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Game in Development: Backspace from Megabot

What happens when you put four friends together that enjoy gaming? Let’s say their tastes in gaming range from classics such as Planescape: Torment and Zelda, to TT Superbikes, Braid and Mass Effect, just to name a few. With their great appreciation for gaming as a medium to connect with others, it should be no surprise that these four friends would create a game studio. Megabot, and its founders, are based primarily in York, UK. Their first game Backspace, is currently in development for multiple platforms. Fortunately for the Android gaming community, we can expect Backspace to arrive on our devices in the distant future.

In the distant future is where the narrative for Backspace begins. “Your friends all disappear after finding some mysterious software online. You log on and discover a hidden, super network… that you can’t leave. Backspace is an arcade adventure set in a virtual world filled with action, exploration, and plenty of secrets.” – Megabot 

Droid Gamers has been in contact with with one of the Bots from Megabot, to talk about how development is going for Backspace. They all have ‘Bot’ handles, Andy (Codebot), Sucha (Artbot), Stew (Audiobot) and Nina (Steambot). The Bot names translate to programmer, artist, audio engineer and producer. Nina was kind enough to provide some exclusive screenshots of Backspace to Droid Gamers. The images of the game are reminiscent of a world that Kevin Flynn (Jeff Bridges), a software engineer who was employed by ENCOM in the movie Tron may have visited. However, the similarities stop there. The architectural environment that Megabot has created is simply engrossing. Taken from a perspective that is spherical, you pilot a ship that moves swiftly through its environs battling the enemy. Though it wasn’t planned this way originally, the game over the last year’s development has turned into a twin-stick shooter, to provide the “smoothest-feeling combat experience.”  The ship and its pods, which are rings that attach to your ship, dictate how your weapons will interact with your enemy and the environment. Watching the in-game video makes me think of a reverse-type Centipede game, wherein you are the Centipede, as opposed to the space ship trying to disconnect its parts.

Nina was able to further clarify the use and power of the pods. “They are rings that attach to your ship and form a tail. When you detach them, they release an explosion that decimates enemies and blows up walls! You can pick them back up and do it over and over again. On top of that, they can carry cargo such as power-ups which change your bullets. If you have more than one pod in your tail, you can stack and combine power-ups to create a variety of bullets and various other effects.” – Nina (Producer/Megabot) Who are these pods used against? All that has been revealed thus far are Flippers, which are digital foot soldiers that can be found in imposing numbers that will chase you down, and Turrets, that have ranged attacks and shields. There will be more enemies, but Megabot doesn’t want to reveal everything just yet.

In the game development videos, you can see walls being destroyed with fantastic explosions, and mass groups of Flippers hunting you down because you are an anomaly in their system. Sections of the spherical world are protected by walls on the surface called Crust. They appear and disappear, while the whole world radiates with different hues. The movement of the whole macrocosm appears fluid and frantic at the same time. The world is broken into different Nodes that protect the Core from public view. As you are successful in your conquest, different nodes will be unlocked which will allow you to visit different areas within the game.

Though Backspace has been in development for over a year, it is promising to hear that Megabot is a few months away from a demo build being ready. Android, iOS and PC users are the first lucky gamers that will have an opportunity to play it. Backspace may make its way to consoles as well.

Megabot has definitely been in the process of developing a game that gamers will enjoy. They have created a world that teems with action, adventure, exploration and graphical prowess, that should look stunning on the latest generation of mobile devices. Let’s hope we won’t have to wait too much longer to visit”… an unknown corner of cyberspace, where an unusually large Data Core holds a secret.” The images are exceptional, but you really should see the game in action. Check out the two links below that highlight what Megabot has been hard at work on, and what you most certainly should keep an eye out for in the future as the game continues to develop. We thank Nina of Megabot for corresponding with us about their future hit game, Backspace.

Website: www.megabot.co.uk

Game-in-Development Video 2: YouTube

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