Developments in Korash - May 2020
'Developments in Korash' is a series of articles i'm going to be releasing periodically to give a sense of where the development of the greater project is at, where its headed, and what's been happening.
Currently, the game is at version 0.30 - and still firmly in alpha.
It's playtesting well... Very well, actually. While it's been tricky to find playtesters at this early stage, the numbers are growing (though playtesting is stalled due to coronavirus...), and the feedback has been remarkably positive. People actually really enjoy playing this game. And this pleases me greatly!
The road ahead is long; but this is ok. I have nothing but time to develop Korash - the game, the setting, the lore, the fiction, and acrue more (and more, and more!) art assets.
So with this in mind, why don't I outline the short goals I have in mind for the Korash?
Short Term Goals
- Get full (alpha) art assets for Hive Kin, Rust Banner, Thousand Spears, Iron Sun, Dust Flag & Chrome Hand.
Of the above, all except Dust Flag & Chrome Hand have their alpha art assets done (you can view them all here). What do I mean by 'alpha' art assets? Well, art that gives an indication of my vision of what this unit looks like, is (more or less) pleasing to the eye, and that I have full rights to use and modify.
And while I'm quite pleased with the alpha assets as they are, I can't help but look at the amazing box art in game stores, or on any Magic the Gathering card from the past 20 years, and sigh at the gulf between ToK's current images (as excellent as the artists that produced them might be, their contribution to the Korash universe is limited by what I can afford to pay them for each image) and the amazing full colour, totally professional art on these released games.
But these things take money, and time. But i'm patient. And growing Korash slowly. And alpha is alpha. Besides - even if Korash never manifests with full colour, beautiful images, I have a handful of artists i'm working with now that are great to work with, and produce truly excellent black & white sketch-level work for my currently tiny budget.
And, now that i'm mentioning those artists, I will endeavour soon to make a post mentioning each, link to their work, and give them the full credit they deserve. Also to credit them on each applicable image as they appear on this site.
- Develop more Lore
I enjoy writing for Korash. Even if this card game doesn't take off, I want to eventually have, and continue to build, this site and extended Korash universe as a mighty and rich world, full of detail. I want it to feel alive. I want to make a world that people can get lost in, with interesting places, characters, cultures and biology. And then, if all goes well, even to build more games using the Korash setting.
For all this, the lore will need to be more developed. I would like to write a piece for every territory card in the game, for example, so that the locations you draw from the horizon (aka. territory deck) each have some connection to the world.
And speaking of writing, at this point I will mention Floom (aka. Tom Mulray) and Alex Eldridge, friends, lore-contributors and talented aspiring writers & creators! Both have helped develop the Korash universe by kindly writing pieces to add to the library, and may continue to do so in future (I hope!). It is also the richer for having them. You can search by the 'Floom' or 'Alex Eldridge' labels (via the top-left menu) to view all they have contributed so far.
It's going to be a long journey. But worth it, I think, in the end. I'm a creator - it's what I do, love, and have always done. And this (the whole Korash project) is the most ambitious creative project I've embarked on. But I love doing it, and want to share it with the world.
- Eskalat
Currently, the game is at version 0.30 - and still firmly in alpha.
It's playtesting well... Very well, actually. While it's been tricky to find playtesters at this early stage, the numbers are growing (though playtesting is stalled due to coronavirus...), and the feedback has been remarkably positive. People actually really enjoy playing this game. And this pleases me greatly!
The road ahead is long; but this is ok. I have nothing but time to develop Korash - the game, the setting, the lore, the fiction, and acrue more (and more, and more!) art assets.
So with this in mind, why don't I outline the short goals I have in mind for the Korash?
Short Term Goals
- Get full (alpha) art assets for Hive Kin, Rust Banner, Thousand Spears, Iron Sun, Dust Flag & Chrome Hand.
Of the above, all except Dust Flag & Chrome Hand have their alpha art assets done (you can view them all here). What do I mean by 'alpha' art assets? Well, art that gives an indication of my vision of what this unit looks like, is (more or less) pleasing to the eye, and that I have full rights to use and modify.
And while I'm quite pleased with the alpha assets as they are, I can't help but look at the amazing box art in game stores, or on any Magic the Gathering card from the past 20 years, and sigh at the gulf between ToK's current images (as excellent as the artists that produced them might be, their contribution to the Korash universe is limited by what I can afford to pay them for each image) and the amazing full colour, totally professional art on these released games.
But these things take money, and time. But i'm patient. And growing Korash slowly. And alpha is alpha. Besides - even if Korash never manifests with full colour, beautiful images, I have a handful of artists i'm working with now that are great to work with, and produce truly excellent black & white sketch-level work for my currently tiny budget.
And, now that i'm mentioning those artists, I will endeavour soon to make a post mentioning each, link to their work, and give them the full credit they deserve. Also to credit them on each applicable image as they appear on this site.
- Develop more Lore
I enjoy writing for Korash. Even if this card game doesn't take off, I want to eventually have, and continue to build, this site and extended Korash universe as a mighty and rich world, full of detail. I want it to feel alive. I want to make a world that people can get lost in, with interesting places, characters, cultures and biology. And then, if all goes well, even to build more games using the Korash setting.
For all this, the lore will need to be more developed. I would like to write a piece for every territory card in the game, for example, so that the locations you draw from the horizon (aka. territory deck) each have some connection to the world.
And speaking of writing, at this point I will mention Floom (aka. Tom Mulray) and Alex Eldridge, friends, lore-contributors and talented aspiring writers & creators! Both have helped develop the Korash universe by kindly writing pieces to add to the library, and may continue to do so in future (I hope!). It is also the richer for having them. You can search by the 'Floom' or 'Alex Eldridge' labels (via the top-left menu) to view all they have contributed so far.
It's going to be a long journey. But worth it, I think, in the end. I'm a creator - it's what I do, love, and have always done. And this (the whole Korash project) is the most ambitious creative project I've embarked on. But I love doing it, and want to share it with the world.
- Eskalat
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