Spacelings [99c] is the new 2d action-puzzler from Hotgen, who previously released To-Fu: The Trials of Chi [99c/HD]. As you might have gathered from the name, their latest game is set in space. The naughty mechanical Roborgs have abducted all the Spacelings and deposited them in over 100 levels around the universe. Your spaceship, the ‘Liberator’, has no weapons, so instead of attacking you use your ships tractor-beam to try and recover your fellow Spacelings. This game is a rescue mission.
If the Spacelings stood in a polite orderly queue, directly below your spacecraft, things would be super convenient – just activate the tractor beam, suck them straight up to your craft and then continue to the next level. However, the Spacelings are actually positioned all over the level, so the tractor beam must be swiped, to turn corners, until it eventually reaches a captured Spaceling to suck back to the Liberator. Some levels are larger than your screen, so you can drag the background with your finger, to pan around and plan your approach.
You’re given a limited supply of “deflectors", so the tractor-beam can only turn so many corners. This forces you to carefully plan-and swipe the beam’s route through each level, to ensure you reach a Spaceling within the tractor beam’s limited range. Fortunately, once a deflector has been deployed, it can also be re-used, allowing the beam to snake across the level for one recovery, then by moving the deflectors, head somewhere else for another rescue attempt. This game is all about turning corners at the right times.
There’s other stuff in the levels too, like mines, beam switchers (reverses the tractor beam so it pushes objects), lazer-turrets, teleporters and disruptor fields (which the tractor-beam can’t pass through). You’ll be taught some tricks, like how to slingshot objects into each other to remove obstacles, enemies, bombs or mines. Be gentle with those bombs once they’re in your tractor beam though, as they detonate upon contact, even if it’s an innocent Spaceling. Definitely don’t let the tractor-beam bring a bomb back on board your precious spacecraft either. And much like the classic movie Ghostbusters, you’ll be advised never to cross the beams!
A new gameplay mechanism is explained at the start of each level. These hints and instructions are helpful initially, but towards the end of the game, the hint screen and a pop-up message both display exactly the same hint and requiring two taps to close before you can play. And the earlier hints start repeating. Perhaps the developers got sick of writing so many hints.
Each level is rewarded by medals based on the number of rescues, enemies destroyed and time taken. There’s also a special medal for achieving all the medals in the same attempt. There’s 393 medals to earn in total, plus Game Center support for 20 achievements and high-score / medal leader-boards. And it’s universal, so it runs on all your IOS devices.
After playing Spacelings for a while, I started wanting more of a mental challenge as most levels are pretty easy, with the solution immediately evident, so it’s just a matter of getting the timing right. There are some harder levels near the end of the game, although some of these are given away by the help page, or by marks drawn on the level telling you exactly what to do. It’s unusual to see such hand-holding near the end of a game. Still, Spacelings kept my interest, right to the final levels, with it’s tractor-beaming action.
The game itself is great. I loved episode one. I got it when the iPhone 3G just came out (!) Since then I waited about 1,5 years for the next episode. Now the third one? I think they plan to do six. When can we finish the game? In 2020 with our iPhone 10? lol no way guys. Great game but I like a game I can finish and not have to wait a decade for. Please program the game first and then release it as a whole game.
Just a quote from the original post for 1112:
"From the developer:
Each new episodes will takes 2 month full time of making (now that we have the technology with Ep01) for the team so no it won't be free, We still have to think about our sales strategy about it (I was thinking something like each other episode at 4.99 depending on what the first sell. Think of it like a popular TV show instead (Lost for exemple) Each episode is a stand alone game starting with a "previously on 1112" and a recap of what happened Of course there will be improvement made in each episode (we already have tons of ideas) in the user interface of new way to do things... at the end (6 episodes are planned) we'll have the largest adventure game ever made I think! (38 characters , hundreds of places , and about the same amount of text there are in lord of the ring lol... there are already 70 000 words in ep01!)"
Now replace "2 months" with "18 months" to match with reality... While it's nice to finally get episode 3 into our hands, we currently should get episode 14 by august 2011. Think of it like a popular TV show, which gets updated every 18 months. Would you watch it? Would you even remember (or care), what happened and will happen?
It's weird to read those old quotes, but still I was wrong, it's a really hard job to create bigger and bigger episodes with such a level of production for the three of us...
I hope ep04 will be faster to make (or we will manage to grow as a bigger team)
anyway, wait until you play the game I hope you'll all love it.
Very excited. Episodes 1 & 2 were excellent.
That song in the trailer was great, anyone know who it's by?
It's one of the theme of the game^^ EP will be available later on itunes
Awesome, let us know when and I'll pick it up!
The song is incredible but it doesn't appear to exist on the internet after much searching! I'd love to buy a vinyl or cd copy of it!
Either way, the trailer is SO GOOD and I will definitely be picking up episode 3.
Sounds like Regina Spektor. Confirmation, dev?
No, as I stated above, it's some friends of mine who made the music exclusively for our game (Song is about the game)
They will release the tracklist on itunes Later!
What the hell am I doing in this game?
Johnny, maybe you should be asking yourself what the hell you were doing in that fourth "Pirates of the Caribbean" movie.
That was a double.
The icon looks fucking identical!
This is by far the one of the best high quality games on iOS (and now on the Mac). It's hard to wait that long for each episode, but hey, look at it, it's worth it. And remember, Agharta Studio is a company of 3 guys.
When I look at huge companies like Gameloft, EA, etc. with lots of people involved, maybe 50-500, I really wonder, why they don't have games that really make me warship them...
lol warship them?
You own a warship? Dude, I worship you.
I am glad those guys didn't gave up on making this series yet. I really loved the first two episodes, so definitely looking forward to buying this one.
I would be stunned speechless if Louis Everett was not based on Johnny Depp's character, Dean Corso, in The Ninth Gate. They look IDENTICAL.
does anyone know where to find the door knob to get into the bedroom
I have the objective of finding the doorknob, and making sure Anna is okay, I have the first two bits of graffiti on the fridge, and if I lift the painting, does anyone know what I do next
I'm stuck too. After closer investigation of the odd house with red window I also discovered an open window. But it said it was too high for me to reach so I was able to grab the chair outside John's house but after attempting to use it at the odd house it broke.
you can go to the antic shop and grab the ladder in the back room
anyone know where to find glue?
having trouble finding anna's house o.o anyone know how to get there from John's place?
remember to use the 3 finger tap to see all the exit in each scene :)
A year isn't amazing for a touch game, it is slow.
Depends on the type of game being developed. The platform is irrelevant, its the type of game and size of the team that predicates the development time.
So, did Johnny Depp voice his opinions regarding the usage of his face yet?