Our friends from Hyperstrange are releasing a passion project of theirs. It’s called LOUD and it’s a wholesome, rhythm guitar arcade game fuelled by early 2000's inspired pop-punk / emo riffs and a classic coming-of-age story.
The team is releasing it first on Nintendo Switch, and just a tad later here on Steam.
Here’s the launch trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=62O7Xy0ir_Y&ab_
These days, there aren’t a lot of new rhythm guitar games out there, let alone one with a story so they figured they would try fill this little gap. All the songs are custom written by them, and the story takes you on a journey of 16 year old Astrid as she goes from playing air guitar in her bedroom to signing her first deal with a talent scout.
It’s like a mix of Guitar Hero meets Life is Strange.
If this sounds like your kind of jam, check it out on the Nintendo eShop.
Or wishlist and follow the Steam page so you’ll find out when the game will launch on PC!
Thanks and hope to see you right there on the stage!
Welcome to Bang-On Balls!
Heyo,
If you've been enjoying the wider Untold Tales portfolio of games, we've got another wild adventure coming your way!
We're delighted to welcome Bang-On Balls: Chronicles from the team at Exit Plan Games to Untold Tales!
Bang-On Balls: Chronicles is a crazy 3D platformer inspired by some of the best games of the genre including some Italian plumbers, a blue hedgehog, or a bear with a bird on his backpack. Become a reckless hero, customize your ballsy character, and play by yourself or in 4 player co-op with friends through various (slightly inaccurate) historically themed levels.
Welcoming two boisterous twin-stick shooters to our catalogue!
Look, we get it. Sometimes, you just want to shoot the bad guys. So we're providing you two titles full of guns, planet hopping, otherworldly creatures and action galore.
You'll have all the ammo you need to take on hordes of creatures and shoot to your heart's content in these action packed arcade shooters that are new to our Untold Tales catalogue.
First off, there's Robonauts. A vibrant shoot 'em up where you lead Robo on a universe-saving mission - alone or together with family and friends in co-op!
Add them to your wishlist, or buy straight away if you're itching for some twin-stick madness 🕹
Hugs, - Untold Tales - QubicGames - Whalegun
Chinese, do you speak it? (Update 31 - 7th May 2017)
Greetings Travellers!
It's been a long time since our latest update, so here is what has happened:
In October we ran out of money and were forced to find a more reliable source of income. Fortunately we were both able to take up work at Zaxis Games working on their upcoming Viking game called Fimbul.
Later in January Mathias became a father and Rune started working at Flashbulb Games on the game Trailmarkers. This has left us with little time for Utopia 9...
Award Nomination
However, in March we were nominated for an award in the category Best Danish Language Game in the danish game awards Spilprisen, which makes us very proud. Regardless of the outcome, we appreciate being taken serious by the industry and being recognized for our hard work, even if we have only been two guys working on the game for most part.
TV Interview
The day after being nominated, we were interviewed for an Indie Game episode of the danish television program Troldspejlet. This episode later aired on national television the 9th of April. It's a program well known by most danes, so we were naturally thrilled and it was fun to take part.
New Trailer & Artwork
Furthermore Level Up REACH have finished their work on our new trailer and it is available on our Steam Store page and on Youtube. Check it out!
The Update
- Thanks to Vun aka. WW H @vunkoooo, we are happy to announce Chinese translations of the game, both in traditional and simplified chinese. Hopefully this will make the game available to even more people to enjoy!
- This update includes a performance fix for when many mutants are idle off screen. This could introduce bugs related to their animation, so please report any regressions.
- Fixed an audio-bug when playing in local co-op.
The Future
Because of the limited financial success, the future of Utopia 9 is uncertain. There are always features and platforms we would have liked to introduce however we are very proud with what we have achieved and are extremely happy with having had the opportunity to make Utopia 9. We'd like to thank all who have taken part of our journey!
So, until next time, have a great vacation!
Happy Easter! Check out Utopia 9's new trailer and poster!
Utopia 9 – A Volatile Vacation is a rogue-like 3D twin stick shooter.
