Mutation – Juggernaut Gaming Company

Mutation: The Titan Incident is now in the alpha testing phase of development!

We will continue to spend the next couple months testing, breaking, fixing, and improving every aspect of this game.

As promised, we’ll continue to give you all a peek behind the curtain at each milestone. Our transparent approach to this game’s ideation, planning, design, and production has allowed us to share this incredible journey with each and every one of you. Should we be keeping more stuff on the hush until release? Yeah, probably. But hey, we’re excited and want you to be pumped as well. So, check out where we’re at with Mutation!

How a player interacts with a game’s components, ruleset, environment, and other players should be fulfilling and fun.

Mutation has the player constantly on the edge of their seat as they explore a randomly generated tile-based facility that’s full of surprises. There’s an overarching mission of course, but players will also have the opportunity to go one step further to complete individual contracts as well. Event cards, facility incidents, hazards, and the general fear of the unknown will add a healthy amount of stress to the player as they attempt to complete their given challenges.

Discovering the facility is one thing; searching the rooms and corridors to discover what has happened in the facility is another. Searching plays a huge role in Mutation. Whether you’re looking for intel for the main objectives, hunting for items for your individual goals, or trying to find something to increase your survivability, you can rest assured that the search mechanic in this game will be rewarding and worth your time. Our creative take on the well known "loot" mechanic in gaming adds an interesting element and will ultimately entice some players to search more than others.

Once all necessary missions are complete, the team will then be faced with the demanding challenge of escaping. Sounds easy right? Not quite. The added difficulty of this dangerous final test comes with a substantial prize at the end, considering your party was successful in getting out alive and in one piece.

Overall, game mechanic development is moving along swimmingly. The core design is finished and the components are mostly complete. Balancing requires constant updates, but that’s to be expected. We’re making the necessary changes as we see fit and improving the game with each pass.

A game story ties theme, mechanics, and artwork together for a compelling narrative that players get invested in. Games that are rich in story offer players a more intriguing gaming experience.

Rooted deep in familiar themes, the plot of Mutation: The Titan Incident is a new and unique take on what it means to push the boundaries of the human genome for profit. Long story short, we have a publicly green and globally responsible company that we learn is actually quite evil behind the scenes – privately experimenting on plants, animals, and people in an underground facility for a myriad of reasons all stemming from greed, power, and evil. That facility has now gone dark and they have hired a team of mercenaries to get down there, figure out what has happened, and get out. As part of the team, that is where you, the player, comes in.

If you ask any of us to explain Mutation in one word, we will always say, “Immersive.” From the plot setup, to the way the storyline unfolds based on your decisions, all the way to how the experience concludes, each player will be fully immersed in each of the game’s scenarios. By design, every action in every turn will impact all players at the table. Your good decisions will progress each game’s storyline positively; whereas your bad decisions will have dire consequences that can potentially shape the story in an unfavorable way. Whether you work as a team or choose to run off alone, your moral fiber will be tested each round.

You’ve probably heard us explain Mutation’s theme as a healthy mix between Horror, Sci-Fi, and Thriller. That’s definitely true; however, at its core, the general theme of Mutation is undeniably Suspense. The game’s storytelling engine, narration elements, and universal style lends itself to be an enthralling experience. Not to mention, it’s even better depending on who is sitting at the table. Players who read with inflection and enthusiasm or even roleplay a bit will undoubtedly heighten the experience for everyone in the game. Hey, if you want to get into character when you play Mutation then by all means go for it! Just know that it’s not at all required. All we can say at this point is that as events are read and intel is exposed, you will be in suspense as you’re actively listening and involved one way or another.

You never know what’s behind the next turn, and that in itself makes it fun.

A game’s art should accomplish two goals. First, it should actively or passively enhance the game’s design to make the game either easier to play or more fun to play. Secondly, it should keep the player entertained and engaged.

We are working very closely with our artist, Willow, to achieve both of these goals. When we had our initial conversation with Willow, we explained that we wanted our players to feel something when they looked at the components. If someone is reading a scenario, the matching art should complement the story, transport the player to that moment, and elicit an emotional response. Willow is incredibly expressive and exceptionally talented; so, when the drawings started rolling in, we immediately knew we had the right person for the job.

It’s deep, visceral, and thought provoking; all around, a perfect match for our story to fully captivate the players.

Rob is spearheading our graphic arts and graphic design for Mutation. Armed with a plethora of knowledge, a dynamic skillset, and years of experience, Rob is taking Willow’s drawings to the next level by introducing color and actually bringing them into the game. This is where the art becomes intense and vivid. Seeing a shocking image in a black and white drawing is one thing. Seeing it jump off the card while it’s being read at the table is another.

At the end of the day, it’s exciting art that complements an exciting game. With the way it's designed, you won’t be able to see everything in a single playthrough, which paces the art, extends the experience, and makes you want to play more.

This alpha release means the game will be available for internal play testing by a preselected party, and it will be played with a 1st edition prototype. Balancing is still in effect and nothing is final. Artwork, story, game components, and gameplay mechanics are subject to change as game development continues.

We are now in a closed alpha play testing phase. As much fun as it is developing and playing Mutation with the internal JGC team, it’s time for this game to mature to the next stage, and that requires fresh eyes, varying perspectives, and critical feedback from people other than us. That's where you come in! So far, people are loving the prototype, the art, the story, and the gameplay. Testing is underway and we are absolutely stoked!

The goal is to effectively move through this testing phase, gather feedback, address gaps, and make changes where needed. After that, we will subsequently move into beta testing with an even larger group to get more eyes on it. We are very focused on ironing out every kink we can find, so this diligent approach must be strict.

For this alpha release, we are connecting with small groups of individuals around the Chicagoland area. If you’re wondering how you can get involved for future play testing phases, shoot us a private message or email and we’ll work out a plan together to figure out logistics.

This play testing phase will last until we’re comfortable with the game moving to the next stage of its development. The last thing we want to do is rush design, testing, or the game’s release. We’ve built this together from the ground up and we want to ensure a successful launch. We refuse to compromise on quality for the sake of speed.

With your help, Mutation: The Titan Incident will be a great game that sees many tables and has a long lifespan to stick around for many years.

We’re doing this together.

Mutation:
The Titan Incident

Road To Launch

Game Mechanics

Game Story

Game Art