04-24-2008, 02:46 AM
1. Who created the logo for Eye-Level Entertainment?
Matt: I came up with the rough draft of it and forwarded it to Mark, our graphics guy, who prettied it up.
2. Where is Eye-Level Entertainment headquartered at?
Matt: We hail from the “Steel City” itself: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
3. How long has Eye-Level Entertainment been designing and producing games?
Tony: 2001 was the official ‘ birth’ of the company, but we’ve been making up games our whole lives. One example: a wooden crate of old sports equipment (shin-pads, boxing gloves, plastic bats, rubber nun-chucks, etc.) became the basis for ‘Nuclear Waste Warriors’, a game we played in our early teenage years with friends in our front yard. The game basically consisted of attempting to beat the stuffing out of each other… but there WERE rules.
Matt: Yes, I can only imagine how lucky our neighbors felt when they saw us dragging that box out into the yard for another round of nuclear-powered melee.
Mark: I once made a game where you kept hitting a Dixie cup into the air to see how long you could keep it from hitting the ground. I think we’ve gotten a little better since that.
Matt: Indeed. Once Mark abandoned his Dixie cup game around 2001, he mocked up the initial concept for “Nature of the Beast” (a.k.a.: NotB). We played a draft and followed that with several years of tinkering around with it before committing to publish it.
4. What kind of game is Nature of the Beast?
Mark: NotB is a strategic card game featuring animal armies in a secret struggle for supremacy in the shadows of humanity.
Players recruit a rag-tag collection of animals in an effort to be the first player to fill their field. First player to fill their field (usually a 3x3 grid) wins the game.
Matt: While strategic, Nature of the Beast is also very funny. There’s plenty of humor in the cards and situations: a hamster in his roller ball (his ‘Sphere of Doom’), tracking bugs (which are literally bugs), caffeine
pills, arsonist cows, and an organ-grinding monkey complete with his circus suit.
5. Which one of you Eye-Level Entertainment people is the better Nature of the Beast player?
Matt: I would argue against myself. I tend to focus too much on my brilliant plans and forget to keep close tabs on what other folks are doing.
Tony: I take great pleasure trouncing my brothers at NOB – there is no better victory than beating the creators of the game… mmmmm, delicious victory.
Mark: Tony does win a lot, darn it.
6. What was the most difficult thing about the design of Nature of the Beast to get right, and why?
Matt: Card balance. We didn’t want any insanely powerful cards. We handled this situation by handicapping more powerful cards with increased cost to bring out. Some cards require you to spend one or more of your actions (you get three actions a turn) to activate a card. Other cards require you to discard additional cards from your hand when you play them.
Mark: Making sure the wording on the cards was correct was tough. First, space is really limited. Second, you have to make sure the rules can’t be interpreted in a way that breaks the game.
7) Is there anything particularly innovative about ‘NotB’ that gamers should know about?
Matt: There is a consequence for attacking your opponent in NotB. Each time you attack, you will generally increase your Fury by one point. If it reaches 10, you’re automatically out of the game. This adds a dimension to the game that is missing from many other games out there. Combat is a tool that must be wielded wisely in NotB. If you want to go out and be the schoolyard bully, then you’ll find yourself maxed out on Fury pretty quickly and short on options.
Mark: It is also the only strategic card game currently available designed by triplets. I think.
Matt: I would have to concede that point as well.
8. Is a follow-up to Nature of the Beast in the works?
Matt: Yes. We have gotten a good way through the development of a new battle box, “Prairie vs. Polar”. However, we have no fixed release date for it at this time.
9. Who did the artwork for Nature of the Beast?
Mark: I tried to come up with a style that could reflect the humor of the game on one card and the ‘red in tooth and claw’ aspect of animals fighting on the next. The two themes work surprisingly well together, like peanut butter and chocolate.
Matt: If you’re attentive, you’ll see a little bit of my artwork sneaking in on a few event cards. Mark, however, is the much stronger artist and he really determined the ‘look’ of NotB. In fact, if you visit our website, you can download a couple one-shot one-page comics Mark did to expand the world of NotB even further. If you like that stuff, you can check out, ‘Lab Rats’, a web-comic Mark does on the side (http://www.killjoycomics.com). Buy a mug while you’re there.
