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Chaos Reborn funded, births in 2015
Julian Gollop, the creator of X-COM: UFO Defense, has hit the $180,000 goal for Chaos Reborn, an update to his 1985 strategy game, Chaos: The Battle of Wizards. Unlike many, many projects seeking funding on Kickstarter, this game is already in a solid prototype state. We know, because we streamed it with Gollop as our adversary. The prototype of Chaos Reborn is accessible through the game's Kickstarter page. The game itself now has the funding to gussy up the graphics and hopefully make its May 2015 launch on PC, Mac and Linux. [Image: Gollop]
Chaos Reborn playable prototype released to backers
XCOM series creator Julian Gollop has released a new playable prototype version of his crowdfunded strategy game Chaos Reborn as the project enters its final days on Kickstarter. Available exclusively for backers, version .11 of Chaos Reborn gives an early look at the game's multiplayer component. The release follows up on Chaos Reborn's recent approval at Steam Greenlight, and a final version is set to launch next year. Currently, Chaos Reborn has earned over $134,000 toward its initial funding goal of $180,000, with eight days remaining in the campaign. [Image: Julian Gollop]
XCOM creator's Chaos Reborn aiming for spring 2015
Julian Gollop, the creator of the 1994 PC and Amiga strategy game X-COM: UFO Defense, launched a Kickstarter campaign this week for his next trek in the turn-based genre, Chaos Reborn. An update to one of his other classics, Chaos: The Battle of Wizards, Chaos Reborn will have players customizing and leveling-up wizards before entering a battle arena with up to five others. Gollop is seeking $180,000 by April 17 to fund the game's production, and is expecting to launch it on PC, Mac and Linux by spring 2015. The game was first announced in November 2012 and was later detailed in January. Joystiq went hands-on with a prototype version of Chaos Reborn earlier this month, discussing the game with Gollop in a special Twitch livestream. Those that pledge at least $20 to the crowdfunding campaign will receive a digital copy of the strategy game, and backers will receive the multiplayer prototype version within two to three months of the campaign's conclusion. [Image: Julian Gollop]
Joystiq Streams: XCOM creator Julian Gollop introduces us to Chaos Reborn [UPDATE: Relive the stream!]
Strategy games are seductive time sinks. Who has the time to possibly tinker with all those units? Who can spare the hours to toil in turn-based combat only to finally lose in a crushing, humiliating defeat? Start up one little game of XCOM, get a squad going, and eight hours can disappear out from under you faster than you can say, "Overwatch!" Julian Gollop (@Julian_Gollop) is one of the men behind all those lost hours. The creator of XCOM, Laser Squad, Ghost Recon: Shadow Wars and many, many others, Gollop has spent thirty years designing tactics games that test both wits and nerve. Chaos Reborn, his latest game, brings Gollop back to his roots; it's a reimagining of his 1985 ZX Spectrum game Chaos: The Battle of Wizards. Unlike XCOM and Shadow Wars, Chaos Reborn pits player against player in tactical standoffs that are downright swift. The designer joins Alexander Sliwinski (@Sliwinski) and Anthony John Agnello (@ajohnagnello) on Joystiq Streams for a few friendly matches in the prototype version of the game. Joystiq Streams goes live on the Joystiq Twitch channel at 4PM EST so come down and bring your questions to Mr. Gollop himself. The stream archive will be available after 5PM EST and you can always catch Joystiq Streams at 4PM EST every Tuesday and Thursday. A Kickstarter campaign to fund Chaos Reborn will begin on March 14. [Images: Julian Gollop]
Fight your wizard friends in XCOM creator's Chaos Reborn
Julian Gollop, the original creator of 1994 PC and Amiga strategy game X-COM: UFO Defense, will launch a Kickstarter project for the resurgence of another strategic game early this year. Titled Chaos Reborn, the game is described as an update to one of Gollop's other classic games, Chaos: The Battle of Wizards. First announced in November 2012, Chaos Reborn will fit into the turn-based strategy genre, which tended to have plenty of success on Kickstarter last year. The game will include "strong RPG elements" as well as "extensive multiplayer and single player options," according to the description on its Prefundia page. The single-player mode has players customizing their wizards and leveling them up through trials in the "Realms of Chaos," acquiring new equipment and treasures along the way before partaking in arena-style battles for up to six players. The 3D arenas will be procedurally-generated, and the leaderboard and tournament-speckled battles will be both live and asynchronous. Gollop also promised a guild and item trading system, in addition to cooperative multiplayer modes. Gollop said the 1985 ZX Spectrum game "stands out as a game with unrealized potential" of all the projects he's credited on in his 30-year development history. "I have spent the last year working on Chaos Reborn, writing the game design, creating a playable prototype and building my team," Gollop added, assuring prospective backers that he intends to complete the project "within a year." Chaos Reborn's development is targeted at PC, Mac and Linux. The development team currently has a functional prototype of the game's multiplayer working, though it uses placeholder art, so backers can expect it to look much different in the coming months. Gollop's Prefundia page noted a target window for the Kickstarter project next month, though it's unclear just when it will launch.
