Threes dev unveils speedy local multiplayer RTS Close Castles

Threes and Puzzlejuice creator Asher Vollmer has revealed his next game as the hyper fast strategy game Close Castles.

Unlike other RTS games, rounds of Close Castles should transpire in about three minutes or so. See, Close Castles is built for local multiplayer where you simply move a cursor around a cramped environment and press buttons to rapidly erect buildings.

"There's no hidden information. This means that the game feels a lot more like a fighting game at higher levels," Vollmer explained on the PlayStation Blog. "It becomes about reading your opponent and turning the tiny cracks in their strategy into a crumbling pile of failure/rubble. This game is all about destroying buildings, so there's a lot of rubble in it."

Vollmer noted that Threes was an experiment in minimalising the puzzle genre while Close Castles will do the same for RTS games. "Let's face it: RTSes are miserable pain engines designed to give players the worst possible experience," he said. "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 40-or-so minutes. You play until someone gives up. They are lonely exercises in sadomasochism."

Close Castles is coming to "consoles" in 2015, though exact platforms have yet to be announced. Vollmer confirmed a PS4 version at least.