What kind of world does Sky Battles take place in? Looks like there will be no shortage of cool giant robots.
Currently the levels include canyons with tall bridges, caves with death rays and giant metal doors that have to be expertly shot at to open. Some passage ways will be locked and others will break apart and allow access when fired upon, but the player has to shoot well to find the right entryways before it’s too late. There are also plans for an arctic level, archipelago and other worlds that allow for challenging flights of fancy. Enemy vehicles follow a Machine Age theme. Some are giant robots that seek to crush your craft with their hands and Kraken tentacles that burst out from the sea to smash your plane. There will also be giant airships, helicopters and steampunk-inspired dragons to contend with. You’ll have to dodge, shoot or both to defeat these iron beasts.
How will players control the airplane? Are you planning to make both tilt and joystick controls available for steering, and what all can this airplane do?
Players will have their choice between an onscreen D-pad or tilt. Depending on Multiplayer or single player mode, the plane will have stealth, mine and missile capabilities. Other weapons may be a consideration for future updates.
How much experience did you have with Unity before starting Sky Battles? Did you ever entertain any alternative game engines, or did you have your heart set on Unity from the beginning?
I’ve been using Unity3D almost every day since late 2009 for client work and I’m always impressed when each version of the engine comes out. My client work with this tool has exposed me to many different aspects of the engine and this has benefited the development of Sky Battles. That being said, I have tried other engines like GameSalad and Stencyl. Both are great and they have potential, but I feel Unity3D is perfect for a game like Sky Battles and isn’t that much harder to code. When I first saw code in Unity script and C#, it didn’t look alien to me. It made sense. Furthermore, anyone with experience in a 3D program will likely take to Unity’s editor interface.
What work remains to be done on Sky Battles? Do you have a release window in mind yet, or is it still too early?
Lots of work to do because I can only work on this project during weekends. It’s my dream to just stop taking client work and focus on games like Sky Battles. My plan is to launch Sky Battles on the App Store by summer 2012.
Big thanks to Peter for taking the time out to answer our questions about Sky Battles! Check out the Magnetic Studio website to learn more about his project history and keep an eye out for official Sky Battles announcements.