IT Startup - The Card Game: Kickstarter Spotlight
/The card game for DEVs, HR and IT enthusiasts. 💾 Turn coffee into code, watch out for burnout!
As you know, we are always on the lookout for awesome Kickstarter crowdfunding game campaigns. But to find a game about making a game (or an IT startup at least — the startup can be making a game, like us, if you want!) was pretty awesome. IT Startup - The Card Game is a game about leading a software company, fraught with all the trials and tribulations which that entails with a bunch of awesome jokes along the way. You play software developer cards which enables your team to build your project and you can increase the efficacy of your developers by teaching them new skills and abilities. I love every little detail of this game and how it ties back into real-world dynamics which we know so well (sometimes for better or for worse!)
When asked, Mateusz Kupilas, "IT Startup - The Card Game" game author and publisher said, “Succeeding in "IT Startup - The Card Game" is all about resource management and sabotaging your opponents at the right moment!” Being Indie Game Devs ourselves here at Apotheosis Studios, we play a lot of games, and this sounded right up our ally! Mateusz seemed to find inspiration for his game through his real-life experiences (hopefully not the sabotage part, though, haha!) Mateusz went on, saying, “In the campaign and social media I often write "We" instead of "I", because it makes the project sound more professional, but the game is mostly a 1 man project + external freelancers for illustrations, DTP, translations etc. "IT Startup - The Card Game" is an independent card game without any big company in the background.”
For many years I was in the same boat here at Apotheosis Studios, wearing all the hats and doing all the work myself. It was a grueling, exhausting, heart-crushing grind and cost me much, both personally and professionally. Luckily, that hard work paid off and our studio has grown over the years and I now have a profoundly talented team at my back. But I will never forget those early days and have boatloads of respect for solo startup CEOs and solo game devs in the startup grind. So when I see a Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign like IT Startup - The Card Game, it hits me right in the feels for many reasons!
I digress, lets get back to the game! IT Startup - The Card Game also features an HR department in the game, which allows you to get new cards for your company. HR can be sneaky though, too, and can allow you to “geographically relocate” (aka steal) an opponent’s employee. Brilliant! Another wonderful real-world gaming correlate is managing your company’s employee burnout. This, for me, as CEO and Director of Apotheosis Studios is something that is near and dear to my heart. We have been in crunch many times now, and finding that correct balance between “inspiring your team to greatness” vs. “running your team off a cliff.” It’s a fine line, and its consequences are devastating to real people whom I care about and respect deeply. As we get ready for our next Kickstarter campaign, The Red Opera RPG (click the “notify me” button if you have not already!) burn out will, once again, be something we all have to tackle as a team. Something to once again look forward to, haha…
Regardless, I think it’s pretty awesome to see these dynamics in tabletop gaming form in IT Startup - The Card Game, and I am super stoked to get our copy! We got the base game AND the expansion, and I’m really glad the stakes are not real, because burn out is serious, haha! Especially because this game also uses the burnout dynamic on the offensive, too. By playing action cards that burn out your opponent’s employees. Startup corporate sabotage, oh my! Personally, I like to think that indie game devs can work together to mutual success, but that’s just me! :)
For more details about IT Startup - The Card Game, head on over to Kickstarter and check out the crowdfunding campaign by clicking HERE! For those of you who want to see the game in action watch the video below! Enjoy!
