SA monster truck racing game seeks Greenlight on Steam

South African developer Meltdown Interactive is looking for some Greenlight support on their game, Monster Truck Racing – Extreme Offroad.

Valve’s Greenlight community feedback feature on Steam recently went live, and it seems to be a great initiative on a number of levels. Small developers can get exposure and feedback for their game while it’s still in production, and if it generates enough interest, it may become available via the digital distribution platform, or even become a featured release.

Head on over to the Monster Truck Racing – Extreme Offroad Steam Greenlight page, and if you like what you see, why not lead your vote to one of our intrepid SA developers?

We caught up with lead designer and programmer at Meltdown Interactive, Greg Quinn, to learn a little more about the company and its game.

Monster Truck Racing – Extreme Offroad is in the vein of classic arcade arena racers, such as Ironman Super Offroad and Death Rally, with some simulation elements thrown into the mix. The Online Multiplayer will feature a racing league with officially ranked leaderboards, along with various sponsored race tournaments where the best monster truck arena drivers can compete for prizes.

Game Features

6 Exciting race arenas;
Sand, mud and snow track conditions;
Day and night racing;
Various weather conditions such as rain, snow and sand storms;
Over 40 strategic vehicle upgrades to tweak the performance of your truck between races;
Make manual pit stops to keep your truck topped up on gas and nitro, while keeping damage low;
2 Game modes : Single Player Race Session, and Online Multiplayer Race Session;
Fully customisable race sessions in single player and multiplayer.

“As a child growing up, my dad used to own many arcade games around Durban, so I was surrounded by games all the time and was very passionate about them,” said Quinn. “As I left school, the only job opportunities I could find involved website and software development, so that is what I did for many years. Deep down in my heart though, I always wanted to be a game programmer but there weren’t many opportunities in SA to do so.”

“A few years ago I started programming games in DirectX and XNA; then just over 2 years ago, I discovered Unity3D and realised with this engine I would be able to pursue my dream of remaking one of my favourite arcade games of all time ‘Ironman Super Offroad’. I put everything I had into the game and self-financed the development of it.”

“The team consists of myself (lead programmer and designer) and a mix of contractors including one 2D/UI artist, one 3D artist, and one sound engineer. The game has been in development for over a year now. With me spending 6 months spent on the game full time, and now 8 months part-time. The company is based in Durban,” said Quinn.

“The product will be released sometime in September. We are putting on the final polishing touches to the single player experience, and finishing off the multiplayer systems. To start, there will be dedicated multiplayer servers for the game in the US, Europe, and of course, South Africa,” said Quinn.

You can support the game over on Desura, and download the demo.