My go to online store RKStudiostore has created their own game. Contamination, an apocalyptic game set in a world being ravaged by a virus. I really like the look of this. So I contacted Terence from RKStudio and we had a chat about the new game.
M: How did RKStudios store start and how long as it been going?
T: RK Studio Store started from our desire to see online retailing done the way we thought it should be – with physical stock held ready to ship so you don’t wait months for your order and with great customer service. We have always wanted to run an independent retailer so decided to do it at last!
RK Studio Store has been running for a little over 2 years now, we started trading in April 2016. Our range of stock held here has increased massively and we’ve added the Special Order system so you can order in anything we don’t have in stock, or where you want 30 boxes and we only hold 2!
M: Where did the idea for Contamination come from?
Contamination came out of discussions we had after playing several other apocalypse games, both miniature games and computer games. We discussed writing an unofficial update for one of the games we already played to make it do the things we wanted before deciding to ‘simply’ write the game we wanted to play. Contamination is that game.
M: Can you briefly describe the game. What is in your mind it's unique selling point? What size table would you need?
T: Contamination is an apocalyptic wargame set during an apocalypse rather than after it. It is what we call an ‘open world’ game in the same sense as some popular computer games, with your characters able to do anything you would want to do in the real world. In my mind this is the unique selling point of Contamination. Want to vault over that fence, spin round and shoot that Contaminated in the head? OK, the rules let you do it! Want to hide in that wheelie bin? OK! Jump off that building? OK!
We’ve got a lot planned for Contamination with the first expansion coming out before Christmas this year. One thing we wanted to make sure of with Contamination was that there were as few as possible ‘compulsory’ purchases. As gamers we know how annoying this is so we didn’t want to do it! The only thing you need is the main rulebook and we don’t intend to make any of the expansions compulsory to keep playing the game. We’ll also be releasing more scenarios for free on the website along with the tokens and intro rules already on there.
The size of table for contamination isn’t fixed and different scenarios will use different sizes, We have been using the new Micra Matz for our games which are just under 3’ wide and 4’ long, designed to fit on a dining room table.
M: Are there any factions in the game or is it all completely player made? I've read that there are around 1300 character combinations. How is this achieved?
T: There are over 1300 possible crew types in Contamination just using the main rulebook. We use a system of perks and flaws to allow you to personalise your crew and add massive replayability to the game. When you start a game you can pick one perk and one flaw from the charts in the rulebook. Each perk is a positive trait for everyone in your crew showing what type of people they are. Each flaw is a negative trait showing what they aren’t so good at. There are 36 perks and 36 flaws in the rulebook for a total of 1296 combinations (of you include weapon selections the combinations go past 300k!) and we’ve included the ability to randomly select them if you can’t choose or want the extra challenge.
An example of a perk is ‘the doctor’ which upgrades one of your crew to a medic who can heal the other members of your crew who are within 3’’, on a roll of 5+. One of the flaws is ‘Mummy?’, meaning your models will always engage lone Contaminated in melee if possible. A lot of the perks and flaws use rules from the main rulebook that aren’t in the intro rules, however these two should work fine if you want to add them to the free intro pack.
There are factions in the background of Contamination to help with the immersion of the game. So if you want your crew to be part of The Burnings, then choose the perks and flaws you think they could have. This will also help when you are running campaigns to make the moral choices more ‘real’ and give a better sense of ‘right and wrong’…. We’ll leave it up to you to decide who is in the right!
M: On the website you mention about the game being open world and players being able to do anything. Was this what you envisioned all along or did it come in game development?
T: This was the main reason we wrote Contamination. We always felt that some games were too limited and wouldn’t allow us to do the cool things we could imagine, so we wrote a game that does. This is what makes Contamination special, if you can imagine it you can do it.
M: In the free rules, 'infected' are mentioned. How do you feel they add to the game?
T: Infected are living people who have been unlucky enough to become infected with a world ending virus. We’ve got a section of graphic novel in the rulebook explaining the background behind Contamination. The important thing with the infected is that they are not dead and are not zombies. These are living people who are simply very ill and looking for help, comfort, or the essentials of remaining alive.
In the game the infected are a type of environmental hazard as they not only fight the survivors for resources, they also carry the infection which you can catch in game. In campaign play this means that without adequate medical care this model will only be available for another couple of games before someone puts them out of their misery, or turns them out of your home, as they are simply too dangerous to have around.
This mechanic leads to some interesting games where who has won is debateable. Is it better to have captured three resources and got half your crew infected, or is it better to only get one but still be free of the virus? Also, during the game they can be baited and effectively used as a weapon by either side, this is very dangerous as more and more of them turn up, but it can be a game winning tactic.
M: How long would you expect a game to last?
T: This is a difficult one! Games will be of varying length depending on the size of your crews, the scenario being played and the experience of the players. When you are playing a new game it is bound to be slower. Not a great answer I know, but this really is ‘how long is a piece of string!’. We’ve already thought of some quick play scenarios designed for your lunch break but haven’t got any of these ready to share yet!
M: Will players be able to run their own campaigns?
T: Yes! The whole game was written with campaigns in mind so this isn’t a tack on feature and the full rules for this are in the main rulebook. During a game of contamination you are fighting over supplies to keep your crew alive. In campaign play this is essential, as it allows you to equip your people with new stuff you’ve found, and upgrade their living conditions to allow them more comfort or just a hot meal. The resource card deck up on pre-order is designed to add to the possible types of item collected during a game and I’ll send over some PDFs of the cards so you can put them with this article. We intend to release more of these over time and each expansion will come with a new card pack to show the types of things you are likely to find in that area.
M: I've pre ordered the rulebook. What else will be available on release?
T: Great to hear you’re getting a copy yourself. Knowing people want to play the game we love is the best part about releasing Contamination. After three months of work and over 2000 hours it’s good to know that people enjoy our game.
As well as the main rulebook we are also releasing the resource card deck and the first two Micra Matz gaming mats. Finally you’ve got the roster pads to allow you to easily record your crew’s stats.
Everyone is going to get half a pack of free roster pads with their rulebook as we’ve hit our first target for book sales. We are hoping to get enough sales in this last few days to add some more freebies but we’ll see how it goes!
M: I believe the pre-order for the game rulebook is still active till the end of April. If pre ordered, when will the rulebook be received by backers?
T: The pre-order is running till 28th April and backers will receive their orders by the end of May.
We will be sending the books to the printers with the names of all our backers to be printed in the front, this will happen within a few days of the pre-order ending. The printers estimate we should get the books by 21st May so with everything going well you’ll get your books somewhere towards the end of May. If there is any delay at all we will be in touch with everyone who has ordered, by email , to let you all know what is going on.
Well there you go. I'm quite excited about what this game has to offer. Thanks again to Terence for talking to me and sending over the images of some resource cards and images from the rulebook itself.
Need to start looking at what models I could use now.
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