I’m really excited about the new turn-based tactics game X-Com creator Julian Gollop’s working on, Chaos Reborn. Its brave mechanics forefront chance in a manner more reminiscent of Ameritrash board game design than anything in our fair medium, and it seems that trait is to extend to the very structure of its multiplayer arena battles. Battles will be timed, but once the egg timer empties there is “only a probability” that the game will end.
Arena battles will be turn-limited a la the original Chaos, writes Gollop, and will feature a visible turn countdown. The game will end either when only one wizard remains standing, or the timer hits zero. Players won’t be able to trust the timer entirely, however – there’s merely a “probability” that it will prompt the game to end, not a certainty. The more times a game is extended, the more likely it will end the next time the timer finishes. “With a slightly indeterminate end,” says Gollop, “the tension would be a little higher.”
When a game is ended via the timer, victory points will determine the winner. Points will be awarded in large numbers for killing wizards, smaller numbers for killing creatures, and smallest numbers for simply casting spells. “Thus in the event of multiple survivors, the wizard who has achieved the most would probably be the overall victor,” says Gollop.
The remake is being built in Unity3D, an engine Gollop is particularly fond of. It’ll be released on PC, Mac and “hopefully” Linux.
Do you think it’ll be an essential addition to your virtual shelf, or does XCOM contain all the Gollopisms necessary for a healthy diet?