Castle: Master the Board in this Tactical FPS

📍 Brisbane, AU (AU)

🏷️ Video Games

Castle

Castle is an online tactical FPS that combines fast-paced team combat with the strategic depth of chess. Instead of controlling a single character, you command your entire squad and switch between pieces in real time to outthink and outmaneuver your opponents.

The project draws heavy inspiration from chess, including its terminology, art direction, game modes, gameplay mechanics, and ranking system. Each character is based on a chess piece and has unique abilities designed to fit its style.

Matches consist of multiple rounds. Each player is randomly assigned a color, black or white. Before a round begins, the player chooses which pieces to send in alongside their King. In the standard format, the round ends in checkmate when a King is defeated. If time runs out or only the Kings remain, the match ends in a stalemate, as neither King can damage the other.

Castle takes the thrill of competitive shooters like CS:GO and Valorant and layers on a one man army type approach. It is designed for players who enjoy proving their skill in one-on-one challenges and find satisfaction in executing a well-planned strategy.

Core Features

• Full Team Control: You control your entire team. Switch between your different pieces with simple hotkeys.

• Sentry Mode: Position inactive pieces to carefully remain out of site and detect their movement before they see you. You'll be alerted when in control of your other pieces through minimap, the highlighting of detected enemies, and a warning around your HUD.

Centre Control: Controlling the centre of the board holds vital insights into the round. Enemy pieces are intermittently highlighted in 3D and on the minimap, however, removing your piece from the space cedes control. 

• Fluid Movement: Sneak, run, jump, or climb your through the board with versatile movement. The knight is extra verstaile and can climb to otherwise out of reach areas.

Base Game Scope

AAA Studios build multiplayer games with hundred-million-dollar budgets, as a solo indie developer I have a fraction of the resources available. I have countless ideas for mechanics and content but as of right now I want to focus on releastic targets for what resources I have access to.

• 8 weapons at launch
• 3 multiplayer maps at launch
• 3 game formats
• Casual and ranked variations
• Custom private lobbies
• An ELO based ranking system

Platforms

Prioritizing a Windows release on Steam first. Xbox and PlayStation releases are included as stretch goals, pending additional funding. 

Important note for Mac/Linux players: We do plan to test and make efforts to support these platforms. However, due to the early stage and limited scope of development, along with potential unforeseen limitations, official support can’t be guaranteed at this time.

The Pieces

King

THE HEART OF THE TEAM. The Kings are the focal point of every round. You start with one every time, and if it is conceded then the round is lost. The King has extra health and can only be finished with melee unless it’s the last piece remaining. If it’s shot down while other pieces are still alive, it enters an incapacitated state but fully regenerates after a short period and returns to play. It carries a simple sidearm and relies on smart positioning rather than raw firepower. Its signature move is Castling, a one-time ability that lets it swap positions with the nearest Rook to escape pressure.

Queen

THE ABSOLUTE POWERHOUSE. The Queen carries a light machine gun and soaks up damage with an enormous health pool. However, it can’t regenerate and remains vulnerable to melee. To keep it balanced, the Queen stays visible on the enemy minimap for the entire round, forcing it to push carefully and rely on its raw presence to open space.

Bishop

THE EYES FROM AFAR. The Bishop excels at controlling long sightlines through its arsenal, consisting of a thermal-scoped marksman rifle and an assault rifle. It can disrupt enemy vision and create openings with smoke grenades, and its signature ability is a portable recon spider drone, perfect for scouting and gathering intel on enemy positions.

Knight

THE CLOSE QUARTERS INITIATOR. The Knight excels at close-quarters combat with SMGs and shotguns. Its short-range scan highlights enemies through walls, and it can steal the advantage when turning corners with a bounce flash grenade that detonates briefly after impact.

Rook

THE IRON SHIELD. The Rook is a bulwark on the board. Its passive armor makes it immune to headshot multipliers from the front, but it remains extremely vulnerable from behind. It can equip a heavy riot shield from its back to block incoming fire from the front, though this leaves its rear exposed. It wields heavy weapons like slug-shotguns and assault rifles, and its short-range concussion grenades can briefly incapacitate enemies and force the transfer of control to the nearest opposing piece.

Pawn

THE EXPENDABLE FRONT LINE. The Pawn is a cheap, expendable piece with no special abilities. It starts with a simple sidearm and can be upgraded to any other piece except the King, making it a versatile stepping stone for players to gain stronger options on the board.

Game Modes

Standard:

This is Castle's core mode. Capture the opponents King with melee or shoot it as the last piece standing to win the round. If time runs out, the team with more pieces left secures it. If both Kings are the only pieces alive, it’s a stalemate. 

Castle960:

This is a variant of Castle's core mode. Instead of carefully selecting your team, each round you and your opponent are given a random configuration of pieces outside of the King.

Rescue:

Both Kings start the round captured and unarmed on the opponents side of the board. You win by clearing all enemy pieces or guiding your King back to your side of the board. You can switch into your King’s view and move it, but if it gets caught and takes damage, it will be incapacitated for a short time.

