What Warhammer, and Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun, means to Auroch Digital

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Auroch Digital’s Studio Director, Tomas Rawlings, is a long time Warhammer fan. When we say long time, we mean he started playing Warhammer with 3rd edition Warhammer Fantasy Battle and Warhammer 40,000 with 1st edition (both launched in 1987!)

We’ve just announced Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun, make sure to check out the Store pages, Steam page, watch the trailer, and wishlist the game!

With this announcement Tom wanted to share a few thoughts on how much this game means to us as a studio, and what Warhammer means to him personally.

The reply to 14 year old Tom’s letter to Games Workshop with some design ideas.

Unsurprisingly, as a long time fan, this project is something I’m both hugely excited to work on, and to play. It’s a dream project.

For me there’s a certain full circle here, as back in 1989 was my first attempt at some game design that was vaguely commercial when I wrote some rules for both Warhammer Fantasy and Warhammer 40K and sent them in to Games Workshop. They were kind enough to reply.

Here we are 33 years later from that amateur game design work, yet Games Workshop and Warhammer are still a huge part of my life. And now I’m part of a Warhammer project with Games Workshop, one that references my past love of the setting, yet is very much a future-facing game with the technology and gameplay that powers it.

So now imagine me, in one hand I’m raising a tankard of Bugmans and in the other a Boltgun, both up to the sky in salute of a constant that has been in my life for over 35 years and I can’t ever see it not being a part of me.

If you want to hear some more on my thoughts here, we did a podcast looking at the early genesis of the mighty Warhammer 40,000. So please do Wishlist Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun, and then have a listen.

For the Emperor! For Sigmar!

- Tomas Rawlings, Auroch Digital Studio Director

Make sure to check out the trailer for Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun, announced by us and Focus at the Skull Sale! We are incredibly excited about the game and really proud of our awesome trailer:

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Chainsaw Warrior - The End of an Era

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Chainsaw-Warrior.png

Written by Tomas Rawlings, Auroch Digital CEO.

All good things must come to an end, and so this blog post notes that Auroch Digital’s publishing rights for Chainsaw Warrior will be expiring on 31st May 2021. This means that from that date onwards you’ll not be able to buy a copy of either Chainsaw Warrior or Chainsaw Warrior: Lords of the Night on any platform. Though if you own it already, you’ll still be able to play it in your Steam library or, if it is on your mobile drive now, on there. For those who want any support on the game, we’ll keep the game pages up here and here on our site with information on them to help out.

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Chainsaw Warrior is a game that does, and will, forever hold a special place in my heart. The original was published by Games Workshop in 1987 and as a young gamer I loved it then. It is a solo board game where the player has to race against the clock to save New York from destruction at the hands of a strange entity called ‘Darkness’. While solo games (or versions of games) are quite common now in board games, back in 1987 this was a rare thing! It was also really, really hard - which is a good thing if it costs weeks of pocket money to buy; you got your money’s worth without doubt!

I loved the game and its aesthetic so much that many years later when I got the amazing opportunity to work with Games Workshop on a digital title, I asked if we could bring Chainsaw Warrior to digital screens and GW kindly said yes! So it was in September 2013, 26 years after the original release, that we brought it to mobile to some rave reviews. 148apps described it as "a brutally awesome good time" while Gamercast wrote it was an accurate adaptation of the original, saying it has "everything you want in a digitised version of the Games Workshop classic". As part of this, I was honoured to get to interview the games original creator, Stephen Hand. A month later in October of 2013 we released it on Steam too. This was our first Steam release and opened the doors to that key gaming platform to us.

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Just under two years later, in 2015, we released a sequel game, Chainsaw Warrior: Lords of the Night, which saw the eponymous Chainsaw Warrior headed to the jungles of South America. Chainsaw Warrior: Lords of the Night sees the player fighting against hordes of Aztec Zombies, and the clock, to save reality itself from Darkness. We have more rave reviews for the sequel, including “Overall, Chainsaw Warrior: Lords of Night is a really nice surprise. It’s straightforward fun and it really works.” (8/10 – Retro 101) and “Chainsaw Warrior: Lords of the Night has a hugely addictive gameplay and that’s where its key strength lies.” (8.5/10 – Game Debate). 

I’m hugely proud of both games and it was a real privilege to be allowed to work with a bit of gaming history which has both a personal and professional connection to me. Chainsaw Warrior opened a path to working with Games Workshop for Auroch Digital and fulfilled a life-long wish to work on Games Workshop titles.

