Author Topic: Istanbul: Digital Edition  (Read 3359 times)

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Offline Rachet_Acram

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Istanbul: Digital Edition
« on: November 29, 2018, 10:31:13 AM »
Hello! I'm here on behalf of Acram Digital and Mobo Studio, publishers and developers specializing in porting tabletop board games to digital platform.

And I am here, because we're currently working on our first Nintendo Switch port. We would like to know how, if at all, would you be interested in a digital board game on your Switch, and, of course, this particular title specifically.

The game in question is Istanbul: Digital Edition. It's a well received board game, sitting comfortably in the top 100 board games ranking of Board Game Geek forum. Put simply, it's a damn good board game and we made a damn good port out of it. And the switch version will have more bling! Literally, just for that platform we're adding a bunch of animations to backgrounds of various spots . Shinier is always better!

Anyway, I should probably describe the game already. Istanbul: Digital Edition is a strategic game where players compete with each other over resources and, ultimately, rubies. You can trade various resources into rubies, and getting a certain amount of rubies wins you the game. Every spot on the board allows you to do something, but it requires you to have an assistant available in order to interact with it. Hence - planning your path is the key. It's very easy to get the rules, but it's difficult to navigate them to the greatest effect, a textbook example of easy to learn, hard to master type of game.



So this is how things are right now. The main thing, we think, is that we did not mess with the rules of the game. They're just as they are in the tabletop version, we just animated everything, added online and offline multiplayer. Quality of Life stuff.

Do bare in mind this is all work in progress. But we're looking forward to hearing what you think about the idea of playing a digital board game on your Switch!

Offline Rachet_Acram

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Re: Istanbul: Digital Edition
« Reply #1 on: January 17, 2019, 09:07:18 AM »
So as a follow up, this is where we are so far with it, the current state of Istanbul on Switch:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SJFuFPiv1s0&feature=youtu.be

Offline ejamer

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Re: Istanbul: Digital Edition
« Reply #2 on: January 17, 2019, 10:08:11 AM »
I missed this post originally, and am not currently a Switch owner... but the idea of a digital board game library is tempting, and with a few big games announced already my interest has been piqued.

Istanbul is also a pretty great board game to convert. Although not as well known as Carcassonne or Catan, this is a fun and thoughtful game to play. Anyone here who likes board games but hasn't heard of Istanbul already should google a few reviews to see how it plays.


Some questions/comments for you:
1.  Will the controls be touch-screen when the system is in travel mode? Or a mix of touch/controllers, or maybe all controllers?
2.  I'm curious to hear about what kind of (user-accessible) analytics you keep for player performance, and what sort of AI implementation/configuration is available. For me (assuming I get a Switch in the not-too-distant future) solo- and local-play will be much more common than online, so those are the areas that I'm most interested in.
3.  Also curious to hear if there will be expansions available - either at release, or possibly in the future - as the board game has several released. (The expansions would make the game much more appealing to me, but I don't know if the cost of licensing/implementation and if general population care enough to make them a priority.)
4.  The Istanbul app apparently has asynchronous multiplayer for online matches - is that also an option here?

Based on reviews for the Steam and app versions, my expectations are pretty high. I look forward to hearing more about your implementation.

Hopefully this release does justice to the board game, and is well-received and successful!
 ;D
« Last Edit: January 17, 2019, 10:10:03 AM by ejamer »
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Offline Rachet_Acram

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Re: Istanbul: Digital Edition
« Reply #3 on: January 17, 2019, 10:28:30 AM »
Righty-o, in order of business:

1. Both touch and controllers will be fully operational.

2. No dedicated player stats per se, if that's what you're asking. We do have an achievement system, including some progressive achievements, so that might help one keep track of their progress somewhat. As to AI we have three levels, Easy, Medium and Hard. Easy just looks one step ahead, Hard, depending on situation 4-5 moves ahead. We've had some damn good reviews of our AI if I do say so myself :)

3. No expansions at release, sorry. But given it's, by far, number 1 asked thing, it's well and truly feasible we will make those in the future. They come up more and more in our internal talks, just as they come up more and more in player's requests. Seems there is a demand, would be a shame if we didn't eventually supply...

4. Yes.

Offline broodwars

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Re: Istanbul: Digital Edition
« Reply #4 on: January 17, 2019, 01:27:28 PM »
 Any word on the status of Constantinople on Switch? :P
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Offline lolmonade

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Re: Istanbul: Digital Edition
« Reply #5 on: January 17, 2019, 01:40:53 PM »
I've got a question for you:

What are the loading times like between turns?  What bums me out is playing games where there an inordinate amount of loading between turns that slows down the pace of game.

Offline ejamer

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Re: Istanbul: Digital Edition
« Reply #6 on: January 17, 2019, 07:40:35 PM »
Any word on the status of Constantinople on Switch? :P

I think that was announced in this video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vsQrKZcYtqg
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Offline ejamer

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Re: Istanbul: Digital Edition
« Reply #7 on: January 17, 2019, 07:54:25 PM »
...
2. No dedicated player stats per se, if that's what you're asking.
...

Yes, that is what I was asking.

I remember really enjoying some older puzzle games that kept stats about wins/losses, average scores (not really applicable here), how many games you had played and against who, which spaces you were most likely to visit, etc. They would create a player profile for you, that could be compared against other local players, and even assign titles based on your historical performance.

Stuff like that isn't necessary, but can be fun. Achievements are different, but also pretty great.
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Offline Rachet_Acram

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Istanbul board game soon to come to Nintendo Switch!
« Reply #8 on: February 14, 2019, 07:08:03 AM »
Hello there!

Istanbul: Digital Edition, the adaptation of the top 100 board game of all time (according to Board Game Geek) is approaching it's release on Nintendo Switch! Featuring multiplayer with full cross platform, by the way, for those more secludedly inclined :)

Official post here, by the by.

Offline ejamer

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Re: Istanbul board game soon to come to Nintendo Switch!
« Reply #9 on: February 14, 2019, 09:40:39 AM »
Do you actually have a date yet?

This was already discussed in this thread:
http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/forums/index.php?topic=56862.0

Game looks good, for what it's worth.
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Offline Rachet_Acram

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Re: Istanbul board game soon to come to Nintendo Switch!
« Reply #10 on: February 15, 2019, 07:05:46 AM »
Ah, of course, we do! Well, approximation anyway - the second half of March.

Sorry for duplicating the thread, by the way.

Offline Kairon

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Re: Istanbul: Digital Edition
« Reply #11 on: February 27, 2019, 10:38:07 PM »
Sounds like this is coming in the second half of March? Man... I'm gonna love playing against the Bots!
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Offline Rachet_Acram

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Re: Istanbul: Digital Edition
« Reply #12 on: March 19, 2019, 11:04:34 AM »