This PS4 Game Wants to Make the RTS Genre Less Sadomasochistic

Asher Vollmer, creator of mobile hit Threes!, has announced his next project, a real-time strategy game for PlayStation 4 called Close Castles. Vollmer says his aim for the title is to "fix" the RTS genre, and make it less sadomasochistic.

"Let's face it: RTSes are miserable pain engines designed to give players the worst possible experience," Vollmer says on the PlayStation Blog.

"They're kind of fun (though deeply stressful) right up until the first interaction with another player and then it's all downhill for the next forty-or-so minutes. You play until someone gives up. They are lonely exercises in sadomasochism. Anyway hello. My name is Asher Vollmer and I intend to fix all that with my new game, Close Castles."

Close Castles is coming to PS4 in 2015, though PlayStation Experience attendees can play it this weekend.

Here's the setup: you and your rival built your castles far too close to each other. Your task is to build up your kingdom (in the cramped confines) while at the same time dispatching your citizens to break down your enemy's castle. Vollmer says he will reveal story details later that explain just why the castles were built so close together.

Vollmer adds that Close Castles is a fast-paced game, which meant that he had to make the controls "as simple as possible" to work on a controller.

"You move your cursor around the field and press a button to build structures," he explained. "What you build and where you build it will determine you and your opponent's collective fate."

Close Castles was designed for local multiplayer, Vollmer went on to say, adding that the game will feel more like a fighting game at higher levels.

The game's art (see the images below) was created with the help of artist Dominique Ferland. Close Castles' characters and settings are meant to come across as "cute as heck."

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