Indie TCG Series – Mekkablood Interview with the Creator

I am excited to share an exclusive interview with Chad Crumbaker, the creator of the captivating game MEKKABLOOD, which is currently on Kickstarter; you can check here. Don’t miss out on this opportunity to hear directly from the mastermind behind MEKKABLOOD. Let’s dive into the interview and discover what makes this game special.

What is your gaming experience?
My experience playing games probably started with playing chess with my mom or when my grandma bought me an NES when I was around 5 years old.  From there, video games were the primary focus till MTG came around. I then tried to get into the similar Star Wars game but nobody around me really wanted to play it.  Warhammer was my next try, but my mom had a similar reaction.  As an adult, I got back into MTG and board games like Onitama.  I always had a love for strategy-focused games specifically.
My experience creating games started in the third grade.  We had an assignment to make a game for whatever reason.  I really hadn’t thought about doing that prior, but instantly got excited.  The kids who could understand it loved it, and I myself fell in love with the idea of making worlds people could get lost in.  As an adult, I’ve made one video game for a game jam (robotomeow), many video game prototypes, and one board game called Marvelous Dystopia.  Those were all released for free.
What inspired you to create this game?
If being honest, it was a mix of my love for creating games and frustration at playing other battle card games/tcg’s.  I wanted to build the game I really wanted to play because I felt what was currently available was frankly deeply flawed.  I’m trying to be uplifting and positive, but I have to be honest about a few things in relation to some of these games.  A game that’s considered competitive should strive for balance and allow players actually to play the game.  In some of these games, someone can go first, and you can not be able to lay down a single card other than your resources. Just doesn’t make any sense to me.  Games, where non-games are common due to a lack of resources, do not make sense to me.  I could go on and on, but there are obviously better ways to solve these issues.  Mekkablood does not have these issues; you always get to play.
What is the biggest challenge you have had in this project?
I am honestly figuring out crowdfunding.  The current model on many of these sites seems to be the antithesis of what I thought crowdfunding was.  You have to fund it yourself via people you bring to the platform; once funded, people will buy it.  So to me, a lot of these places seem more for established companies/games than helping people with good products get noticed. However, even if this campaign is not successful, the game will not die, I will keep trying to get the word out and crowdfunding till it is, or maybe I’ll find a publisher.  I appreciate people like you who reach out to new creators on the platform.
What makes this game different from the others?
Well, compared to other tcg’s I had the mindset of fixing everything they’ve done wrong and also bringing about an entirely new way to play this genre.  The base building mechanic helps make nongames impossible.  Forcing a player to build buildings to lay down mekk cards slows things down a bit, but in a way that’s engaging by making the buildings do a variety of abilities themselves.  The battles will be a bit larger than what you typically see in these types of games, more similar to what you see in miniature-based games. The combat has a counterattack phase, making combat less straightforward and rewarding a well-thought-out strategy.  The resource system has its own deck where you can also place those cards in the order you want.  There are many more subtleties to everything, but I think those are the main three differences to focus on that make the game stand out.
By the way, I’ve had some comparisons to Battletech.  This game couldn’t be more different.  Really the only thing the two games have in common is both have mechs(mekks in this game).  They play nothing alike.
What are the 3 main factors that players should support this project?
1.  You’re tired of nongames in this genre and flawed mechanics that should have been fixed decades ago.
2.  You like the idea of deep strategy and large armies battling each other.
3.  You want to support TRUE indie creators, not large companies/corporations pretending to be indie.
What are the future plans you see for the game? Is there any plan for Latin America?
The future is to keep chugging along.  Trying out game shows to get noticed, possibly doing further crowdfunding if needed, or finding a publisher.  I’m 40 now, and I’ve put my heart and soul into this project, and I think once people understand what this game really is they’ll love it, and should know I will keep supporting it. Ideally, till the day I’m no longer around in this world.  I would love to ship to Latin America and worldwide and plan to.  I just did the US and Canada for the initial Kickstarter as I’ve never shipped anything anywhere else and wasn’t sure about regulations(the EU has some odd ones, for example)  and shipping costs.  I need to contact someone with experience with that, I’m also not sure if I should keep it in English if I were to ship it there, and unfortunately, that’s the only language I speak.
That concludes today’s interview. For more information about MEKKABLOOD, you can check our previous article below.
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https://collectible506.com/2023/07/14/indie-tcg-series-mekkablood-series-one-a-new-type-of-tcg-now-in-kickstarter/