The original X-COM was briefly canceled, boosted by X-Files
X-COM is a household name among many gamers now, but the 1994 original almost never came to be. During an X-COM postmortem at GDC, creator Julian Gollop revealed that the original X-COM: UFO Defense was actually canceled for a brief period during 1993. At the time, the game's UK publisher, Microprose, had been purchased by Spectrum Holobyte. Looking over Microprose's portolio, Spectrum Holobyte was unimpressed with the in-development X-COM and decided to pull the plug. "They took one look at X-COM and said, 'Nah, we don't like this. Cancel this project,'" said Gollop. "The project was actually officially canceled."Unbeknownst to Spectrum Holobyte, Microprose allowed development to continue. "What happened was, that in Christmas 1993 Spectrum Holobyte wanted a product from Microprose UK for the end of their financial quarter, which was in March 1994," said Gollop. "And [Microprose publisher] Pete Moreland said, 'Well, you know this project you told us to cancel? Well, we still got it." The final three months of development were grueling, with Julian and his brother Nick working 7 days a week and putting in 12 hour days.Another interesting tidbit: X-COM was helped by the TV show The X-Files, which began airing in the US in 1993 (It's on Netflix, kids!). "When The X-Files was aired for the first time in September 1993, there was a real benefit for the game because it drew on a lot of the same source material," said Gollop. "So the whole theme of the game had a real hook, and it was just luck, really, that we had the X-Files on TV shortly before the game was launched."X-COM was a hit, selling 470,000 units worldwide as of 2000, earning Julian and his brother $1.57 million in royalties (and significantly more for Microprose). The game cost $180,000 to develop. After the game achieved such great success, Spectrum Holobyte demanded a sequel within six months.
Julian Gollop's Chaos sequel campaign, multiplayer detailed
If you're currently enjoying XCOM: Enemy Unknown, the Firaxis reboot of the PC classic, then you owe part of that enjoyment to Julian Gollop, the man who designed the original and other subsequent installments in the series. Last week, Gollop revealed he was working on a sequel to his classic turn-based strategy game from 1985, Chaos: The Battle of Wizards.Gollop started up a development blog over the weekend for what he's calling Chaos Reborn, revealing the single-player side is broken down by regions, tasking players (as a newbie Wizard) with setting out on the most noble quest of killing the Wizard King as quickly as possible – with each turn, the Wizard King's forces grow stronger. It's just one of the perks of being a Wizard King. The downside is other Wizards are always trying to kill you.Multiplayer will consist of arena battles for up to eight opponents, in both asynchronous and direct connection formats. Chaos Reborn will showcase deathmatch and team-based mode, and let players go up against AI-controlled opponents. Pass-and-play on mobile devices is also mentioned.Chaos Reborn is little more than specs on a page right now, so get in on the ground floor of Gollop's RSS feed now for future updates through the source link below.
