Hive Jump

[zenith16]

This Gorgeous Wii U Game Is A Mix Of Turn-Based Strategy And Action Platforming. August 7, 2014 . 3:58pm

Hive Jump is a Kickstarter project that bills itself as “one part Spelunky, one part XCOM”.

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Hive Jump is a Kickstarter project that bills itself as “one part Spelunky, one part XCOM” in a retro-style pixelart game. If it gets funded, it’ll also hit the Wii U without any additional stretch goals alongside PC.

Hive Jump sets players as Humanity’s only hopes against an encroaching alien threat. The solution? Blast every last one of them to heck. The game itself comes in two portions: a turn-based strategy mode, and a side-scrolling action-platformer mode versus the hordes of aliens waiting to bite your head off.

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During real-time mode, you can jump into an alien hive either by yourself, or with up to four players in local or online multiplayer. Here, the mission for the J.U.M.P. troops is simply to get the backpack transponder to the alien queen and detonate the nuke. This mode will feature plenty of alien scum to kill, hidden relics and items to discover, and jetpacks. Oh, and permadeath. It appears it’s possible to lose the backpack transponder in hazardous locations which are impossible to retrieve. You then have to call it a loss.

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What’s really cool is the Sprite Lamp tech in the game. Hive Jump has what the team calls “dynamic per-texel lighting”, which dynamically light up the dark and cramped (and procedurally generated) corridors with multi-colored lights depending on what weapons are being fired and where. Different weapons will reflect their glows on walls and enemies, as does the glow of your armor, and it makes the game look hella pretty.

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In the turn-based mode, it channels XCom by having you manage basic overviews of bases for the J.U.M.P. Corps. During the turn, you have to choose from a variety of simple but tough options like fortifying bases or bombarding enemy alien hives before deciding which alien hive you’ll actively attack. With the possibility of failure during the real-time segments, the campaign can be changed.

Graphite Labs state up front that the Wii U version won’t launch at the same time as the PC version. Why? In their FAQ, they note the Wii U version will be “more than just a port” of the PC version. They note the Wii U title will have “special features” that make use of the platform, with further details to be revealed at a later date.

Music for Hive Jump is done by Big Giant Circles, who’ve done work on titles including Borderlands 2, Mass Effect 2 and Call of Duty: Black Ops 2.

Hive Jump is currently on Kickstarter. If funded, it’ll come to PC, Mac, Linux and the Wii U. Stretch goals also show hope for a Xbox One and PlayStation 4 debut.


Read more stories about Hive Jump & PC & Videos & Wii U on Siliconera.

source: Siliconera

 

[zenith16]

Hive Jump Developer Talks Wii U Version, Online Multiplayer. August 15, 2014 . 1:59pm

Hive Jump developer Graphite Lab recently conducted an AMA on Reddit during which they discussed different aspects of the game.

Hive Jump developer Graphite Lab recently conducted an AMA on Reddit during which they discussed different aspects of the game, including the game’s Wii U release. Hive Jump will be released first on PC and a Wii U release will follow a few months later.

Regarding online multiplayer in the Wii U version of the game, Matt Donatelli, lead designer of Hive Jump, stated, “Hive Jump already has functional local co-op, and we’re definitely planning on making the online co-op as robust as possible for the Wii U.”

“The Wii U version will launch a few months after the PC/MAC/LINUX version, so we’re going to take that time to make a gameplay features specifically for the Wii U, using the GamePad, as well as making sure the Wii U online play support is as good as we can make it! We would love to be able to support 2 player local / 2 player online, but it’s something we’ll have to look more into as we get along further in development.”

Regarding voice chat, Donatelli shared, “Voice chat is something we’d very much like to include, because we think good teamwork is critical to enjoying Hive Jump. We know that Nintendo is more of a controlled environment and didn’t encourage devs to include a lot of voice chat functionality in the Wii days, but perhaps that’s changing with the Wii U! Something we’re looking forward to learning more about when we get to implementing Online Multiplayer for the Wii U.”

Donatelli added that the in between the release of the PC and Wii U versions will be used to add some exclusive content to the Wii U release, including some sort of special game mode centred around the GamePad. Graphite Labs are also considering tossing in a few Easter Eggs that reference Nintendo brands, but say they need to discuss that with Nintendo first, to check if they would be okay with it.

Hive Jump is being crowdfunded through Kickstarter. You can contribute to the game through its Kickstarter page.

Read more stories about Hive Jump & PC & Wii U on Siliconera.

source: Siliconera