About the team and the game

We're doing something different with this post: what you'll find here is stuff about the team and how the project began, how it has evolved, and what our plans and goals for it are.

The Team 

We're two brothers originally from north Finland where the landscapes are dull and beer is warm, near where reindeer and Santa are born.

Sami Kuronen - Graphics, programming

My first computer experience was with the legendary Commodore 64 that had the horrendous tape-drive. My first programming language was GW-BASIC on a 086 PC with a monochrome display (yellow font). Later in the 90's I began to experiment with Doom level editor, Pascal and Borland C. Then came the hard drugs: demoscene, Fast Tracker 2, Linux and gcc.

Years went by with many different game projects of mine, coding isometric engines and several attempts to make the best tactical turn-based RPG's in the world. To get graphics for my games, I started doodling them with Deluxe Paint 2, GrafX 2, and early versions of Blender and GIMP.

Games have always fascinated me by how they work and make you feel. The small graphical details and even the tiniest animations of old games such as Lemmings, Settlers, C&C, Transport Tycoon, Sim City, HOMM, Starcraft, Fallout 1-2, Desperado, Monkey Island series - the list is endless - really spark my imagination and it's the kind of stuff I want to create with my work.

Timo Kuronen - Game design, programming

My history as a gaming enthusiast started when I was about 6 years old, trying out my parents old computers. In few years I was writing text based adventure games on QBasic, and when I got my own PC (486, 66MHz powerhouse) I started to play games like Warcraft, Doom, Heroes of Might & Magic and making maps and mods for those. I was also trying my hands on composing with Fast Tracker 2 and designing my own games with pen & paper that never actually saw the light of day.

Playing and learning about games has always been a big part of my everyday life, even if I didn't think it as a potential profession at first. As an art form, I think video games are the most imaginative, versatile and emotionally charged media out there. When I realized that I could never get any deeper fulfillment from my day job, it was a very natural transition for me to focus my goals and ambitions towards gaming industry as an entrepreneur.

The beginning of the project

The original idea for the game was born one night in 2013 with some pints of quality lager. We wanted to create a fast runner game, viewed from an isometric angle, in which you weren't supposed to use weaponry to destroy the enemies, but to escape from each level as fast as possible.

Early days

The idea has branched and developed many times into different mutations and at times they were way more complex than our current model. The user interface was based on the traditional console pad way of controlling things. We also tried to combine too many different game styles into the same game which lead to a somewhat confusing and unfocused design.

Some things haven't changed from the original idea though; the lack of firearms as an idea has stayed with us because we want to try a bit different way to solve problems and overpower enemies. The isometric angle was a no-brainer from the very beginning because we've always enjoyed games that use this fascinating view; it's visually appealing, spacious, a god-like perspective. It's simply awesome.

The current state of the project

During the past few weeks we've been working on expanding the "GravGun" to implement new and different functions to make it a lot more versatile. The gadget is going to have diversity in its functions and they will become available as you make progress in the campaign. The upgrades will bring new ways to use it and make it more powerful and interesting.

We've also spent time in adding new enemy types, traps and security systems. It's going to be a blast to implement them! We'll be showing all of this as soon as the mechanics are in a presentable form.

Lots of progress has been done on the main characters, which we'll be revealing later and talk about their roles in the game, accompanied with a healthy dose of character art.

So, our motivation has been and still is, to create the type of a game that we ourselves would like to play on the mobile platform. More updates soon, thanks for reading!