505 Games and Pipeworks’ Early Access title, Prominence Poker, may be somewhat of a mixed-genre game where it combines elements of role-playing with traditional tabletop poker playing, but at the core of it all it’s still a hardcore poker game. In order to nail down the specifics and gain a proper edge in bringing the age-old card game to life, developers Pipeworks decided to bring in professional poker player Max Pescatori to help them nail the realism and themes of professional poker.
A brief press release was issued following Prominence Poker recently having entered into Early Access. The game is free-to-play and has been picking up quite the following due to its gameplay and multiplayer functionality.
The real draw is in how the game is played, and that was achieved with the help of Pescatori. As mentioned by the president of Pipeworks, Lindsay Gupton…
“The addition of Max Pescatori on the project allowed us to hone in on the specifics of poker to help recreate the at-the-table intensity of playing poker,” […] “With his expertise, we improved the game’s pacing in multiplayer to keep the game exciting and focused on nailing the smallest details to perfection — like how to bluff, what certain tells mean and how to read other players.”
It’s interesting because with avatars it would seem like a difficult thing to pull off – trying to convey a tell or a bluff from one avatar to the next. Couldn’t players always bluff that they have a great hand? Or always bluff that they have a horrible hand? Well, it’s all about finding that balance so that there’s a measure of strategy and depth to the game beyond just calling and folding. As explained by Pescatori, Pipeworks was all about adding complexity to the age-old game of Texas Hold ’em…
“”Prominence Poker is highly stylized with a compelling storyline, so it’s an honor to contribute to a poker game that values the strategy, depth and complexities of Texas Hold ‘em,” […] “Given Pipeworks’ proven track record with poker mechanics in World Series of Poker: Full House Pro, it’s been great to offer my experience to help them bring the table experience to life in Prominence Poker.”
Gamers obviously seem to like it given the current positive rating on the Steam store. So Pipeworks is most definitely on the right track.
The game is free-to-play so there’s nothing to lose but bandwidth and hard drive space if you plan on giving it a go. Later on this year they plan on releasing the title in full on PC, PS4 and Xbox One. You can learn more about Prominence Poker by either checking out the Steam store page or by paying a visit to the official website.
(Main image courtesy of Les.pls.gorw,up)
