Julian Gollop, designer of the original XCOM: UFO Defense, launched a Kickstarter campaign for Chaos Reborn, an expansion of his 1985 game Chaos: The Battle of Wizards.
The turn-based strategy game will support battles for 2-6 players and is in development for Linux, Mac and Windows PC with a spring 2015 release window. The game's current state features a working online multi-player prototype, with a third of the spells implemented, although it still includes place-holder graphics and no animations have been created for the creatures.
Chaos Reborn gameplay takes place in procedurally generated 3D battle arenas, where wizards battle with a limited selection of spells to be the last standing. The turn-based battles last 10-30 minutes and multiple game modes include Classic Chaos mode, a "fully random battle set-up with random selection of spells."
The game will offer 80 unique spells, including those from the original Chaos such as the Gooey Blob, Raise Dead and Magic Wood. Players will have the ability to summon creatures as illusions, of which there will be 24 fully animated varieties, such as dragons and goblins. You can find out more in the Chaos Reborn video below.
The original Chaos was released in 1985 for the ZX Spectrum. Gollop first revealed that he was working on a sequel/remake in November 2012, writing on his blog that the "logical thing to do is to try to improve it and bring it up to date with today's technology."
Gollop's' Kickstarter is seeking $180,000 to complete the development of Chaos Reborn. Backers can get a DRM-free copy of the game with tiers beginning from $20. Higher tiers offer numerous in-game perks such as AI-influencing character auras — King, Demi God and God — and playable characters modelled in a backers likeness.