iMagic Announces Seven Kingdoms

Trevor Chan, the designer of Interactive Magic's hefty economic sims Capitalism and Capitalism Plus, has thrown his hat into the real-time strategy arena with Seven Kingdoms.

Moving beyond the standard build-and-conquer gameplay, Chan has added some interesting features that should make this game a standout. Players must develop their clan by integrating different cultures. Much of the knowledge needed to advance is only available from particular gods. The only way to communicate with those gods is to have people from that culture among your clan.

Seven Kingdoms also features a highly developed espionage element. When a player sends his spy into another culture, the spy is vulnerable to its influence. If he does well and gets promoted to general within the enemy army, he can stage a bloodless coup, but if he gets conflicting commands, it may expose him as a spy. Once he's been exposed, he can be bribed into switching loyalties.

Interactive Magic plans to release Seven Kingdoms this fall.