The VR ecosystem is flush with experiences that can completely shatter our perceptions, bringing us into incredibly realistic or fantastic worlds and giving us devastating weapons or abilities. Other more quaint experiences can project a sense of comfort so solid, we can forget that we’re even wearing a VR headset altogether like one of our writers when he got a hands-on opportunity with Magic Table Chess. Tabletop games in general seem to be able to easily replicate this sensation within VR, bringing elements of the more simplistic games to life but still immersing players into a calming experience. Experiment 7, the creators of Magic Table Chess, are now blending a couple tabletop staples with their D&D themed chess game Dungeon Chess.
In an announcement on their blog, Experiment 7 revealed that they’ve penned a partnership with legendary game publisher Wizards of the Coast and Dungeon Chess is the first project born of that collaboration. It will be available on Oculus Rift and Samsung Gear VR, taking advantage of the Magic Table platform.
“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,” says Experiment 7’s Co-founder and Managing Director, Demetri Detsaridis. Magic Table not only links players in different parts of the world, it will eventually allow players on different platforms to match up in unique environments like D&D’s Yawning Portal Tavern and use their customized boards and collections of chess pieces.
There are so many real-life chess boards that have adopted various themes from Star Wars to feudal japan, but Dungeon Chess and other Magic Table games will utilize virtual space to add a layer of animation to the chess pieces that brings them to life as they encounter each other in the legendary game of strategy. Fire-breathing dragons, dark elves, and more will be on the board and Experiment 7 will unveil more available pieces as we get closer to Dungeon Chess’ release. It sounds a lot like Wizard’s Chess from Harry Potter, mixed with a D&D coat of paint.
We will be going hands-on with Dungeon Chess at GDC next week, reporting our thoughts from the experience. More games beyond Chess are also planned for the Magic Table platform in the future.
