Factsheet
Developer:
Space Dust Studios / Varkian Empire
Based in Melbourne, Australia
Release date:
2016
Platforms:
PC (Steam)
Xbox One
PlayStation 4
Website:
obliteracers.com
Regular Price:
USD14.99 |
Description
Intergalactic party racing mayhem! Obliteracers is an award-winning same-screen party racer for up to 16 players. Race brutal-cute aliens on exotic planets, using weapon powerups and physics-based vehicles to annihilate your competition in frantic round-based combat. Connect spare gamepads, laptops and smart devices as extra controllers. Stragglers will be eliminated... only one alien shall prevail!
History
Obliteracers (formerly Space Dust Racers) was an inevitable project. The studio directors grew up with couch multiplayer classics like Micro Machines, Mashed, Crash Team Racing and Mario Kart. Now with children of their own, they wanted to relive those golden gaming experiences and bring their kids along for the ride. During gaming nights with close friends, the team also noticed a distinct lack of same-screen combat racing games that supported more than 4 players. They saw an opportunity to create a product that met the needs of both audiences, and began work on their debut game, allowing smartphones and laptops to be used as extra controllers. Taking reference from titles like Worms and Ratchet & Clank, they refined a "brutal cute" art style that would appeal to family gamers and core gamers alike. The studio began prototyping Obliteracers, leveraging their past AAA experience with multiplayer, smartphone tech, sci-fi and vehicular gameplay. They then pitched to investors within Australia and abroad. Their concept was approved by Film Victoria Australia, allowing them to produce a "vertical slice" demo which featured one track and two characters from the final game. This caught the attention of Microsoft and Sony at GDC, who registered them shortly after as developers for Xbox One and PlayStation 4. While Obliteracers is in production, the team are blogging candidly about their workflow and challenges.
Features
- Addictive combat racing for all ages featuring brutal-cute aliens, exotic locations and absurd weapon powerups
- Squeeze 16 local players onto the same screen using gamepads, laptops and smart devices as extra controllers (PC only)
- Battle friends and family on the couch, compete against others online, or play solo in career mode
- Highly-customisable party game modes with dozens of gameplay modifiers and presets for endless variety
- Simple controls for newcomers, with advanced strategies for veteran players
- Drop-in drop-out multiplayer for parties
Videos
Obliteracers Steam Trailer (February 2016) YouTube
Ways To Play Obliteracers Trailer (February 2016) YouTube
GDC Interview (March 2015) YouTube
Images
Click through for high-resolution images.
Logo & Icon
Awards & Recognition
- "Winner, Best Technology" Freeplay Games Festival, Melbourne April 2015
- "Winner, Indie Game Showcase" iFEST Independent Games Festival, Melbourne March 2015
- "Selected Project, Unreal Engine 4 GDC Showcase" Unreal Engine GDC Booth, Game Developers Conference, San Francisco March 2015
Additional Links
Steam Store
store.steampowered.com/app/368740.
Steam Community Hub
steamcommunity.com/app/368740/discussions.
PSN Store
store.playstation.com/#!/en-us/games/obliteracers/cid=UP0895-CUSA05428_00-OBLITERACERS0001.
Xbox One Store
microsoft.com/en-us/store/p/obliteracers/bwxcgz7t8x0d.
Twitter
twitter.com/obliteracers.
Facebook
facebook.com/obliteracers.
Reddit
reddit.com/r/obliteracers.
YouTube
youtube.com/spaceduststudios.
Instagram
instagram.com/spaceduststudios.
Developer Blog
blog.spaceduststudios.com.
About Space Dust Studios / Varkian Empire
Boilerplate
Space Dust Studios Pty Ltd is a video game developer from Melbourne, Australia. The company trades internationally as Varkian Empire. The team are former developers from Visceral Games, Crystal Dynamics and Atari, and have contributed to franchises such as Battlefield, Need For Speed, Tomb Raider, Dead Space, Burnout and Silent Hill. They are currently working on their debut party combat racer "Obliteracers" for PC, Xbox One and PS4.
More information
More information on Space Dust Studios / Varkian Empire, our logo & relevant media are available here.
Obliteracers Credits
Nathan Thomas
Director, Creative and Art Director
Michael Davies
Director, Lead Gameplay Developer
Grigor Pedrioli
Director, Senior Artist
Glen Stuart
Director, Lead Technology Developer
Stephen Honegger
Director, Senior Artist
Funding Support
Film Victoria
Soundtrack Provided By
The Otherworld Agency
Publisher
Deck13 Interactive
Contact
Inquiries
press@spaceduststudios.com
Twitter
twitter.com/spaceduststudio
Facebook
facebook.com/spaceduststudios
Australian Website
spaceduststudios.com
International Website
varkianempire.com
presskit() by Rami Ismail (Vlambeer) - also thanks to these fine folks