10. Why are there no booster packs for Nature of the Beast?
Tony: Any CCG (Collectible Card Game) players out there know the waste involved associated with the booster pack system – stacks and stacks of useless extras. If there’s one thing we have consistently heard from players, it’s “I’m tired of the person who spends the most money on their deck winning.”
Matt: Reviewers have commented that we captured the ‘feel’ of a CCG without all the extra expense that goes along with one. Not a single person has said, “Man I wish you had done this as a CCG”, but lots of folks have said, “Man, I’m glad this isn’t a CCG.”
11. How many people can play Nature of the Beast at one time?
Mark: Each battle box (‘City vs. Suburb’ and ‘Farm vs. Forest’) supports two-players. Add more battle boxes for more players. While there’s nothing stopping you from larger games, we’ve found it best to limit game play at four players.
12. Eye-Level Entertainment produces a game called E.T.I.. What does that stand for and what kind of game is it?
Matt: “ETI: Estimated Time to Invasion” puts you in command of a mega-corporation starting in the 1960’s. You are racing, sometimes with and sometimes against, other companies who are all members of a secret alliance created to prepare for an alien attack. By researching awesome new technologies, you brace your facilities to repel the impending invasion.
Complicating matters slightly is that one of the companies has secretly aligned with the Aliens and will work toward Humanity’s downfall!
Mark: Picture “Office Space” meets “E.T.” meets Independence Day”.
13. What was the inspiration for ETI: Estimated Time to Invasion?
Matt: In its earliest incarnation, I wanted to design a game that celebrated scientists and engineers working to solve problems. From there, Mark crafted the cool ‘alien invasion’ theme around my core game design. It was a natural fit!
Mark: I wanted a game that featured alien abductions. That’s all. Just alien abductions.
14. Is there anything particularly innovative about ETI: Estimated Time to Invasion that gamers should know about?
Matt: The way in which you do research and the advantages different ‘facility traits’ give you in manipulating that research is a pretty innovative mechanic. To complete a project, you get a certain number of research cards a turn. You play them face down around your facility. Your goal is to collect enough research to meet or beat the difficulty of the project you’ve selected.
Mark: Your facility also has four traits that can be enhanced during gameplay: Staffing, Creativity, Security, and Analysis. These each effect your ability to complete research in different ways. There is no ‘right’ way to play your facility. Each trait has its own advantages and really supports different playing styles. By emphasizing a different set of traits, you can create a whole new gaming experience for yourself each time you play.
15. What kind of gamers do you think would be particularly drawn to playing ETI: Estimated Time to Invasion?
Tony: We’ve heard that Eurogamers love ETI.
Mark: Yes, a Eurogame with a dollop of nail-biting uncertainty.
16. Other than a game produced by Eye-Level Entertainment, what is your personal favorite game to play, and why?
Matt: Growing up, we played a lot of ‘Car Wars’, ‘Battletech’, ‘Villains and Vigilantes’, and ‘Talisman’ to name a few. In college, we played a lot of ‘Call of Cthulhu’, ‘Heroes Unlimited’ and ‘Legend of the Five Rings’ among others.
Mark: Post-college, not much besides our own creations. There are lots of great games out there by other publishers, but aside from sneaking in an occasional side game at conventions, we’re pretty much ‘on the clock’ when it is time to play games in public.
17. Who did the artwork for ETI: Estimated Time to Invasion?
Matt: Mark; he is our graphics guru.
Mark: I work very cheap, it appears.
18. What were some of the biggest design challenges that you faces with ETI: Estimated Time to Invasion, and how did you overcome those challenges?
Matt: From a manufacture standpoint, ETI was much more complicated than NotB. We went from two decks of cards with NotB to multiple decks, tokens, gameboards, etc. with ETI. Fortunately we had a great printing partner in Hong Kong and he helped us work through a lot of the details.
