Ikaroids - Action Packed Arcade Shooter for only 80MSP

Plans have begun for a sequel to Ikaroids that will bring the space shooter genre into the 21 century. Because of this, we’d love to hear what you think about the first one. Let us know of things that you like and don’t like about the game by leaving us comments around this blog or by getting in touch with us directly.

Read more about Ikaroids or head over to the XBox Live Marketplace now and buy Ikaroids for only 80MSP!

Screenshot from Ikaroids (Xbox 360)

This week, we’re giving away 3 copies of Ikaroids. For your chance to win a free copy of Ikaroids, simply tweet what your favourite ship is. Do you like the time-stopping Leander, the hard-hitting Kohlaraja, the defensive Pioneer or the technologically advanced Santus Rho?

Download the trial version to find out what your favourite ship is now!

In order to enter this competition, simply post a tweet in a similar format to the following from any twitter account and put the name of your favourite ship in the tweet! Deadline for entries is 1pm (GMT) on Friday 15th January 2010. Good luck!

“I’ve been playing #Ikaroids and my favourite ship is [Insert Ship Name]. Ikaroids – http://bit.ly/6Vv0fC”

For your entry to be valid, it must include the hashtag #Ikaroids (so we can find it), a valid name of a ship from Ikaroids and a link to the Ikaroids webpage. The winning entrant will be chosen at random on Friday 15th January and the winners will be announced on this website. Winning entrants will be contacted by Monday 18th January by direct message on Twitter.

If you already have your copy of Ikaroids, your Xbox should automatically download the latest version. If you’ve not yet bought Ikaroids – then what are you waiting for? Head over to the Xbox Live Marketplace to download it now.

Screenshot from Ikaroids - Arcade Shooter for the Xbox 360

If you’re still in doubt, here are what some of the Peer Reviewers said;

“Very polished and very cool. Nice lighting on the Avatars as well.”

“Very polished game you have. I enjoyed playing it, it looked and played great.”

“It didn’t take long to realise that this is a really well polished game, really enjoyed it.“

You can download Ikaroids from your Xbox by browsing to Game Marketplace -> Indie Games. There you can list games by title and find Ikaroids for your gaming fun. Alternatively, you can buy Ikaroids from your PC, so that it’ll simply download and install the next time you turn on your Xbox. Download Ikarois now from the Xbox Live Marketplace.

Theme

First, decide what the general theme of the level should be, what is basically going to occur, and if there is a story, what events need to take place. This can also entail deciding on which background elements to involve, and the more general aesthetics, such as colour, sound and music. If any of these elements doesn’t fit, any story or atmosphere you are trying to cultivate may be undermined. For example, the enemies should look like they ‘belong’ in the level. By the same token, if the setting is an Earth-like planet, for example, it would be inappropriate to have an alien-looking red space background.

Events

If you have a storyline, consider what needs to be conveyed in the level, and what needs to occur. Consider the major events (if there are any) and plan the level accordingly. The rest can be fine-tuned as you go.

Pacing

What may seem like a long, well-balanced level may turn out to be either ridiculously hard, too easy, underpopulated or simply too short. The easy answer to such pitfalls is to playtest vigorously – and not just you! Get other, impartial people to play the levels – after all, you may be well-practised at the game, having worked on it for some time, but it’s important to have a layman’s perspective.

Unless it’s the point of the level to have a relentless assault on the player, don’t be afraid to add ‘breathing spaces’ in the level, splitting attacks up into waves. On a similar note, don’t make all the waves the same… mix up the enemies, their type and position a bit. Not only does this maintain the player’s interest, but it also makes it easier for them (and you!) to tell what their progress in the level is.

In summary, planning is the best friend one can have when putting a level together… just behind playtesting, the importance of which cannot be understated. I hope these simple tips help you when designing your own levels!

We’ll be posting a development diary as we work through every decision and step in our game ‘Sentinel’. This will hopefully help budding developers see the steps that we go through and learn from our successes and failures!