Hello. One of my favourite pieces of writing about games, not that anybody asked, is from Sid Meier. It’s the fourth, I think, of his 10 rules for game design. The first rules have laid out the scene: choose a topic you have passion for, define your axioms, refine your axioms. All good stuff. And then, suddenly:
KingmakersPublisher: TinyBuildDeveloper: Redemption Road GamesAvailability: Coming 2024 to PC, and other platforms TBC.
Double it or cut it in half.
This is what really good film cuts are made for. We have moved from the theoretical to the densely practical. We were at the blackboard, we were pontificating, and now we’re right in it, locked in the kitchen, spaghetti sauce everywhere, and we’re trying to turn things around before the cooker explodes. Double it. Or cut it in half. This moment calls for big things, not small things. This moment counts.
All of which is to say: Kingmakers, a game whose trailer I saw for the first time earlier this week when it dropped. Total Film, back in the day, used to do this chart of your potential interest while watching a film: a line that rose and fell as time passed, the whole thing often employed as a joke. A good joke. Maybe they still do it! But for real: I would love to see a chart of people’s interest while watching the Kingmakers trailer. Is it one of the best trailers of all time? Almost definitely. Is this game instantly propelled into Game of the Year territory? Millions of views and counting. The people have spoken. They have watched and rewatched. They want Kingmakers pyjamas to sleep in at night. They are stripping the walls. They want Kingmakers wallpaper!
And it’s so simple. Here we go. Medieval action. Knights. Castles. Masses of soldiers. A little light strategy – placing towers and walls? All fine. But we’re building to something. A dragon? No. Dragons are nothing compared to this. That roaring on the soundtrack. Here comes a pickup truck. I know right. A pickup truck riding through the middle of Henry V Part One or whatever.