Artist Jakub Rozalski, best known for his 1920+ series of illustrations, had been hinting at a Real Time Strategy game based on his art for a while but there were no official details to be found. Today, KING Art Games has announced that they will be developing an RTS for Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and PC entitled Iron Harvest.
The 1920+ world is set in an alternate history, post-WWI Europe in which Nikola Tesla created a huge factory that gave birth to incredible technological breakthroughs such as giant mechs. Information is limited about the game at this point, and there is no official release date, although there are a few animations on display on the Iron Harvest website, and there is a plethora of Jakob's art to be seen. We do know that the game picks up a few years after WWI, where the radical technology introduced during the war are becoming a part of everyday life. The official site does give some small details about planned gameplay including the following:
After World War 1 farmers found a plethora of unexploded ordnance, barbed wire, weapons, shrapnel and bullets while ploughing their fields. They called it the Iron Harvest.Iron Harvest is a real-time strategy game (RTS) for Playstation 4, Xbox One and PC, set in the alternate reality of 1920+.
You lead hero characters, mechs, and soldiers into battle. Cover mechanics and dynamic destruction play a major role in combat. Your squads take cover automatically, but a simple brick wall will only offer protection against small calibers, not against mech-mounted cannons.
Throughout its open sandbox levels you have to find your own way to reach the goals set by the dynamic story line.
This isn't the first time a game has been designed based on Jakub's art. The board game Scythe, which is in the running for TechRaptor's boardgame of the year, has met with great success. The 1920+ story established in the board game is interesting, and Iron Harvest only looks to expand on the story of 1920+, while giving players a way to interact with the world in a more immersive way. So far three factions have been announced for the game; Polania, Rusviet, and Saxony. There is no mention of whether those are going to be the only factions in the game. For comparison, the board game also contains Albion, Togawa, Nordic and Crimea.
KING Art Games has worked on a number of titles in the past including The Dwarves, The Book of Unwritten Tales 1 & 2, and BattleWorlds:Kronos and they have a fairly solid track record, even if the latter game was somewhat lacking. Keep an eye on iron-harvest.com and TechRaptor for more information as the development of Iron Harvest continues.
Quick Take
Jakub's art is what initially interested me in Scythe, which turned out to be fantastic, but I am a bit more reserved with Iron Harvest based on the time I spent with Battle Worlds: Kronos. The art and world are well developed enough that this could be a real winner if they can provide solid RTS gameplay.
What do you think about Iron Harvest? Are you interested in the 1920+ setting? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
