Arcade Game Idea: Lucario's Chess Battles.

Hello chess lovers! So I was wondering if this arcade game idea looks interesting to you chess players: https://www.deviantart.com/ricardomcneilpkx/art/Arcade-game-idea-Lucario-s-Chess-Battles-841063421

In the demo, there will be some gameplay showing, along with an intro with the lines of: ''Chess, the world's oldest, and greatest strategy game, comes to life! As you play as Lucario, you will test your chess skills and intellect against opponents everywhere. Compete in the tournament and beat CPU opponents in Story Mode, and win a prize. Compete against online opponents in Online mode. Use your strategy, and outsmart your opponent in the ultimate game of intelligence...'' Then it will show the title screen.

In this arcade game, your goal is the same as in western chess, and that is to checkmate your opponent's king while protecting yours. In Story Mode, you will play as Lucario, a Pokemon who, after practicing his chess skills, has decided to compete in a tournament to test his tactical and strategy skills, rather than simply winning the prize.

Each opponent ranged from their skill levels, ranging from 1, the complete beginner, all the way to 25, the grandmaster. As you progressed through the game, the harder the chess AI will become, forcing you to play more strategically and to take your time. When the game started, you will be randomly chosen to be either the White or Black side, and the White side will always go first.

If you manage to beat all of these opponents without losing once, then you will face a secret boss, which is Lucario himself! This time, he will use everything he's got to beat you and won't hold back. He will even use his Aura Analysis just like you do, and you will have to defeat him without it. If you win against Lucario, he will congratulate you, and bow respectfully to you and even say: ''The Aura is with you!'' and you will be rewarded with the upgraded version of the Aura Analysis.

This time, when using it, you will first make a move of what you were going to make, then try to move your opponent's piece to see what he might make when you try to make your move, creating some continuation as to what might happen when you make a move you wanted to make.

You will also have to deal with a 10-minute time limit in each turn, similar to Blitz in chess, and if the opponent's time ran out, you win, and if your time has run out, then you lose. In Online mode, you can create your own profile and even take a snapshot at your face to create your persona.

After that, you can compete against opponents from all over the world, and if the opponent isn't found within 30 seconds, then the game will have you battle against CPU opponents instead, although if the online challenger decided to join, the game against CPU will usually end, and so you will have to battle against online players.

You can then save and load your profile and progress through the use of Pin Password, similar to arcade games in 2010s in the US, as long as it's easy to remember, including your own phone number.

The arcade game also has it's own anti-cheat detection system installed, which means every time you bring up the Chess.com app from your iPhone or iPad, the game will immediately detect it and you will be prohibited from using them to use chess engines on them to cheat in the game, forcing you to turn off your iPhone or iPad, or to place them safely somewhere else.

The game will also detect chess moves from text messages as well, meaning you cannot rely on others to help you with the game either. There is a feature you can use in this game, and that's called: ''Aura Analysis.''

During the chess game, you can use this feature in order to make a move you want to make, and then the game will tell you to think about what will happen after you make that move, which will reduce your chance of making a blunder by 95%, improving your chess skills. This feature is unlimited in use, but it does not stop the timer during the game, so at some point, you'll need to think fast while using it.

In Story Mode, there are some opponents that you have to compete against where Aura Analysis is not allowed. That means you'll have to use other techniques to help you make less blunders yourself, like the ''Writing Down Moves Before Making Them.'' technique, where you can pretend to write down the moves with a pen or pencil.

This arcade game also has a PGN feature, as after the chess game ended, you have to option to print the PGN of moves you and your opponent made for analysis purposes.

During the beginning of Story Mode, Lucario will help guide you through on how to play the game. First, he will ask you if you know how to play chess. If you selected No, then Lucario will tell you the history of chess, and will teach you how to play, usually by guiding you through each rules of chess, and how the pieces move.

If you selected Yes, then Lucario will ask you which level you believe you're on, from level 1 to 25. Then after that, he will guide through the feature, Aura Analysis, explaining how to use it. Then, he will make you practice your own chess skills by playing against a complete beginner CPU opponent.

After that, he will tell you: ''Good luck, human... Actually, I think I should say, 'Try your best, human. You will be on your own from now on.'' Then, you're off to compete against CPU opponents.

The AI in this arcade game will be designed like a real life human played it, including in the same style as chess grandmasters, from Magnus Carlsen, Garry Kasparov, Hikaru Nakamura, Simon Williams, etc. In Online mode, you will be challenged at some point by these chess grandmasters, with their real life portrait of them speaking to you, usually greeting you before playing.

In the game, they will be seen in the top left screen of their facial expression, and depending the situation, they will be thinking, or looked to be doomed if you're winning the game. They will also give you feedback based on your own moves, if it's strange, if it's a good move, if it's a blunder, etc.

If they're in a position where they're most definitely going to be checkmated, or lose the game because of the continuation, they will always resign, and you will win.

The music will also have the same feel and atmosphere as in Tenkaichi Shogikai, but with the medieval tone to it, like in the movie Lucario and The Mystery of Mew, in scenes where Lucario and Sir Aaron interacted with each other.

