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Revolution 60

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Revolution 60
Developer(s)Giant Spacekat
EngineUnreal Engine
Platform(s)iOS
Mode(s)Single-player

Revolution 60 is an interactive video game by Giant Spacekat for iOS platforms, in which a team of four women working in an anime-themed special forces unit attempt to liberate a space station.

Giant Spacekat first announced Revolution 60 at PAX East in March 2013. Originally targeted to release in late 2013, the development schedule was extended. In July 2013, the company ran a Kickstarter campaign, asking for $5,000 to port the game to PC and Mac, in addition to iOS. The game was released for iOS in July 2014, receiving a 73/100 score from critics on the video game review score aggregator Metacritic.

Setting and plot

Revolution 60 is set an unknown time in the future, where political issues have grown between the US and China, and space has undergone major militarization. A US orbital weapons platform has malfunctioned and is drifting off course, triggering a possible political incident. An elite team of spies, led by Holiday, disembark onto the station with the aim of reestablishing control with Chessboard - the onboard AI.

Gameplay

Revolution 60 grid-based combat system

Revolution 60 combines multiple game elements, focused on a touch-based system on iOS. The player mainly controls the character Holiday. Exploring is based on paths outlined by circles on the screen. By touching a circle on the sceen the player can explore the appropriate area of the weapons platform. When dialog occurs, the player is offered a choice as to what the protagonist will say. What the player chooses affects aspects of Holiday's character.

Combat is grid-based and occurs in real-time. Holiday starts with a single melee and ranged attack, with successful hits building up a power bar that unlocks a special attack. The opponent will utilize one of several melee or ranged attacks. Both opponents can move within the grid, though Holiday is restricted to the first 2 rows. Completing combat awards experience points to Holiday which unlocks options within a talent tree.

In-combat special moves and particular events within the storyline trigger a quick time event, requiring the user to follow a shape on the screen in iOS, but in the upcoming Windows version it will be similar to the approach used in The Typing of the Dead.

Development

Production of Revolution 60 began in 2011, approximately 1 year after Brianna Wu met animator Amanda Stenquist-Warner through an advertisement on Craigslist.[1] The initial version of the game was to be a top down turn-based strategy, along the lines of Final Fantasy Tactics, although Wu chose a change in direction to a 3D game after seeing Infinity Blade.[2]

After briefly hiring contractors, Wu and Stenquist-Warner hired Maria Enderton as lead developer and technical artist, who had been a school friend of Warner's.[3] Artist Frank Wu provided designs for the spaceships (including the armored transport Xiezhi, the Dragonchild fighter ship, and the Death Lotus capital ship) as well as the space station N313. Jenna Hoffstein, a freelance developer, designed the combat system from the ground up.[4] Carolyn VanEseltine (ex Harmonix) refined the combat system, upgrade system, and overall difficulty curve.[5]

During development, Wu provided a development diary, initially through App.net then through her Twitter account. She would outline difficulties faced such as designing a talent tree suitable for seasoned gamers and newcomers. Not wanting to alienate core parts of the market, VanEseltine organized a testing pool of players in order to best represent their intended market, equally splitting "self-described gamers" with casual gamers and between men and women.[6] This created problems in the development, as the men in the test group were described as "very antagonistic and negative toward choices and tweaks that made the game inclusive to everyone else".[7]

In July 2013, the company ran a Kickstarter campaign, asking for $5,000 to port the game to PC and Mac, in addition to iOS. The fundraiser brought in $12,728.[8]

Amanda Winn-Lee provided voice acting, after Wu had been impressed by her previous anime performances.[5]

The game was created for a total budget of a few hundred thousand dollars, and was released for iOS devices in July 2014. The app is free to download and playable up to a certain point, after which a single in-app purchase is required to complete the game. Wu acknowledged her dislike of microtransactions, and wanted the balance between a one-off cost yet still allowing players to try the game.[9] Wu, who described the sci-fi themed action-adventure as "Heavy Rain meets Mass Effect", was credited as head of development.[10] Wu described the art style as inspired by Space Channel 5 and Sailor Moon [11] Reflecting the almost all-female development team, the game features an all-female cast.[12]

With the PC version of Revolution 60 under development, Wu stated that the body proportions were being reassessed based on consumer feedback, saying, "The women in Revolution 60 are extraordinarily well fleshed-out people. They are characters with a fully human range of traits, and I'm extremely proud of telling a story that lets women be the heroes. That said, I think we can do better portraying body types going forward."[13]

Technical

A mesh render of Amelia, one of the main characters in Revolution 60

Revolution 60 was developed on Unreal Engine 3 using UnrealScript, with Autodesk Maya used for animation before porting it into the Unreal Development Kit.[14]