1985's Chaos: The Battle of Wizards getting remade for iOS
Chaos: The Battle of Wizards is an old tactical game created for the ZX Spectrum computer in 1985. Despite its complexity, it has a loyal following and has influenced a lot of games and developers. Now, the original creator of Chaos, Julian Gollop, has decided to work on recreating the title for iOS as Chaos Reborn, and he's blogging about the process. Gollop has plenty of experience on modern consoles: He recently served as creative director on the Vita version of the Assassin's Creed 3. But he says he values the opportunity to be back on his own, working on a rising platform on his old game. The feature list he's put together is ambitious, with a full campaign mode as well as different multiplayer modes. It'll be interesting to see how the project turns out. Even if you're not a fan of the 1985 title, Gollop is an experienced developer who's returning to his roots courtesy of Apple's great and accessible mobile platform. Gollop has just started development, so it might be a while before we see this game released. But it'll be intriguing to follow along on his blog as he goes.
Julian Gollop reviving 1985's 'Chaos: The Battle Wizards'
Father of all things X-COM, Julian Gollop, has revealed that his next project will revive the 1985 ZX-Spectrum game, Chaos: The Battle Wizards.Gollop revealed the game's revival on Twitter, saying, "OK it's official! I am working on a sequel/remake to my classic ZX Spectrum game 'Chaos' – for iOS, PC, Mac – maybe more." Despite one fan pleading for a PS3 release, Gollop said extending the revival to that platform (and presumably other consoles) would only be possible if the current planned platforms see a profit.Gollop noted the game "will be 3D for sure," revealing it will be powered by the Unity3D engine. Work has only just begun, so we aren't likely to see a finished product for "about a year or so."The original turn-based game was written by Gollop and published by Games Workshop, garnering enough of a following that a sequel, Lords of Chaos, was developed by Gollop's Mythos Games, which went on to make 1997's X-COM: Apocalypse.
Ghost Recon: Shadow Wars walkthrough is very X-Commy
The parallels between Julian Gollop's turn-based strategy hit series X-COM and his new 3DS project Ghost Recon: Shadow Wars have been drawn many times before -- but never as clearly as this. Check out the video below to see Gollop give a nine-minute demo of the latter game's familiar mechanics.
Ghost Recon: Shadow Wars for 3DS detailed by creative lead
As TinyCartridge pointed out in a pair of recent posts about Ghost Recon: Shadow Wars, the seemingly high profile 3DS title has been barely discussed by publisher Ubisoft. Beyond gathering together all of the game's assets thus far (seen here), TinyCartridge fleshes out GRSW's tactical, turn-based gameplay. Better yet: The game's creative lead, Julian Gollop -- lauded developer of X-Com: UFO Defense and Laser Squad Nemesis, among others -- gets all up in the comments section, speaking on the game in far more detail. He confirmed that GRSW will not feature multiplayer outside of "hotseat" play, nor will it support any StreetPass features (i.e., a data exchange between two "sleeping" 3DS units). "The tactical system, and the way the weapons work, have a bit more of an Advance Wars feel," Gollop described. "You have six characters you control, each with unique abilities and equipment. You can level them up, gaining abilities and more equipment options." "The battlefield is very detailed," he continued, "with cover effects, and elevation having significant tactical effects. You need to capture 'command flags' to collect 'command points' which are spent on various powers, including calling in a massive airstrike. Each character gains power points to launch special power attacks -- super shot, rapid strike, wide impact -- depending on the weapon types used." Sounds interesting! Ghost Recon: Shadow Wars will reportedly launch in Europe on March 25 alongside the 3DS itself, though no North American release date has been given.%Gallery-114659%
X-Com: UFO Defense developer working on 3DS launch game
The internet is so cool, you guys. Check this out: Gamasutra recently did a feature on the XCOM first-person shooter reboot that's currently in development at 2K Marin. Julian Gollop, creator of the original X-Com: UFO Defense just happened to pop into the comments of said article to give his opinion on the current sorry state of the turn-based strategy genre, and revealing he's "now working on a turn-based tactical RPG which will be a 3DS launch title." Thanks, the internet! You're just full of surprises. According to some investigation from TinyCartridge, Gollop's LinkedIn profile states he's been at Ubisoft Bulgaria/Sofia the past three years -- and Ubisoft has a turn-based strategy game titled Ghost Recon: Lead The Ghosts in the works for Nintendo's three-dimensional handheld. We've contacted Ubisoft to see if this cyclically-titled Clancy jam is indeed Gollop's next opus.
