Essay 3: Chess has Baggage

This essay is the third and final essay in a series about repurposing board games for RPGs. I wrote it as part of the design process for Violent Delights: A chess-based RPG about Shakespeare’s Romeo & Juliet. An Epic TaskI am working on a game called Violent Delights, which is a chess-based RPG about Shakespeare’s Romeo & Juliet. Yes, I know what you are thinking. That is an epic task! I am seeking to invoke — nay, to challenge — one of the all-time greats! A goliath of the West stands before me, and his name is… Shakespeare? No. Well, him too.But I’m talking about chess, one of the most widespread and influential games in the world. You’ve Got BaggageTo be blunt, the central challenge that I’ve faced in writing this game is baggage — of Shakespeare, chess, the Firebrands mini-games that I adapt. All games have baggage. But that baggage is especially clear when you’re trying to adapt existing art, like the plot from Romeo & Juliet, the mechanics of chess, or public domain…