While this chapter of gaming has ended, we’re happy to say our relationship with Games Workshop has not; you can grab the other 80s classic, Dark Future here. There will be more to say too in the future…

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The End is Nigh: Games Workshop's cult classic 'Dark Future' returns heralding the beginning of the end

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Dark Future, the cult Games Workshop board game of clashing highway warriors, set in a post-apocalyptic wasteland that was once America, is getting a reboot from Auroch Digital.
The Bristol-based indie developers are known for their acclaimed version of another Games Workshop classic, Chainsaw Warrior, as well as for GameTheNews, an initiative that blurred the lines between reality and gaming, and included titles such as NarcoGuerra.

Auroch’s Dark Future: Blood Red States is supported by the Wellcome Trust, and will be a turn-based strategy game, played out in simultaneous real-time action. The gameplay is a furious mix of hammering chain-guns, tactical high-speed manoeuvres and the ripping of metal as vehicles smash into one another. All the action is conducted against a dark background of the decline of humanity; too wild to be true and too close for comfort. The game is due Spring/Summer 2016.

Dark Future was originally released as a board game in 1988, and later expanded into a series of books. The world it inhabits is a very different reality; cyberpunk more weird than wired.
It's an alternative, bleak, hollowed out America, in 2023. The major cities are either corporate controlled high-tech gated communities (Patrolled Zones, or PZs) for those who can pay, or lawless shanty towns for those who can't (NoGos). Between these is 'The Big Empty', the polluted, wasted Red States of America where vicious gangs hunt and fight. The atrophied state has all but given up trying to impose law and order here and instead relies on a new breed of bounty hunter come highway warrior to keep the roads open, the Sanctioned Operative.

Into this fractured new world the player must make their fortune. The player runs a Sanctioned Ops agency; taking on missions for bounty outside the PZs. As well as the tactical action on the road, the player must also manage both the vehicles and drivers – from upgrades to the front-mounted HMGs to booking a driver into the clinic for a new set of bionic eyes.
More information about our descent into darkness can be found at DarkFuture.info and @DarkFutureNews. Stay in the loop with Dark Future: Blood Red States by following Auroch Digital on Facebook and Twitter.

 

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Chainsaw Warrior Review Contest

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COMPETITION NOW CLOSED - WE HAVE A WINNER! 

Join us on an epic journey with Chainsaw Warrior for an opportunity to win a boxed copy of the classic (and long out of print) 1987 board game from Games Workshop, by writing a player review of the existing games in the style of an 80s action movie.

To win your very own boxed copy of the game, all you’ve got to do is to get your cliché on! Up for grabs is Stephen Hand’s seminal single player board game, Chainsaw Warrior, an instant classic upon its release in 1987, and Auroch Digital’s digital adaptations have only added to the legend. In a world where 80’s nostalgia reigns supreme, one man is fighting the forces of Darkness with a chainsaw! Hold on to your tropes, things are about to get clichéd...

We’re looking for short reviews of Auroch Digital’s ‘Chainsaw Warrior’ or ‘Chainsaw Warrior: Lords of the Night’, packed with as many action movie clichés as you can manage. Auroch Digital only have a single copy to give away, and it’s going to the player who crams the mostest and bestest into their review: “In a world…” “one man…” and anything you can think of that transports us back to 1987: If your review could be describing a Van Damme/Arnie/Stallone movie you’re on the right track. Extra points for recording yourself reading it in a Don La Fontaine voice!
 

PS. We should add we don't need it to be a positive review to enter; as long as it's creative, funny and in an 80s style then you can enter it and it might win! If you've already written a review and don't want to change it, you can submit it to us in another way!

WINNER - Doctor X

We asked you for entries that would transport us straight back to 1987 and Doctor X, AKA Captain Defenestrator, AKA Jim (he's very mysterious) went above and beyond by resurrecting the voice of the 80s action movie himself, Don LaFontaine! His review was left on the Chainsaw Warrior 1 Google Play page.

Well done to him, and massive thanks to everyone for their contributions. His copy of the original board game will be sent out today. 

Click on the image to see the extended screenplay for Chainsaw Warrior: The Movie, directed by the visionary Doctor X

Click on the image to see the extended screenplay for Chainsaw Warrior: The Movie, directed by the visionary Doctor X

Coverage:

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Auroch Digital's Dr Tomas Rawlings Delivers Keynote at PLAY15

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Auroch Digital's Dr Tomas Rawlings was invited to deliver the opening keynote for Hamburg's PLAY15 Festival of Games. Tomas spoke on the topic of games and democracy, talking about how video games, as simulations of complex systems help both engage and understand the democratic process. Auroch Digital wishes to thank the organisers of PLAY15 for their hospitality!

