While it’s nice covering crowdfunding campaigns that are currently fighting the good fight, sometimes it’s uplifting to see something like Ophidian 2360: Survival of the Fittest. The creators at Hack and Slash Games ran a Kickstarter in March and raised $16,000 USD to nearly double their $8500 USD goal. From the aftermath of the campaign, president Robert Shofkom and the rest of the company are now in the process of making the new cards for the Ophidian expansion.
Gameplay centers around futuristic gladiatorial combat with each player summoning warriors to fight for them. It seems like Hack and Slash Games have done all they can to differentiate themselves from other games as Ophidian features dice, tokens and playmats alongside the cards. The sets are even done differently as they aren’t your usual CCG (collectible card games like Magic: the Gathering) but are ECG (expandable card games that feature fixed cards in decks rather than your usual randomness).
The fundamentals of hero cards are there as you fight against your enemy with the usual health and damage stats. But your heroes can level up and it’s not a back and forth system with turns; instead you play on a ‘momentum’ system where everything you do can either extend or diminish your time to hack. The creators claim that the game isn’t difficult to pick up and play but from the multitude of lengthy tutorials on the official Ophidian site make it seem like a strategy game with a lot of depth.
The art for the cards is full of your usual cyber-fantasy tropes but there are some interesting designs littered throughout. Hack and Slash’s site advertises its mandate to “present the characters in our games in the most realistic way possible” as opposed to the idealistic way found in most mediums. The company also prides itself on creating all parts of the game in their home country of the United States; they even package everything within their borders. Their list of contributing artists is a global one however and they have talent from places such as Finland and Indonesia.
At the moment Hack and Slash Games are taking preorders for their new Ophidian 2360: Survival of the Fittest relaunch/expansion. They are also working on a new series called Myths and Legends and supporting the older version of Ophidian 2350. If you’re interested learning more about the company, you can read their interesting history and keep up-to-date on what’s coming up next.
