They Live : Assault on Cable 54

Update: Writer interview and housekeeping.
over 3 years ago – Fri, Nov 27, 2020 at 12:16:13 PM

This update is going to be a little different to normal. Currently, we have all of the fully proofread cards, art, and other assets with our production team and we are awaiting our fully completed sample that we will look forward to showcasing to everyone at some time in the near future.

We would like to use this opportunity to do some general housekeeping regarding orders and also spotlight how the writing of the game all came together.

Change of address:

The most common message we are currently getting is around the change of shipping addresses. You can still change your shipping address and will be able to until roughly 30 days before shipping.

To change your address you just need to go to your Backerkit survey and update your backer information. If you have lost your Backerkit survey details you can access them through this link: https://they-live-assault-on-cable-54.backerkit.com/

Emails and messages:

If there are any issues with your pledge, our team will contact you via the email attached to your Backerkit / Kickstarter pledge and also your Kickstarter messenger. Please make sure to respond to these messages as a lack of information may result in a delay in receiving your copy of the game.

Luke Melia Writers interview:

The story aspect of They Live: Assault on Cable 54 has been a key part of the design, feel and experience for the game. So we would like to take some time to have a chat with Luke who has been responsible for shaping the world of our game and creating engaging stories that embrace the look and feel of the movie and genre. Luke took some time away from his busy schedule to have a chat with us about his experience, here is what he had to say:

What inspired you when writing They Live Assault on Cable 54?

They Live is a fantastic movie. It builds this fascinating world of hidden Invaders and subliminal messages. Much of what the film says about the world around us is still as relevant today as it was when the movie was released back in 1988.

And yet, despite several attempts, it still hasn’t had a sequel or spin-off. There is so much potential there, so the idea of being able to jump in and tell stories within it was incredibly exciting.

My other main source of inspiration came from the challenge of it all. I had never written for a game before, or a licensed product, so this was a whole new venture. Right from the start, I could see how this project was going to test me in new ways as a writer.

As a writer, who has been your favorite character to write for and why?

Each of the characters presented a different writing challenge, so picking just 1 is tough. I’ll narrow it down to 3.

Detective Dixon was the first character I took on, and actually, it was the very first bit of writing I did for the game. It was a joy to be able to shape a sort of pulp noir detective story that also fits perfectly within the world of They Live. He took much longer to write than the others, as I was setting up the foundations and frameworks that would then be used for all of them, so I felt like I spent quite a bit of time getting to know who Dixon was and how he worked. As my entry into the world of They Live: Assault on Cable 54, he is definitely one of my favorites.

The next one I'll mention is Doctor Reddy. In this violent world of Resistance VS Invaders, where people are trying to survive brutal police raids and literally fight for their lives, how do you write a softly-spoken conflict-averse scientist? How would her frame of reference differ from the other characters, and how would that impact her approach to solving problems? And, more importantly, how can I write her in a way that makes her fit into the world of They Live?

I ended up watching through the film and pausing it whenever Nada got into some sort of altercation, and considering “How would Reddy approach this differently? What would the impact of that be?”. This is something I did for most of the characters, but it felt especially important for shaping Dr. Reddy. By the end of it, I had a good feel for who she was, and even though her story is quite different to the others, it fits well within the universe.

The last one I’ll mention is one of the Kickstarter stretch goal characters- Battle Nada. The brief I was given was “write Nada, but as if he was in an over-the-top cheesy 80s action movie.” Coming up with his story and interactions was an absolute blast, and I think people are going to enjoy playing as him.

How did you stay faithful to the source material?

By watching it over and over and over and over again. I’m not even sure how many times I’ve watched the film this year, but it’s a LOT. I feel like I've been living in the world of They Live for the best part of this year. I’ve spent much of lockdown peeking through the curtains wondering which of my neighbors are secretly Invaders…

Each time I wrote a scenario, I would go back to the film and think “Would this event happen here? If this had been a scene in the movie, would it stand out as something that didn’t fit? Does this idea expand on the story, or does it break away from it?”

It was these sorts of questions that kept me faithful to the source material, and hopefully, that will come across in the final product.

Now, back to the neighbors; that fella at number 5 putting his bins out is definitely one of them...

Why was writing important to this board game?

This is something I asked myself early on in this project. I had never written for a board game before, and I didn’t fully appreciate just how important the writing would be. The brief I was given was very clear- this isn’t a board game with a They Live skin, this is a board game that takes place firmly within the world of They Live. Every story, every sentence, even every word is to be aimed at fitting within the universe of the movie. The idea was that you could pick any character, and play through the game as if it was a spin-off from the film itself. But it’s not just the characters, the game contains a number of random scenarios and events, and each had to help build the world of They Live.

