Secret Door’sSunderfolkwill be taking a new approach to tactical fantasy RPGs, drawing heavily from the world of tabletop gaming. In an interview with Game Rant, developers onSunderfolkspoke about the game’s core aspects and how they guided development.
Making use of a DM-adjacent narrator, multiple character classes, an RNG regulator (via ability cards rather than dice), and a phone-based controller system to replicate character sheets,Sunderfolkpulls several strings to recreate the atmosphere common togames likeDungeons and Dragons. Game Rant sat down with members of theSunderfolkdev team, including game director Erin Marek, who spoke more about the game’s core pillars.
Sunderfolk’s Core Gameplay Pillars Explained
Inviting Experience
Marek broke downthe core elements ofSunderfolkinto three pillars: Inviting Experience, Collaborative Play, and Deep Strategy. The first of these, Inviting Experience, is one that’s key to the appeal ofSunderfolk, with Marek adding that the team put particular focus on “tutorialization, the roll-out of systems, and depth of content to make sure new players wouldn’t feel overwhelmed, leveraging intuitive UX design and building an approachable world and story.” Marek also explained how the game will balance the complexities of TTRPG and board game systems with this Inviting Experience premise:
“But at the same time, we knew we wanted to take the spirit of these elements and try to simplify in the right places to make it faster to grok for new players. While some things in Sunderfolk hopefully feel very familiar to a board game lover, we also hope we’ve struck the right balance of innovation and simplification to make those elements our own.”
Collaborative Play
In addition toSunderfolk’s accessibility to TTRPG newcomers, the game will also focus on Collaborative Play, which is evident from its couch co-op focus. In gameplay, it also means that players will need to work together to get better outcomes by collaborating, planning, and solving problems with others. That also means inviting a little chaos by facilitating player stories and embracing social dynamics. As Marek explained,
Much like our favorite tabletop or pen-and-paper games, the social dynamics, challenges faced, and choices made together create a new story you want to share and come back to again. This often meant building permutations in outcomes, so the gameplay isn’t always predictable!"
Marek’s explanation of Collaborative Play touches on an interesting challenge when it comes to adapting the atmosphere ofTTRPGs likeD&DandPathfinder. It’s not unlikely that a player will go through the same module multiple times after playing at different tables, but the experience of playing with a different DM and players is different in a way that most second playthroughs of video games simply aren’t. Ensuring that repeat playthroughs aren’t predictable will be key to creating a tabletop atmosphere.
Deep Strategy
Lastly, Marek terms the remainingpillar ofSunderfolk’s gameplayas Deep Strategy. This pillar refers more to the details of combat and gameplay, with the Inviting Experience element handling the minutiae of rules that a TTRPG player would otherwise have to learn from a manual. This touches on everything from its inspirations from TTRPGs and board games to understanding the heart of the tactics genre, as Marek explained:
“We wanted to make sure we were still building a game that would appeal to those who love TTRPGs and board games. To achieve this, we had to include calculated risk. You need to be able to weigh an outcome and understand the chance for both success and failure, and allowing players to make the choice is at the heart of many tactics games.”
