The Chinese Room's next project has a lighter tone, but is "no less weird"

Everybody's Gone to the Rapture developer The Chinese Room has provided more information on its new, isometric RPG Total Dark.

Alongside yesterday's PC announcement of its latest, the firm teased the new project which started life as a tabletop "RPG boardgame."

Inspiration for Total Dark came from studio director Dan Pinchbeck's fondness for pen-and-paper games such as Traveller, Paranoia, and Twilight 2000.

"It's a much more traditional game, an isometric adventure with a free-floating camera and lots of mechanics," he told RPS. "It will make some people happy while other people are going to wonder if we have the right experience to make that sort of game. But we absolutely do.

"Most people know us because of Dear Esther and now Everybody's Gone to the Rapture, it's easy to assume that's the kind of game we will always make and have always made. What they may not realize is that we were developing mods alongside Dear Esther. One of them was [2008's Half-Life 2 soccer mod] Antlion Soccer."

Pinchbeck wouldn't go into further detail on Total Dark, instead teasing it wouldn't be as "bleak" as previous titles, and at the same time "no less weird."

The Chinese Room's goal is to have a playable prototype of Total Dark finished by the end of April.