PAX AUS Indie Showcase 2024 - Nimbus
The PAX AUS Indie Showcase is a chance to see some of the best new and upcoming titles from the ANZ digital and tabletop development scene, with past winners including such celebrated games as Unpacking, Copycat, Yum Cha, Kingless and many more. The 2024 Indie Showcase is shaping up to be another highlight of the event and Player2 encourages visitors to PAX AUS to make their way to the PAX Rising area and check out the following title, as well as the many other excellent indies on display.
Aiden Zelandonii is the founder of Neural Forge and designer of Nimbus, one of the PAX Aus Indie Showcase 2024 winning titles. Aiden spoke to us about his design journey, the development of Nimbus and his future publishing plans.
Player2: Hi Aiden, we appreciate you giving some of your time to speak to us! How did you first get into game design and what have been the major milestones along the way?
Aiden Zelandonii: I would say I’ve been designing games to some degree for as long as I can remember. In my single digit years I recall attempting to make a game that would have been similar to Runebound. I often applied stats and die rolls to playing with Lego. However, about six years ago I started designing games with the intention of pitching to publishers. I never pitched a game to a publisher though, I would work on a game for a while then jump to the next shiny idea. Until about two and a half years ago when I had an idea for a TCG and decided that if I wanted to make it a reality then I’d likely have to self-publish. Deciding to become a publisher gave me greater focus to actually complete designing something. In researching what it would take to publish my own TCG I realised I needed to work my way up and start with something smaller. This is where Nimbus and Dinosaur Dash come in. Last year I demoed both at Tabletop con and this year I launched Nimbus at BrisCon and Dinosaur Dash will hit KickStarter soon.
P2: What was your reaction when learning Nimbus had won a place in the Indie Showcase this year?
AZ: When I found out I was so shocked that I couldn’t speak I just handed wife my phone to read the message.
P2: Nimbus seems to fit very nicely alongside Go, the GIPF series and other titles like Hive – great two player abstracts with pieces that highlight the tactile nature of the medium. What was your design process on Nimbus and what do you feel were some of the biggest influences on it?
AZ: The initial design for Nimbus came about due to the question “can I design a game that requires only pieces and a board whilst looking good like a themed chess set?”
I think the tetrahedral pieces came from thinking about Egyptian aesthetics and from there it was a logical choice to put different symbols on the corners. Once I’d worked out the pieces it was just down to fitting mechanics to them.
Our initial test for Nimbus used a trump system and you rolled the pieces on their edge as they moved, thus changing the mode they were in. This was a terrible idea, the game was extremely cumbersome to manoeuvre pieces and mentally taxing to work out the result of moving a few pieces.
After that we removed the trump system and gave the symbols their own movement patterns like in chess. Then it just came down to refining the movement modes.
P2: You have founded publisher Neural Forge to bring your designs to life for an audience. What have been some of the biggest challenges you’ve overcome on that journey and what advice would you give to aspiring designer/publishers?
AZ: The biggest challenge by far has been time. I work full time and have young kids so time is something in very short supply. On that note my advice for aspiring publishers is ask yourself if you have an abundance of time, if not what are you willing to sacrifice to make time. For me it was leisure time and sleep, I used to be a big video gamer, now I can go months without playing anything.
P2: Are there plans for a mass market version of Nimbus? Do you think you can find a balance between price and manufacturing cost without sacrificing what makes the current edition so eye-catching?
AZ: We are working on developing a mass market version of Nimbus and would love to one day hold tournaments for Nimbus. However, you are quite right, there is a big consideration for how we can hold onto as much of the aesthetics of the premium version while reaching a price that works for the mass market.
P2: It seems as though there’s definitely a market for the current handcrafted version of Nimbus to exist as a centrepiece to a game room, almost as an interactive artwork. There are many extravagant versions of Chess, Go and the like – what’s an abstract game outside that you would love to have an incredibly luxurious version of, and what materials would you make it out of?
AZ: I would have to go with Hnefatafl. Definitely carved stone pieces with a solid engraved wooden board.
P2: What can PAX AUS attendees look forward to at the Nimbus booth? Do they have any hope of besting you at the game?
AZ: At the Neural Forge booth attendees can look forward to a mentally stimulating challenge and the “Oh this is different moment” we’ve seen so many people have when wrapping their heads around a triangular grid and changing pieces for the first rime. They’ll get a full play through that only takes about 20 minutes and can play against friends or a member of our team. Although we have played countless games, we are still far from being masters.
P2: Dinosaur Dash is the next planned title from Neural Forge – how did it come about as it seems like a radical departure from Nimbus?
AZ: Dinosaur Dash was inspired by my (at the time) 6-month-old daughter picking a card out of my wife’s hand and I said “Wouldn’t it be great if there was a game we could play with her where that’s all she had to do. Just pick a card to play with no wrong answers, but still fun for us”. Within a day we were testing the first prototype and decided it would be a great fit for our first release to launch the business on something small. Nimbus was thought up a month or two later and originally planned to be released after Dinosaur Dash. However, due to delays and the decision to self-manufacture Nimbus instead of going through mass manufacturing, the release schedule has flipped. I guess the radical departure from heavy weight games like Nimbus and my other designs is due to a desire to engage my very young kids in games whilst bridging the gap a bit between super simple children’s games and my love for strategy, and it seems to have worked.
P2: You have a planned line of abstract duellers in the works, what is it that draws you to this player count specifically and what can you share with us about some of the upcoming titles?
AZ: To put it simply, I love to feel clever. I enjoy out manoeuvring and manipulating or misdirecting my opponent(s). This aspect of gaming is a key component of many duellers, so I naturally gravitate towards them.
P2: Thanks so much for speaking to Player2 Aiden, we can’t wait to check out Nimbus on the show floor!
PAX AUS Attendees can find the Nimbus booth in the PAX AUS Indie Showcase section of PAX AUS from October 10-13. A handcrafted copy of Nimbus can be purchased right now from the Neural Forge Etsy page.
