PC gamers of a certain age still speak in reverent tones of Battle Chess, the ‘90s digital interpretation of the ancient game which livened up piece capture with violently animated tussles.
Perhaps Battle Chess has found a spiritual successor in unlikely Warhammer 40k tie-in Regicide – an adaptation of the board game which features a plotted single player campaign and incorporates stunt-choreographed, motion-captured “merciless kill and death animations”.
Cathrin Machin is project lead at Hammerfall Publishing, Games Workshop’s designated developers on Regicide.
“The animation is a really critical aspect of the project, there are countless unique kill and attack sequences and we’ve worked tirelessly with motion capture stunt performers in a state of the art studio to ensure each move is realistic, and of quality,” Machin told Polygon. “Thousands of hours have been dedicated to asset creation, and I feel the teams passion and effort shines through in the final product.”
With all your game design done thousands of years ago, where besides animation do you put your resources on a chess game? Plotting, apparently.
Alongside its classic multiplayer chess mode, Regicide features a Blood Angel-focused single player campaign written by Black Library veteran Ross Watson.
Watson was also responsible for Darksiders 2’s story, and counts “creating memorable characters and maintaining consistency in those character’s voice and expression” among his strengths. Which sounds good! Don’t you think?
Regicide will come to PC before Christmas, and players who sign up in the first 30 days of its launch will grab a free in-game Space Marine White Scar army. In the meantime: did you see Mount and Blade’s Warhammer mod?
Thanks, Pocket Gamer.