Influences
(Note: some sales numbers and production costs may be estimates based on limited information.)
This is a proven game concept and franchise, beloved by millions, with several layers and elements directly applicable to our theme. Influence #2: This Present Darkness by Frank E. Peretti. Published in 1986 by Crossway Books Novel about spiritual warfare. Thematic, narrative, and style reference, and primary non-game reference. Angels engage in spiritual warfare, with relatable human characters hanging in the balance. Sales: $37.5M Influence #3: The Sims 3 (2009) The entire Sims franchise, including now Sims 4. Video Game – “God Mode” game in which influencing the decisions of free-will players and observing the results is the primary mechanic. The player manages the daily life of a family and house, taking care of their basic needs and keeping them happy. A "real-life" simulator, The Sims appeal is in the realism and infinite unique situation generation. Importantly, the game does not allow the players to fully control the humans, rather making changes to their circumstances and then observing their behavior. Released in 2009. Still played for hours on end by my 17-year-old daughter in 2021. Played more by women than men and is considered one of the best games ever created for women. Sales: $84M in the first week. (Electronic Entertainment stated this is the most successful game they ever launched, with over 175 million units sold over the course of the franchise. Total sales appear likely in excess of $10B, putting it on par with the entire Star Wars franchise.) Cost to make: Unknown. Dark Garden hinges on an element of free will, in that God has a design and a plan, with everyone fitting into it and powerful angels to carry it out, but human free will is ultimately the deciding factor. Sims is similar (no pun intended) in that the player creates the conditions for victory, then rides the bucking bronco of AI-generated, motivation-driven human behavior. Influence #4: Othercide (2020). Video Game – Supernatural warfare-themed variant of XCOM. Gameplay and partial thematic reference. The player manages a small team of “Daughters” with supernatural abilities who attempt to defeat the forces of suffering. Daughters are subject to permadeath, and can only heal by sacrificing one of their own, making even small losses in battle psychologically and tactically crippling. Sales: $3.5M Cost to make: Unknown. Influence #5: Dark Souls 3 (2016). Video Game – Gothic Fantasy high-stakes 3rd-person RPG. Partial gameplay and thematic reference. The player fights demons and monsters in a dark fantasy RPG. Sales: ~$250M ($10M in the first week.) Cost to make: ~$20M (3-year development, mid-large team) Influence #6: Pyre (2017). Award-Winning indie action RPG video game with fantasy spiritual, mystical video game. Partial gameplay and thematic reference. The player guides a small team as they take on all comers to try to earn their way out of a purgatory-like plane of existence. Chances at redemption are limited, and while the player becomes attached to and needs each character to succeed, they have to make choices about who to allow to return to the overworld. Not all will and the weight of choice is amplified through rich storytelling. Sales: ~$10M Cost to make: ~2-3M (Around 2 years with a small team of around 12-15) A key and unusual reference here is that in no playthrough is it possible to save every Exile from purgatory. There is a weight of choice, in which the player must choose who is the most “deserving” to attempt to set free, and even so they may fail, and if that character goes free, they are then lost as an asset for the rest of the game. This poses and answers key questions in Dark Garden. Influence #7: Disco Elysium (2019 ). Award-winning, critically-acclaimed narrative-driven video game. Metascore of 97% The player controls a detective of malleable moral compass and purpose in a dystopian world. Possibly the best narrative-driven game ever created. Blends character development with story choices, and vice versa, creating incredible depth and nuance to both. If we achieve half of the success as this game in terms of narrative, we will have a mega hit. "Hard." (My character died, of depression, no less, in about the first 20 minutes of my first playthrough.) Sales: >$40m ($28M on Steam) Cost to make: Unknown Influence #8: Their Darkest Hour: People Tested to the Extreme in WWII, by Laurence Rees.
Harrowing book of true stories about people on all sides of WW2, from Nazi soldiers and people who ran the death camps to American bomber pilots, Japanese prison camp guards, and civilians caught in the crossfire. Real insight into the minds and thought processes of those who were tested by the darkest times, most of whom failed to stand against the darkness, and many of who internally justify their actions to this day. (SteamSpy and Wikepedia were the primary sources for sales and development cost information.) Do you want more detail about how these mechanics work?
Dive into into our Detailed Core Mechanics page.
