Gaming studio to launch sci-fi survival game Icarus
Auckland-based gaming studio RocketWerkz will release its first big-budget game worldwide when Icarus launches on August 28.
In the studio’s office, Stuff was allowed an early chance to play the sci-fi survival game.
Players take up the role of prospector, dropping from space onto an alien planet with up to seven teammates. The planet – nicknamed Icarus – has undergone a failed attempt at terraforming, becoming a savage but beautiful version of Earth.
The controls of the game are easy to master, and unlike other similar games it doesn’t take too long to collect materials and create tools, allowing the player to bow-hunt the deer that run about, or chop down trees with a shiny new axe.
Within minutes a vicious rainfall blows in and a lightning strike sets a tree ablaze nearby.
RocketWerkz chief executive Dean Hall says the reason the terraforming failed is because of exotics – unusual and rare minerals that you and other players are there to harvest. ‘‘It’s kind of like the gold rush but in the future,’’ he says.
Tension is added to the game by mission countdowns: Ticking clocks at the top of the screen which signal when the team’s individual droppod rocket ships will launch back into space, with or without their occupants. If you miss your ride, Hall says, you die.
It’s a harsh end to characters that players will spend hours upskilling and equipping, but that’s half the fun. Every time a player returns to the planet, they will be dropped into a different map, where different hazards will assail them.
‘‘We wanted to create a co-op experience that people could enjoy with their friends by experiencing interesting problems,’’ Hall says.
The weather element was inspired by Hall’s own experiences climbing Mount Everest and skiing to the South Pole. ‘‘I’ve been quite fascinated by the weather. I think people underestimate how savage the weather can be even on our own planet.’’
A team of 80 developers now work on the game, and it has been in full production for two years. Hall says the company is on target for hitting its launch date. However, ‘‘we’re not frightened to delay it if we need to give it more time to make it better’’.
Hall said pre-sales have been beyond expectations, and have helped to alleviate the fear Icarus wouldn’t catch on or grab gamers.
The game was No 6 on gaming platform Steam’s 90-day wishlist when Stuff sat down with Hall.