ROMA XLI is a strategy and social deduction board game published by Facade Games. It is the fifth instalment of the Dark Cities Series, alongside successful titles like Salem 1692, Bristol 1350, and Hollywood 1947.
I worked alongside Facade to deliver 9 distinct character portraits, game board, coins, cards, packaging, and other asset. Their Kickstarter was successfully funded in under an hour.
Design Process for ROMA XLI
As with all my projects, the design process begins with sketching. Much of it is done on paper, and then the strongest concepts are refined digitally for client presentation. Once aesthetic was established, I explored expressions for each individual player character, and selected a 'weapon of choice' for them to hold.
Gameplay Components
ROMA XLI comes with an assort of player pieces, including coins, game board, tokens and playing cards. This included design challenges such as illustrating complex mosaics, creating a clear iconography system, and prepping files for metal tokens. It was also important to establish a solid look and feel, so all components worked as a unit.
Final Result
"We loved working with Alisha! Her illustrations for Roma XLI are already getting so much high praise from players, and they really get people into the world of the game quickly. Alisha was professional, timely, and creative and we would love to work with her again on new projects soon!"
— Travis Hancock, Façade Games
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Big thanks to Sass Vigeant for their historical knowledge and assistance with the character depictions.
All of my projects are entirely AI-free. I do not believe in using generative AI, both creatively and morally. All work you see is 100% human-made.