My role as the writer was to try and expand the lore without ever taking anything away from the original, and to build an experience that makes you feel like you are a part of the iconic movie.

What was the hardest aspect of writing They Live Assault on Cable 54?

Each character has a personal story deck that consists of an introduction card (explains how they enter the world of They Live) and 2 endings- one if they’re human, and one if they’re an Invader. They each then have 10 middle cards- these are events that happen during their story. However, these 10 cards need to be able to be told in a random order, and chances are during a game you will only get through 4 or 5 of them (after you have passed 3, you can move on to your character’s ending). So the challenge was this- how do you write a story with a beginning, middle, and an end, when the middle needs to be able to be randomized? No matter how many of the middle cards you pick, or what order you pick them in, it needs to provide a bridge between the start and the end.

Doing this for each character was definitely the hardest obstacle to overcome. I won’t spoil how it’s been achieved, but from the playtests it has (luckily!) worked.

How does it feel to work on a licensed property like this and what has been different from your normal writing?

Terrifying…

Up until now, my writing work has been for my own comic books, graphic novels, and prose work. So to take on a licensed property like this was a whole new beast! In my own work, if I make a mistake, or something doesn’t work right, I can just say “it’s meant to be like that.” But I don’t have that scapegoat here. If the narrative doesn’t work, then the game is broken, and it’s all my fault. So, ummmm, yeah terrifying.

But on a more serious note, it’s quite exciting. Speaking openly, going into this project I was worried about how creatively constricting it might be. With my own work, I've got the freedom to shape it in any way I like, but here it’s not as simple as that, and I had some concerns that I might struggle within the restrictions.

However, that was never the case! A part of that is because the vast scope of the movie allows for so much to be told within it, but also because there is such a fantastic team behind this game that working with them and creating a shared vision has been a joy.

Lastly, the thing in the back of my mind constantly with this is that I was attempting to write content for a property that was created by the legendary John Carpenter. This is a man who created one of my favorite films of all time (The Thing.... I mean They Live, of course), so attempting to contribute something to one of his worlds was, well, we’re back at terrifying.

As well as writing the game you have played the game a number of times, what are your favorite aspects of the gameplay?

Without a doubt, the thing I have enjoyed most is the hidden Invader part of the game. The game is all about teamwork, the only way you stand a chance at getting to the end and beating the Final Assault is to work together. But not everyone is who they say they are… it creates a sort of paranoia, where you start questioning everyone’s actions. Are they helping me with this because they’re human too? Or is that what they WANT me to think?

There’s an excellent moment at the end of the film where Holly, a character we have gotten to know and trust, out of nowhere pulls a gun on Frank and takes him out. It was such a shocking scene in the film, and perfectly captures that feeling of ‘you don’t know who you can trust’. We have had that exact situation happen in the game! We’ve gotten all the way to the end only to be betrayed at the last minute by someone we thought we could trust.

Moving on from that, another one of my favorite aspects of the game is that you learn how to do it better each time you play. The example above really highlighted how important it was to find and flush out the invaders among your team, so the next time I played I found I approached things a little differently.

That is all for this month’s update, we look forward to showing you our first full samples and hopefully some sit down gameplay at some point soon (current global situation and UK laws permitting). Also, let us know if you have enjoyed the interview aspects of this update, and what questions you would like to ask the artist or designers in a future interview.

Thank you for your ongoing support and remember:

CONFORM, CONSUME, BACK, SHARE, OBEY

Update: Some good news and some bad news.
over 3 years ago – Mon, Oct 26, 2020 at 04:20:57 PM

Hello everyone, we hope you are all safe and well. We have some great updates for you on the progress that has been taking place in the world of They Live, however, we do have to start today's update with some disappointing news.

Production Delay

Our aim from the outset has been to ship the game out to all backers in December and we have worked very hard over the last few months to try to achieve this. Unfortunately, due to circumstances that we will highlight below, we have now passed our original production widow resulting in a delay.

A brand new company building an epic licensed board game in the middle of a pandemic, what could go wrong?

It turns out, a couple of things. The main of which has been difficulties around playtesting.  One of our biggest obstacles has been the ability to get together in groups due to the restrictions in the UK, and we found that virtual testing was not as effective as we hoped.

Quality has been at the forefront of our minds during production and we know that In-depth playtesting is key to this. After the game is in your hands we can no longer update, improve, or fix the experience, so it is essential that we get it right beforehand.

A lot of positives have come out of testing, coupled with some excellent feedback we’ve had from the community. There have been a number of tweaks to the rules (some of which are explored later in this update), as well as some new assets that will make playing the game smoother.

This testing has taken longer than we had hoped, but trying out all the different aspects of the game has been imperative to delivering a balanced experience.