19. If you had it all to do over again, what would you change about the design of ETI: Estimated Time to Invasion?
Mark: We are streamlining some of the rules and adding more personality to each of the six companies.
20. What advice can you offer to someone who is thinking about designing and producing their own game?
Mark: Have a couple game ideas stewing around in your head and let them fight to the death for your attention. Be willing to walk away from aspects of the game that aren’t working… or the whole game if that is the case.
Matt: Playtest the heck out of your design with people who don’t know and/or like you. Just because your mom says your game is awesome, doesn’t mean it is. Also, get feedback from a game store owner; they’ll have solid advice from the retailer perspective.
Tony: And remember – every games company started out as a person or two who had a good idea. If you think your idea has merit, don’t be intimidated by ‘the process’ – just do it, and figure things out as you go along. Learn, improve, learn, improve.
21. What was the single most fun thing about creating ETI: Estimated Time to Invasion?
Matt: Seeing other people play and enjoy it.
Mark: Taking everything we learned from NotB and trying to do it all over again from scratch.
Tony: Playing as the Alien Co-conspirator and being responsible for the end of the world as we know it.
22. What kind of playtesting does Eye-Level Entertainment do for its games?
Matt: We do a lot in-house just among ourselves. Once we work out the kinks, a local gamestore, GameMasters, generously hosts us for play-test sessions. The Gaming Association of Southwest Pennsylvania (GASP) hosts GASPCon once a year and they’ve tried out a lot of our stuff early too.
Mark: This time around we were able to bring a late-stage design of ETI to Origins and GenCon during the summer. We got lots of great playtesting in with some of the best gamers in the country.
23. How much do your games cost, and where can someone who is interested in acquiring a copy of them pick them up at?
Matt: ‘Nature of the Beast: City vs. Suburb’ and ‘Nature of the Beast: Farm vs. Forest’ retail at $17.95 each. ‘ETI: Estimated Time to Invasion’ is $39.95. Check with your local game store first! If you don’t have one nearby, you can order them online from us directly at http://www.eyelevelentertainment.com. We’re currently running a shipping special: Free shipping inside of the United States and $10 international shipping.
24. Are there any other games in the works at Eye-Level Entertainment that gamers can look forward to being released in the near future?
Matt: We do have our next game in the works and have play-tested with a first prototype already. Our hope is to move toward publication late this year or early next. Can’t say too much else about it at this point! It is a completely different game again from NotB and ETI.
Mark: Those of you attending Origins or GenCon can sign up to play test it with yours truly.
25. For someone thinking about buying one of Eye-Level Entertainment's games, but who might still be on the fence, what would you say to them to try and persuade them to go ahead and make that decision to purchase?
Tony: The #1 objective behind each game is to provide players an experience to have fun with their friends, and that the experience gets better the more times you play it. Not some catchy / funny idea that gets boring after the first game, or makes you spend lots of money to help ‘beat’ the other players. Games built by players FOR players.
Matt: We strive to create a new gaming experience with each publication. If we think it is similar to something else already out there, we won’t make it! You’re buying an original concept when you buy from us.
Mark: I would tell them, “Save the world… support small press game companies.”
26. The Eye-Level Entertainment website says that the company was founded by two brothers who share a lifetime of gaming experience in every genre. Yet, wasn't there a third brother, originally, and what happened to him? Was he an alien sympathizer, and did he sell out humanity, serving as the true inspiration for ETI: Estimated Time to Invasion?
Matt: Nothing so insidious! Tony started with us in the early designs of NotB, but he had the horrible misfortune of being hired for a well-paying job in another city. He has remained involved as an adviser, helps at conventions, and serves to keep us focused on the business end of things like making a profit. Plus with three people at the table, it helps to break ties!
Tony: I enjoy being the ‘mysterious third brother’ – kind of like Racer X, running in and out of scenes to help Speed Racer…
Mark: No, you got that wrong. You’re ‘Chim Chim’. Matt is that little mechanical bird that pops out of the Mach 5. I’m Racer X. Well, at least I have sewn myself a Racer X costume. That counts for something, right?
