Vourbot loves SHMUPS! and guess what…he found one (finally) at Pax Prime 2015. He is back to tell you all about it…
I met with Iamgos Softworks and Adult Swim games at PAX Prime 2015.
They had a few games that rocked my world, one seemed like it was a shmup, and one seems like some kind of action platformer — but that’s not even the half of it. I left feeling so impressed, I got new hope…… In video games.
I’ll start with the game, STAR MAZER.
Every year, I go on the quest for shmups at PAX Prime, and come up empty handed. This year I caught a glimpse of what looked like a baddass Super Nintendo side-scrolling shmup. And it was solid- there were explosions, lazers, blah blah, everything. But, of course, it was too good to be true. The game is actually a POINT AND CLICK ADVENTURE with shmuppy interludes. So my heart sank a bit, but I still went in and talked to the guy, and now I’m going to share my thoughts with you, in list form.
1. The history of this game, I believe, is that Don Thacker has been working on making this amazing game. He did a kickstarter, raised the money, then maybe got hooked up with Turner Network’s Adult Swim, I don’t know. I just know that he’s the mastermind behind it. Check that kickstarter page.
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/imagosfilms/starr-mazer
2. It wasn’t the traditional shmup I was looking for, but it is something else- I try and describe: Point and click story with shmup interludes, that drive the narrative a little bit (like if you get shot down, you have to do more point-and-click to get back up, or if you don’t beat the boss, he reappears in the next shmup section). To lay it out fully, on the part I got to play, I started with a point and click intro to the characters and story, got assigned my mission, went on a shmup flight- I think I got shot down a few times and had to do it over, and my employer lost a little faith in me. I finally got to my destination, couldn’t beat the boss, got shot down, then had to point and click a bit, got back in my ship and had to finish the boss in a chase scene back to where whatever was next. Anyways, the shmup sections are integrated into the narrative.
3. This game is POLISHED. I mean, the demo I played wasn’t even new done and crashed and crashed- it was right on Don Thacker’s laptop- not even dongled onto the Adult Swim computer. But after 10 minutes of going through the motions and resetting the crashes, and just playing the first tiny chapter of the game, which he even had to explain the ending of, since I was clicking on the wrong stuff and crashing it, one thing was just INCREDIBLY clear: He has played this game, he has refined the game, he has considered not only every detail of the experience, but also the template on which the experience is built on.
4. The point and click sections are on point. My limited experience with the old PC point and click games leave me with little expertise, but as far as I can tell, the integrity is at level 10. The artwork is just fantastic. Every animation is an indulgent surprise, every bit of dialogue is a pleasure. It is just fantastically done.
5. The shmup sections that I played were also on point. They were a challenge. They were totally balanced. I had to switch weapons, speed up and slow down, and mostly dodge asteroids, not bullets. And the boss was a mundane move up and down laser sweep marathon, but it was balanced. The only reason I even like shmups is that, since their gameplay is so fundamental, it’s easy for the makers to balance the game. I mean, it’s pretty easy to tell inf your shmup sucks. Anyways, I remember the old days, when every games strived for balance. Even Jaws on the Nintendo, the shittiest game in the universe, made an attempt at balanced challenge. And “balanced challenge” means one thing: “Challenge” – like, you can’t do it your first time, or it’s difficult to do, and “balance” means: ANY motivation to give it a 2nd try. And this game motivates you by– well, one thing, the creator played it and tried to put the asteroids in fun spots, based on his own sense of fun, which is not a special thing, but a thing left out of a LOT of games. And the other motivator was….
6. The art style is just totally compelling. It’s like super nintendo versions of 80’s anime sci fi explosion bliss. It’s hard to describe without going back to 1991 and then seeing this game through your crystal ball and then saying, “These are the best graphics I’ve ever seen”. That’s what pushes the game through. It’s got so much retro integrity, presented in a modern pace, it’s just totally impressive. I can’t wait to see more of it.
Check out our exclusive interview with Auston Montville (Imagos Softworks) right here:
https://soundcloud.com/poppundits/starr-mazer-pax-prime-2015-exclusive