Road Warriors Unleashed: Unraveling the Revolutionary Impact of Twisted Metal and Carmageddon on Vehicular Chaos

In Chaos on Wheels, a world ruled by an AI overlord named Helios, humanity's only hope lies in the hands of brave drivers who modify their cars with weapons and engage in vehicular warfare against the machine threat. Chaos on Wheels offers a thrilling experience of hardcore vehicular combat, reminiscent of the renowned Twisted Metal series. However, Acodeon, the development team behind the game, considers Chaos on Wheels to be a heartfelt tribute to the genre of vehicular combat games as a whole.

In a recent interview with Game Rant, Dominik Čondić from Acodeon discussed the influence of Carmageddon's intense car-on-car violence and the vehicular mayhem showcased in Twisted Metal on the creation of Chaos on Wheels. The 25-year-old developer expressed how the Twisted Metal franchise left a lasting impact on him during his childhood.

Car Combat is Still Cool

While Acodeon began the development of Chaos on Wheels three years ago, Dominik and his teammates, Aron Gašpić and Mislav Čondić, traced the origins of the idea back to their childhood when they played games like Twisted Metal. With a strong passion for gaming from a young age, their interest in video games only grew when they attended an IT school in high school. In college, Aron delved into studying Unreal Engine game development while Dominik focused on managing the artistic aspect.

Although Aron and Dominik had busy schedules with their side hustles, the team remained determined to create their own game. Realizing that they couldn't fully commit to studying and working with clients, they made the decision to drop out of college and establish their own company. During this pivotal moment, the team collaborated and chose their first official project, as Dominik explained.

When discussing our desired game concept, I couldn't help but recall my fondness for Twisted Metal and Carmageddon during my childhood. These games fascinated me and I cherished the vehicular combat they offered. Nowadays, Crossout is the only option, but it lacks substantial car combat elements. This prompted the idea: why not equip cars with guns and allow for destructive mayhem?

Dominik praised the enduring appeal of Twisted Metal's driving and shooting mechanics, even without experiencing all its sequels. He also acknowledged Carmageddon as a source of inspiration for chaotic vehicular destruction.

I was thrilled by the idea of not only selecting a car, but also customizing and building one for combat. Drawing from Twisted Metal's drive-and-shoot mechanics, we expanded the concept to allow players to personalize their cars. In the Chaos Garage, you can freely modify the color of your car and wheels before heading into battle.

A Love Letter to Vehicular Combat Games' Best Mechanics

When the team decided to create their vehicular combat game, Aron's initial prototype focused on studying combat mechanics involving a vehicle attacking a stationary turret. While their original plan was for cars to battle solely against cars, the team realized that adding environmental hazards like turrets could increase the excitement and intensity of their project. Subsequently, the turrets became the primary defenses used by the story's AI boss, Helios, to hinder players from completing their missions. These turrets in Chaos on Wheels were a representation of the team's design philosophy of "using what works," as they incorporated mechanics inspired by popular games such as Twisted Metal and Carmageddon while also adding their own unique touch.

The team began discussions about the excitement of creating their own game - combining elements they enjoyed from existing games and addressing any aspects they were dissatisfied with, in order to develop their ideal game.

Chaos on Wheels, similar to Twisted Metal in gameplay mechanics, fulfills Dominik's childhood desire for the latter game. Dominik distinctly recalls his love for the cars in the game but also wished for the option to upgrade or change their components. This inspired the development of Chaos on Wheels with a robust customization feature. In the Chaos Garage, players can equip their cars with up to four weapons (two guns, three missile launchers) in addition to stage pickups.

Furthermore, Dominik mentioned that Acodeon's future updates for Chaos on Wheels will be focused on enhancing features they loved and wanted to improve in the genre. For example, in games like Carmageddon, cars can be destroyed by collisions. Dominik wonders if they can introduce a melee weapon type in Chaos on Wheels that offers the same destructive capability. Building upon this concept, Dominik suggests that if destroying the entire car's armor renders its main health vulnerable, incorporating destructible armor pieces attached to specific car parts could introduce a more strategic element to the gameplay experience.

I am also a big fan of a feature in Carmageddon where you have the ability to drive and forcefully collide with other cars in order to demolish them. Although this feature is not currently included in our game, we are extremely interested in incorporating it in the future. We have been contemplating the idea of equipping your car with a powerful weapon at the front, allowing you to physically tear apart other vehicles upon impact. Ultimately, our decision to implement this feature will heavily rely on player feedback and popular demand. Chaos on Wheels is scheduled to be released on October 20 for PC and is currently available for Early Access on Steam.