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!