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Dear Jeroen
Thank you very much for your interesting and comprehensive reply.
I am able to share the idea of the variant, but this would be conditional on signing a Non-disclosure Agreement (NDA). There are two reasons for this:
First, our team would like to protect the IP. Although the IP around the variant has been patented in United States, it is still going through the necessary steps in UK and Europe. Please understand this caution, especially as so much investment has gone into legal fees already.
Second, I feel that it is important to comprehensively test the UX as this variant represents a subtle departure from historical norms. Designing fascinating and well-balanced sets of game rules is not easy. Modern chess has evolved over centuries, but without a corresponding historical reference, it is difficult to forecast how rule changes would affect game dynamics. Rule design is an important component of game development, and even little changes to game rules can have a significant impact on a game's overall playability and game dynamics. The process of fine-tuning and balancing rule sets in games is difficult to predict theoretically. Within the variant I described earlier, there are 2-3 variations of the main theme that could do with further testing. This brings me to my next point.
What I would like to create initially is a minimum viable product (MVP). This could be done, for example, by taking an existing chess app and modifying it so that it can be played online. This game is best played human vs human. Playing it against the computer would give the human a strong handicap (in a way this is the opposite philosophy to Twilight Chess if you are familiar with that variant). One notable feature of the new variant is the elevated degree of decision complexity for human players. Having said that, I also feel that only slight modifications are needed to adapt existing chess engines.
In terms of languages, Python seems to be the lingua franca so that would do fine. For Android some kind of Java wrapper would likely be required, as Android likes Java.
So far, the variant has been shown to a small group of London-based chess enthusiasts and one GM. The results have been positive and there is a strong consensus that the idea has merit. Once the MVP is built and the necessary legal matters finalised, it seems a sensible idea to show the game in silico to a wider group of people to identify distinct attributes that can be further varied either in UX or configuration. After that, an agency will be commissioned to build the final version for Android/iOS and Steam.
I hope this information is helpful and, once again, thank you for your comments so far. Needless to say, please do not hesitate to let me know if you require any further information.
Charles
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