Playtesting is now complete, and the game is currently undergoing professional proofreading (more on this later).

Unfortunately, though, we do today have to announce a new shipping date of March/April 2021. This may sound like a long time away, (although it may well be sooner) we want to account for the disruptions to production that will occur at this time of year (Christmas, New Year, Chinese New Year) and also allow for shipping to your local fulfillment centre.

We want to stress that we have made every effort possible to get this game to you for its original shipping date, resulting in countless hours of work that in the end will make the game better overall. But we would like to sincerely apologise that we will not be able to make that original date and hope that you can understand.

Moving on to a more positive note, here is the update on the development of the They Live - Assault on Cable 54.

Proofreader Announcement

Although we have internally proofread the game in its entirety, we committed to using an established game proofreader early on in our campaign as a response to your feedback.

Today I would like to introduce Rachael Mortimer who is the proofreader for our behemoth of storytelling and action (clocking in at over 70k words!).

Rachael is a specialist board game proofreader and has previously worked on a number of titles including; the Aeon's End games for Indie Boards & Cards, Teotihuacan City of Gods for NSKN, Fog of Love for Hush Hush Projects, and many others in addition to also proofreading in other mediums.

Everyone at Iconiq Studios would like to wish Rachael a very warm welcome and we hope you all enjoy the positive impact that she will have on this project.

Rule changes:

Now playtesting has concluded, it has highlighted some final slight changes to the gameplay that have now been updated in our rulebook.

Ally cards and equipping

One of the biggest changes has been around Ally cards. During testing, players were finding it difficult to keep track of what Ally could be used during each phase of the game. As a result, we’ve now made Ally cards equipable in the same way as weapons and off-hand equipment. Ally cards have now taken the equipable slot at the top left of the character board. This slot was previously called ‘condition’ and was used for Injury cards. You can have multiple injuries, but only 1 Ally equipped at a time, so swapping this slot made more sense for both mechanics.

From this point forward, you’ll be able to equip one of each card type (Ally, Weapon, and Item) above your character board, and any conditions/injuries will be stacked to the side. This has proven to be far more effective in testing and had positive feedback.

Influencing the resistance and bribes

When encountering a billboard location, players have the option to roll influence and see if they can acquire one or more Items, Weapons or Allies, from the Resistance Stash. As part of balancing, we have now included a basic bribe mechanic to enable players to re-roll a failed attempt at the cost of 2 scrap. Hopefully, this little bribe will give you the edge you need in forwarding the cause of the resistance.

We found this improves the game economy for both Humans / Invaders and gives more spending options for scrap.

Resistance Resources / Discard Pile

After overwhelming feedback from the community and playtesters, we have now removed the discard space from the board and introduced a second space for resistance resources. 

This has been a  very positive change and also has also introduced an unexpected feeling of “chance” to acquiring resources from the piles. Thank you for your feedback on this as we feel it has really improved the experience.

Quick Reference Sheets

As part of testing, we decided to include a number of quick reference sheets for each player to have access to as part of play. It was our original intention to include these on the reverse of the rulebook, however we decided that it was more important that each player had access to these documents. This has made the actions easier, and also prevents raising suspicion for new Invader players (who may be looking for special actions). These include an overview of what can be done during each phase of gameplay, as well as an explanation of what all the different icons in the game mean.

Work In Progress Rule Book Update

After the completion of our final proofread on the rulebook we will update the usual link from the campaign with the additional information.

If you would like to read the in-progress version you can click here:

Standard Game:

https://iconiqstudios.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/THEY_LIVE_RULEBOOK.pdf

1-3 Player

https://iconiqstudios.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/1-3_Player.pdf

Character Showcase

We know that you all enjoy seeing new allies, enemies, and equipment, so today we thought would be a nice opportunity to show you some more of the art that you haven't seen before...

Ally Cards:

Enemy Tiles:

Thank you for reading our update today. We hope you can see the amount of effort that has gone into this to shape the experience and deepen the mechanics of the game but once again we would like to apologise again for us not being able to achieve our originally planned delivery date.

Thank you for your ongoing support and understanding, remember:

CONFORM, CONSUME, BACK, SHARE, OBEY

Update: Content video update and Propaganda phase.
over 3 years ago – Tue, Sep 22, 2020 at 11:42:16 AM

Hello everyone, we hope you are all well, and we know there are a few of you really looking forward to this update.

Firstly, we would like to show you a video showcasing; card, board, enemy, and content updates that we have been hard at work on.

Please note - all cards featured in these videos have been printed and cut locally by our team for testing and balancing purposes only. They are not representative of the final product, which will be much higher quality.

We hope you all enjoyed that video, and now you can see the great deal of rewrites and redesigns that have gone into this game. These changes have been influenced by the feedback from you, the community, the testers, and the team.

