Moose Jaw man unveils his first video game Xero Hour
Justin Bender is proof it's never too late to pursue a passion.
The 38-year-old Moose Jaw resident and owner of Bitwad Entertainment released his first video game on Dec. 17. The game, Xero Hour, is available for free on iphone and Android devices.
“It's awesome. So far it's been like 100 per cent positive,” said Bender during a recent phone interview when discussing how his debut game has been received so far.
The game was created over the course of two and a half years, with Bender doing the bulk of all the development himself.
In his youth, Bender discovered he had a knack for coding, but that was overshadowed by his love for music when he started learning to play the guitar. Bender went on to have a career in music. He is known for having been the guitarist for the progressive metal band Into Eternity, and currently plays for Third Ion. Bender also works from home doing audio production and engineering.
“If I wasn't doing that, I would have pursued this a long time ago. It's something I've definitely always wanted to do, because I've always been a gamer and I always ... just have the habit of if I really enjoy doing something I want to make it too,” said Bender.
Xero Hour is a two-dimensional action platformer designed to evoke the style of eight-bit retro games from the era of the Nintendo Entertainment system.
The game also incorporates Bender's work in music. The main character, Doctor Xero, has been featured on Third Ion's album covers and in some of its songs. Using his audio production skills, Bender has even taken the band's songs and converted them into eight-bit chiptune music.
Players take control of Doctor Xero, who has crash landed on a hostile alien planet. Xero must collect minerals to synthesize parts for his spaceship, all while fending off enemies.
“I think that if a person likes old school games and pixel graphics, and also likes simple and fun gameplay, but that allows you to explore and try to find hidden items and things with a little bit of action interspersed throughout, I think they'd find it fun,” said Bender.
Xero Hour is available for free, but there are optional advertisements in the game and players can spend money. Bender struggled with including monetary transactions because he didn't want them to be predatory or unsavoury like in some other mobile games. Xero Hour can be completed without spending any money, and Bender sees the payment options as a way for fans of his work to support him if they wish.
This won't be Bender's last video game. He's already done preliminary work on his next project, and has started laying out his ideas in a game design document.
For anyone else looking to get into game development, Bender said they should consider sharing what they're working on through social media to help promote themselves.
“The most common piece of advice I kept hearing over and over was to share your work, show people what you're working on, build an audience and start building an audience early,” said Bender.