Review Fix Exclusive: Inside ‘Age of Space’

Review Fix chats with “Age of Space developer Anders Lindås, to find out all about the indie game and what makes it a special one.

About Age of Space:

Age of Space is a unique gaming experience, in its own defined genre tower defense versus. Featuring deep ship customization and online multiplayer. You play as the commander of a massive capital spaceship and your job is to make preparations and tactical decisions to defeat the enemy commander.

The game is played in two different phases; First is the preparation phase where you configure your fleet. Each ship can be modified with your own set of modules, weapons, and orders. The player will spend a lot of time refining the fleet setup and trying out different approaches to defeat the opponent with a superior setup and battle plan.

Next up is the actual battle phase, either online against other players or versus the AI. In battle, your first concern should be to set up your mining operation to supply you with the minerals you need to purchase ships. All ships except for the miners will automatically engage nearby hostiles on sight. The ships will act based on how they are configured in the first phase, but you can also select primary targets for your fleet to override their preconfigured behavior.

Matches can end with a win, lose or draw. Depending on the fortunes of war, you either destroy your enemy, force him to leave the battlefield, flee like a coward or go down with the ship. Each outcome provides the player with rewards reflecting his performance. No matter the outcome, you’re richer in experience (and hopefully salvage!) and it’s back to the drawing board to perfect your fleet.

Review Fix: How was this game born?

Anders Lind̴s: I have always had a dream of making a video game. Inspired by games like Eve Online, Homeworld and Age of War РI decided to make a similar game combining the best elements from these games.

Review Fix: What has development been like so far?

Lindås: Age of Space started out as a solo project. I soon realized that the game outgrew my capacity as a part-time solo developer. We are now a team of five working on the game. We are also lucky to have a dedicated community which gives us feedback along the way.

Review Fix: What makes this game special?

Lindås: Defining its own genre, Age of space offers a unique gameplay experience in what we’ve dubbed tower defense versus. While the space battles are certainly visually striking, the focus is on strategic decision making rather than individual unit control. The path to victory lies in customizing your fleet, gathering the right minerals and building the right units at the right time.

Review Fix: What games influenced this one the most?

Lindås: Our main influence comes from Eve Online and Age of War. I really like the Eve universe, but I don’t have time to play as much anymore. Instead, we want to pick out the best parts from Eve and put them into a more accessible platform. The way the combat works is inspired by the good old game Age of War but with a much more complex implementation. Also, we keep hearing that our game “looks just like Homeworld” so I guess we’re inspired by that game as well.

Review Fix: Any fun stories or wild moments during development?

Lindås: In January we applied to participate in Nordic Game Discovery Awards Oslo, but we did not qualify for the pitching contest. A couple of days before the contest we received a mail saying “You can participate if you respond immediately!”. We worked through the night to prepare the pitch and caught a plane the next morning. After a long day of presentations and waiting, the jury finally announced the winners of NGDA Oslo as “PodPal Games with Age of Space!”. This sent us to the grand finals in Malmö this May where we, unfortunately, didn’t make it to the top.

Review Fix: Do you think preserving older gameplay mechanics in new games is important?

Lindås: Don’t even get me started. We grew up in the 80s and 90s where things like loot boxes and “pay to win” didn’t exist. We do embrace modern mechanics as long as they bring value and fun to the game. However, we don’t like it when modern game mechanics are used as a business model to push the player into a position where they need to pay in order to progress.

Review Fix: What’s your favorite memory as a gamer?

Lindås: This one is hard. If I have to pick one incident it would have to be a solo roam in Eve Online where I was able to harass two pilots in their home system in a cheap cruiser. I ended up killing them both even if they had much bigger and more expensive ships then I had.

Review Fix: Who will enjoy this game the most?

Lindås: Combining space with tower defense will attract a great variety of players, but I believe strategy- and space game lovers will enjoy Age of Space the most. AOS aim to attract casual gamers with its accessible gameplay and deep customization options for the more hardcore players.

Review Fix: How do you want this game to be remembered?

Lindås: I want this game to be remembered as one of those games you just couldn’t take your hands off. You would always keep strategizing your fleet wherever you were, even on your companion mobile app. We hope that dedicated players will spend years in this game fighting their way to the top.

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