Therion board game!

[Luth]

As some of you might already know, and it has already said here, Therion is going to have its own board game! It will be called "011", and Therion has already talked about it in the Megatherion wall.

I think it may be a good idea to gather as much information as we can and post it in this thread. What do you think? At the moment, let me post what I've found...

First of all, the most evident:

Therion to appear as board game!

Paolo Vallerga from the famous game developer Scribabs approached the band at the show in Milano last year with this great idea of making a fantasy board game based upon the stage stage characters mixed with mythology and and we instantly thought it was the coolest thing we've heard in ages and loved the idea!
The name of the game is 011 and you will find me, Thomas, Christian, Johan, Snowy, Katarina, Lori and Nalley appearing as even more fantastic characters than we are in reality!  ;
There will be more news on this coming soon!
Check Scribabs webpage for a description of the game and more pictures:
http://www.scribabs.it

Sincerely yours,

Christofer

Not much information, I think. Better going to one of the links there:

011 is an adventure game set in a steampunk version of our world.
Events take place in Turin, the "magical" city per excellence, in an uchronic 1811, in a strange past where a marvelous technology is moved by steam, as in Jules Verne's novels.

The steam engines, that huge security systems keep always on, grant the survival of citizens, as the city is trapped into the cold grip of a winter that started three years ago. It's the end of Fimbulvetr, the great winter that, in Norse mythology, comes before the Ragnarök. When Fenrir, the Wolf, will awake from his slumber, the Ragnarök will start, and the world as we know it will cease to exist. A new beginning, or the end for us all?

Eight mysterious characters come from the North to stop the awakening of the Wolf God, but only one of them, the Chosen One, has the power to do it for real.

Playing alternatively the eight characters, the players must find who is the Chosen One, compose the mystical song which can put back to sleep the mighty Fenrir, and find where is located the magical Organ of Snorri, a unique instrument able to endure the magnificence of the enchanted melody.

The game uses a new, "mechanical" action selection system, and intrigues player with a paradox: characters are all working to stop the Ragnarök, but only one player can achieve victory! To make things even more hard, in the middle of the game one of the players will become the incarnation of Fenrir, and will play to let the Ragnarök begins.

The eight characters have the aspect of the members of the Symphonic Metal band Therion. The game is officially supported by the band, and both the leader of the ensemble, Christofer Johnsson, and many members of the band followed the design and the development of the game.

But... if you look further and search though the links, you'll find even more information. Information like...

Well, to avoid further misunderstandings, I got the permission to say something more about the game.

There are 8 Characters, and everyone of them is somehow "extraordinary". Each character has a special ability, ranging from the irresistible charm of the "Dark Lady" Lewis to the supernatural "time delay" power of Doctor Vikström. The protagonists of the game, as I said before, have the aspect and the names of Therion members, but also their own personalities, purposes and stories.

The 8 Characters move around Turin to collect clues and pointers about the incoming Ragnarök. Clues are the key to discover the Melody able to stop the end of the world, to identify the Chosen One - the only one that can play it - and to locate the magical Organ that must be used to play the Melody. The three "unknown factors" change every time, and to determine them there are many different ways to investigate.
Players must do that in only 12 hours or, in "real time", 12 turns.
That's the object of the game.

During his turn, a player choses a character and move it, taking advantage of his powers, and going around with one of the steam machines of the game, looking for the clues previously placed. Clues, instead of being "cold" things representing "points", are a real enhancement of the "investigation actions" that every player performs at the end of his turn.

The action\movement system is made by three gears physically screwed to the main board, according to the "steampunk" theme.
They must be rotated by players to take their moves using "time", the main resource of the game.

Anyway, 011 it's not an "american game" it's a mix between american fitting thematics and mathematical "eurogame" mechanics.
No dice, no shotgun shots against deities, no brawling between extraordinary gentlemen.
It's an investigation adventure. And when I say "investigation" I mean "investigation" and not "you may collect clues but, hey, hold tight your grenade launcher. you will need it. trust me."
So, no fighting, no slaughter, no violence. Sorry.

Note: you may like it or not. Maybe someone has as secret wish to bash with a showel the Great Miðgarðsormr, in an epic underwater combat on the cold Artic Ocean. Anyway, the main problem remains to spell correctly "Miðgarðsormr"...

Ok, let's continue.
As Characters cooperate to stop the Ragnarök, players play in a very competitive way, because only one of them will be the winner.
That may sound a bit weird, but in facts it grants a better replayability and bit of unpredictability to each match, forcing every player to plan well his moves, in order to avoid to waste time (and time in 011 is really precious).

This is the game - obviously in broad terms.
I think that could be enough to figure out that is a real "game" and not just a "gadget"

And, although I have not found it now, so I can't tell you exactly where I read it, I read that Therion is going to appear in a short movie for the game. I don't know exactly how it will be, or how it will appear in the game, but... is that not COOL?!!!!! 

[Persephone]

Oh. I was sure something like this will appear, when I saw at first Christofer's new image. It is so steampunkish : ))

[Gevurah]

Thanks Luth,

great information. I can't access anything from here that has content related to games, so i could only see their site info. This really makes
Sounds really really great.. well..can't wait to hear more and its the first board game i really want to play in years.  

    umm..nothing on snowy's character?  Or katarina? 

The short movie sounds really cool although the whole plot would make a really nice movie   

[Izraphael]

Hi there!