Brief
Dark Garden combines the strategic and tactical mechanics of XCOM2 with the social AI behavior complexity of Sims 3, and weaves them into a story that would make Disco Elysium nod with respect.Specific
Influence #1: XCOM 2 (2016). Long-standing video game franchise – Game mechanics, partial genre, and partial theme reference. A video game about a “Commander” who guides a hovership and a crack special forces team in an attempt to retake the world from an occupying alien force. Team members can experience permadeath, debilitating injuries, amputations, and develop psychological disorders, making all losses in battle extremely impactful. The Commander makes strategic-level decisions, always at an opportunity cost, and manages the big picture, team development, research decisions, equipment purchases, hover ship upgrades, and more. On trigger events, Commander chooses one of three available missions, each with a different advantage gained, but at the cost of the other two potential wins, then turns the action over to a small team of chosen commandos. Commandos engage in difficult, turn-based tactical combat in isometric 3D, where they maneuver through a small battlespace and seek to accomplish objectives like destroy, hostage rescue, collect, or gain intel. Success or failure of the mission is possible, including success at great cost or the entire team being wiped out. Sales: $120M+ ($30M+ in the first week.) Cost to make: $24M (~4 years with 50-60 developers.)This is a proven game concept and franchise, beloved by millions, with several layers and elements directly applicable to our theme. Influence #2: This Present Darkness by Frank E. Peretti. Published in 1986 by Crossway Books Novel about spiritual warfare. Thematic, narrative, and style reference, and primary non-game reference. Angels engage in spiritual warfare, with relatable human characters hanging in the balance. Sales: $37.5M Influence #3: The Sims 3 (2009) The entire Sims franchise, including now Sims 4. Video Game – “God Mode” game in which influencing the decisions of free-will players and observing the results is the primary mechanic. The player manages the daily life of a family and house, taking care of their basic needs and keeping them happy. A "real-life" simulator, The Sims appeal is in the realism and infinite unique situation generation. Importantly, the game does not allow the players to fully control the humans, rather making changes to their circumstances and then observing their behavior. Released in 2009. Still played for hours on end by my 17-year-old daughter in 2021. Played more by women than men and is considered one of the best games ever created for women. Sales: $84M in the first week. (Electronic Entertainment stated this is the most successful game they ever launched, with over 175 million units sold over the course of the franchise. Total sales appear likely in excess of $10B, putting it on par with the entire Star Wars franchise.) Cost to make: Unknown. Dark Garden hinges on an element of free will, in that God has a design and a plan, with everyone fitting into it and powerful angels to carry it out, but human free will is ultimately the deciding factor. Sims is similar (no pun intended) in that the player creates the conditions for victory, then rides the bucking bronco of AI-generated, motivation-driven human behavior. Influence #4: Othercide (2020). Video Game – Supernatural warfare-themed variant of XCOM. Gameplay and partial thematic reference. The player manages a small team of “Daughters” with supernatural abilities who attempt to defeat the forces of suffering. Daughters are subject to permadeath, and can only heal by sacrificing one of their own, making even small losses in battle psychologically and tactically crippling. Sales: $3.5M Cost to make: Unknown. Influence #5: Dark Souls 3 (2016). Video Game – Gothic Fantasy high-stakes 3rd-person RPG. Partial gameplay and thematic reference. The player fights demons and monsters in a dark fantasy RPG. Sales: ~$250M ($10M in the first week.) Cost to make: ~$20M (3-year development, mid-large team) Influence #6: Pyre (2017). Award-Winning indie action RPG video game with fantasy spiritual, mystical video game. Partial gameplay and thematic reference. The player guides a small team as they take on all comers to try to earn their way out of a purgatory-like plane of existence. Chances at redemption are limited, and while the player becomes attached to and needs each character to succeed, they have to make choices about who to allow to return to the overworld. Not all will and the weight of choice is amplified through rich storytelling. Sales: ~$10M Cost to make: ~2-3M (Around 2 years with a small team of around 12-15) A key and unusual reference here is that in no playthrough is it possible to save every Exile from purgatory. There is a weight of choice, in which the player must choose who is the most “deserving” to attempt to set free, and even so they may fail, and if that character goes free, they are then lost as an asset for the rest of the game. This poses and answers key questions in Dark Garden. Influence #7: Disco Elysium (2019 ). Award-winning, critically-acclaimed narrative-driven video game. Metascore of 97% The player controls a detective of malleable moral compass and purpose in a dystopian world. Possibly the best narrative-driven game ever created. Blends character development with story choices, and vice versa, creating incredible depth and nuance to both. If we achieve half of the success as this game in terms of narrative, we will have a mega hit. "Hard." (My character died, of depression, no less, in about the first 20 minutes of my first playthrough.) Sales: >$40m ($28M on Steam) Cost to make: Unknown Influence #8: Their Darkest Hour: People Tested to the Extreme in WWII, by Laurence Rees.
Harrowing book of true stories about people on all sides of WW2, from Nazi soldiers and people who ran the death camps to American bomber pilots, Japanese prison camp guards, and civilians caught in the crossfire. Real insight into the minds and thought processes of those who were tested by the darkest times, most of whom failed to stand against the darkness, and many of who internally justify their actions to this day. (SteamSpy and Wikepedia were the primary sources for sales and development cost information.) Do you want more detail about how these mechanics work?
Dive into into our Detailed Core Mechanics page.
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