Journals
Dev Journal
Elemental: Limited Edition Specifications: 18x26” Elemental Poster Extended print manual with additional information on the world of Elemental (i.e. 200+ pages) Elemental extended musical soundtrack CD 18x26” cloth map of the world of Elemental Pewter Elemental dragon Price: $69.95 (Beta testers will be able to upgrade for $20 + S/H) The pewter piece dragon New Users: Elemental: Limited Edition Upgrade option for existing pre-order users: Soon We’re not kidding about the “Limited” aspect of this. We’re currently only planning to authorize the production of 10,000 of these. But for those of you who, like me, miss the “old days” of Ultima IV and such when games came with big maps, cloth maps and other goodies, here you go. [read more]
Dev Journal
In Elemental, the player is a unit in the game (the sovereign). Before the Cataclysm one presumes your character had a life. What was it? Each choice has a benefit to it. Examples: Masons get buildings built faster. Merchants have more money coming in per turn Swindler get bonuses on trade treaties Thieves get more loot Hunters are able to get "wild game” tiles they can build on. So what other types of professions would you li... [read more]
Dev Journal
Time Time Time. See what has become of me.
If you can’t do something well. Don’t do it. That’s been my philosophy on game development from the beginning. In Galactic Civilizations, it meant not having any multiplayer. We didn’t have the budget and resources to do multiplayer well. So we didn’t do it. In Elemental, single-player is our focus. But we have decided to have multiplayer and that means we are going to do make sure it is done right. Doing turn-based right Real-Time strategy games do well in multipla... [read more]
Dev Journal
The legend of the massive underground realm known as Calebethon survived the cataclysm. What we know comes to us from The Hiergamenon which remains our primary source of knowledge of life before the breaking of the world. Roughly two thousand years before the Cataclysm… As we already know, for a long while the mortals of Elemental held their own against the invading Titans thanks in large part to the power of the Magicians. These great sorcerers were able to go head to head wi... [read more]
Dev Journal
Random House announced its new initiative (see this Wallstreet Journal article ) today to collaborate with game developers to improve their in-game stories as well as present those stories in other mediums (books, movies, etc.). The first result of this initiative comes from Elemental . The universe created through a collaboration of writers at Stardock and Random House is seeing itself presented first in the upcoming book, Elemental: Destiny's Embers (August release date) and then followed up by the PC strategy game, Elemental: War of Magic. What does this mean to gamers and readers? For gamers, it means that the quality of the writing in Elemental: War of Magic will be much stronger than it would have been otherwise. This manifests itself in terms of the backstory, the campain, the in-game quests and the general the cohesiveness of the game world. For readers, it means that the book won’t just be the standard “book based on a video game” fare that often comes across as only vaguely connected to the same world that the game came from. Elemental: Destiny's Embers is a story I’ve been working on for some years now. With help from Random House’s writing team, they’ve helped me take my early manuscripts and polish them and craft them into a story that I think readers of fantasy will enjoy. More information: The book: Elemental: Destiny's Embers The game: Elemental: War of Magic -Brad Wardell (aka Frogboy) [read more]
News
Stardock and Random House Announce Partnership on Elemental: Destiny’s Embers
The Random House Publishing Group announced today the establishment of a new group responsible for the creation of original transmedia intellectual property (IP)—story content that can be accessed through multiple media sources including video games, social networks on the web, mobile platforms, in print and on film—that will be developed and marketed in partnerships with other media companies. The group will also offer editorial services to media companies that will enhance the world-build... [read more]
Dev Journal
Player Input: Talents & Weaknesses
Players can spend points to make their sovereign more powerful. What other talents (with what benefit) or weaknesses (with what penalty) would you like to see in there? Here are a few I was thinking of: Entrepreneur (Sovereign produces 4 gold per turn) Stupid (Spells cost more) Weak (Attack rolls are less) [read more]