Interactive and commercial art development company Hook announced the launch of a development diary chronicling the internal production of an experimental browser-based 3D side-scrolling action-platformer game.
"The Destruction of The World by A Violent Robot-Zombie Plague" is intended as a research and development tool aimed at exploring alternative and more sophisticated methods for creating interactive content." stated Aaron Schwartz, co-founder. "As such, its ultimate goal is to be a learning experiment, not a commercially releasable product. However, that's not to say we don't intend to work toward finishing a polished game experience. Our hope is that the final outcome of the Robot-Zombie Plague project is an amazing game capable of holding it's own against console or traditional stand alone applications - except it exists in a browser window and is available for free."
The heart of the game's production relies on the Unity engine which offers the potential to create premium 3D interactive content for simultaneous multiplatform distribution across channels including web-browsers, stand-alone Mac & PC, game consoles and mobile devices. Because Unity is a true 3D development tool, it allows for the construction of more robust and powerful 3D web applications than Flash currently permits.
The game itself promises to offer players the opportunity to measure their prospective worth in the event that "The World" is overrun by a "Zombifying Robot Nano-Virus" that possesses the ability to infect all environmental elements with evil intentions and unorthodox yet dangerous weaponry. It's heavily focused on gun-based combat, relentless enemy assault, hypnotizing visuals and high-replayability. "We've gone ahead and placed the game into the "new-retro" sub-genre," says Michael Watts, co-founder. "While the action unfolds in a classic 2D side-scrolling plane, having the entire app built in 3d opens doors to exciting features rarely seen in browser-based gaming such as dynamic lighting, real-time shadows, three dimensional physics, powerful particle systems, pixel shaders, animation blending, depth of field, etc."
To accompany the production of the game, an online development diary has been assembled to showcase new developments, playable builds and concept art. "The multiplatform strengths of the Unity engine mean that small playable demos of individual features can be published to the web for public critique and enjoyment on a regular basis," declares Chris Watts, Technical Director. "It will be interesting to see how the community's insight can shape the game's growth."