The gaming world is abuzz with anticipation as Popularium Games sets its sights on revolutionizing the gaming landscape with “Chaos Agents,” a unique and ambitious free-to-play strategy game. This upcoming title seeks to transcend genre boundaries, merging the frenetic action of a battle royale with the strategic depth of an auto battler, all while promising players an experience like no other.
At first glance, the title “Chaos Agents” may appear enigmatic, but there’s nothing cryptic about the bold aspirations of Popularium Games for this innovative project. A brainchild of four industry luminaries, Popularium Games was founded in April and boasts a team that includes legendary game designer Richard Garfield, renowned as the creator of “Magic: The Gathering,” the world’s most popular trading card game. Joining him is Skaff Elias, who brings over 30 years of creative experience spanning video games, tabletop RPGs, and Magic itself. Hearthstone veteran Jonathan Bankard and former Microsoft business development manager Arka Ray complete this formidable group, with Ray serving as Popularium’s president and technical director.
For the team at Popularium, the foundation of “Chaos Agents” lies in the concept of “uniqueness.” Elias pointed out, “I can confirm that Richard [Garfield], for about 30 years now, has been interested in this unique deck thing. When we were first playing Magic, all the decks were unique […] every deck really did feel different. Magic [then] moved into this space where people were constructing their decks [instead of using random ones]. The uniqueness of what you own gets lost because you’re building towards this sort of internet-optimized build.”
In essence, “Chaos Agents” is positioned as a response to metagame-heavy titles like “Diablo 4” and “Overwatch 2.” Garfield emphasized that while “Chaos Agents” introduces unique characters, “it’s not like Diablo because in Diablo, everybody’s got particular character classes, and they can exploit it. Here, your characters will actually be unique; they have their own skills, and you will become the world expert in managing your character.”
This focus on character uniqueness represents one of the “three principle pillars” of the game. The other two foundational elements are deeply rooted in the design principles of both battle royale and auto battler genres.
Elias highlighted the allure of auto battlers, stating, “The idea that you could get the richness of a computer interaction and all this detailed gameplay, but, as a player, not be bound by twitch and [be] able to participate at all levels of skill – that’s a really appealing thing […] It’s [also] very good for handling lots of players.” This is where the battle royale component comes into play.
In a hands-off preview of an early build of “Chaos Agents,” the game showcased an isometric arena where players alternate between planning phases and battle phases. In the planning phase, players strategize and choose abilities for their character, which the AI then executes in the battle phase. These phases rotate every 20 seconds in what Garfield referred to as the “lean forward and lean back loop.”
However, “Chaos Agents” introduces a unique twist to the conventional auto battler formula. Unlike the typical one-on-one engagements, “Chaos Agents” features a continuous match, with players facing off against numerous bespoke characters. Jonathan Bankard elaborated, “One of the big innovations for us in the battling phase is that it’s one continuous match. It’s not a series of one-v-one battles like you would see in a traditional auto battler.”
The integration of the battle royale element aligns with Popularium’s intention to leverage the format’s social and accessible nature. By facilitating battles among a multitude of different combatants, “Chaos Agents” aims to create an environment where players feel comfortable experimenting and embracing the occasional failure. Arka Ray emphasized, “You don’t expect to be number one; that immediately relieves a lot of pressure and makes the game more social.”
Furthermore, the introduction of the auto battler element serves to enhance the realm of social interaction and community building. During the “lean back” time, players can spectate, converse, and engage in banter, a feature not often feasible when players are constantly clicking buttons and monitoring interactions.
In “Chaos Agents,” the objective extends beyond players acting as mere “coaches” to their AI-controlled characters. It empowers players to become spectators and actively participate in the game’s downtime phases, which may include minigames around betting and the usual taunting and chatting.
As for the procedurally generated characters in “Chaos Agents,” the game employs a distinctive approach to their creation. Each character possesses a unique skill tree that gradually unlocks throughout a match, reminiscent of MOBAs like “DOTA 2.” These skill trees draw from three of the game’s “colors of mana,” providing a glimpse into each character’s strengths and weaknesses.
To maintain character uniqueness, skills are drawn from decks of potential permutations, which are selected when the character is generated to create a bespoke skill tree. According to Arka Ray, “The layout [of the skills] is also going to be different; each character here is going to have a different set.” This means that in battle, players have the freedom to make diverse choices for utilizing their character’s skills, making every character’s experience distinct.
Despite this diversity, the team behind “Chaos Agents” is committed to ensuring that every character stands on its own as a fun, exciting, and complete package. Jonathan Bankard reinforced this notion, stating that “each should be a fun, exciting, and complete package in and of itself.”
As “Chaos Agents” continues its development journey, Popularium Games is certainly making a resounding statement with its ambitious approach. While the game’s ultimate success remains uncertain, the project is shaping up to be a promising venture that aims to redefine gaming conventions.
