Tag: Crossplatform »

The massively multiplayer online RPG marketplace has yet to really take off on mobile platforms, especially as established players in the MMO space have yet to really attack mobile devices at all, allowing newcomers to unleash their ideas on these platforms. Spacetime Studios have explored the mobile MMORPG market themselves with the crossplatform Pocket Legends, a fantasy MMORPG that was launched on iOS, and later found its way to Android. However, Spacetime Studios are now setting their eyes on the stars, with a very cool new project: launching their sci-fi MMORPG Blackstar on iOS and Android later this year.

Based on Spacetime Studios' crossplatform Spacetime Engine that they've been working on with Pocket Legends, Blackstar is described as a "3D, real-time, persistent MMO," that was originally designed as a PC title that was in development for PC before funding ran out in 2008. The story of Blackstar takes place in the 41st century between three distinct races, the alien Riven, the cybernetic Scorn, and the human Mode. The game promises to lose very little from its original incarnation in this transition to mobile, promising thousands of items to collect, and a robust set of social features to chat and team up with people in game. Spacetime Studios' CEO, Gary Gattis says "“Blackstar’s production design and overall polish will be unmatched in mobile gaming. We were able to nurture the IP to its maximum potential through years of development – a luxury never before seen in Mobile gaming." Spacetime Studios has provided a screenshot of the game, still in development:

The game will be fully 3D, support both iOS devices and Android (including tablet-sized devices), and will be playable over EDGE, 3G, 4G, and of course Wi-Fi connections. With the game not only launching on both Android and iOS sometime in Q2 2011, but also being based on a fully-fledged MMORPG once in development for PC, the traditional home of these games, Blackstar shows a lot of promise. Due to the speed that the mobile market moves at, developers often don't have the time to nurture and develop an idea like how Spacetime Studios has had with Blackstar - and they have also had the time to work on and perfect their mobile technology with Pocket Legends. With both the impressive and developed concept, along with proven technology, Blackstar could prove to be huge when it launches later this year on iOS and Android.