Thanks for the compliments again, and for anyone who sees our game as an instant purchase. It is very well appreciated! “Shmup” fans (I prefer “2D shooter” actually) are a cool group. We are thinking about writing a special and personal message to all shmup fans in our game; not something from a “company” that is technically precise and lacking of heart. And maybe even ask them to help if they like the game by posting videos of their gameplay. It would help us so much as developers to see this gameplay, as well as promote Duality ZF on the side.
Anyway, dual play (controlling two fighters at once) is a cooperative effort and is nothing like controlling two cars at once racing each other (?). I do not follow that comparison! It is incredibly fun and I recommend to everyone to try it.
VTF-INO is well known for his incredible dual play efforts in Ikaruga. He is not the originator of the idea, but certainly played a part in spreading it. We hope to further his work and spread dual play to the masses. We know some gamers will not understand and some will be afraid to try, but once they do… they’ll be hooked.
Video results for VTF-INO and Ikaruga:
http://video.google.ca/videosearch?q=vtf-ino%20ikaruga
The idea was originally born as an underground concept in Japanese arcades, where players were looking for extra challenges. Before we heard of dual play (sometimes called double play), and before we heard of VTF-INO, we used to dual play some of our favorite shooters. Not trying to steal credit, but just saying we were right there, too. And we are glad to finally play a bigger part in the game.
Now about our difficulty…
Our trailer footage is shot by our own gameplay in some very extreme modes. Do not worry about how hard the game looks. Some of that footage is performed in difficulty modes that are not even available by default, and must be unlocked, only to those who are worthy. If you can beat the game in the highest difficulty mode, the next one unlocks.
We have a training and easy mode for newcomers and for shmup fans to take on dual play for the first time. We do force you to be in normal mode to beat the game. We had to put an end to bad reviews, before they began, where the reviewer plays through the whole game in the easiest mode, skips the challenge (the heart) of the game, and judges it unfairly.
Trust me, the bullets you can navigate in our game will impress you. You may at first be intimidated, but that just makes the reward of success that much sweeter.
There are no special weapons in our game. No bombs. No charge up shots. Nothing to save your ass except moving out of the way of the bullets. This was done by design. The game focuses not on gimmicks but instead on pure, basic gameplay: move and shoot. That is why you see the crazy action you see in the trailer, because it’s possible. Gamers can do that. And if you make a game that focuses only on that, keeping the decision making simple (move and shoot), you can accomplish amazing things.
I never liked bombs. They let you skip pass the bosses. They make you feel bad when you die and you haven’t used them. Expert players just want to store them. We solved this all by not having them.
What we did instead, was offer real tools that real expert shmup fans want to use, namely dual play and the dual spread/laser weapon that lets you choose spread or laser on the fly. When you play the game, you will see and feel that we give you what you want. You want something more to help you out? Have another ship! (ie. dual play.)
Rant, done!
Matthew Doucette / Xona Games
...our Xbox 360 dual play 2D shooter: Duality ZF
