f13.net

So the lack of reviews on this game here probably tells me what I need to know, but I'll ask anyway.  Good?

Developed by Cyanide, makers of the Blood Bowl interface/netcode.  I will be staying away until it hits $5 or less.  :ye_gods:

The review on Joystiq said it was ok, but not great.

Dang.  I was hoping a game based on that universe would be launched, but just a different way.  I was really thinking more in terms of a MMO, but a strat game would work too I guess.  Maybe I'll try it later at $5.  Sounds like a good plan.

Warning:  Game Design Rambling to follow:

I thought something similar to the original Shadowbane concept (sans sb.exe,) but more emphasis on relationship building/destroying would have been interesting.  Plus, you would have a family to create and develop, not a single character.  Perma-death of family members would be possible, but you'd never be reduced to 0 family members.  The worst you'd do is drop to 1 and have to rebuild.  Dropping to 1 wouldn't be soul crushing though.  There would have to be a delicate balance of power/mobility/influence/etc. against family member size.  The smaller your family the more control and individual power you potentially can have.  You will just have a tougher time having broader control and your risk of losing ground would be higher considering one death out of 4 could be painful.  Having a huge family helps in spreading across regions and getting your "net" into everyone's business, but your direct control would be weaker and managing such a horde could be daunting. Blah blah.

I'm thinking that would actually work a lot better in a Facebook context, or maybe a Paradox-like thing (start from Crusader Kings and go from there), than in a first-person sort of MMO context.

Possibly yes.

So did anyone actually play it?

This guy: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dbc-KwlXAao

He was apparently enjoying himself, I wasn't really.

Keep in mind Cyanide picked up the license and began development before the show started.

That actually makes a huge difference in how I will judge the game. I kind of feel bad for them now. Everyone is expecting it to be like the show, and by the time the show came around, they had likely wasted a year or two on assets already.

Personally I think Game of Thrones would best fit in with Mount & Blade. That game is already basically a feudal simulator and a sandbox. You can do anything there from being a lord under a king, being a rebel, being a bandit, an avdenturer, or even forming your own kingdom. You can be a commander, a merchant, an intruiger, a swordfighter.

That said, Mount & Blade 1 is very rudimentry in terms of political and RPG dynamism. Those are the limitations of its 10 year old garage origin engine, all that's in the game now was slowly built onto its initial primitive but fun features.

Mount & Blade 2 is in development though, and these elements will presumably be built into the game from the ground up, and with more depth. M&B has already done licensing of its engine for professional 3rd party mods (fire & sword), Game of Thrones would be a great IP for that.