Tall Troll Games, a small indie studio from Estonia recently posted an updated roadmap for their upcoming game Dark Chess, a chess game with the ” Fog of War” feature, which hides enemy pieces and keeps them hidden until the player can attack or move his pieces closer to the enemy lines. We have reached them for more comments on that here is what Tall Troll Games, Art Director Dennis Kostroman said to us:
Q: Last time you were very proactive publically was Game Dev Days 2019 when you won The Big Indie Pitch Award and some other nominations. What has been cooking since then?
Dennis: We got a lot of attention a few years back, and since then we have been attending game conferences, shows, and jams showing Dark Chess to as many people as possible. While getting a lot of feedback, good mostly, we were trying to find a publisher willing to help us publish the game. It was great to get feedback from the players and improve our game, however, we couldn’t find a proper publisher and put the game on hold. In the meantime, we were doing some work for hire and other projects.
Q: Did you work on Dark Chess through this period?
Dennis: We added more content of course! 🙂 Playing chess with the fog of war is already a game-changing feature by itself. It is much different and fun to play against AI or real human opponents. However, a lot of people noted that it will be much cooler to have more things to do and go deeper with the concept. Spend more time in the game. So we decided to do precisely that.
Q: What kind of content are you talking about?
Dennis: We made an entire story-driven and fully narrated Campaign that will immerse players into a world of Dark Chess. Imagine you are trapped in a magical, Jumanji-style, chessboard that seems to be a jar of the souls of famous historical figures. To gain your freedom and find your way back home, you must triumph over all the souls trapped inside. Some play by the rules while others don’t! Skullduggery, intrigue, and snares are more than expected. Do you dare to challenge the famous Genghis Khan, outsmart King Solomon, or terrify Ivan the Terrible? Dare to argue with Queen Elizabeth or Empress Cixi and keep the head on your shoulders?
We also introduced something else that you rarely see in a chess game. Have you ever won a difficult chess duel and felt that you deserve a reward and didn’t get one? Dark Chess will change that because, for every difficult puzzle you solve, every difficult opponent you destroy or every clever chess moves you make, you’ll be instantly rewarded with a real achievement that will unlock visuals to embellish your game character or a rare opponent card for your trophy collection.
Q: Sounds really cool! So when are we going to see that? When and where are you going to release it?
Dennis: Well, as soon as all the checkmarks on this roadmap turn green! Actually, the game is already in Early Access on Steam and we are aiming for a late February release at the moment. Though there are a lot of things we want to try after the release so stay tuned for updates.
Q: That is good to know! We wish Tall Troll Games the best with the Dark Chess release and will keep you informed here on how it will go. Good Luck!
Dennis: Thanks! Here is the link for the game, our gratitude is endless if you Wishlist and we are always glad to hear your feedback and comments. Cheers!
Dark Chess on Steam:
