ScreenPlay News

Hello @everyone!

We're absolutely thrilled to usher you into the grand screening of new version of ScreenPlay. Much like an epic movie with its most exciting plot unveiled post-intermission, this new version is back in full swing and ready to steal the limelight. Imagine the ambiance: the house lights go down, the screen lights up, and the curtains pull back to reveal a blockbuster update.

[previewyoutube]ScreenPlay Game Trailer[/previewyoutube]

[h2]UI Visual Enhancement[/h2]

In our latest update, we've refreshed various facets of the game. Your captivating leads shine brighter in-game and out, while our streamlined interface ensures top-tier directing, both on set and behind the scenes.



[h2]Explore the Lore[/h2]

It's a fresh era in cinematic magic! Out with the old props cluttering your home screen, in with our revamped Lore Screen - a filmmaker's haven. Dive into the rich lore of your favorite films



[h2]Revamped Deck Building[/h2]

or piece together your directorial masterpiece with our updated deck builder.



[h2]New Surf Rock Theme[/h2]

Savor the realm of your artistry, pausing to appreciate the redesigned card frames. To enhance the ambiance, enjoy the mesmerizing score from acclaimed composer, George Sanger (Wing Commander! Maniac Mansion!).

With its promise of a unique cinematic experience, we believe you'll love this update as much as we do! Grab your popcorn, take your director's seat, and let's roll. Action!

[h2]New Rewarding Lead Animations[/h2]

Like any blockbuster, we've spiced things up with a few surprises! Brace yourself for the reveal of your set's striking new visuals. Our Leads, eager since our last version, now take center stage with spectacular animations in every scene. Behold as your Leads command the spotlight with dynamic animations and captivating narratives.





[h2]New Immersive Film Sets[/h2]

To complement our dynamic Leads, we've reimagined our game boards into lively, interactive sets that sync with the drama of your movie.



[h2]Interactive Characters Upgrade[/h2]

Surrounding your Leads is a vibrant cast, adding charm and humor to your filmmaking journey. Engage with each character on your board and witness the VFX upgrade, making your cherished cards sparkle with revamped special effects.

[h2]Gameplay UI Overhaul[/h2]

We've also streamlined the Gameplay UI, equipped with narrative bars, functional frames, quick-access arrows, and more!



[h2]New Genre-Driven Gameplay Music[/h2]

But the enhancements aren't just visual! Thanks to George Sanger's skilled audio team, immersive battle music and sound effects will transport you straight to your bustling movie set.

[h2]New Versus Screen[/h2]

Ready for a sneak peek at your opponent? Our new versus splash has got you covered.



[h2]New Victory/Defeat Screen[/h2]

And prepare for the thrill of seeing your name in lights or the bittersweet taste of a less-than-stellar review when your film's run ends.





[h2]Tutorial Improvement[/h2]

We've acted on your feedback, revamping the tutorial for a clearer, smoother introduction to the game. Also, anticipate game-enhancing modifications as we refine and expand our core set.



[h2]Reduced Lead Cooldowns[/h2]

Our experiments revealed that our Leads prefer action over negotiation. So, expect them on screen more frequently and earlier than before, with both initial and freeze cooldowns significantly reduced.

[h2]Exciting New Cards[/h2]

Now, what's a premier without a showstopper, right? Indeed, no collectible card game update would be complete without fresh cards, and our creative workshop has been bustling. This version unveils the first batch of these much-awaited new arrivals, and rest assured, there's more in the pipeline.



[h2]Full Hand Mechanics[/h2]

While we enjoyed the strategic gameplay of selecting frames and drawing cooldowns, we're moving to a more traditional drawing approach.

[h2]Rock-Paper-Scissors Gameplay Twist[/h2]

The core guessing game and rock-paper-scissors elements are more engaging when tropes and effects are decided during the planning phase, like Attacks. Say goodbye to surprise bovine onslaughts! We're also refining how the basic actions - Attack, Dodge, and Perform - interact for the most exciting films.

[h2]Tweaked Performance Interruption[/h2]

With this new version, we've tweaked 'performance interruption mechanics'. Now, only hitting or incapacitating the actual performer interrupts a performance, a change from the previous rules.

[h2]VFX Updates[/h2]

We've added plenty of new VFX and improved game performance. If you experience lag or performance issues, don't hesitate to let us know.

Grab your director's hat and settle into your chair – it's time to start creating your next blockbuster! We can't wait to see the magic you'll make with this new release. Remember, this is your story to tell. As always, your feedback is invaluable to us. Please share your experiences, thoughts, and suggestions, because in this game, every voice counts. Here's to crafting unforgettable narratives together – Lights, camera, action!

