VVVVVV is heading to iOS, Android, Ouya and Vita
Cavanagh's "DarkSoulslike" due soon, Halting Problem still happening.
VVVVVV creator Terry Cavanagh is bringing his beloved retro platforming adventure to iOS, Android, Vita and Ouya in 2014.
The indie developer teased the idea of a mobile port in October when he released his Orpheus-themed experiment Don't Look Back on iOS and Android as a sort of "trial run" to see how it would feel on the touch screen. Apparently he was pleased with it, because he decided to pursue that VVVVVV mobile port after all.
"I've had an incomplete iOS version of the game working for over a year now, but other projects have kept me from finishing it up. I'd really like to get that out soon, though," Cavanagh said on his blog. "Over Christmas I spent a little time finishing up the port, and I'm happy to say that the really hard stuff is done, now. I just need a week or two to sort out the details."
"This year, I'm going to release VVVVVV on PS Vita, on iPad, on iPhone, on Android, on Ouya. And, if I can manage it, all at the same time," he added. "This will very likely be the last thing I ever do with VVVVVV, and I wanna go out with a bang!"
We were big fans of VVVVVV here at Eurogamer, with both Oli Welsh and I speaking highly of it in our respective PC and 3DS reviews. "VVVVVV provides more moment to moment pleasure in its scant two or three hour campaign than most games do at four times the length," I wrote of the minimalist adventure.
Elsewhere in Cavanagh's docket, he's working on an "Untitled DarkSoulslike" with Golden Campaign artist Cristian "CROM" Ortiz. This should be out in "another month or so," Cavanagh estimated. Previously, he described the game's combat mechanic as "Dark Souls meets JRPG meets Street Fighter."
"It's all about blocking at the right time, attacking at the right time, while managing your health, stamina and status effects. Nothing too complex, but it's frantic and fun!" The untitled project will be a non-commercial release (i.e. free), and was originally expected to come out by Christmas, but you know how these things go.
Meanwhile, Cavanagh's upcoming puzzle game Halting Problem is becoming something of a halting problem for Cavanagh as he's put the project on the back burner until he has the time to dedicate himself fully to it. "Halting Problem is a big, scary game. There are a few ideas at its heart that I think have potential to be very, very special, if I'm good enough to bring them to life. I haven't forgotten about this game," he explained. "When I come back to this game, I don't want there to be any distractions - I can feel that working on this one is going to be all consuming, that's it's going to take everything I have."