GW's Dark Future board game is getting a digital upgrade!

If your particular flavor of Gamma-style games runs to the road warrior side of the genre, then you'll be pleased to hear that Games Workshop's board game Dark Future is being developed into an incredible-looking crash-n-bash video game: Dark Future: Blood Red States. Here are a few mean lookin' street machines from the game:

But the source material isn't just being ported into the digital arena, it's also being updated to include a more modern and scientifically accurate take on the post-apocalyptic genre.

This behind-the-scenes video highlights the game's ties to science fiction and features interviews with the original creator James Swallow and game developers at Auroch Digital--and even a biologist who talks about the real risks that arise in a world affected by climate change. It's a fascinating way to think about creating or updating the source material and definitely great fodder for your own gaming inspiration!

Here's Auroch's new teaser trailer:


Side note: The box art features a nice little graphic labeling it a "3D Roleplay Game" which I adore, as an aficionado of antiquated marketing flair!

• There's plenty more details over at the official Dark Future site.
• Dark Future: Blood Red States on Steam

h/t to Phil Reed at Battlegrip!

Retro Mayhem: Mail Order Monsters for the C64

As a kid of the 80s, one of my favorite computer games on the Commodore 64 was Mail Order Monsters. In the game, you'd pick a template for a vat-grown creature--say a T-rex, giant spider, or lion/bear creature--outfit it with weapons, and send it into gladiatorial combat to win fortune and glory.

It has--at the very least--strong thematic ties to Gamma World, if not more specifically, Gammaruaders.

Your winnings would allow you to buy upgrades so you could be more effective in battle and (hopefully) ascend to become champion.

What really sold my young brain on the concept though, was the manual. It had this awesome box art which included photographed (!) prop weapons. The marketing and packaging around the whole game was genius--they wanted you to feel like this was the real deal.

You can imagine how this would effect on an impressionable young lad, such as myself:

Monsters fighting monsters? Cool. Slick futuristic weapons? WAIT--THIS IS REAL? Sold.

Right click to enlarge images

Yeah, and a scuba tank. But...whaddya gonna' do?

Now I just need to track me down a copy of the manual so I can stat these up!

Classic Fallout games on sale at GOG

 

Gog.com is having a weekend sale (actually goes through Monday) on all their Fallout titles for a measly $4.99 each.

Zardoz Video Game in 8-Bit, Intro

If only it were real. Pray to Zardoz that whomever made this decides to set up a Kickstarter project and finish it!

Appendix "G": Inspirational Sources

Literature, movies, and TV have long served as inspirational sources for games (duh!). Fantasy games in particular have a well known list, created by Gary Gygax and co. that has been amended through time, but it's name has remained: Appendix N. Star Frontiers was among one TSR's early efforts at science fiction and they published a comparable list of sci-fi for that game as well.

It got me thinking that it would be nice to have an "Appendix N" for the Post Apocalyptic genre. And while there's no codified criteria, I think there are some easy ones to list, not to mention a few that I personally enjoy. So I've begun compiling a list, which also includes some of my own choices that may or may not be directly related to P.A. per se. For instance, I'm not sure Buckaroo Banzai counts as post apocalyptic, but it's certainly weird and wahoo enough that I find it inspiring. :)

I'm calling the list Appendix Gamma or Appendix G for short. I've had this on the blog for a while, but I've added several new links recently so it seemed appropriate to call it out. It's not a "complete" list (and that's also kind of on purpose since it's mainly stuff I'm looking to inspire this blog) but at least the "easy" ones are on there. Feel free to drop any other suggestions in the comments.

Atari Making a Gamma World Video Game

No, that's not a headline from 1980, though an old cart on the 2600 would be awesome! In fact, this is for realz, according to a post I just read thanks to our friendly neighborhood Sniderman (Savage Afterworld, a blog you should already be reading). Gamma World Alpha Mutation, was demoed at the E3 video game show last week.

Sounds like photos of the game demo were not allowed (play report links below), but it apparently holds fairly true to the most recent D&D 4E incarnation of the game--including picking two origins for your mutation. I wonder if there will be a randomizing option?

It's being called a "third-person shooter", I guess that's over-the-shoulder/birds-eye type of play. One thing I love about video games is the ability to play cooperatively and it sounds like GW will include that aspect, supporting 2-players on the console and an additional 2 online.

No release date yet, but it sounds like it's going to be published for Playstation and XBox. One possible "downer" it's being developed by the same team that did the recent Daggerdale D&D game, which has drawn some pretty "mixed" reviews to say the least.

Snidey's already did a bang-up job in his post on the game setting--which I won't duplicate here--but I did track down a few other goodies from a fact sheet on Game Tactics:

Explore Gamma Terra: Take on a variety of perilous missions through a variety of regions of gamma terra, from ruined cities to barren wastelands and beyond, the collision of multiple realities has created a world as exotic as it is deadly.

The Quick and the Dead: Gamma world delivers the depth of an RPG and the action of third person shooter. Quick reflexes and split second decisions are just as important as effective character design.

Lone Wolf or Death Squad: Take on missions solo or join up with friends to tackle the challenges of the Gamma Terra. Play with two players locally or up to four players online.

Evolve Your Character with Alpha Mutations: Gamma World’s character customization system allows players to actively develop their character in almost unlimited ways.

Discover Omega Technology: Powerful technology from other dimensions can turn the tides and preserve your hero’s life… for now.

Conduct Weapons R&D: Scavenge the environment for parts to create new weapons, armor, tools and more. Your ingenuity is your edge in this fight for survival.

So what are your feelings about seeing the beloved GW rendered in polygons?

Cool? Not your thing?

Play reports:
Gamespot
OMGN

More coverage:
Team XBox
Gamertell