Subscribe to the TouchArcade YouTube channel Hey guys! I'm excited to reveal the first details for Hyper Blaster, an all-new arcade shooter exclusively for iPhone and iPad, all set for release next Thursday, August 18th. Website for the game with more info available here: http://www.combopunk.com/hyperblaster/ Hyper Blaster is also invading Twitter! More gifs and screenshots coming as we approach launch day! http://www.twitter.com/combopunk/ More game info! ABOUT THE GAME Get ready for the ultimate arcade shooter! Hyper Blaster is an addictive, fast-paced score chaser that will push your reflexes to the limit! Test your skills as you blast endless waves of enemies, unlock awesome power-ups and battle for survival in this vibrant revival of the glory days of the arcade! KEY FEATURES • Take on the challenge using simple, responsive controls designed from the ground up for touch devices • Collect and unleash destructive power-ups that unlock as you play • Chase high scores to unlock awesome characters and take on the ultimate challenge: Turbo mode! • Kick back and get in the zone with vibrant voxel art and catchy arcade sounds ABOUT ME A quick bit about me.. my name's Adam Smart, a UK-based designer who was previously Lead Designer at Eurocom and Jagex. I've worked on some high profile titles such as GoldenEye 007 (Wii), Disney Universe (360, PS3), and more. Hyper Blaster marks my first one-man game release, and I'm really excited to get it out in to the wild. It's an extremely fast-paced score attack that evokes classic arcade games, and has been built from the ground up with touch controls in mind. Have an awesome day and hope you dig the game! Screenshot overload time!
Haha, this looks awesome. The music amazing. It reminds me of bomberman's music, it's super fast. I'll definitely be checking it out.
Awesome, thanks! It'll be great to get your thoughts when it's out in the wild! It's worth mentioning that the game doesn't have any paywalls or any stamina etc - I just want people to get in, get shooting, and have an absolute blast! The game has been predominantly built as a love letter to the early '90s arcade and console scene, and I hope that shows! The blue skies and saturation have been cranked up, and everything is silly-fun and you're going to need skills to get high scores. Sure, we're playing on touch devices these days instead of 2 button controllers hooked up to CRT tvs, but if I can lose a few people in the action and give them that old school, score attack vibe, it's job done as far as I'm concerned!
That sounds pretty damn good, Combopunk. When you say "no pay walls" do you mean it free to play? If so what kind of iap does it have? Will it have permanent unlock able characters? From the video it looks as if it has different characters with different abilities/weapons. It also appears that you tap to teleport instead of walking, I love the way that looks and if that's what is going on there good job using different mechanics than most shooters use. Can't wait to take it for a spin.
Thanks guys, your comments mean a lot! And thanks again to Rob and Touch Arcade for the news article, it was the very best surprise to end the week on! If you have any questions, I'd love to fill in any gaps I might have left in the original post (although the TA article has done an amazing job of filling in those blanks already!) The game is a completely free download! It has interstitial ads, but they've been designed to be as non-invasive as possible. The game then has a single IAP to remove the ads forever (at launch this is at the lowest price tier, so 99 cents (or 79 English pence!)). Characters are unlocked for free, forever, when you hit certain high scores. High scores are also the way to unlock the crazy-fast Turbo mode! Regarding power-ups: Your default weapon in the game is a fairly tame single shot which does its job well, but the real fun begins when you collect a power-up (the blue floating orbs in the trailer). These are special weapons (think fireballs, mines, rockets!) and are great ways to dish out some voxel punishment! You start with one power-up available and more are unlocked just by playing the game: by scoring points you work towards the next unlock. You don't need all the power-ups to get huge scores as the game promotes player skill above anything else, but the more power-ups you've unlocked, the more tactics you can employ. For example, my personal favourite at the moment is the mines - they're just so versatile! I lay them down then grab another power-up as soon as I can. If you've placed them thoughtfully you can use them to cover your back with a few dropped somewhere for later so you can lure enemies to them when you've got loads on your tail. For me, one of the most exciting parts of releasing the game is seeing your tactics for getting the highest scores possible! More power-ups, game modes and characters will be added to Hyper Blaster over time, so if you manage to unlock everything that's available right now, there'll be more content on the way! Good spot! I think this is unique to Hyper Blaster. It's my hope that you find it really intuitive - the controls are deceptively simple: You tap the screen to move to a location, and you hold to shoot! This means you're never fighting with virtual sticks and buttons and can concentrate on skillful shots and movement. Tapping anywhere on the screen will move the character quickly to that location; longer distances are more risky, but put more space between you and the enemy. The moment-to-moment play has been built around making decisions to shoot or move (and if you're shooting, make sure you're prioritising the right threats!). For more advanced players you can do neat things like buffer your shooting so that you start blasting as soon as you land. The final TestFlight round finished a few days ago unfortunately, there's not long to wait for release now though! When I submit new updates after launch with more modes/power-ups/content, I'll definitely have beta periods for them and will be asking the community to help test!
Hehe, not just yet unfortunately! If you guys are interested in longer videos of the game I'll see about getting some together. Also, if you keep an eye on Twitter I'll be tweeting new gameplay gifs before collating them for this thread! http://www.twitter.com/combopunk!
Do you choose when it actually gets released? Games lately have been popping out early in the week, could this end up happening with this ?
It can take a little while for an app to propagate to all App Stores when it's first released, so I'll be releasing Hyper Blaster just prior to release day so that it definitely appears for everyone as soon as we hit Thursday 18th! This means that, if Apple are quick with listing the game, you might be able to grab it on Wednesday! I can't say for sure though, it will depend on your territory and how quickly Apple's magic works.
Less than 2 days to go! Well, realistically I hope you guys will be able to see it on some stores by this time tomorrow! Can't wait for you to be able to play it In the meantime, gifs!