Matt: I came up with the rough draft of it and forwarded it to Mark, our graphics guy, who prettied it up.
2. Where is Eye-Level Entertainment headquartered at?
Matt: We hail from the “Steel City” itself: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
3. How long has Eye-Level Entertainment been designing and producing games?
Tony: 2001 was the official ‘ birth’ of the company, but we’ve been making up games our whole lives. One example: a wooden crate of old sports equipment (shin-pads, boxing gloves, plastic bats, rubber nun-chucks, etc.) became the basis for ‘Nuclear Waste Warriors’, a game we played in our early teenage years with friends in our front yard. The game basically consisted of attempting to beat the stuffing out of each other… but there WERE rules.
Matt: Yes, I can only imagine how lucky our neighbors felt when they saw us dragging that box out into the yard for another round of nuclear-powered melee.
Mark: I once made a game where you kept hitting a Dixie cup into the air to see how long you could keep it from hitting the ground. I think we’ve gotten a little better since that.
Matt: Indeed. Once Mark abandoned his Dixie cup game around 2001, he mocked up the initial concept for “Nature of the Beast” (a.k.a.: NotB). We played a draft and followed that with several years of tinkering around with it before committing to publish it.
4. What kind of game is Nature of the Beast?
Mark: NotB is a strategic card game featuring animal armies in a secret struggle for supremacy in the shadows of humanity.
Players recruit a rag-tag collection of animals in an effort to be the first player to fill their field. First player to fill their field (usually a 3x3 grid) wins the game.
Matt: While strategic, Nature of the Beast is also very funny. There’s plenty of humor in the cards and situations: a hamster in his roller ball (his ‘Sphere of Doom’), tracking bugs (which are literally bugs), caffeine
pills, arsonist cows, and an organ-grinding monkey complete with his circus suit.
5. Which one of you Eye-Level Entertainment people is the better Nature of the Beast player?
Matt: I would argue against myself. I tend to focus too much on my brilliant plans and forget to keep close tabs on what other folks are doing.
Tony: I take great pleasure trouncing my brothers at NOB – there is no better victory than beating the creators of the game… mmmmm, delicious victory.
Mark: Tony does win a lot, darn it.
6. What was the most difficult thing about the design of Nature of the Beast to get right, and why?
Matt: Card balance. We didn’t want any insanely powerful cards. We handled this situation by handicapping more powerful cards with increased cost to bring out. Some cards require you to spend one or more of your actions (you get three actions a turn) to activate a card. Other cards require you to discard additional cards from your hand when you play them.
Mark: Making sure the wording on the cards was correct was tough. First, space is really limited. Second, you have to make sure the rules can’t be interpreted in a way that breaks the game.
7) Is there anything particularly innovative about ‘NotB’ that gamers should know about?
Matt: There is a consequence for attacking your opponent in NotB. Each time you attack, you will generally increase your Fury by one point. If it reaches 10, you’re automatically out of the game. This adds a dimension to the game that is missing from many other games out there. Combat is a tool that must be wielded wisely in NotB. If you want to go out and be the schoolyard bully, then you’ll find yourself maxed out on Fury pretty quickly and short on options.
Mark: It is also the only strategic card game currently available designed by triplets. I think.
Matt: I would have to concede that point as well.
8. Is a follow-up to Nature of the Beast in the works?
Matt: Yes. We have gotten a good way through the development of a new battle box, “Prairie vs. Polar”. However, we have no fixed release date for it at this time.
9. Who did the artwork for Nature of the Beast?
Mark: I tried to come up with a style that could reflect the humor of the game on one card and the ‘red in tooth and claw’ aspect of animals fighting on the next. The two themes work surprisingly well together, like peanut butter and chocolate.
Matt: If you’re attentive, you’ll see a little bit of my artwork sneaking in on a few event cards. Mark, however, is the much stronger artist and he really determined the ‘look’ of NotB. In fact, if you visit our website, you can download a couple one-shot one-page comics Mark did to expand the world of NotB even further. If you like that stuff, you can check out, ‘Lab Rats’, a web-comic Mark does on the side (http://www.killjoycomics.com). Buy a mug while you’re there.
