Review Fix chats with Chuck Bergeron co-creator of the upcoming space shooter “Astervoid 2000,†who lets us know the retro inspiration behind the game and what gamers can expect from the frenetic local multiplayer action.
About the Game:
Astervoid 2000 is a new 2 to 4 player high-action local multiplayer space brawler (with a challenging singleplayer survival mode to boot!) coming to Steam December 1st (Win/Mac/Linux). It’s quick to learn, but challenging as hell to perfect.
Inspired by the 1979 hit Asteroids, but re-envisioned as a couch-multiplayer deathmatch game. Set your nav for the asteroid fields and your phasers to kill! Your goal is to blast your opponents into space rubble. Explosive, indestructible, and projectile-ricocheting icy asteroids will get in your way, slam against your ship, or can be weaponized against or by your opponents. Space is a dangerous place.
Designed from the ground up to be a couch-multiplayer experience – it pairs best with Xbox or PlayStation gamepads hooked up to your laptop/PC, Steam’s Big Picture mode, and some friends in front of the biggest TV you can find with the stereo cranked to max.
Review Fix Exclusive: When did the initial idea for this game come to you?
Chuck Bergeron: Justin (Luk) started working on a prototype for Astervoid 2000 about two years ago. Since then, it naturally evolved into a local-multiplayer game.
Review Fix: What games inspired this one?
Bergeron: Samurai Gunn, Towerfall, Speedrunners, Nidhogg, and Crawl would be some of the big couch / party game influences. Oh, and Kingdom’s art style!
Review Fix: What do you play for fun when you’re not developing?
Bergeron: Lately, I played through Oxenfree with my fiancé (who really isn’t a gamer) and we quite enjoyed it. I was also addicted to Overwatch for a couple of months there. Justin started Witcher 3, but has shifted to playing TIS-100 which he says is “like a fake assembly programming game.â€
Review Fix: What has development been like?
Bergeron: It’s been tricky at times. Working remotely has been challenging, since we can’t make changes then jam on them together in person. And there’s been a ton of learning as we go. Mainly learning that no matter how much we try our hand at pixel art, hiring professional artists has been incredible and totally should have been a decision we made a year ago.
Review Fix: What are your goals for this game?
Bergeron: Our main goal was just to release a game we’re incredibly happy with: a tight, polished, quality couch-multiplayer experience. Once we’ve released it, our mission will be a success.
Review Fix: With all the competition on the mobile market and in the indies now, how difficult was it for you guys to try and make something that stood out?
Bergeron: It hasn’t been difficult for us to make something a bit more niche. We’re not big fans of mobile games, and we love playing local-multiplayer party games with friends in person. Our passion for that drove us to make a game that we love.
Review Fix: Who do you think will enjoy this game the most?
Bergeron: We’ve seen kids and adults alike react great to it. We built an arcade version of the game and had people play it at some festivals in Calgary. Kids loved it and would always hog the box sometimes for hours. It has a strong family-friendly focus, but as well is great for those looking for something new but with a nostalgic feel.
Review Fix: Bottom line, why must someone play this game?
Bergeron: If you’re a fan of indie games that stand out as a bit different, and having unusual gameplay mechanics & rules then you’re used to, Astervoid 2000 is for you.
Review Fix: How do you want this game to be remembered?
Bergeron: At the heart of it, it’s more about the experience of playing a game like this in person with your friends. Our goal is for players to remember those good times they spent together getting heated about a match-up or laughing at the absurdity of it.
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