Threes! creator’s new game fixes RTS genre

Threes! is one of those simple yet incredibly addictive games. Asher Vollmer has done rather well with it and has now turned his gaze to getting us hooked on another genre thanks to his love/hate relationship with Real Time Strategy (RTS) games. Plus it’s coming to a new platform.

Close Castles is the latest game from Vollmer, and I adore how he explains why he made it.

Let’s face it: RTSes are miserable pain engines designed to give players the worst possible experience. They’re kind of fun (though deeply stressful) right up until the first interaction with another player and then it’s all downhill for the next forty-or-so minutes. You play until someone gives up. They are lonely exercises in sadomasochism. Anyway hello. My name is Asher Vollmer and I intend to fix all that with my new game, Close Castles.

 

Threes was designed as a small, minimalist game, and Close Castles will be the same. With quick games averaging three (THREE) minutes on the fastest game speed and is built with local multiplayer in mind – it’s about reading your opponent and turning their weaknesses against them.

The premise of Close Castles is simple: You and your greatest rival have built your castles WAY too close to each other. Your job is to build up your kingdom (despite the cramped quarters) while simultaneously sending out your loyal citizens to tear down the enemy’s vulnerable castle. We plan to have an amazing, harrowing story that somehow justifies the fact that all these castles were built in such proximity.

The game will be coming to consoles in 2015. Yes, that’s right, following on from the massive success on mobile devices, Vollmer is ready to take the PS4 by storm with his indie glory. I’m hoping the game also comes to iPad, though – it just looks so cute and I’d love to see how it works with a touch interface as well. At least we know one of the indies that will probably get shown off at Sony’s E3 conference next year.

Last Updated: December 2, 2014