Work is still in progress on The Zenith Remnant, AI War’s first
expansion (due out in the second week of January), but Arcen is finally
ready to show some previews of their upcoming projects for 2010.
The first preview is a bit brief, but gives you a sneak peek mainly at
the art of the very next Arcen title, a currently-untitled
puzzle game (formerly called “Feedback”). The basic premise on
this one is that it’s a new, as yet undisclosed, block-based mechanic
that is fun and easy to pick up; miles away from the glut of match-3
clones. Arcen will have a lot more information on this one starting in
January and February, and most likely a playable beta in February or
March (demo for free, or full thing for people who preorder, same as
with The Zenith Remnant).
The second preview is for Arcen’s next next game, a tower defense
game called A
Valley Without Wind. Even if you turn your nose up at the
casualness that is generally the tower defense genre, if you’re a fan of
Arcen titles this is a preview to check out. True to Arcen’s growing
reputation, this will be a title that doesn’t sit neatly in a single
genre, and which pushes the boundaries of what that genre is supposed to
be (see preview for details). Most likely development for this title
will not begin until somewhere between April and June (right after the
puzzle game is released), with a release likely in Q4 of 2010.
As is always the case for Arcen, these titles will include co-op as a
primary feature right alongside their single-player experience. The
puzzle game will also have competitive multiplayer, a first for Arcen.
Compared to AI War, both of these games have a more vastly casual veneer
to them in terms of art and how accessible they are on the surface, but
they’ll also both have the same level of hardcore depth that fans of AI
War have come to expect. More information to come on these exciting
new games starting in January! And, don’t forget — the second
expansion for AI War is still planned for late 2010, and free DLC for AI
War is going to continue all throughout the year!
