Dark Lord, the Board Game is a labor of love from Dystopic Entertainment – a team of life-long gamers and fanatics of all things “nerd.” The team was born of a mutual admiration of games of all types (tabletop, role-playing, card, video, what-have-you) and a strong desire to add something unique and interesting into the mix. We’re a team with high hopes, high dreams and great admiration for artistic expression through interactive media.
In an era where interactive media has become standard, we find that there is a troubling lack of artistic expression and creativity; in an era with yearly franchises and cynical, cash-grabbing “blockbuster” homogenization, we strive to provide an experience that is fun, engaging, groundbreaking and special. We love games; this isn’t a business venture for us – it’s our world.
In an era where interactive media has become standard, we find that there is a troubling lack of artistic expression and creativity; in an era with yearly franchises and cynical, cash-grabbing “blockbuster” homogenization, we strive to provide an experience that is fun, engaging, groundbreaking and special. We love games; this isn’t a business venture for us – it’s our world.
Matt Brown
Co-Creator of Dark Lord, Co-Founder of Dystopic Entertainment,
Creative Director, Visual Guru, Manual Laborer Supreme
I'm someone who dares to accomplish things that others deem too hard to do. I believe any goal can be achieved if enough time is spent researching, experimenting, working hard, and learning from others with similar passions. And playing just as hard along the way to truly enjoy the process and keep the creativity flowing.
Video and board games have always been part of my life and have shaped me into who I am today. At several points, they saved my life. I can't imagine how many hours I put into game franchises like Diablo, Final Fantasy, and Pokemon growing up. And creating things is part of my primary nature: I've worked on many comprehensive art projects, such as manufacturing skateboards as a business, writing novels, and modding video games. And now, I've given my all to Dark Lord, the Board Game.
Creating and developing games has turned into a life-long passion of mine, and I've contributed thousands of hours into Dark Lord, unpaid and with many late nights, playing over 50 versions of the game in garages, basements, dining rooms, and the garage-turned-studio I made. And having countless amazing moments playing Dark Lord with loads of friends and acquaintances, through alpha and beta and post-beta stages, I'm reminded every time that we are making something very special for gamers like us.
Dark Lord is more than just a board game; it's an experience you can't just have once and be done with it. It will grow on you like it's grown on many players, each one asking when they'll get to lose themselves playing it again. When you see and play Dark Lord, you're seeing a part of me in its most refined, potent form, and I want everyone to have an opportunity to experience it.
Co-Creator of Dark Lord, Co-Founder of Dystopic Entertainment,
Creative Director, Visual Guru, Manual Laborer Supreme
I'm someone who dares to accomplish things that others deem too hard to do. I believe any goal can be achieved if enough time is spent researching, experimenting, working hard, and learning from others with similar passions. And playing just as hard along the way to truly enjoy the process and keep the creativity flowing.
Video and board games have always been part of my life and have shaped me into who I am today. At several points, they saved my life. I can't imagine how many hours I put into game franchises like Diablo, Final Fantasy, and Pokemon growing up. And creating things is part of my primary nature: I've worked on many comprehensive art projects, such as manufacturing skateboards as a business, writing novels, and modding video games. And now, I've given my all to Dark Lord, the Board Game.
Creating and developing games has turned into a life-long passion of mine, and I've contributed thousands of hours into Dark Lord, unpaid and with many late nights, playing over 50 versions of the game in garages, basements, dining rooms, and the garage-turned-studio I made. And having countless amazing moments playing Dark Lord with loads of friends and acquaintances, through alpha and beta and post-beta stages, I'm reminded every time that we are making something very special for gamers like us.
Dark Lord is more than just a board game; it's an experience you can't just have once and be done with it. It will grow on you like it's grown on many players, each one asking when they'll get to lose themselves playing it again. When you see and play Dark Lord, you're seeing a part of me in its most refined, potent form, and I want everyone to have an opportunity to experience it.