The game is set in a tragicomic future with a retro sci-fi feel. You play as the most recent guest to arrive on the vacation resort Utopia 9 but nothing is as promised! Upon arrival, you must make your way through hordes of space mutants determined to take you out and snatch your loot. The nemesis system adds unique enemies and invites the player to take revenge on the mutant murderers! Can you survive the mutant onslaught and sue the travel agency?
Utopia 9 is a Rogue-Like 3D Twin Stick Shooter, featuring:
Procedurally generated levels!
- Challenging gameplay & Permanent death!
- Shields, armors and lots of powerful weapons!
- Mutations granting unique abilities!
- Evolving enemies that loot your corpse!
- Avenge yourself and reclaim your gear!
Thanks to: Silas Amdi for the amazing work on the poster.
Jonas Jessen for audio, Bubbles LP and ReformistTM for Voice over work.
Evgeni Hristov for trailer visuals, Jon Einar for SFX, animation, and cinematics. Jevgeni for editing, animation, and post-production. Thomas Huusmann for animation.
All our fans for the support.
4 player Local Co-Op is Foursome (Update 30 - 27th Oct 2016)
Hey everyone!
Today's update is a big one and features not 1, not 2, not 3, but a whoopin' 4 player local co-op!
So gather your friends and fetch your game controllers, this vacation will be a BLAST!
Local Co-op
You can now play the game 1 to 4 players in local co-op mode. As more players were introduced we found certain things had to be improved. As an added benefit this means the existing 2 player local co-op mode has also been improved significantly as a result.
Added color-coded particle effect to player corpses.
Added color-coded selection circle to alive players.
Armors of players no longer loses their helm in local co-op.
Players are now restricted from moving to far from eachother.
Mutate- and Sample-dialog is closed automatically in local co-op.
Interaction hints now show icons of buttons and items.
Players outside the playable areas are now "recovered" to a closer position.
Each crate contains items according to the number of players.
Added new mutation and sample icons for player 3 and 4.
Added character portraits for player 3 and 4.
Main Menu updated to support player 3 and 4.
Health and stun reduction of enemies scale with the square root of the number of players.
Game Controller Support
We noticed trigger buttons sometimes being mixed up when multiple XBox (or XBox-like) controllers with the same name were connected. To solve this we've had to replace the input API we've previously used. As a positive side-effect more controllers should now be working without customized setup. If you encounter any problems, make sure to let us know in the forums!
Fixed trigger buttons sometimes being mixed between some controllers.
Added more default controls setups for common controllers.
Each input in the controls setup now corresponds to a specific controller.
Fixed multiple cases of user interface losing focus when using game controllers.
Macs Maintenance and Mini Mines
Last week Whalegun was hit by the resistent Whale-flu so things were a bit slow. However today we're back with yet another update packed with more firepower and a long awaited fix for Mac OSX users!
Mini Mine Layer
Can't get enough mines? The brand new Mini Mine Layer to the rescue!
One-handed level 4 Explosive Weapon that fires 5 mines in a row.
Be careful: The mines are unstable and will explode before long!
Mac Fix
For quite some time, Mac users have reported consistent game freezes during the spacepod touchdown. A new version of Unity has now been made available to us, that appear to have resolved the issue. If you encounter any other problems, please let us know in the Steam Forums!
Balance and Fixes
Fixed problems with exiting buildings in local co-op in Vacation Resorts.
Players now start on the ground in each level as before.
Fixed enemies trying to run through forcefields in Staff Only areas.
The fence in start and end of Staff Only areas can now be shot open.
Weapons with sequencial attacks now show the number of attacks.
Fixed tooltips disappearing in World Map when using Game Controllers.
Joystick Aim now has 4 directions instead of assuming axes input.
Fixed enemies sometimes spawning inside entrances in Staff Only Area.
Fixed Item Crates being stuck and pushing items and players away.
The Gate in Arrival area no longer blocks view of enemies.
Tour Guide Umbrella now folds after blocking to better indicate its use.
Mines are now visible behind other objects.
