Nic was recently interviewed by Nintendo Everything. He discusses Blast ‘Em Bunnies, escapeVektor’s future, eShop thoughts and more…
How did the concept for Blast ‘Em Bunnies come about?
Following on from Spirit Hunters Inc and escapeVektor which were both really well reviewed by most outlets and very well received by our fans we were looking for a game idea which could be a little more commercially focused.
We noticed that with escapeVektor it was getting a lot of great reviews and awards but for many players it was a hard sell due to its abstract nature. With Spirit Hunters Inc the video for the game went really high in the eShop charts but the transfer to sales was not at the same level. I came to the conclusion that both games were hard to market to players in a way that ensured they got the excitement and fun of the games. We knew if we could get people playing they would love them both but both concepts were perhaps a hard sell.
At the same time we had just come off two projects (escapeVektor and Spirit Hunters Inc) which had consumed several years of our lives so we wanted to do something shorter and more focused.
I’d had an idea for a target shooting game floating around in my head for a while and it was originally going to be an AR style game based in the Spirit Hunters universe. I really like the gameplay idea so it kept returning to me as something we should look at doing.
Welcome to the first in a series of three features detailing the ins and outs of escapeVektor™. This is our first release on PlayStation®Vita and first Nintendo eShop title, so we’re super excited to give you some details on what you’ll be up against!
Avoiding Patrols, Electric Fences & Cannons!
escapeVektor is a retro styled arcade game in which the player controls Vektor, an entity trapped inside the player’s CPU. Each node (level) consists of a series of interconnected lines which form cells. These are claimed as Vektor moves along them. Claiming all of the cells in a node unlocks the exit to the next node, bringing Vektor closer to his escape.
However, this is no ordinary CPU. It has held Vektor captive for what feels like an eternity and it doesn’t want him to leave now. As Vektor progresses with his escape, the CPU sets up obstacles and sends out its army to destroy him.
In the first part of our escapeVektor feature we have a look at one of the enemy types and some of the obstacles Vektor has to deal with during his escape. (more…)
Official Nintendo Magazine has previewed both Spirit Hunters Inc and the 3DS version of escapeVektor.
Of Spirit Hunters Inc the preview says, “This is a chunky game offering value for money rarely seen on DSiWare.” escapeVektor is described as “a beautiful game”.
Take a look at both previews below. You can get your hands on Spirit Hunters Inc from November 22nd. It will cost 800 Nintendo DSi Points on the Nintendo DSi Shop and US$7.99, €8 or AUS$12 on the Nintendo eShop. We’re finishing off escapeVektor now and hope to have it released by the end of the year.
Click on the images to enlarge and click on them again to zoom in. Official Nintendo Magazine is packed full of Nintendo goodness, so if you’re a Nintendo fan we’d highly recommend you buy a copy.
Another preview in from E3, this time from game website RipTen. Justin Berube from the site took the game for a spin and thoroughly enjoyed himself.
He really gets stuck into the detail of the new game in this article, concluding “escapeVektor has become my most wanted 3DS eShop game.” High praise indeed!