FPS Chess is, as its name suggests, chess, with a first-person twist.
Then again, the title also raises a good question: is chess already played in first person?
Though, it must be said, no actual pointing is done.
Every time a piece attempts a capture, we cut to first person for the ensuing bout.
Look at the bishops, brandishing Holy Hand Grenades and gliding, on borrowed wings, into battle.
And watch the queen, wielding a Gatling gun and hurling pieces with regal telepathy.
The world cracks and panic floods in.
FPS Chess pays homage to its inspiration by breaking its rules.
Thus, it joins the ranks of variations that have hovered at the margins of chess throughout history.
But with a modding community like this, who cares?
These variants may cease to be chess, but they never cease to beaboutchess.
In mocking its rules, they tease out fresh meaning.
The game underneath is untouched, standing firm even as it falls to pieces.
