Yesterday I posted the part 1 of the Arena Rex interview with Walker on his new gladiatorial miniatures skirmish game, which is currently looking for support on Kickstarter.
As I am writing this, Arena Rex broke US$ 100.000,-!!
The Arena Rex Interview Part 2 covers the following:
#5 – The Arena Rex Miniatures
Zweischneid: One highlight that caught a lot of people’s attention are the fantastic miniatures for Arena Rex, notably the previewed Aquila. Can you tell us a bit about your sculpts?
Are you sculpting the minis yourself? How historically accurate will the miniatures be?
Walker: I’m glad you like them!
There really are a lot of excellent miniatures lines becoming available lately, and lots of artists making some really inspiring models.
We’ve wanted awesome gladiator miniatures for years and just got tired of waiting. We began working with 2D artists to bring our vision a bit more into reality, and started to contact our favorite sculptors about the project.
Sebastian Archer was the first to take a chance on us; his Aquila sculpt not only exceeded our expectations, but also opened a lot of doors for us with other sculptors, which was a great boon.
We did consider 3D modeling briefly. It’s definitely gaining popularity, and can’t be left out of the conversation if you are going to make miniatures.
In the end, though, we felt that traditional sculpting was preferable — it handles organic forms much better and most of the work that we really liked was traditionally sculpted. There is something about the artistry of a traditional sculpt that really comes through in the models, and that’s important to us.
Historical accuracy is an interesting topic. In the end, almost all the evidence for gladiatorial attire is sketchy. Some descriptive texts and some representational reliefs have survived, but nothing comprehensive and not much in the way of artefacts.
We have designed Ludus Magnus, which was the bulk of our first offering for the campaign, to keep much of the “classic” gladiator style and feel.
The other ludi we feature after Ludus Magnus will be historically inspired, but may contain more deviations from history, anachronistic elements, or a clash of cultures.
For example, Aquila, our first miniature is not a Ludus Magnus model. Aquila belongs to Legio XIII, Ludus Britannicus. If you look at Aquila’s helmet visor, his greaves, the shape of his shield, the blade of his sword, etc…
There are clear anachronistic medieval influences blended into the Roman base.
The Aquila for Arena Rex (because I cannot post that mini often enough!)
#6 – Gaming with Resin Miniatures
Zweischneid: Arena Rex will have resin-miniatures. Are these miniatures tough enough for gaming (transporting, etc..)?
Walker: Absolutely. We aren’t using a brittle resin. All three of us are gamers as well as miniature collectors. It is very important to us that each of our miniatures be able to function as a gaming piece as well as a show piece.
Our miniatures are definitely tough enough for gaming.
The Arena Rex Aquila Ready for Gaming
#7 – The Appeal of Kickstarter.com
Zweischneid: Like many new games, you are launching with a Kickstarter.
Is this your first Kickstarter-campaign? Do you have previous Kickstarter-experience? What do you hope to achieve with the Kickstarter campaign?
Walker: This is our first Kickstarter campaign, although Nick P. is very experienced with this type of process as he assists clients in designing products and bringing them to market in his day job.
The campaign’s primary purpose is to accelerate the production of our minis line. The sooner we get a decent number of minis sculpted, the sooner we can all start playing Arena Rex together.
I love the fanfare that a good Kickstarter campaign can create, and the way that it invites players to take an active role in the development of a game. It’s a great way to build a fanbase and community before your game is even released. We love input from fans, and really want to involve them in the project.
The response we have gotten only reinforces this — we have gotten thousands of comments and hundreds of backers already, and tripled our initial funding in the first week. Arena Rex fans already shared great ideas that we are working on making available as stretch goals or in other ways.
We have already developed such a following that it’s humbling. We can’t wait to see the response once people actually get the minis in hand and start playing the game.
Concept Art for Tiet-Khebi – an Egyptian Gladiator(ess?) unlocked through Kickstarter support
#8 – Beyond the Kickstarter: The Future of Arena Rex
Zweischneid: What have you planned for supporting the game of Arena Rex in the long run beyond your successful Kickstarter?
Walker: The short answer is “lots”.
One of the things we have on deck is to get really tight translations of our rules in as many languages as we can. We have gotten a lot of international interest and think it’s important to share the game with anyone who wants to play.
Over time, more and more combatants will also enter the arena. Arena Rex is a world where gladiatorial combat is international, and has expanded as a global bloodsport. We are not satisfied with Rome alone! Our workspaces are filled with ideas for new characters. We’ll continue to work with world-class sculptors and artists, creating the best miniatures we possibly can.
We’ve also hinted at plans for campaigns. Since every good gladiator story has an arc, simple, fun campaign rules and multi-part gladiator kits are definitely something we would love to produce.
The Kickstarter campaign’s success is doing a lot to move the dial toward that end. The support we have received so far is incredible, so there is definitely a long road ahead for Arena Rex!
Euryale – Concept Art for a large-scale Arena Rex miniature of a more fantastic combatant
Many thanks to Walker for taking the time to answer my questions.
It’s great to see Arena Rex go from strength to strength. I would highly recommend to take a good, long look at their (fast-moving) Kickstarter-campaign.
If you love fantastically sculpted miniatures, this is clearly the Kickstarter campaign to support.
Z.