Anti-Colonialist Animal Buddies (Beta)

“Possibility is not a luxury; it is as crucial as bread.”
Judith Butler, Undoing Gender

Break the Rules, Follow Your Own BEAT

Emerald Mountain is a region inhabited by anthropomorphic animals. Many generations ago, the Human settlers arrived and claimed the land as their own. You are the Animal Buddies, a decentralised collective in the Emerald Mountain Administrative Zone (EMAZ) resisting the colonial regime.

Nowadays, the settlers don't even need to rule the animals directly. From juveniles at school to adults at the workforce, the animals are taught to conform to social norms and not to question authority. The Humans only has to put certain animals in positions of power, and those animals would do everything they can to maintain a hierarchy.

Poetry and Metaphors

Anti-Colonialist Animal Buddies (ACAB) is as much poetry as it is a game. The system is a cacophony of discordant noises that demand submission and conformity, and the Animal Buddies have their own tempo and music. Each of the Buddies have their own theme song, a special ability that is their BEAT.

The Animal Buddies' music is a metaphor for neurodivergence. Many of us who are neurodivergent constantly feel the pressure to conform to social norms, and it can be difficult to be truly ourselves. Performativity is the concept that words and action has an effect on our social reality. The Animal Buddies embracing their individuality and use it to defy the laws of the colony.

Gameplay

ACAB is a Bound by Conviction game based on the mechanics of CONVICT-ION TTRPG.

To play the game, you'd need 3-6 players, 2-4 hours, writing materials or note taking tools, and a bunch of tokens. It can be played completely GMless or have the facilitator take a more active role in guiding the players.

The Buddies get into trouble with their Convictions to gain tokens, and they can spend tokens to do cool stuff. The players collectively control the Ambiences of the world, which are used to create complications in the story.

Sonic Meets Persona 5

Animal Crossing meets Animal Farm

1984 (the novel) meets 1989 (the album)

ACAB is inspired by a variety of games, literature, music and other media. Here is a list of them:

• Dream Askew/Dream Apart by Avery Alder and Benjamin Rosenbaum
• Sleepaway by Jay Dragon
• Flortsam: Adrift Amongst the Stars by Joshua Fox
• Apocalypse World by D. Vincent Baker and Meguey Baker
• Writings by Judith Butler, Michel Foucault & Hannah Arendt
• Sonic Adventure and other video games with animal mascots
• Persona 5 by Atlus
• JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure by Hirohiko Araki
• Animal Crossing by Nintendo
• Animal Farm by George Orwell
• 1984 by George Orwell
• 1989 by Taylor Swift
• Music from Sonic the Hedgehog series

Credits and Resources

Game Design & Writing: W.H. Arthur

Art & Layout: W.H. Arthur

Fonts used: Averia Libre, Grandstander, Sedgwick Ave, Sedgwick Ave Display

Image used: Playful Weasels in Natural Habitat at Ankara by Emre Gokceoglu from Pexels

Future Development

I am currently uploading ACAB as a "beta" release because I feel that it can use a bit more polish. There are a few game jam deadlines coming up, and I've already spent months working on the game text itself. Here are some changes I want to make in the future:

• Include more sample Ministers
• Illustrations for the default Animal Buddies
• Improved layout design
• Overall polish and presentation

Any support to the game would be appreciated!

Special thanks to my patrons on Patreon

• Donogh McCarthy
• Joseph "Laijth" Lai
• Legendary Aced
• Tore Nielsen