John Romero And Adrian Carmack Launch Kickstarter For PC First-Person Shooter 'Blackroom'
DOOM and Quake co-creators John Romero and Adrian Carmack have joined forces again but this time they trade in demons for a holo sim gone wrong with Blackroom.
Billed as a "visceral, action-packed FPS", Blackroom is currently being offered up to the masses on Kickstarter to see if there's an appetite for holographic simulators going wacko and trying to literally murder you.
Romero and Carmack are co-founders for id Software, the developer that dominated the first-person shooter genre and even arguably made it what it is today. Having such industry legends now turn their genre-defining minds to a new game with the actual backing of fans shouldn't be that difficult.
The Blackroom Kickstarter is already nearing $90,000 with almost 1,500 backers and there are 31 days left on the just-started campaign, which is seeking $700k. If all goes well then it should see a release on PC and Mac by Winter 2018.
Cut To The Chase
• Platforms: PC and Mac through Steam, DRM free alternative
• Single-player: Campaign worth 10 hours, leaderboard challenges
• Multiplayer: Co-op, 1v1 Deathmatch, Arena
• Modding: Fully accessible with dedicated servers, map creation
• Sound: New soundtrack from metal guitarist George Lynch
"...a return to fast, violent and masterful play on the PC. In BLACKROOM, you reign supreme in a variety of multiplayer modes, including co-op, 1-on-1 deathmatch and free-for-all arena in a motley mix of locations including hardcore military sims, hellish infernos and interstellar space."
It's not just multiplayer though as a robust single-player campaign worth at least 10 hours is being developed too, and it spans "wildly varied environments, from ruined Victorian mansions to Wild West ghost towns to treacherous pirate galleons and beyond."
They tease old tricks getting a dust-off like rocket and strafe jumping, and some circle strafing. "Wield intricately balanced weapons where each one has a specific use and does the damage that makes you feel good."
Romero and Carmack have no plans for any post-launch DLC or subscription-style content but instead will be turning over the future of Blackroom to the modding community with fully accessible tools and the freedom to go crazy with dedicated server support.
What's The Story?
"BLACKROOM™ takes place at one of the world’s leading tech companies, HOXAR™. HOXAR has created a technology that allows people to be anywhere at any time, creating fully-realized holographic worlds that are indistinguishable from reality, all inside of a giant black room."
"Finding early favor amongst military and police organizations, BLACKROOM continues to be prized for its life-like ability to train specialists against the horrors of war and urban terror. Even commercial clients have lined up to develop HoloSims that might terrify adults and delight children. Now, though, simulations are being twisted and warped into each other, and blending with something even more sinister."
In Blackroom we play as Dr. Santiago Sonora, the Chief hNode Engineer at HOXAR, and things go rather badly when we investigate anomalies surround the leading-edge Predictive Memory technology. It's blending the real and the virtual and we get swept across simulations designed for Blackroom users.
"Peering into your mind and tapping into your deepest memories and fears, however, it’s clear that the BLACKROOM is not all fun and games."
Blackroom is the work of the "dark and violent subsidiary" Night Work Games of its parent, Romero Games. The Irish studio now gets to harness their violent coding tendencies in "building this classic FPS."
Check out the Blackroom Kickstarter campaign to learn more and maybe even pledge.
