Skip to main content

GDC 2013: ‘Knights of Pen & Paper: +1 Edition’ coming to Steam, mobile platforms

Knights of Pen and Paper
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Brazilian developer Behold Studios is bringing its neat iOS/Android game Knights of Pen & Paper to the PC, Mac, and Linux versions of Steam in the near future, under the guidance of Europa Universalis and Magicka publisher Paradox Interactive. The enhanced version of the mobile game – retitled Knights of Pen & Paper: +1 Edition – is also pegged for an iOS and Android re-release with all of the new content that the Steam versions will bring.

+1 Edition adds a number of new elements to the game. Taverns are now accessible in towns, allowing players to swap out characters in their party for new ones, with the old ones being stored in a sort of bank. Dungeons are also a fresh addition, giving players an opportunity to earn more loot and XP in combat-focused multi-room maps. In addition to the added bits of content, +1 Edition also features a revised combat system that adds elemental damage, enemy resistances, and variable damage (instead of the fixed totals of the original).

Recommended Videos

For those who aren’t familiar, Knights of Pen & Paper offers an unusual take on a video game RPG. A table occupied by pen and paper RPG gamers always sits in the foreground of the screen, with actual human players – ie YOU – creating both a group of die-rolling avatars for each one’s in-RPG avatar. It’s undeniably clever, but also addictive and charmingly retro, thanks to the 16-bit pixel art that colors in the world.

The currently available iOS/Android versions offer microtransactions in the form of bundles of gold, the in-game currency. We’re told that Behold and Paradox will “probably” be bringing this option to the Steam release, though it’s hardly a requirement for enjoying the game.

Other details are still being figured out as well, such as how the +1 Edition upgrade will be delivered to those who already own Knights of Pen & Paper on their mobile device. There may or may not be a cost attached to adding the new content to those older mobile versions, though Paradox claims a commitment to not letting existing players suffer. We’ll just have to wait until the details are finalized. The game is great though, and these new features seem very promising.

Adam Rosenberg
Former Gaming/Movies Editor
Previously, Adam worked in the games press as a freelance writer and critic for a range of outlets, including Digital Trends…
We need to start having real conversations about AI in gaming
Copilot Quake II game.

AI has become a dirty word across almost every discipline over the past few years. As big corporations keep pushing this technology forward, a vocal resistance among creatives, critics, and passionate communities has risen up in opposition. While every creative medium is at risk of AI influence now, gamers are particularly sensitive about this technology sucking the creativity and human element from our beloved medium. Even the mere mention of AI being used in game development triggers a massive backlash, but we need to start being more nuanced in how we talk about the ways AI should and should not be used. Because, like it or not, AI is going to become more ubiquitous in gaming. We can't keep talking about AI as though it is a black-and-white thing. It is a tool, and like any tool, there are ways it can be used appropriately.

The question we need to ask ourselves now is, when is it ethical to use and what crosses the line?

Read more
Mecha Break is the closest I’ve felt to piloting a real Gundam outside Japan
Key art for Mecha Break.

In 2015, in a mostly-empty arcade in Fukuoka, I slid into the pilot seat of a Gundam.

I pulled the door down, watching as it seamlessly merged with the rest of the wall and turned into a display of my surroundings. As I pulled the earpiece down, the radio crackled to life as other pilots greeted me through comms.

Read more
Still shopping? Amazon Prime Day deals going strong into day 4
We're bringing you the best Prime Day deals throughout the sales period
Best Prime Day Gift Card Deals

It’s the fourth and final day of the longest ever Amazon Prime Day event, and if you thought the best deals were behind us, think again. Amazon’s stretching this year’s event across four full days (July 8 -11 ) which means price drops are still rolling in hot, with fresh discounts landing on everything from big-name tech to everyday essentials.

There have been stellar savings so far, with the AirPods Pro 2 heading down to $149 as the best saving we've seen.

Read more