January saw a new virtual reality (VR) studio make itself known, Experiment 7, and with it tabletop experience Magic Table Chess, the first instalment in the studio’s Magic Table series. The developer is taking that experience in making VR chess further announcing a partnership with Wizards of the Coast, with plans to create a Dungeons & Dragons theme title called Dungeon Chess.
D&D will come to life in Dungeon Chess, with players controlling animated fire-breathing dragon queens, death-ray blasting beholder rooks, armies of elven pawns and other popular creatures from the franchise.
“As huge D&D fans, we’re excited to work with Wizards of the Coast on Dungeon Chess,” said Experiment 7 Co-founder and Creative Director, Geoffrey Zatkin. “We’re using iconic D&D creatures to bring fantasy and wonder to the classic strategy game of chess, while taking great care to stay true to D&D lore, implement robust chess gameplay, and provide a high-quality user experience. We believe this commitment will make Dungeon Chess enjoyable for chess fans, D&D enthusiasts, and the VR community in general.”
Featuring single-player against variety of dynamic AI opponents and online friendly and ranked multiplayer, Dungeon Chess will be customisable with a variety of unique boards, rooms, avatars, decorations, pictures and more.
“Players will be able to experience Dungeon Chess on our Magic Table™ platform,” said Experiment 7’s Co-founder and Managing Director, Demetri Detsaridis. “Magic Table players can play against real-world friends, other VR users from around the world, or face our custom AI opponents in Dungeon Chess, or other tabletop games. Each game is played in stunning and customizable rooms, like the legendary Yawning Portal tavern. Eventually, they’ll even be able to play and chat with users on completely different VR hardware.”
“Continuing in our tradition of exploring new platforms and technologies, we are excited to partner with Experiment 7 to bring the brand to life in the virtual game room,” said Nathan Stewart, Brand Director for D&D. “Being able to personalize your own space and invite your friends over to enjoy a game of Dungeon Chess is just plain cool. Spicing it up with fantastic animations that bring iconic D&D monsters to life is a bonus.”
Dungeon Chess will launch on Oculus Rift and Samsung Gear VR later this year. For further updates, keep reading VRFocus.