:: SURVIVAL: NOW WITH MORE STORY
:: COPS SUCK
:: WHATEVER IT TAKES
:: SUBSTANCE OVER STYLE
:: STRONG DEFENSES11 bit studios has announced its upcoming title, Anomaly Defenders. The game will be the final installment in its Anomaly series of tower offense games.
Anomaly Defenders will be a unique shift, in that the aliens are the attacked party and humans need to be neutralized. The developer refers to the game as the "first ever Reverse Tower Offense game." It will entail making tactical decisions in real time. Towers have different abilities, and units react to different towers in different ways.
There will be 24 levels with adjustable levels of difficulty. Anomaly Defenders is due out later this Spring.
11 bit Studios, who recently revealed their upcoming game This War of Mine, demoed it to us at GDC 2014. While much of the game is still secret as to how it plays, as they're not ready to reveal exact gameplay footage, the game will have played managing their resources, the moods of the survivors, and foraging for materials. While the game is meant to be somewhat generic to let the player identify with the situation, much of the research around wartime situations was based around Sarajevo, according to 11 bit's Pawel Miechowski. He also promises that despite the game's theme and potentially-controversial content, that 11 bit will not cut any content for mobile stores, so while the game is planned for the App Store and Google Play, it might not actually release there if the platform holders don't allow it, though Android will happen regardless thanks to the distribution channels open there. No release date has been confirmed for the game, but expect it later this year.
"In war, not everyone is a soldier."
This tagline doubles as the driving theme behind 11 Bit Studios' (the folks behind the Anomaly series) upcoming This War of Mine. It's not a strategy game or a shooter, but instead it's a game about survival. Players are in charge of a small group of civilians trapped in a militarized zone that used to be their home. Under the cover of darkness they'll be able to carefully explore the ruins of their city looking for supplies and weapons, while during the day they'll get to use what they find to upgrade their shelter and tend to their survivors.
"While designing a new game, we came across an article that described how one man survived in a besieged city," said lead designer Michal Drozdowski in a press release. "We learned about his hardships and the horror of that experience. We decided to work around this idea and make something real, something that moves people and make them think for a second."
This War of Mine is "coming soon" to mobile devices. A playable demo will also be available at GDC, so keep an eye on 148Apps for our impressions in the coming weeks.
Sure 148Apps is known far and wide for its diverse array of app reviews, but we also love to spotlight some lesser-known developers, review the occasional piece of useful hardware, and challenge developers to duke it out in their own games. Here's a look at some of the highlights from the past year:
Jennifer Allen:What’s your favorite thing about iOS development?
11 Bit Studios: We are producers of PC and console games too, and iOS development is pretty different. The entire design process begins (after typical dev brainstorm for game’s main theme is over, hehe) with thinking about how to make touchscreen gameplay enjoyable in the project. At least that’s our way. We believe this particular gaming platform is based on the controls in the first place. PC games may be pad-controlled, keyboard-controlled, mouse-controlled or even be turn-based in a model where controls are totally less important comparing to story. That, of course, does not mean we are not putting attention to story, visuals et cetera, but there’s something in the statement, that iOS development is very controls-oriented. And those controls are all about tapping and finger-swiping.
Jennifer Allen:What was the inspiration behind Zombies & Trains?
Tor Martin Kristiansen: We actually weren’t that interested in making a game about zombies, since it seemed like every other day, someone made a game about them. We were focusing on coming up with an idea that sounded cool when you shared it with other people. At some point, almost as a joke, we started discussing ways of disposing of zombies that hadn’t been used in games or movies, and the idea of a train blasting through a zombie-horde came up. It immediately struck us as an idea that we just had to try, and we made a simple demo that was so much fun to play. And it was incredibly challenging, something we liked!
:: ANOMALY TOO?The original Anomaly Warzone Earth made some significant waves when it turned the tower defense world upside-down. Well, backwards, really. Now the sequel, Anomaly 2 is ready to make the jump from PC to iOS this fall.
The new-and-improved intense "tower offense" gameplay is being crammed onto mobile devices; with a solo campaign, multiplayer, tactical view, shape-shifting war-mechs, and more. All that, plus some fantastic visuals. There's no official word yet on a price, but there's a good chance it's going to be priced similarly to previous titles ($1.99 - $3.99).
:: A GOOD PATTERN :: Read Review »For one week only, Anomaly Warzone Earth HD and Anomaly Korea are currently available for $1.99. The standard Anomaly Warzone Earth is also available for 50% off, pricing at $0.99 cents. The Anomaly series is best known for its enjoyable tower offense gameplay.
:: A GOOD PATTERNHaving won two Editor's Choice awards and a 2011 Best Apps Ever Award, it was about time we took a few moments to find out more about Polish developer, 11 Bit Studios.
What is 11 Bit Studios most famous for?
Most recently, Sleepwalker's Journey, a fantastic environmental puzzler that richly deserved its Editor's Choice award last week. Fast paced and topical title, Funky Smugglers and Tower Offense game, Anomaly: Warzone Earth have proven to be similarly high quality.
What's next on the horizon?
As announced earlier this year, Anomaly Korea is in the works and 11 Bit Studios reckons that they are "squeezing as much as possible from iPads and iPhones with this one and the graphics looks stunning." The developer also promises to be "putting more emphasis on [the] game's dynamics" with "more explosion effects". Next year promises the announcement of 11 Bit Studio's "biggest project" yet, but that's as much as were able to gleam from them.
148apps:What’s your favorite thing about iOS development?
11 Bit Studios: We are producers of PC and console games too, and iOS development is pretty different. The entire design process begins (after typical dev brainstorm for game's main theme is over, hehe) with thinking about how to make touchscreen gameplay enjoyable in the project. At least that's our way. We believe this particular gaming platform is based on the controls in the first place. PC games may be pad-controlled, keyboard-controlled, mouse-controlled or even be turn-based in a model where controls are totally less important comparing to story. That, of course, does not mean we are not putting attention to story, visuals et cetera, but there's something in the statement, that iOS development is very controls-oriented. And those controls are all about tapping and finger-swiping.
148apps: What do you enjoy most about making iOS games?
11 Bit Studios: I think I can say it for all of us, but this is my personal opinion that I find it quite enjoyable [to] bring ideas for nice gameplay when you just tap here and swipe there. I know it sounds obvious, but look at how games do that in many different ways and how many different things you can experience in gaming just by tapping. From Halfbrick's Fruit Ninja (oh mama what a game!), through Flight Control to Real Boxing, where you can feel how to be a boxer. When we were developing Sleepwalker's Journey the fun was coming up with ideas for different mechanics, implementing them, giving the build to our family members and then listening to their feedback. Feedback from kids is total fun! :)
Where can I find out more about 11 Bit Studios?
There are plenty of places to learn more, besides this very site. There's the developer's website, Facebook page, Twitter account, YouTube channel and the developers' official forums, also.
:: A DREAM TO PLAY