The gameplay of ScreenPlay lets you focus on shooting your own masterpiece and developing your own victory conditions, cracking skulls with Rex Supreme or hanging back and shooting off tropes with Richard Spade. However, putting these lead characters on the board itself places a lot of emphasis on how these pieces interact. Your characters have plenty to do on the board, building your victory conditions, disrupting opposing performances, and even more critically, cutting off your opponent from their narrative by sending leads backstage.

Rather than moving these pieces around a gameboard like Chess or Diplomacy, your characters in ScreenPlay have three basic actions Perform, Attack, and Dodge. This set of options—generate Narrative, target an enemy character, defend against enemy targeting—offer a classic Rock, Paper, Scissors: perform beats dodge, dodge beats attack, and attack beats perform. In Chess, your opponent knows what you can do with your move, but in Poker or Rock, Paper, Scissor, they don’t know what you will do until it’s too late for them to react, so you can bluff or deceive. This deceptively simple set of actions presents a recipe for dynamic gameplay that is tantalizingly easy to pick up, but only gets more interesting as you play the game more.

The gameplay itself is inspired by certain fighting games, in which rather than relying complex button inputs, the gameplay was similarly oriented toward a streamlined Rock, Paper, Scissors, where strikes beat throws, throws beat blocks, and blocks beat strikes. The inputs are accessible to users, leading to a smooth experience for users, using robust, straightforward actions rather than wrestling with a controller. Actions in ScreenPlay are also easy to understand and easily implemented in your own scene and you have the same amount of time as your opponent to piece together the perfect set of frames.

The strategic turn-based gameplay of ScreenPlay gives you time to set up your scene exactly the way you want, to schedule your actions and have them revealed at the same time as your opponents as you both watch the action unfold. The actions themselves are elegantly balanced. Perform allows you to advance closer to winning, but leaves your characters and narrative vulnerable to attacks, and unlike dodging, your characters all perform at once, so an attack on any of them will interrupt the performance. You might expect to perform when your opponent does have obvious ways to punish like attacking or when you want to start racing toward your victory. Attacks can generate tempo and value, potentially stealing narrative as well as disrupting your opponent’s board, but unlike the other actions, it has the cost of freezing your character. Attacks provide durable ways to control your opponent’s side of the board but also require you to commit both your frames and the three scenes that your attacker will be frozen. Your dodge will always beat your opponent’s attack if you set it at the right time, but this defensive action doesn’t generate narrative by itself. Dodging, then, gives you a way to react to an opponent committing to the attack and using their aggressive actions against them, freezing their character as you prepare your response. These actions are carefully balanced to present equitable choices, so that rather than wrestling with the mechanics of the game itself, a game of ScreenPlay can more closely resemble Poker, where you spend the game playing your opponent.

The A > B > C > A pattern gives a clear sense of what outcomes you can expect when your actions collide with your opponent’s actions, you still have to know where that action will come from or where it will land. You can dodge an attack or trope with a single action, but if your opponent figures out what character you’re protecting, they can just attack someone else letting your dodge whiff, squandering your precious frames. If you have spotlight and are positive you know where an attack is coming from, even if you don’t know where it is going, you can try to cut it off with a counterattack. And this is all just the three basic actions of the game; as you start layering effects from tropes, crew, and character abilities, you can see even more complex gameplay that emerges from this set of basic interactions. If your opponent tries to pounce by attacking your frozen character, you could have a trope of your own to freeze their character and cut off its attack. If your opponent thinks your empty board is a ripe target for some easy narrative by performing, you can surprise them with a damage trope to stop their performance. This robust system is allows you to take seemingly simple basic actions and mix them up into a wide variety of play patterns. Easy to learn, but difficult to master.



If you are one narrative point away from winning, your opponent basically has only two options: finish their storyline immediately or stop you from finishing yours. So it might seem like the most obvious thing for you to do is to dodge with your lead, assuming that your opponent needs to attack it in order to slow down your victory. But if you do that too predictably, then your opponent may know to perform, wasting your dodge and freezing your lead, allowing them to easily knock out your Lead to buy themselves some time. If you are even more clever you might make it all the way back around and go for that attack on your opponent, anticipating their perform, and stealing a narrative for the win! Learning how to the play the game will only be the first step in winning at ScreenPlay as you have to guess and play your way through your opponent.

Your opponent will have to play the same mind games that you do, guessing and gambling on what you are doing too, and which of these simple choices will be the right one at any given moment isn’t a matter of any simple flowchart. The right moves will change dramatically from game to game, opponent to opponent. You can bluff your opponent into playing defensively and punishing with Perform while also building your own Narrative. Or you can take a big swing with a risky attack and hope you’re your gambit sabotages your opponent, stealing some narrative along the way! If you can predict where your opponent will attack you can dodge and waste their actions. If you can successfully outmaneuver your opponent by being unpredictable, you can take advantage of these tactics, and the rewards for being unpredictable means you can always shake up gameplay yourself.