The Art of the Game – Keep Up the Fire
Keep Up the Fire – The Boxer Rebellion was an exciting game on many accounts to design. First, it was a reimagining of a game that had already been published once before. With the rights secured and the original game developer along for the journey, we embarked on creating a new experience that, for some, would be a familiar game.
The Boxer Rebellion took place at the crossroads of history as the Chinese population split between remnants of a feudal cast system and the "westernization" of their military and commerce. For us at Worthington, this game also presented the challenge of being our first Asian-centric topic. Art of the Qing Dynasty (years 1644-1911) is iconic to the casual observer as "Chinese Art" with its portrait-style muted watercolors with solitary cherry trees on fog-filled mountains, or with its bold reds and golds showcasing dragons surrounded by swirling smoke. The art of this time also marked the end of China's independent soul, as the Qing dynasty would become the last dynasty. Yet in the western world, 1900 was the beginning of all things "modern." Mechanical printing was becoming a standard, which meant news and information (and misinformation) was rapidly spread to increase the population's general knowledge exponentially collectively. Weapons were also increasingly becoming mechanized by the 1900s and created a sense of misguided security to those facing swords and horse riders.
The game art attempts to showcase this dichotomy and conflict on the country scale with the imbalance of art styles. The Chinese units are round with organic curved lines noting the local units' path as they attempted to overcome the compound. The Legation units comprised of eight nations are symbolized by square rigid pieces, denoting the structure and adherence of regulation over the individual. The boards also reflect each "side" point of view, as the mainboard has Qing art noting the battle that took place, as they bravely protected their homeland from the foreign invaders. Contrasting with both the compound's art and the map used on the relief column map were from mass-printed newspapers informing the citizens back home of their courageous brethren attempting to civilize the world.
Font choice is essential to creating the correct atmosphere for gameplay. Like most things in design, it is unnoticeable when it is right, but everyone knows when it is wrong. Fonts can ruin a project, and with a topic like this, it could detract totally from the gameplay experience. I chose the primary fonts to contrast the two empires colliding. The font "Coldsmith" represents the Legation units' industrialization shown on their counters and tracks. As for the Qing government and the Boxer units, I chose a font called Scriptorama Markdown to reflect the archetypal traditional Chinese calligraphy or guohua painting style without turning it into a farce. It is always a razor's edge to balance the design with respect for a style or era without over-embellishing the work and making it cartoonish.
In the end, with the balance of muted maps and bold colors, I hope it creates a rich gaming experience as you protect your brother-in-arms in the legation compound awaiting rescue from your marching forces.