Deciphering Fight Klub

The last couple of years haven't been too kind to Decipher, what with the implosion of the gaming industry in general, coupled with their lawsuits and embezzlement issues. So when I heard that they had massivley reduced their staff, moved buildings, and put all their hopes and dreams into a new TCG called Fight Klub, I was keenly interested in how they were going to climb out of the mire. They've had some good games over the years, Star Trek, .Hack, Lord of the Rings and of course the original Star Wars CCG.

They removed their entire web site on the evening of March 31, and April 1 launched a 30 day sign-up for Founding Mentors with a transition Fight Klub web site - announcing to the gaming world they were intent on changing the way CCG's are played, sold, and collected. Bold plans indeed.

I signed on hoping to be one of the 'select few' to become Founding Mentors (at least that was what I got from the spiel - turns out that in order to get anywhere near their lofty goal of 6,000 Founding Mentors they approved anyone who signed up with no selection process - first black mark Decipher) and sat back to enjoy the ride. That was April 1st (an auspicious day if ever one was selected to launch a game). Yesterday, November 27th, Thanksgiving they finally released card spoilers for it and it looks like it might actually make it to print. Let's have a look back over the last few months though to guage where the game is, where its heading, and whether it's Decipher's 'golden goose'.

Decipher's track record is atrocious. apart from the outstanding lawsuits filed against them from retailers, players, and staff, their lack of communication with their player base is legendary. So, with that in mind it would seem ironic that they are claiming they will be revolutionizing the gaming industry and giving the power of this game's direction to the player community. The game sadly has stalled since April, several times, and there are as many people on their forums bemoaning that fact as there are fanboys claiming its the next best thing since sliced bread, despite only having just seen cards for the first time. The distinct lack of news in those 7 months doesn't auger well for that change in the industry - second black mark Decipher).

This diehard fanbase is also just a little too creepy for my liking. How can you become so invested (to the point of extreme fanaticism) in a game you know next to nothing about. They say there is a sucker born every minute, well it seems a high proportion have made their way to Fight Klub already. People who post in excess of 3,000 times to a forum promoting a game that doesn't actually exist at present really do need to get a life, I'm sorry. Oh, and we've been promised 'Fight Klub Girls'. WTF? This isn't a black mark Decipher, it just makes me shake my head in total disbelief that you'd resort to such sleaze to attract your obvious market - spotty post-pubescent males. What about an intelligent game for mature players or is that beyond most gaming companies these days?

I'd like to be able to review the game play, the effectiveness of the mechanics, the interaction of the cards, and of course test Decipher's claim that this will change the CCG industry, but it's been 9 months since we were told about Fight Klub (and a further 2 years in development if you believe the hype on their web site). If they don't have anything concrete yet then it is hard to believe a game like this, that relies on countless film and television licenses before it can make it to print, is going to set the CCG market on fire or provide a changing gameplay environment that CCG players generally seek. Yes Decipher claim once again (they seem to be doing a lot of 'claiming') that they have countless licenses, so you would think they could have at least spoiled one or two cards in the last 9 months, right? It's called maintaining enthusiasm and momentum amongst your fan base.

With part of the gaming industry claiming their marketing strategies are 'Amway for CCG's' (for every player you recruit to Fight Klub - it's invitation only - you get 10% of their lifetime purchases), another part shaking their heads at Decipher's continued inability to communicate effectively with their players, and only a handful of diehard kids (and yes the mentality of those on the forums gives their age and maturity level away rather easily) being the basket that Decipher have put all its eggs in, I really don't see either Decipher or this game getting beyond the first major hurdle, which will be when the license expectations of the players (who have been clambering over each other for licenses such as various Anime, Marvel and DC characters, Star Wars and Lord of the Rings) conflicts with what Decipher is able to acquire, because anyone with a modicom of gaming industry knowledge knows that the owners of those licenses guard them jealously and are unlikely to allow a competitor to produce rival gaming products using them.

Personally I don't see the characters in the game being enough to retain or capture a quality player base (so far we have such luminaries as The Jigsaw Killer, some guy from Lost Boys and Chev Chelios amongst others - a real niche market there Decipher) and once the initial release hype has gone I believe Fight Klub will end up as yet another failed CCG with a small diehard following failing to reach a critical mass that will justify keeping the game alive. There arealready as many nay-sayers about the character selection as there are extreme fanboys trying to keep it pumped. It seems to be a whimper rather than a bang.

But I'll reserve my final judgement for the game when it has been out six months and we can see where its heading. I have to admit that the cards do look pretty good, but then again once you get beyond the initial eye-candy it's the gameplay that will keep people interested - so if Decipher have sacrificed gameplay for visual appeal, well that's the third black mark I'm afraid. Strike three, and it's Game Over.