Due to a desire to include a rich storyline, emphasis was placed on character expression with more detail in the face and hair to avoid having to express emotion solely though "a bunch of gesticulation".[15] While this allows for more emotion and communication in the cut-scenes a trade-off occurred due to hardware limitations, requiring less detail on the body of the game characters. This was the primary factor in the design decision to employ the "skin-tight suits".[16]

The game was initially written around a film-style screenplay; however, based on feedback at PAX 2013, it was considered overly-reliant on long cutscenes and was rebuilt around continuous interaction.[17]

Reception

The game currently has a 73 on the video game review score aggregator Metacritic based on eight critics.[18] The Guardian describes it as "a cartoonish science fiction adventure for smartphones, notable for its all-female cast and cinematic story, a rarity on mobile platforms."[19] Macworld also praised the game, noting "the most ambitious iOS game you'll play this year".[20] Kotaku's review was also positive, remarking, "as the credits rolled for Revolution 60...I felt the familiar pang of loss I feel whenever a great game ends."[21] Response from other outlets was more mixed, with Toucharcade praising the plot for being but arguing the game "[failed] to deliver in terms of gameplay"[22]

Sequel

Giant Spacekat has stated there will be a sequel titled Revolution 62, where many of the original characters will reappear. Wu stated that Giant Spacekat would be attempting to recruit Felicia Day in a voice acting role for a main character.[23][24] The sequel is planned to use the Unreal 4 engine so there would be a high likelihood of a Android port.[25] A male Chinese-American character called Chase is also slated to appear in the sequel.[26] He is briefly mentioned in conversation by the characters in Revolution 60.

References

  1. ^ "Debug 44" (Podcast). Event occurs at 31:50.
  2. ^ "Debug 44" (Podcast). Event occurs at 34:00.
  3. ^ "Debug 44" (Podcast). Event occurs at 38:30.
  4. ^ Stenquist-Warner,Amanda (September 18, 2014). "REVOLUTION 60: BUILDING A CONNECTION WITH PLAYERS". gamesauce.
  5. ^ a b "Isometric 11" (Podcast). Event occurs at 15:00.
  6. ^ Stenquist-Warner,Amanda (September 18, 2014). "REVOLUTION 60: BUILDING A CONNECTION WITH PLAYERS". gamesauce.
  7. ^ "DLC 50" (Podcast). Event occurs at 23:30.
  8. ^ "Kickstarter: Bring Revolution 60 to PC and Mac". August 30, 2013. Retrieved October 14, 2014.
  9. ^ "Isometric 11" (Podcast). Event occurs at 34:00.
  10. ^ McClatchy, Todd Martens (August 13, 2014). "The women behind the sci-fi adventure 'Revolution 60' work for gender parity". Southern Illinoisan.
  11. ^ "Isometric 11" (Podcast). Event occurs at 7:06.
  12. ^ Starr, Michelle (30 July 2014). "Revolution 60: A game by and about badass women". CNet. Retrieved 12 October 2014.
  13. ^ Wu, Brianna (11 December 2014). "Why Revolution 60's Body Proportions are Changing". Retrieved 11 December 2014.
  14. ^ "Game Development with Giant Spacekat of Revolution 60 with Brianna Wu, Amanda Stenquist Warner, and Maria Enderton" (Podcast). Event occurs at 4:00.
  15. ^ "Debug 44" (Podcast). Event occurs at 1:12:00.
  16. ^ "Debug 44" (Podcast). Event occurs at 1:07:00.
  17. ^ Stenquist-Warner,Amanda (September 18, 2014). "REVOLUTION 60: BUILDING A CONNECTION WITH PLAYERS". gamesauce.
  18. ^ "Revolution 60 Critic Reviews for iOS". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved December 13, 2014.
  19. ^ Stuart, Keith (October 17, 2014). "Brianna Wu and the human cost of Gamergate: 'every woman I know in the industry is scared'". The Guardian. Retrieved October 18, 2014.
  20. ^ Caldwell, Serenity (July 28, 2014). "Staff Picks: Revolution 60 is the most ambitious iOS game you'll play this year". Macworld.
  21. ^ Fahey, Mike (July 27, 2014). "Revolution 60". Kotaku.
  22. ^ Musgrave, Shaun (August 4, 2014). "Revolution 60 Review".
  23. ^ "Isometric 11" (Podcast). Event occurs at 20:50.
  24. ^ "Debug 44" (Podcast). Event occurs at 1:04:00.
  25. ^ "Debug 44" (Podcast). Event occurs at 1:05:00.
  26. ^ "Debug 44" (Podcast). Event occurs at 1:24:00.
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