I'm Marco "Iz" Valtriani, the designer of 011.
Besides my design activity, I'm a great metal fan - my favourite bands are Fear Factory, Moonspell, Blind Guardian and obviously Therion.
So you may figure out that, when Paolo Vallerga (publisher of the game, and author of the plot) told me that Therion were the characters of 011, I almost took a knock!

The informations Luth provided are correct (they are from 011 Boardgamegeek Page - BGG is the most used boardgaming community of the whole planet. BGG will also publish in the next days my "designer's diaries", an article telling how the game is born, how it works and how Therion were involved.
For those that are not interested in BGG, and to engulf not Therion page, me and Paolo Vallerga (the publisher) activated the page on Facebook for the game.

Here, you will find monthly news about the games, that will be released at Essen Spiel 2011 (second half of october), and probably the Essen version of the game will have a bonus DVD with a video clip that follows the story of the game, but sincerely I don't know too much about this.

Ok, apart from this, I'm here... you can rain questions on me, I'm glad to answer!

[Gevurah]

Hi Marco

welcome,  and thank you for the links. Really glad to finally see "Captain Snowy"    Already shared it on my profile.


   cheers

[Markus]

Hey there,

that's a lovely idea. Thank you for updating us, Izraphael!

I like the idea of cooperation in the game and I like the fact that you didn't just go for the 2012 hype but created your setting more imaginatively.

I wonder when the design began. The band members are in their Sitra-Ahra-outfits. Did those outfits inspire the game design or were the two developed together?

Cheers!

Markus

[jarcs8]

turin why turin Ive never been there. when i get to play it ill get lost and Humanity will be DOOMED 

[Izraphael]

@ Markus

1. Yes, the game is set (and will be released) in the year "011" also as a sort of "rebellion" against 2012
Something like: "you're all preparing for the end in 2012? Well, we got a bad new..."
2. The design of the game (rules, gameplay) is almost finished, it is in the phase called "late development". The core rules are definitive, my playtesters are playing a very big amount of test matches with different groups of gamers to be sure that everything is fine, but I won't make any major change to the rules. At this point I may slightly correct the effect of a tile or a card, but that's all
The publisher is working feverishly on graphics. Even the box cover you saw will look better than the one in the preview!
There are a lot of things that need a good graphic design: map, rules layout, cards, icons (the game is entirely language-independent: you don't need to read lot of text to play)... the publisher is also working on all materials (tokens, miniatures, playing pieces, and so on). That's not my job, but I'm constantly informed about how the production is proceeding... a game is someway like a puppy, it's nice to see how it grows!
3. The Sitra-Ahra-outfits came before the game. Fortunately, they fit perfectly in the idea of 011, because making a new photo set just for the game should have been really expensive for Scribabs. I think that the plot written by Paolo Vallerga was someway influenced by the pictures, as my game design idea has been influenced by some comics and movies.

@ Jarcs8

Oh, don't be afraid, the 8 Characters in the game - and expecially Captain Snowy - have a good sense of direction, they will help you!
Anyway: here there is a nice "report" in english about "the magic of Turin": http://www.redicecreations.com/article.php?id=1753 that can reply to the general question "Why Turin?"

--

Note: sorry for my english... I'm frequently in a hurry and sometimes I make mistakes.

[TheOFFman]

It sound so original and I am really interested how this game will turn out to be. Thanks Izraphael for coming here and telling us all that. I would be great if we could play this game on the meeting we all planning for this year, wouldn't it?! 

[Izraphael]

Back again!

A couple news.

1) The game will be co-produced and distributed in the US by Elfinwerks.
2) On BoardGameGeek News, are online my Designer Diaries: you will find some informations about the making of 011, about gameplay, and about the plot.

Enjoy!

[kinjarb037]

this looks new, in fact it reads "1st promo" and is dated early april

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TsqSIAyM85c

[Gevurah]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JvI4Dh-qri8&feature=share 



it looks awesome !!!

[Luth]

YEEEEEEEAH!!! 

[kinjarb037]

new one

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J8mpzhD3_DY

 

[Gevurah]

i've seen it fresh ... can't wait to see more.
they have done a great job with the details. Really talented people

[Luth]

A pity it's not on sale before October... we'll have to wait until next NTSMS meeting to be able to play it in NTSMS community 

[Gevurah]

Well Luth, that can only mean that by the next meeting, the members will have enough time to practice.
Its more fun to play when you know the game you are playing.   

[Izraphael]

Now it's time to let you see something *real*.
Here it is the trailer of the short film made by Scribabs and Silos Production, is a mix of "behind the scenes" shots, and it's the first trailer of the series featuring the "real" Therion.

Have a good time!
011 - Behind the Scenes

[Gevurah]

Love it

I'd have so many questions about the movie, the game, but I will  wait for the release.     The only fear I have is that the movie will be to short   

[Izraphael]

About the game, feel free to ask.
I think I can tell almost everything right now, the only thing I cannot post is the rulebook.
And... ok, I will let you have a look...




These are the proto-miniatures made by the sculptor. It's the first time ever they're shown somewhere... I hope you will like them.

For the movie, which follows more "restricted" rules, I can say just a few things (but I saw some footage and trust me, is great!). If you have questions, I can ask the publisher for some informations, but I'm not sure about what I can say.
Oh, the lenght will be approx 15 minutes.