Dr Tomas Rawlings at PLAY15. Image courtesy of Games Ringvorlesung.

Dr Tomas Rawlings at PLAY15. Image courtesy of Games Ringvorlesung.

For further information on the talk; there is a video of it online (thanks to Elbe Studios) and also more links on Tomas' blog.

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Ballot Bots Game Launches for BBC Radio 1 Newsbeat

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Auroch Digital, through it's innovative newsgame initiative GameTheNews has been working with BBC Radio 1 Newsbeat to produce a game tied in to the upcoming UK general election. The final result is 'Ballot Bots', a light-hearted game aimed at engaging an audience facing it's first election. The game itself is a fun, puzzle-style game in which you have to pair up the Politician bots with their respective Voters, collecting bonuses along the way which allow you more moves, and answering questions for bonus points. These questions both inform and challenge the player to take up an interest in the world of politics. The player works their way towards Downing Street through various different zones which have been highlighted as key points within this election. They are; Education, Immigration, Housing, Cost of Living and the NHS. The game features politicians from all the main parties and the regions plus has a special Northern Ireland themed level. The game is available on the BBC's new interactive Taster service, which aims to promote digital and technology content.

Play the game here.
See Newsbeat's coverage of it here.

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Just 60 Minutes to Save the World as Chainsaw Warrior: Lords of the Night Launches to Mobile and Tablet

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Chainsaw Warrior: Lords of the Night, the sequel to the cult Games Workshop classic Chainsaw Warrior, gets its metal teeth into mobile and tablets today. Last time he saved New York, now he must save the whole world! This new incarnation finds the eponymous hero once more called on to complete a desperate mission against all odds. He must fight through the jungle, face hordes of Aztec Zombies, dodge deadly traps and finally hunt down the extra-dimensional horror known only as Darkness. To ramp up the challenge; there is just 60 minutes to complete this deadly mission. As Tomas Rawlings, Design & Production Director at Auroch Digital, remarked, “Chainsaw Warrior earned its cult status for its healthy dose of chainsaws, zombies and death – generally the player's death. Fans told us they loved that about the game, how often you die. We've listened and given them more mortality-based opportunities. The game was a great challenge back in 1987 and now with Lords of the Night we've build an experience where it is fun to die again and again – and the payoff when you finally win is such a great feeling of success!”

Chainsaw Warrior: Lords of the Night features three new decks packed with exciting traps and enemies, new weapons and equipment and new gameplay to challenge players at every turn. The game is packed with challenges and difficult decisions plus new mechanics such as the hard-won blessings to help you reach Darkness - or die trying! Equip yourself with new firearms, new chainsaws and the trusty the laser-lance as you once more fight through the hordes to Darkness and on to victory. The game has three challenging difficulty settings, including classic for those who want the truly gruelling experience of the original board game.
The game is out now on for iPhone and iPad at the App Store and on Google Play for Android at $5.99/€5.99/£4.49. For more information, visit the Chainsaw Warrior website at ChainsawWarrior.net. Stay in the loop with Chainsaw Warrior by following Auroch Digital on Facebook and Twitter.

Coverage (so far):

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Darkness Returns - Chainsaw Warrior: Lords of the Night Announced

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Darkness Returns - Chainsaw Warrior: Lords of the Night Announced

Auroch Digital is pleased to announce the return of your favourite chainsaw toting, cybernetically enhanced super-soldier. The Chainsaw Warrior is back in Chainsaw Warrior: Lords of the Night due early 2015. Chainsaw Warrior, which came out on iOS, Android and Steam last year, was an adaptation of the 1987 classic from Games Workshop, famous for its challenging difficulty. Described as “an incredibly faithful adaptation” (Forbes) Chainsaw Warrior won support from fans of the board game and new players alike with its punishing campaign, and the sequel promises to maintain that intensity while adding stacks of new challenges to test players.

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NarcoGuerra Shortlisted for a Media Innovation Award!

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Auroch Digital's GameTheNews.net title, NarcoGuerra, a news game focusing on the War on Drugs in Mexico, has been nominated for an award in the Games category in the 2014 Media Innovation Awards. It is a real honour to be nominated alongside the other inventive and interesting projects released in the last year; Cbeebies Playtime (by Mobile Pie) and the Daredevil Project. NarcoGuerra is a game that we are very proud of. The attention it received and (more importantly) the debates it provoked gave us confidence that we had delivered on our remit of producing an informative and engaging game while dealing with a very sensitive subject matter.

NarcoGuerra - our newsgame looking at the War on Drugs.

NarcoGuerra - our newsgame looking at the War on Drugs.

Media Innovation Awards logo.

Media Innovation Awards logo.