1993 Space Machine cover
1993 Space Machine screenshot
PC Mac Switch Steam
Genre: Shooter, Indie

1993 Space Machine

Borrowed Designs

Pixel Art or Retro Style
Initially pixel art was the only game in town. Now it has become a deliberate design choice.
Some time ago I tried to explain the art style of our space shooter 1993 Space Machine to a new artist that would help us out with some additions to the game. As I explained our way of working to him I realized that people today that are making pixelated retro graphics have a different approach to it then what we had.

In 1993 we were doing our best to hide the technical limitations of the time, but today that is embraced as part of the charm and style. So the limitations back then shaped our style, just like the now popular retro pixel style, but for completely opposite reasons.

Rough or smooth?


The screen resolution of 320x256 pixels presented a challenge in getting graphics to look smooth. We spent lots and lots of time on 'anti aliasing', or smoothing out the edges, of our art. However, this is almost never done today, as seen in these two examples of the great games 'Hoppenhelm' and 'Zero Ranger'. To us, this would not be finished artwork, but has today been accepted as a deliberate art style.



So 'anti aliasing' is the process of smoothing out unwanted pixelated edges that appear on high contrast areas. I've tried to illustrate what's going on in the image here.



Red= Desired shape.
Green= Shave off 'subpixels'.
Yellow= Fill up 'subpixels'.
On shapes where the angle is small, a longer distance for smoothing out the aliasing is needed, as illustrated with the line in the image. This means more shades of that color are needed than when anti aliasing tight angles, like the circle. The objects appear a bit more blurry, but smoother. Modern pixel art is on the other hand often sharper but also very rough.

A clear example of this in effect can be seen in this planet. All smooth edges, but not as sharp.

1993 Space Machine Soundtrack Released!
Any true fan of the game will undoubtedly have had any of the several songs on repeat in their head rent-free, but who really wants to boot up the game just to get earwormed?

Finally out now, you can get your hands on the 1993 Space Machine Soundtrack! Bob your head to instant classics such as "level1", "ENDSEQ", or the immortal track "maintheme"!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1236440/1993_Space_Machine_OST

Updated Japanese localization, Bugfixes, MacOS
We recently released an update for 1993!

The instakill was in fact a bug caused by shield mechanics not working as intended. This has been fixed, and players should face less frustrations with progressing through the game now.


Full patch notes:

  • Updated Japanese localization
  • Fixed shield mechanics
  • Corrected minor bugs
  • Updated MacOS version

Japanese Localization and bug fixes
Updated Japanese localization
Fixed shield mechanics
Corrected minor bugs

Public testing now available for the next update!
Dear players, we humbly invite you to test the upcoming patch!
If you run into any problems or have feedback, please let us know.

The beta runs until April 14, 09:OO PT.

To opt into the beta, follow these steps:
1. Go to your Steam library
2. Right-click the game
3. Click 'Properties'
4. Click 'Betas'
5. Select the beta_public branch from the drop-down list
6. Install and play!

Patch notes:


  • Removed Instaspawn
  • In single player mode always respawn at last checkpoint
  • In multiplayer respawn at last checkpoint when last player dies
  • Restored Bull head and Firebird bullet patterns

Remote Play together Stream with RankOne.global
"Space can be lonely and cold, but you don't have to be. Hop in your Star fighter in 1993 and join a battling squadron. There were not online multiplayer like Remote Play in the old Amiga days but that doesn't prevent us from aiming for one now.

The Mac is back!


First of all - we are grateful for your patience as this took longer than expected. But now we have finally managed to get mac support back for the game. So for all you Apple fans out there - please enjoy some retro shmup love!

And as always - we appreciate your company in our forums or a honest review.

Patch notes:


  • Added MacOS support
  • Shield Achievement fix


A humble request


As you might or might not be aware of - Steam visibility and sales are very much based on the the interaction with you, the players. A key factor here is to leave a review of the game. It doesn't have to be a novel, but we would love if you could share your thoughts of the game with the rest of the potential players.

Good stuff and bad stuff - spill it all out!

Our next game Chenso Club is incoming! Spread the gospel!
Winter Sale is coming to an end - but there is more to come! Both for 1993 but also for some other pixel action we are working on, namely our next uber cute and gory platform brawler Chenso Club.

Check this out - we think it is going to be pretty dope. Wishlist it now and get info on hpw to in to the upcoming beta test.
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