WWDC: A Look at Upcoming 'Galactic Racer' from Wee Man
posted by Blake Patterson on June 9th, 2009 4:26 PM EDT in Racing, Upcoming Games, WWDC 2009, iPhone games, iPod touch gamesThis morning at WWDC we met with John Owens of the Belfast-based iPhone development studio Wee Man Studios to discuss their upcoming futuristic 3D racer Galactic Racer.
Galactic Racer is a Wipeout-like racing game that pits the player against a variety of adversaries in a high-speed run down a series of 3D tracks littered with obstacles and barriers, in a bid to make it across the finish line. The experience is actually more akin to flying down a tube than hovering in an anti-gravity groove, with ship control available in all four directions. Loops and other particularly "3D" twists, as well as sections of transparent walls, add a sense of depth to the feel of the courses.
Along the way, a variety of weapons and power-ups can be picked up to help fend off the competition. The game's power-up items are more akin to those of Mario Kart than the typical Wipeout-style racer, Owens tells us — one example being a wormhole that can transport the player to a point further down the track.
The initial release will feature Championship and Single Race modes, while future updates will bring multiplayer, online leaderboards, and other enhancements. Though we were unable to play the current build of the game, we were shown a short video and various screenshots that show promising gameplay and an impressive texture quality. Wee Man Studios will shortly be releasing a public trailer video to giver readers a taste of the gameplay.
No release date has been indicated for this title.
Some of Owens' previous game development involvements include Argonaut Games' iNinja and Cat Woman for other platforms.
Def interested in this one. Bring it on and I'll TOFTT.
Looks good, we might finally have a good wipeout-style racer.
Good to see another ex-Argo joining the fold
Game looks great!
Kinda reminds me of Flux Challenge on my Pocket PC. One of my favorite games on it.
"Owens tells us — one example being a wormhole that can transport the player to a point further down the track."
That's more something which you would find in Lego Racers, heh.
Though this is not finished yet, I think the graphics aren't as good as some of the other games in this genre.
I don't see 'Cat Woman' in iTunes. Just this, Penguin Clock and Surfer Clock. What is Cat Woman?
iNinja and Catwoman were both console games (the iNinja on the app store is probably in breach of trademark actually).
Game looks awesome! I'll definatly be looking to get it.
Looks cool! Might be a fun game. Any game play video?
I don't think it looks awesome. It looks ok at best.
As with most things on the iPhone, awesomeness it easier determined from seeing video or the game live. Some titles I've seen that look mediocre in screenshots look freaking awesome in motion.
I'm curious to see how this one turns out. But after not having gone back to Low Grav Racer or Phaze after the first few tries, I'm starting to lose hope for finding a good WipeOut experience.
..strangely, there was something good about the original WipeOut's digital controls and sweeping tracks. I'm not sure that it'll be easy to replicate that feel on the iPhone.