Fixed enemies getting stuck in corners of Cave Adventure areas.
Up Next
We're currently working towards a Console port. We would like to support 4 players in local co-op for the launch, so were working on getting that ready as well. Finally we're working with a highly skilled marketing team who are working on a brand new trailer for the game, and it's looking really promising! So lots of exciting things going on, although the updates will be less regular in the near future.
Lasers with Curves and Stunning Shurikens! (Update 28 - 8th Sep 2016)
It's thursday and time for the weekly update. Today we're proud to bring you two brand new weapons!
Curve Zapper
Hit them once and the Curve Zapper will take care of the rest!
One-handed level 4 Energy Weapon that bends lasers!
Subsequent shots bends towards last enemy hit.
Tangle Taser
Now you can finally recharge your smartphone from across the room. Just make sure you set the power levels right and check that it's shuriken proof!
Two-handed level 3 Energy Weapon that fires energy shurikens!
The shurikens stick to enemies and creates a power field that electrifies them.
Gameplay
Enemies now attack much sooner with the chainsaw.
The chainsaw now has slightly longer range.
Projectiles now collide with the body parts of the characters.
Main menu description for Player 2 will now show if no controller is found.
The Camera should now be unlocked for all players.
Enemies no longer attempt to flee to friends inside other buildings.
Shields of enemies now breaks when they die.
Twitch
We're continuing our live streaming of the further development on Twitch.tv. We plan to do so every Tuesday and Friday from around 10-17 UTC+1.
Please stop by and say hello! :-)
Reel in mutant gore - slice it into coleslaw! (Update 27 - 25th Aug 2016)
Hey space tourists! We are excited to present two brand new all-purpose-endless-battery- lifetime-tools to make your vacation more enjoyable. Forever!
Chainsaw
The flora of Utopia 9 is perfect for practicing your skills at plant sculpting. However, you’ll need the right tools for the job: The new chainsaw is perfect and is even great for mowing through armies of mutants: Groovy!
One-handed level 4 melee weapon that deals massive damage.
Continued use may cause temporary overheating!
Harpoon
Wanna go fishing? Forgot to bring the lure? Then why not try out the harpoon! With the help of the harpoon you’ll be reeling in the deadliest catch of Utopia 9 in no time. Don’t forget to take a picture!
Two-handed level 3 melee weapon that has two different attacks.
Primary attack is a grappling hook that pulls enemies towards you.
Secondary attack is a powerful thrusting stab.
Gameplay
Projectile Parry and shield deflect aims towards the crosshair now.
Mutants using bullet or melee weapons doesn’t sidestep after attacks anymore.
Mutants no longer “get stuck” using certain weapons if they have other weapons.
Weapon should no longer keep teleporting to the player's feet.
Twitch
We've been doing a bit of experimentation with Twitch streaming the development of Utopia 9 and should start broadcasting regularly mondays and wednesdays starting the 5th of september!
Our channel is named WhalegunTwitch if you want to follow us.
The next update will be in two weeks and if all goes well, we'll introduce two new items.
Grenades and Utilities! (Update 26 - 18th Aug 2016)
Grenades have been part of the game for quite some time now, but they've never quite settled down. With this update we're giving them a more appropriate place in the game while at the same time preparing to add more interesting items in the future.
Utility Items
The game now has a new type of item: Utility Items!
Players can now pick up utility items.
The player's inventory now has a dedicated slot for Utility Items.
Utility items are used with separate input.
Arrival area shows default Utility input (Press F or Right Joystick).
Grenades are now Utility items, so no longer competes with weapons.
The tourist starts with a high-powered camera that stuns enemies.
Mini-Mart Marketing
A lot of new players overlook the mini-mart building in Vacation Resort areas, so we've upgraded their exterior to draw more attention.
Mini-Marts now have a large animated sign to draw attention.
A hologram have been placed near Mini-Marts indicating it's type.
Gameplay, Changes and Fixes
Ammunition is now transferred when picking up the same weapon.
Fixed a "teleportation bug" near exit of Boss building.
Tune in next week where we'll release a number of cool new weapons!
