Develops a Chess-Roguelike Idea: Eric Barone Ponders Over Elon Musk's 'Tech Tree' Concept, Drawing Inspiration from Balatro Treatment
With PC Gamer's Wes Fenlon chatting up Stardew Valley creator Eric Barone, topics ranged from Jojamart to the Haunted Chocolatier, and Barone's personal favorite, chess!
"You know, I've been dabbling in chess lately," Barone admits. "It's a classic game, deep with fantastic design. A pity AI's taken some of the luster, but I've moved past that. It's humans I'm interested in, not machines."
The conversation veers off into freestyle chess, a less traditional variant, and Barone expresses intrigue. "Magnus Carlsen's playing freestyle chess, the pieces randomized, 960 different starting positions. Makes you forget the openings you spent years memorizing!"
Freestyle chess, or Chess960, first popped up in the 90s, created by grandmaster Bobby Fischer to add excitement back into the game. As the modern chess landscape becomes more competitive online, it's found new audiences, with the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour in 2025 seeing players like Carlsen and Keymer compete.
During the interview, Barone talks about a potential chess roguelike called Passant. Although no solid information about such a game exists, the idea is intriguing.
Beyond freestyle chess, Barone mentions revisiting Warcraft 3: Reforged, delving into custom story modes with friends. "There's something comforting about returning to classic RTS games. Maybe it's time for a comeback!"
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But what about Elon Musk's far-out ideas for chess? Does it really need a tech tree?
Barone pauses before giving a thoughtful answer. "I'm not sure about that, but it could be fun. I actually thought about incorporating a Balatro-style treatment to chess, making it a chess roguelike. And guess what? Someone's already working on that!"
With intriguing developments in both classic board games and real-time strategy, it seems there's no shortage of excitement for gamers.
Rich Stanton, a seasoned games journalist with 15 years under his belt, heads up the expert team at PC Gamer. Recognized for his book, A Brief History of Video Games, Stanton delves deep into the gaming world.
Senior Editor, Wes Fenlon, steers the conversation in this compelling interview. A veteran in the field, Fenlon brings endless insights to PC Gamer's coverage.
- Eric Barone shares his recent interest in freestyle chess, a less traditional variant of the game, expressing fascination towards its randomized pieces and 960 different starting positions.
- Barone discusses a potential chess roguelike game called Passant, which he has considered creating, though no solid information about the game exists yet.
- In the interview, Barone also mentions revisiting Warcraft 3: Reforged, diving into custom story modes with friends, suggesting a possible comeback for classic real-time strategy games.
- Barone hints at the potential integration of a Balatro-style treatment to chess, which could make it a chess roguelike, sparking intrigue as someone is already working on a similar concept in the world of technology and gadgets.
