, Gutsman etc). "Expansions" are planned for the later games that will add the levels, RMs, weapons etc from those games. The current plan is that the expansions will also be complete playable standalone versions of the game, so if you pick up Megaman 3 for example you don't need to already own Megaman 1, but that's still under discussion so it could change. If you DO own multiple you can mix and match the levels, RMs, etc.

Capcom is currently reviewing the game, so depending on their feedback and license requirements the above stuff could change. Also they had a video playing with a bunch of Megaman art including pics of Rock, Blues, and Forte but all the art had *PENDING CAPCOM APPROVAL on it. Especially the number, kind, quality etc of the components is under review as well as the game concepts and rules themselves. So a lot of stuff could change - there's definitely a playable game right now but that might not be the same game that eventually gets made.

About the Kickstarter. The game is going to be Kickstarted sometime in September and the Kickstarter is planned to go through October. The game will be made regardless - they have approval, they have capital to make a game, they have a game to make -  but making games is hella expensive, and depending on the demand (as measured by the Kickstarter) they might be able to make a fancier game with better components etc. (difference in component quality between, say, Monopoly, and a Fantasy Flight game). They really want to make a set of minis for example, with different colors & poses of Megamans for the players, a mini for each RM, etc, but they don't know if that's feasable, or how nice the minis can be (prepainted or not, different mold/pose for each Megaman or not, etc).

All of this is also dependent on Capcom approval too, Capcom might have certain component requirements they have to follow and that might mean a more expensive (to produce) game, which would need a certain level of funding on Kickstarter to achieve. But for now they're planning on making a game even if the Kickstarter fails (which it won't).

They had some really nice 28mm scale (perfect for D&D and most other RPGs that use minis) prototype sculpts Megaman and Cutman on display, but pending approval so they might not be the final design."

That's all for now. More news at it comes!

Thanks again, Boco!

10 comments:

  1. i will be really exited if this board game was looks appealing.

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  2. I think this looks pretty cool.

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  3. Kickstarter.

    Remember when Kickstarter was actually used to help NEW people create NEW ideas, instead of another money grab outlet for corporations and very well-established persons and franchises?

    Yeah.

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    1. Remember when any of those ideas ever succeeded?

      Kickstarter has always been a joke.

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    2. Really? "Oh, hi. We're making a Mega Man board game. Now, we'd love to do all this fun sounding, great idea stuff with it to make it more than Monopoly Mega Man Edition. But we need your help, can you help fund us by giving us money you were already going to give us for the crappy, basic board game, and help us to make a much funner sounding version?" "Um, no, this isn't a NEW idea and you aren't NEW people, so go away."

      Seriously, this is a good thing. Kickstarter allows both NEW people and old people to do things that they otherwise wouldn't. They've said right up there that they can make a board game without Kickstarter or community support in its development. Instead, they are turning to the fans to get help with a much grander idea. And instead of commenting on that, you decide to just be a total jerk and complain because established people/franchises apparently don't need any help from communities even though sales have continued to dwindle year after year...

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  4. Yes! Sounds like he has the same idea I had for my Mega Man board game a couple years ago and unlike mine which I feared might have been too complex, his sounds a little easier, but just as fun. I haven't joined a Kickstarter before, but this will definitely be my first. Not sure I understand how guys obstacles work though.

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  5. Nice drawing but I will skip it. I prefer the video game instead of board game.

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  6. I must say, this board game looks/sounds a lot more appealing now than when I first heard about it. I'm hoping the Kickstarter helps for making a really fancy board game. It almost sounds like Capcom doesn't have much faith in even a Mega Man board game, though...

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  7. Pretty sweet! :D My only (minor) complaint is that I wish this and the card game would use brand new art rather than art from the comics. :/ I suppose that may be asking for too much. Also, the prototype pieces look very familiar, but I'll overlook that. I'd get this anyways! :D

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    1. The card game uses Archie comics art because the art was already done and it fit the style they wanted. For the board game they aren't using Archie art though. They're still talking with Capcom about what original art they have access to, what they can use/alter, etc. but not Archie art.

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