10. Why are there no booster packs for Nature of the Beast?
Tony: Any CCG (Collectible Card Game) players out there know the waste involved associated with the booster pack system – stacks and stacks of useless extras. If there’s one thing we have consistently heard from players, it’s “I’m tired of the person who spends the most money on their deck winning.”
Matt: Reviewers have commented that we captured the ‘feel’ of a CCG without all the extra expense that goes along with one. Not a single person has said, “Man I wish you had done this as a CCG”, but lots of folks have said, “Man, I’m glad this isn’t a CCG.”
11. How many people can play Nature of the Beast at one time?
Mark: Each battle box (‘City vs. Suburb’ and ‘Farm vs. Forest’) supports two-players. Add more battle boxes for more players. While there’s nothing stopping you from larger games, we’ve found it best to limit game play at four players.
12. Eye-Level Entertainment produces a game called E.T.I.. What does that stand for and what kind of game is it?
Matt: “ETI: Estimated Time to Invasion” puts you in command of a mega-corporation starting in the 1960’s. You are racing, sometimes with and sometimes against, other companies who are all members of a secret alliance created to prepare for an alien attack. By researching awesome new technologies, you brace your facilities to repel the impending invasion.
Complicating matters slightly is that one of the companies has secretly aligned with the Aliens and will work toward Humanity’s downfall!
Mark: Picture “Office Space” meets “E.T.” meets Independence Day”.
13. What was the inspiration for ETI: Estimated Time to Invasion?
Matt: In its earliest incarnation, I wanted to design a game that celebrated scientists and engineers working to solve problems. From there, Mark crafted the cool ‘alien invasion’ theme around my core game design. It was a natural fit!
Mark: I wanted a game that featured alien abductions. That’s all. Just alien abductions.
14. Is there anything particularly innovative about ETI: Estimated Time to Invasion that gamers should know about?
Matt: The way in which you do research and the advantages different ‘facility traits’ give you in manipulating that research is a pretty innovative mechanic. To complete a project, you get a certain number of research cards a turn. You play them face down around your facility. Your goal is to collect enough research to meet or beat the difficulty of the project you’ve selected.
Mark: Your facility also has four traits that can be enhanced during gameplay: Staffing, Creativity, Security, and Analysis. These each effect your ability to complete research in different ways. There is no ‘right’ way to play your facility. Each trait has its own advantages and really supports different playing styles. By emphasizing a different set of traits, you can create a whole new gaming experience for yourself each time you play.
15. What kind of gamers do you think would be particularly drawn to playing ETI: Estimated Time to Invasion?
Tony: We’ve heard that Eurogamers love ETI.
Mark: Yes, a Eurogame with a dollop of nail-biting uncertainty.
16. Other than a game produced by Eye-Level Entertainment, what is your personal favorite game to play, and why?
Matt: Growing up, we played a lot of ‘Car Wars’, ‘Battletech’, ‘Villains and Vigilantes’, and ‘Talisman’ to name a few. In college, we played a lot of ‘Call of Cthulhu’, ‘Heroes Unlimited’ and ‘Legend of the Five Rings’ among others.
Mark: Post-college, not much besides our own creations. There are lots of great games out there by other publishers, but aside from sneaking in an occasional side game at conventions, we’re pretty much ‘on the clock’ when it is time to play games in public.
17. Who did the artwork for ETI: Estimated Time to Invasion?
Matt: Mark; he is our graphics guru.
Mark: I work very cheap, it appears.
18. What were some of the biggest design challenges that you faces with ETI: Estimated Time to Invasion, and how did you overcome those challenges?
Matt: From a manufacture standpoint, ETI was much more complicated than NotB. We went from two decks of cards with NotB to multiple decks, tokens, gameboards, etc. with ETI. Fortunately we had a great printing partner in Hong Kong and he helped us work through a lot of the details.
