Retro/Grade is something that I never really thought I would see. A hybrid Shooter/Rhythm (leaning more toward the rhythm side) game played in reverse. You play as Rick Rocket, the guy who just saved the universe. The problem is that Rick left so much destruction in his wake that he caused a temporal anomaly which reversed the flow of time. Now you have to play your way back through your journey. The major element of game play is making sure your ship is in the correct place when your laser fire comes back at you. Failure to do so, or dying, will cause a time paradox. That’s bad. The music in the game is affected by you either catching or missing your laser shots; this is where the rhythm comes in. Here is the trailer so you can see exactly what I’m talking about.
There used to be an embeded media player here, but it doesn't work anymore. We blame the Tumbeasts.
The game caught my interested so I reached out to 24 Caret Games and Matt Gilgenbach was kind enough to get back to me. Along with providing some screenshots and game play footage from the game he took the time to answer a few questions for me. Gamasutra already did a great job of interviewing him so I only asked a few questions that weren’t answered in the Gamasutra interview.
I know the release is slated for sometime in 2011, but do you have any idea of how early or late into 2011 you are looking to release the game?
We aren’t really sure when in 2011 we will release because we have a “when it’s done” development methodology.
Is there a specific reason why you are developing for PS3 over XBLA or PC?
One advantage of PS3 over XBLA is that you don’t need a publisher for PSN. Self publishing allows us to retain all ownership and control of Retro/Grade. We feel that the game will resonate better with a console audience than PC, which is why we are focusing on PS3 over PC.
From what I have read and briefly heard from the trailers it’s looking like the game will have a nice soundtrack. Any plans to release a soundtrack for the game for download (free or purchase)?
We are definitely interested in releasing the soundtrack in some form and are talking to our composer about that.
Yeah, I know, I’m not Barbara Walters but those are a few questions I had after reading the Gamasutra interview. For those of you with guitar controllers, you will be able to use your controller with this game. Instead of having to move one lane at a time you will be able to jump between lanes in the “Rhythm Mode” control scheme. From what I have seen so far I am really digging the look of the game. The levels have great glow and lighting effects. In the videos below you will see those effects along with the smooth frame rate and polished graphics. We will stay up to date on Retro/Grade and give you information as it comes to us. Look out for Retro/Grade sometime in 2011. In the meantime, here are some game play videos and screenshots of the game so far.
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