I've put together a short Q&A with Martin Cao, the CEO of Indie Dev Red Katana, currently half-way through their Kickstarter to fund Fallen: A2P Protocol, a turn-based strategy game homage to X-COM, Fallout and Shadowrun.



A Q&A With Martin Cao, CEO of Red Katana
 
Project – Fallen: A2P Protocol on Kickstarter (http://ks.fallena2p.com)


 
What is Fallen: A2P Protocol?
 
Our game is a classic tactical post-apocalyptic turn-based strategy game, inspired by our love for the genre and classics like X-COM, Fallout and Shadowrun. It is currently being developed for PC, but we want to make it available in as many platforms as possible.
 
What if I like turn-based strategy games, but am not really a PC gamer? What other platforms are planed for Fallen: A2P Protocol?
 
While our initial focus is on PC, our first stretch goal is only $10k above the overall funding goal of $75k, and will enable us to add Mac and Linux versions. Mobile/tablet versions and even console are on the radar after that. 
 
Weather effects seem to play a big role in Fallen: A2P Protocol? Why is this and how does weather impact gameplay?
 
Weather effects play a huge part in the game, both to enrich the backstory and to provide additional gameplay impact not typically found in other games in this genre.
 
One of the things we wanted to do differently from X-COM, as example, is to have dynamic external factors impact tactical decision making. In games like X-COM the scenarios are quite similar each time they are played. There may be different enemies or number of enemies, different starting locations, etc., but the mission maps don’t really change very much.
 
In Fallen: A2P Protocol you can be battling in the desert and suddenly a heat wave hits. All your characters (and enemies) have reduced movement due to the extreme heat. In another battle, benign mist or light rain can merely hamper visibility while toxic “heavy rain” can quickly decimate your squad’s health if they don’t take cover or are not equipped with resistant armor. We’re not looking to add this to all missions all the time, but to keep it interesting and unexpected. We want to force you to think on your feet and to change the feel of each mission, unearthing new tactical challenges even in familiar settings.
 
We also plan to introduce a slew of armor, weapons, races and classes that will have abilities related to weather, be it manipulation, resistance, heightened vulnerability or effectiveness. This will challenge the player to continually adapt tactics, even mid-mission.
 
Tell us about the characters, classes and the squads in Fallen: A2P Protocol.
 
At the base level of funding we have three main races and three factions each. Characters will be individually customizable in terms of look, with additional visual differentiation for armor and weapons being equipped.
 
We don’t plan to include fixed “classes” as such, but instead will let the players combine skills and focus areas to create characters that are better in some areas of focus than others. We feel that also adds tremendously to the replay value.
 
We haven’t decided yet how many squad members you will be able to have in Fallen: A2P Protocol, but we expect it to be at least 6 – enough to offer a true test of your tactical combat leadership and scarce resource management.
 
Why have you chosen to make ammunition scarce unlike many other turn-based strategy games? What impact does this have on your game design?
 
In X-COM you can fire all the time, with reloading used as a pacing and scarcity element. There is also very little melee. In Fallen: A2P Protocol, we want you to think about whether that shot you are about to take is the best tactical move. With scarce ammunition, if you’re not fairly confident you will hit the enemy, you may want to close, take cover or even attempt to dispatch an unaware enemy with more plentiful melee weapons. The environment also provides for weapons of opportunity, such as a nearby lead pipe, etc.
 
If your character is quick and has a powerful melee weapon and your enemy is lightly armored, closing for a quick melee attack might be the order of the day. At the same time, if your character is a great shot, finding that perfect location for sniping an unaware enemy could be just as effective. We want the choices to be varied and allow for a lot of improvisation to truly test your battle tactics.
 
Weapons can also be enhanced and customized. We have a number of firearm types, including shotguns, handguns, assault weapons and long-range rifles, including sniper rifles. We even have missile launchers, flamethrowers, grenades and other ranged weapons powered by A2P, our invented super-potent energy source.
 
All of these offer several components that can enhance effectiveness, including different types of ammunition and upgrades to deal better with different types of enemies (and their defensive equipment). Melee weapons are configurable and upgradable in a very similar manner.
 
What’s the metagame like? How big will the game be? What will the world of Fallen: A2P look like outside turn-based tactical battles?
 
We’re currently planning approximately 40 solid missions/maps that should take an average of 15 to 20 minutes to complete each. However, completing all side missions, exploring the world fully, exhausting most of the research upgrades, customizing characters and weapons, as well as a significant amount of replay ability due to random effects should yield a solid 10-20+ hours of game play minimum.
 
The world exploration aspect will take place in real time, mostly in vehicles, as part of a caravan. The vehicles, like characters, weapon and armor, can also be upgraded. Vehicles have specialized functionality including serving as barracks, field hospital, research lab, etc. We don’t presently plan to include vehicles in the combat missions, although possession of certain vehicles with special offensive or defensive configuration might give you a one time tactical advantage in some of the missions.

Additional Materials:

If you would like to speak with Martin further about Fallen: A2P Protocol or Red Katana, please let me know. We would be extremely thankful for your continued support of this passion project by a team that loves turn-based strategy games.

A montage chronicling the events that devastated the world in Fallen: A2P Protocol.

Another video, highlighting the Red Katana team hard at work, is available as well.

All the Best,

Mario

Mario R. Kroll, MBA
Creating Profitable Relationships through PR, Marketing and High-Value Introductions

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