Barone Expresses Fascination with Chess and Musk's 'Tech Tree' Concept, Contemplates a Chess Roguelike Fused with Balatro Treatment: 'Could Someone Combine These Elements?'
In a chat with PC Gamer's Wes Fenlon, Stardew Valley creator Eric Barone discussed various games, from Jojamart to his upcoming title, Haunted Chocolatier. One topic that caught our attention was Barone's current gaming preferences, and it turns out, he's a vintage gamer at heart.
"Recently, I've been playing chess," reveals Barone. "It's one of the original games, it's deep, and it's a great game in terms of design. Unfortunately, AI has kind of ruined it in a way."
Barone expressed disappointment initially but later shrugged it off, asserting his disinterest in AI-dominated chess games. "I'm not interested in AI playing chess, I'm interested in humans playing chess. But I'm not a chess fanatic, it's just something I've always wanted to be decent at."
Discussing further, Barone brings up Elon Musk's claim that chess lacks the "fog of war." Barone acknowledged the critique and mentioned the concept of freestyle chess, where pieces are randomized, introducing 960 different starting positions, making memorizing openings less feasible. This format encourages players to focus on tactics rather than relying on theory.
Freestyle chess, often called Chess960, was invented by the brilliant American grandmaster Bobby Fischer in response to the same frustrations Barone discussed. It's becoming increasingly popular in the online chess community. If you've wasted your youth memorizing openings and theory, it's a refreshing way to play the game.
However, Barone also pondered the idea of introducing a tech tree to chess. "I don't know about that, but I actually think it could be interesting," he says. "I was thinking because I was playing chess race, and thought, what if someone did a Balatro treatment to chess, like a chess roguelike? It could be cool."
As for other games Barone has been playing, he's dabbling in the classics, specifically WarCraft 3 Reforged and custom maps with friends. "It's a blast," he adds, hoping for a comeback of real-time strategy games.
So there you have it, folks. The creative mind behind Stardew Valley prefers the old-school charm of chess, and he might just be on to something with his chess roguelike idea. Stay tuned for more updates on this front! 🌟🚀🔥🕴️🎲👾🌍🎯🎮✨❄️🌲🍂🌞🌱MOVE ON TO THE NEXT ARTICLE!
- Eric Barone, the creator of Stardew Valley, prefers the vintage charm of games like chess.
- Barone recently admitted to playing chess, a game he believes is deep and well-designed.
- He lamented the impact of AI on chess, stating his disinterest in AI-dominated games.
- Barone is not a chess fanatic, but aims to be decent at the game.
- Elon Musk's claim that chess lacks the "fog of war" was discussed, with Barone acknowledging the critique.
- Freestyle chess, also known as Chess960, was introduced, a response to the need for more tactical focus in the game.
- The inventor of Chess960 is the American grandmaster Bobby Fischer, who created it due to similar frustrations.
- Barone also pondered the idea of introducing a tech tree to chess, suggesting it could be interesting.
- In addition to chess, Barone has been dabbling in WarCraft 3 Reforged and custom maps with friends.
- Barone expressed hope for a comeback of real-time strategy games, and his chess roguelike idea might play a part in that.