The game also has an RPG element to it, as each time you made any good moves, tactics, or won or lose any chess game, etc, you will be awarded EXP points, and you will usually begin at Lvl 1.

There are also other modes in Story Mode and Online mode, like Crazyhouse Chess, Bughouse Chess, and even Four Player Chess. However, Standard Chess Mode is available in both Story Mode and Online Mode if neither of these variants are your thing.

You also have the option to customize the chess board to your liking, from the classical chess board style, to even other chess sets, including the No Stress Chess set, and even the QuadPro Magnetic Chess set.

If the game managed to get successful, it might be released in the US, the UK, the rest of Europe, and possibly Japan. It might also be released in Spring of 2026. And its AI would probably have to tested by real life grandmasters like Magnus Carlsen, Garry Kasparov, Hikaru Nakamura, etc. I hope you chess players find this idea interesting.

Also, if you guys want to see the game play of what Tenkaichi Shogikai looks like, YouTube links will be right here:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fjTZejVVelc

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oknb9dhynLo&t=

What do you guys think? Pretty interesting idea, right?

Hmm, I would say maybe at Dave and Busters. Or maybe at a Japanese arcade.

Yeah, I think it might take a little too long to play.

It depends on how long you might face an opponent, but I don't blame you. When it comes to trying to beat harder opponents, it might take a while.

Oh don't worry, the game will give you the option to skip the tutorial.

I will say what I think about this
(I immediately apologize, I have weak English, I write and read for a long time and poorly, so the text was written with the help of a translator)

I think that a game exclusively in the format of chess duels will not be in demand - repeated games with a computer will quickly become boring. In addition, the player’s skills in practice grow very slowly: if opponents become stronger with each game, after a few games the new player will be in a hopeless situation (you can add various cheats, but then it will cease to be a game of chess). It would probably be better to do something like interactive learning to play chess: a familiar character will gradually teach the player not only the rules of the game, but also its basic principles and techniques (the player can skip topics if he is confident in them). Add problem solving to the plot (for example, to get into the arena the player needs to prove that he knows how to play chess and solve the problem, or at the last moment you come to the aid of your friend and tell him the decisive move). To introduce chess clocks and various time controls, etc. To learn the basics of the opening theory (for example, to make it easier to defeat the boss, who always plays this very beginning), typical endgames. Well, of course, each game played should be analyzed in detail at the end.
The level of computer game in practical games needs to be somehow adjusted to the real strength of the player.

I don’t really understand how in chess it is possible to realize gaining experience / resources. Need a store? Skill system? What can you get there? What for? I should think.

Although this sounds interesting, it was not what I was expecting. It seems too long for an arcade game. Perhaps for home?

I owned Battle Chess in the late 70's. It was played on a computer like regular chess except that when a piece was captured a "battle" broke out showing combat between the pieces. Of course, the capturing piece always won and each battle was different. It was comical and lots of fun, for what it was. Apparently it has been updated with much better graphics; however, I have never seen it in this area . . .

Hmmm... There seems to be all people who think it will take too long. Maybe I should remove the Story Mode entirely then. 

Think about it, though... after corona we might not even have arcades!!!

Oh yeah, that's the part I'm worried about. We might not even play the arcades anymore after the coronavirus... I hope it won't be the case though.

Do you even chess? 10 minute limit for one turn? and you really expect someone to play out 60-80 move games? most games against online opposition will stall endlessly. would be way more interesting having lets say 3 minutes for an entire game, but being able to move around the pieces to check up on blunders so you have to balance accurate calculation/analysis and speed. anyway, people dont like playing against computers, their way of playing is mostly disgusting and leaves a bad aftertaste even if you win. so imho humans will always prefer playing other humans. however if you manage to incorporate pvp play into a bigger story you might create something useful and interesting.

Gotcha. I'll try to make it 3 minutes for the entire game.

Oh yeah, sorry, I meant 10 minutes for each game. ''most games against online opposition will stall endlessly.'' Hmm, not sure about that. 

Alright guys, so I think I may have tried to drag out the game for too long, so I want to change some things. For the timer, I meant that the timer worked in the same way in Blitz chess, but this time, I'll reduce the time to 3 minutes or maybe 2 to make it more bearable.

I might keep the Story Mode, however, I'll also add a Continue screen each time you lose or win against any opponent, just so you won't have to play it forever. However, you also have the ability to save your progress or don't save after you don't want to continue, just so you won't have to deal with beating the same opponents over and over again.

Sorry that I made this arcade game look boring for you chess lovers.

Also, Lucario is my favorite Pokemon. And I intended to make him a really smart Pokemon and protagonist for my game idea, Kemono Ga Gotoku, since Lucarios can detect auras, and even read their opponent's feelings as well, and I figure that since Lucario is one of the smartest Pokemons, I figured, why not make him a smart chess player? lol I know it's kind of cliched, but that's what I intended to see Lucario as.

I don’t judge... much