Soluim Infernum - Indie TBS

skavenhorde

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We all know of the vast number of AAA games being released this winter, but there is one indie that is also being released this winter that you may not know about. It's called Solium Infernum. Vic Davis from Cryptic Comic brings us a new game that let's you battle it out in the infernal pit to become the next Prince of Darkness. Here is an overview of the game:
Coming Winter 2009!
The Prince of Darkness has vanished and the Infernal Throne sits empty. A conclave of the Powers and Potentates of Hell will be summoned to Pandemonium to select the next ruler of The Infernal Pit. Do you have what it takes to claim the throne and rule Hell?

-Solium Infernum is a turn based strategy game set in the profoundest depths of Hell.​

-Assume the role of an Archfiend and customize your avatar to suit your particular game play strategy. Choose the brute force way of the infernal warlord or tread in the shadows as a deceitful, backstabbing power broker…..or amass wealth and rare treasures to buy the throne.

-Each incarnation of Hell is unique and a pocket plane unto itself. Travel far enough in a certain direction and wind up where you started. Confront your fellow pretenders to the throne in all directions.

-Control over 30 Places of Power like The City of Dis, The Wood of the Suicides and The Temple of Lust. Places of Power can provide you with different resources including prestige. Earn the most prestige when the conclave is called and claim the throne.

-Each turn a unique event card is drawn by the player currently designated as the Regent. This solemn responsibility passes from player to player each turn. The Regent can keep the card to play at a later date, discard it to avoid its effects or play it if it is to his advantage and watch his fellow Archfiends scramble to respond.

-Demand Tribute from your minions on earth and use them to fuel your fiendish rituals and increase your own dark powers.

-Everything is for sale in Hell. Bid on Legions to expand your territorial holdings.

-Hire lesser fiends, known as Praetors, to lead your legions into battle.

-Acquire Infernal Artifacts and Unholy Relics to increase your power.

-Know your place and observe the protocols of Hell. Declare Vendetta on a rival and wager prestige on how effective you are at making him suffer. Drive him to Blood Feud, crush his legions and banish him to the Abyss.

-Deception and Lies can be as great a weapon as a legion of fiends. Frame your opponents for vindictive acts of aggression and watch them tear each others throats out.

Simultaneous turns allow you to place your orders and await the heralds and messengers bringing word of the unfolding events in Hell.Play By E-Mail allows up to six players to compete for the Infernal Throne. AI players can be selected to fill in open slots. Single player games versus AI opponents are also available.
This one might not be part of our core line, but it's worth a look if your interested in this indie.

More information.
 
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Sounds bloody fantastic! Hope it doesn't get lost in all the AAA releases, I doubt I'll have time to play for a while but will try to buy on release anyway & sit on it.
 
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If it's anything like his other game Armageddon Empires then it should be pretty fun. That one had a difficult learning curve, but once you figured it out it was a ton of fun.

I actually gave up on AE when I first tried the demo, but a few months later after reading a few reviews for it (and a handbook on HOW to play the game ;)) it turned out to be not as difficult as I thought. You just have to actually read the manual, lol. I haven't had to do that in a long time.
 
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If it's anything like his other game Armageddon Empires then it should be pretty fun. That one had a difficult learning curve, but once you figured it out it was a ton of fun.

I actually gave up on AE when I first tried the demo, but a few months later after reading a few reviews for it (and a handbook on HOW to play the game ;)) it turned out to be not as difficult as I thought. You just have to actually read the manual, lol. I haven't had to do that in a long time.

I certainly heard many good things about Armageddon empires. Wasn't there some article about the long tail & word of mouth for indie games, and it turned out to be a massive sleeper hit due to the level of depth involved?
 
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Nice artwork. I'll keep this one on my radar, skav. Looks interesting. Nothing I like better than Infernal Artifacts and Unholy Relics except maybe framing my opponents for vindictive acts of aggression. Good times.
 
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I certainly heard many good things about Armageddon empires. Wasn't there some article about the long tail & word of mouth for indie games, and it turned out to be a massive sleeper hit due to the level of depth involved?

You mean this article from Level Up? On the first page it's an interview with Vic. It's mostly about how how he handled the marketing campaign for his game.

On the second page it crunches the numbers showing how an 'infection' took hold much later after the intial release of the game. It highlighted the difference between AAA marketing and their actual sales with his marketing approach and his sales.

It came down to something like this:
AAA spend tons of resources in reviews, previews and advertising. Then there is a huge initial infection (sales). Followed by post release improvements/support and then lastly a tiny additional infection (sales)

Vic's approach was a tiny amount of intitial infection (sales). Then a ton of resouces (time) poured into support and post release improvements. Followed by word of mouth, reviews and then lastly a huge additional infection (sales).

It highlights the difference between the two types of games and how they approach the market place. AAA devs live or die in those few weeks to a month after the initial release of their game. While if indies tried that approach they would most certainly fail. They live or die by recomendations and trusted reviews of their game.

They both have pros and cons. On the one hand AAA devs make an outrageous sum of money in a short period of time (if it is a hit) and then can move on to the next project to make an additional outrageous sum of money in a short amount of time. While indies will never make as much as a AAA dev can, but their game can have a steady amount of sales for years and years. I'm sure Armageddon Empires is still getting some revenue from sales even though it's been years after the intial release.

Anyways, that's my take on the whole indie vs AAA marketing approach. In case you're wondering, yes, I found this article to be very interesting when I read it last year :) I would recommend to anyone interested in making indie games to take a close look at what that article had to say. There was a lot of data that Vic disclosed in it about his actual sales numbers.

Nice artwork. I'll keep this one on my radar, skav. Looks interesting. Nothing I like better than Infernal Artifacts and Unholy Relics except maybe framing my opponents for vindictive acts of aggression. Good times.

I'm the same way, though I'm not sure why the thought of ruling the underworld is so appealing :D
 
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