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Battle Chess remake moves to Kickstarter for multiplayer funding
The studio developing the licensed remake of Battle Chess has begun a Kickstarter to fund a full featured multiplayer system for the title before its launch later this year. Expected to launch last year, Subdued Software, which received no funding from Battle Chess rights holder Interplay, has been working on the project between contracts."The Kickstarter will allow us to focus and finish the game," Subdued Software President Mike Terlecki told Joystiq. "If we get the funding we're looking at a September launch window."The company's Kickstarter is seeking $100,000 for an online experience that'll include "skilled based matchmaking, statistics, leaderboards, achievements and in-game chat." The company also learned a lesson from the Star Command Kickstarter, factoring the cost of fulfilling rewards and running this campaign."We have carefully planned out the costs of staffing the programmers, artists and testers necessary to complete online multiplayer feature and arrived at this amount."
Battle Chess checking in to PC, iOS - get pawned this summer
Interplay's classic Battle Chess will return in a reboot this summer for PC and iOS. Developed by Subdued Software, the PC version is expected to make moves in August, with the iOS versions for iPad and iPhone available "soon after." A company rep informs us that they only have screens of the game currently available, but will show off some character battle animations next month. The title will be digitally distributed and feature scalable AI, multiplayer and scenario challenges. It will also have a "combat vault," allowing players to view fights from different angles. Battle Chess should not be confused with the similarly titled, injunction inducing Battle vs. Chess.
Fallout over 'Bethesda v. Interplay' remains unsettled
Unofficial Fallout community wiki the Vault has posted snippets and analysis of another batch of court documents, courtesy of site founder Paweł Dembowski (posting as Ausir), in the legal battle between Bethesda and Interplay over the latter's licensed, in-development Fallout Online MMO and rights to distribute pre-Fallout 3 titles from the franchise. If the absence of recent developments in the suit had you wondering if the two sides had settled cordially, forget about it. The excerpts are most certainly lacking in holiday spirit, as the fiery debate appears to wage on. According to the Vault, highlights from the new documents show Bethesda, which is the current Fallout IP owner, defending against Interplay's claims that it had denied the MMO developer rights to use "Fallout-related intellectual property assets." Bethesda maintains that it had licensed back to Interplay (the original IP owner) rights to the Fallout name only and not art assets, including the series' (literally) trademark Pip-Boy. In a separate document, Bethesda took to the offensive, demanding Interplay hand over the contents of its internal Fallout Online design wiki as court evidence. Interplay objected, calling the wiki a "trade secret document" and suggested Bethesda had repeatedly turned down offers to "inspect" the wiki outside of the courtroom. Interplay seems to have little choice but to fight on, even as it operated at a $205,000 loss in its June–September fiscal quarter. As Gamer/Law points out, the company is caught in a deadly gamble: Its future is dependant on completing Fallout Online for a planned 2012 release -- if the project doesn't get shut down by the courts first. On the bright side, Interplay won out in a separate lawsuit earlier this month against TopWare, concerning the latter's infringement upon Interplay's "Battle Chess" trademark. [Pictured: Fallout Online concept art]
Battle vs. Chess coming this Fall to just about every platform
SouthPeak's infringement-skirting Battle vs. Chess has apparently been pushed back from its initial May launch window, according to a press release. And the fact that May's almost over and the game's not out yet. However, the game is now set to launch this Fall, and will be released for 360, PS3, Wii, DS, PSP and PC. So, like, everything except the iPhone and the Lynx. According to the presser, the game will include an "Action Mode," where pieces won't automatically kill one another in scripted animations, but will rather place players in a "beat-'em-up style encounter." Somewhere, Garry Kasparov is openly weeping.
April Fools: Bungie introduces Halo: Reach's 'Battle Chess'
Bungie set the bar pretty high last year on April 1 and, today, we feel like it has at least met or exceeded it -- we'll leave the final determination up to you. As Bungie would describe Halo: Reach's included minigame, Battle Chess, it's a variation on the "longest-running competitive multiplayer game in the world" and just felt like a natural fit for the franchise. Frankly, even though it's April 1st, we wholeheartedly support this new game mode and if we don't at least get a special playlist, we're probably going to throw a tantrum and buy Halo: Reach anyway.
Liked Battle Chess? Meet Battle vs. Chess
Battle vs. Chess appears to bring Battle Chess to a new generation, with a similar hook and a name that just skirts a potential copyright lawsuit. With "upbeat combat visuals & mechanics," the game sounds like a modern update of the classic chess game that let us watch chess pieces beat the stuffing out of each other. There don't appear to be any videos showing BvC's animations. The real draw of the original Battle Chess was each piece had a unique way of dispatching its foe -- a modern update would hopefully have more varied animations. The title is being developed for several platforms, including PC, Mac, DS, Wii and Xbox 360. Battle vs. Chess touts that it uses the Fritz! chess algorithm software and it is currently making moves for a May 2010 release.
GameTap Thursday: Fallout, Battle Chess, Aveyond 2
All you need to know about this week's GameTap update is encapsulated in one word: Fallout. There, we've said our bit. No word yet when Fallout 2 will make it onto the smorgasbord. Fallout (Windows) - "A post nuclear role playing game." Aveyond 2 (Windows) - A relatively new RPG that looks like an old-school Squaresoft game. Battle Chess (Windows) - Play chess, but watch the pieces on the board beat the pixels out of each other. Oh, how we long for an HD remake of this game. Knights of the Round gets added to GameTap's selection of gratis games this week. The full list of free ad-supported titles from the service can be found after the break.