Bobby Dillon
Co-Creator of Dark Lord, Co-Founder of Dystopic Entertainment,
Lore Master, Webmaster, Gentleman Extraordinaire
First off, I have to say thanks for checking out our page – the support means a lot to us. I feel that I speak for both Matt and myself when I say that our biggest influences, our biggest inspirations are video games – RPGs and Strategy games of all types for me, specifically. I’ve been gaming my entire life and I can positively say that this is one of the most exciting times in history for gamers of all types. The internet has enabled a boom in self-published, DIY game designers who are making great, creative games. At the same time, we find ourselves in the midst of a time of increasingly homogenized experiences – big-budget, “AAA” games are made one way, with one play style in mind. I hate that. What interests me is the interaction between the player and the mechanics of the game, the role of the actual person playing the game in relation to the mechanics themselves.
Too often in the “AAA” games industry we are provided experiences that play ONE way. We play the way publishers want us to play and aren’t allowed to deviate from that formula at all. That is not the game I want to make. My strongest desire, my chief philosophy in game design is to let the player, the person who cared about our product enough to support it, to play however he or she wants to play – not how we want him or her to play.
You may be wondering why we went with a board game format rather than a video game. That’s a fair question, and here’s the TL;DR answer: because we wanted to. Here’s the real answer: Board games are inherently better suited to an infinite number of play styles and philosophies. Furthermore, I feel that board games provide the ultimate tactile experience – you touch every piece, you feel every loss, you exalt in every victory that much more because the game plays out physically right in front of you. You can think about it, agonize over every move, every decision and wait with bated breath as the other players make their moves. Don’t get me wrong, though: video games are in Dystopic’s future.
To conclude my brief thesis on game design and the state of the game industry, let me just reiterate my thanks. In Dark Lord, we aren’t just making a game that we think will appeal to an audience – we’re making a game that appeals to US. Seriously, we think Dark Lord is fun as hell. Naturally we’re a bit biased, but we certainly believe that you’ll like it too.
Co-Creator of Dark Lord, Co-Founder of Dystopic Entertainment,
Lore Master, Webmaster, Gentleman Extraordinaire
First off, I have to say thanks for checking out our page – the support means a lot to us. I feel that I speak for both Matt and myself when I say that our biggest influences, our biggest inspirations are video games – RPGs and Strategy games of all types for me, specifically. I’ve been gaming my entire life and I can positively say that this is one of the most exciting times in history for gamers of all types. The internet has enabled a boom in self-published, DIY game designers who are making great, creative games. At the same time, we find ourselves in the midst of a time of increasingly homogenized experiences – big-budget, “AAA” games are made one way, with one play style in mind. I hate that. What interests me is the interaction between the player and the mechanics of the game, the role of the actual person playing the game in relation to the mechanics themselves.
Too often in the “AAA” games industry we are provided experiences that play ONE way. We play the way publishers want us to play and aren’t allowed to deviate from that formula at all. That is not the game I want to make. My strongest desire, my chief philosophy in game design is to let the player, the person who cared about our product enough to support it, to play however he or she wants to play – not how we want him or her to play.
You may be wondering why we went with a board game format rather than a video game. That’s a fair question, and here’s the TL;DR answer: because we wanted to. Here’s the real answer: Board games are inherently better suited to an infinite number of play styles and philosophies. Furthermore, I feel that board games provide the ultimate tactile experience – you touch every piece, you feel every loss, you exalt in every victory that much more because the game plays out physically right in front of you. You can think about it, agonize over every move, every decision and wait with bated breath as the other players make their moves. Don’t get me wrong, though: video games are in Dystopic’s future.
To conclude my brief thesis on game design and the state of the game industry, let me just reiterate my thanks. In Dark Lord, we aren’t just making a game that we think will appeal to an audience – we’re making a game that appeals to US. Seriously, we think Dark Lord is fun as hell. Naturally we’re a bit biased, but we certainly believe that you’ll like it too.