19. If you had it all to do over again, what would you change about the design of ETI: Estimated Time to Invasion?
Mark: We are streamlining some of the rules and adding more personality to each of the six companies.
20. What advice can you offer to someone who is thinking about designing and producing their own game?
Mark: Have a couple game ideas stewing around in your head and let them fight to the death for your attention. Be willing to walk away from aspects of the game that aren’t working… or the whole game if that is the case.
Matt: Playtest the heck out of your design with people who don’t know and/or like you. Just because your mom says your game is awesome, doesn’t mean it is. Also, get feedback from a game store owner; they’ll have solid advice from the retailer perspective.
Tony: And remember – every games company started out as a person or two who had a good idea. If you think your idea has merit, don’t be intimidated by ‘the process’ – just do it, and figure things out as you go along. Learn, improve, learn, improve.
21. What was the single most fun thing about creating ETI: Estimated Time to Invasion?
Matt: Seeing other people play and enjoy it.
Mark: Taking everything we learned from NotB and trying to do it all over again from scratch.
Tony: Playing as the Alien Co-conspirator and being responsible for the end of the world as we know it.
22. What kind of playtesting does Eye-Level Entertainment do for its games?
Matt: We do a lot in-house just among ourselves. Once we work out the kinks, a local gamestore, GameMasters, generously hosts us for play-test sessions. The Gaming Association of Southwest Pennsylvania (GASP) hosts GASPCon once a year and they’ve tried out a lot of our stuff early too.
Mark: This time around we were able to bring a late-stage design of ETI to Origins and GenCon during the summer. We got lots of great playtesting in with some of the best gamers in the country.
23. How much do your games cost, and where can someone who is interested in acquiring a copy of them pick them up at?
Matt: ‘Nature of the Beast: City vs. Suburb’ and ‘Nature of the Beast: Farm vs. Forest’ retail at $17.95 each. ‘ETI: Estimated Time to Invasion’ is $39.95. Check with your local game store first! If you don’t have one nearby, you can order them online from us directly at http://www.eyelevelentertainment.com. We’re currently running a shipping special: Free shipping inside of the United States and $10 international shipping.
24. Are there any other games in the works at Eye-Level Entertainment that gamers can look forward to being released in the near future?
Matt: We do have our next game in the works and have play-tested with a first prototype already. Our hope is to move toward publication late this year or early next. Can’t say too much else about it at this point! It is a completely different game again from NotB and ETI.
Mark: Those of you attending Origins or GenCon can sign up to play test it with yours truly.
25. For someone thinking about buying one of Eye-Level Entertainment's games, but who might still be on the fence, what would you say to them to try and persuade them to go ahead and make that decision to purchase?
Tony: The #1 objective behind each game is to provide players an experience to have fun with their friends, and that the experience gets better the more times you play it. Not some catchy / funny idea that gets boring after the first game, or makes you spend lots of money to help ‘beat’ the other players. Games built by players FOR players.
Matt: We strive to create a new gaming experience with each publication. If we think it is similar to something else already out there, we won’t make it! You’re buying an original concept when you buy from us.
Mark: I would tell them, “Save the world… support small press game companies.”
26. The Eye-Level Entertainment website says that the company was founded by two brothers who share a lifetime of gaming experience in every genre. Yet, wasn't there a third brother, originally, and what happened to him? Was he an alien sympathizer, and did he sell out humanity, serving as the true inspiration for ETI: Estimated Time to Invasion?
Matt: Nothing so insidious! Tony started with us in the early designs of NotB, but he had the horrible misfortune of being hired for a well-paying job in another city. He has remained involved as an adviser, helps at conventions, and serves to keep us focused on the business end of things like making a profit. Plus with three people at the table, it helps to break ties!
Tony: I enjoy being the ‘mysterious third brother’ – kind of like Racer X, running in and out of scenes to help Speed Racer…
Mark: No, you got that wrong. You’re ‘Chim Chim’. Matt is that little mechanical bird that pops out of the Mach 5. I’m Racer X. Well, at least I have sewn myself a Racer X costume. That counts for something, right?