We also know a lot of you want to see more of the gameplay showcases, so today we would like to show you our next video in the series - “The Propaganda Phase”.

Changing Addresses

We have had a large number of people contacting us to ask if it is possible to change/update their address, and the answer is a very simple one….

YES

All you need to do is log into your BackerKit Survey and change your address details. We have deliberately chosen not to lock addresses until very close to the shipping date. When the time comes, we’ll make sure to contact you all via an update to let you know in advance of us locking the shipping addresses.

Please keep your eyes peeled for more updates coming soon, including the “Final Assault Video”.

Your support means a lot to our small team. As fans of the movie ourselves, we are striving for the best possible quality and experience.

Remember:

CONFORM, CONSUME, BACK, SHARE, OBEY

Update: Hard at work
over 3 years ago – Fri, Aug 07, 2020 at 10:16:13 PM

Hello backers! We are hard at work with implementing changes, testing, and a bunch of other cool stuff, and we just wanted to share a little bit of that progress with you all.

Standee update:

We have now finalized the standees as per community request and the stretch goal that we added as part of our campaign. We thought this would be a great opportunity to show you all the updated artwork that has been completed.

Each character sheet now has a background instead of the plain blue that you will have seen as part of the campaign. Here are a few examples of this.

Card changes:

As part of our design process and also the feedback from the community, we have been resizing the text for most cards, and this has involved rewrites. As part of this process, we have also designed a style for the resource cards that have less additional information on them.

As you can see we have added specific art for cards where there are no additional rules. In testing this has proven to be a positive experience and players have a clear indication if there are no additional rules. The "Tax Paid" tape represents the shipping design on the reverse of the card as we wanted to give everything that real-world feel.

Enemies:

We now have more enemies that will feature in the game. We can show some of these new designs and will showcase more as they are approved. Exact numbers on these will be detailed at a later date, however the number exceeds the initial 20 designs in the Kickstarter.

Rules updates:

As we talked about previously we have made an adjustment to the way the final assault will be balanced and how that will be represented to the player through design.

Today we would like to introduce the new “Group Icon” which will start to feature in new versions of the rulebook and on cards that you will use throughout the game.

This new icon has resulted in a number of cards and boss tokens being reworked to feature the design, and has definitely helped us scale the difficulty based on the amount of players and also as part of the 1-3 player mode.

So as an example:

This change now prevents larger groups walking through easier challenges with no difficulty and also prevents smaller groups entering unwinnable situations. Modifiers for the Final Assault will go up to +6 and in some instances, there will also be split events where you may need to complete more than one challenge.

Additional Content production:

I understand a number of you are very eager to see some more videos. The previous content that we shot is now being re-recorded due to the updates above. We are currently shooting and editing this, and aim to have it with you soon.

Pledge Manager:

We have learned quite a lot from this Kickstarter, one of the unexpected parts of it was the confusion around backers using the pledge manager and how to use the system. We currently deal with daily messages and questions (upgrades, address changes, and many other things) all of which can take a lot of time for a small team. However if you are still having issues with the pledge manager please feel free to contact BackerKit through your survey or ourselves via Kickstarter.

Thank you to everyone for your support with all of this, we look forward to showing off more over the coming weeks and months.

Remember:

CONFORM, CONSUME, BACK, SHARE, OBEY

A quick update
almost 4 years ago – Fri, Jul 03, 2020 at 10:45:05 PM

Hello everyone.

We hope you are all doing well. The team just wanted to give you a few updates on the progress behind the scenes. Even though we are quiet at the moment, that doesn’t mean things have slowed down at all.

Changes

Final Assault

We are currently working on an important change to the final assault phase of the game, to ensure a better balance and game experience for large groups and also the 1-3 player mode.

The main change is moving away from “set completion numbers” and moving towards a “group number + modifier test”. This requires a lot of balancing to make sure that the game is not too easy but also not impossible to finish.

We have been holding back on putting the video out until we have nailed this aspect 100% as we do not want two versions of play out there in video form. This should prevent it from confusing matters in the long run.

Card Print Size

We heard your feedback from the videos loud and clear and we are working on the text size. The main challenge that has presented itself has been the card with the new text. This has resulted in us modifying the graphics involved and also rewriting a lot of the content to fit the sizes of the cards in a way that does not sacrifice world-building, tone, or story.

Other updates

There are still a handful of people that have not completed their survey and we are making every effort to contact these people to lock down confirmed production numbers.

We have also been implementing art improvements based on feedback, including additional board details (more background roads and detail). When we are happy and have studio approval for all of the changes we will keep updating here and on the social media channels.

Thank you again for your support, and remember:

CONFORM, CONSUME, BACK, SHARE, OBEY