Exclusives

Here’s what your pledge gets you. Every reward stacks with lower tiers, so the more you support, the more you unlock:

Exclusive Perks:

• Special Recognition: All backers will see their names displayed proudly in the game's credits.
• Special Discord Channel for Supporter Access: Receive behind the scenes insights and access to exclusive backer polls.
• Beta Access: Get access to closed beta access on Steam, a full month ahead of the open beta (for Knight tier and above). 
• Digital Sound Track: Recieve a copy of the games digital soundtrack (for Knight tier and above).
• Digital Art Pack: Recieve a digital art pack containing HD game art, concept art, and WIP sketches (for Bishop tier and above).
• Alpha Access: Closed alpha access on Steam (for Rook tier and above).

Exclusive Cosmetics:

• Emerald Weapon Camo: This cosmetic will only be accessible to your tier and higher
• Crown Weapon Charm: This cosmetic will only be accessible to your tier and higher
• Animated Galaxy Weapon Camo: This cosmetic will only be accessible to your tier and higher

Design your Own: 

• Emblem: I'll contact you to organise crafting a custom emblem. You'll get instant access to it before it is available for others to unlock/purchase.
• Weapon Charm: I'll contact you to organise crafting a custom weapon charm. You'll get instant access to it before it is available for others to unlock/purchase.
• Weapon Camo: I'll contact you to organise crafting a custom weapon camo. You'll get instant access to it before it is available for others to unlock/purchase.

Note: 'Design a' perks will have limitations i.e. no inappropriate or crude designs.

There are no physical rewards for this campaign. Physical merch is expensive to produce and ship, and managing it would pull time away from development. Keeping everything digital means I can put the entire budget toward making Castle the best game it can be.

There are no copies of the game included in any rewards. That's because Castle is planned to be free at launch. Competitive multiplayer games work best with a large community, so putting a price tag on it would only slow things down. Making it free means anyone can jump in, convince a friend to try it, and help keep the matchmaking healthy from the very beginning.

Most of the long term support will come from optional cosmetic purchases. Nothing that affects gameplay, just visual customisation for players who want to back the project after trying it. This keeps the experience open to everyone while still giving the game a way to grow and stay supported over time.

Stretch Goals

• $51k - Base Goal: This will cover the costs to contract the base character models.
• $95k - 2v2 Mode: A 2v2 mode will be available by launch. Pair up with a mate and strategise together to secure victory!
• $125k - Bonus Weapons: A new batch of unique weapons will be included at launch!
• $170k - 3v3 Mode: A 3v3 mode and two bonus game modes will be available at launch. Lock in with two mates and strategise together to obliterate your opponent!
• $375k - Console Porting: The game will release on PlayStation and Xbox. Failing to reach this stretch goal does not rule out future releases down the line. 
• $485k - A Bonus Map: A bonus map will be available at launch!

Why Kickstarter?

So far, I've got here with over $20,000 of my personal investment, and I'm sure it will not end there. I've been working on Castle as hard as I can alongside my full-time job and shiftwork because I am truly passionate about releasing something that stands out as a new archetype in an oversaturated genre. 

In order to be able to develop Castle in a reasonable time frame and at the quality that is expected from modern, competitive games - I need to raise some funding to offload some of its development while retaining the quality I'm striving to achieve.

Whether this Kickstarter is successful or not will not deter me from continuing this project, but it will allow me to offset tasks and compliment my personal funding to access external contracts to expedite development of this game. 

Budget

I’m seeking to raise $51,000. The funding will go toward producing the core character models based on the existing concept art above.

The current characters look great, but they’re built from publicly available assets and aren’t assembled or optimised for what the project needs. Since organic 3D modelling is easily my weakest skill, it made the most sense to focus my crowdfunding efforts on getting this part handled by professionals. This way I can focus my efforts on other areas of the game and drastically reduce the overall length of development. 

Roadmap

Commitments

• Funding Investments: All funding earned through this Kickstarter within the base goal will be directly invested towards the development of Castle by means of external contracts, tools, or running costs of software/servers related. Backers will be advised where each piece of funding is being invested as it happens.
• No Pay To Win: This game will not contain any in-game purchases that provides a competitive advantage against other players.
• No Cryptocurrency: This game will not use blockchain technology of any kind.
• Fortnightly Updates: Tune in for fortnightly progress updates. They will be found here on Kickstarter, as well as our official YouTube channel, Discord and other social media. 

Meet The Developer

Cooper works in Queensland as a full-time paramedic, but in his spare time has accumulated over a decade of experience in programming, and game development. Over the years, he has worked on numerous personal projects, particularly within the FPS Genre, and completed various freelance work.

Castle began as a long held idea of a tactical, team-based shooter where you maintain full team control through the first person perspective. It wasn't until early 2024 where this idea started evolving into a physical concept. 

ReignFall Games is the recently established business name Cooper operates under for game development.  

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