{"id":54733,"date":"2013-06-04T14:07:11","date_gmt":"2013-06-04T12:07:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/mygaming.co.za\/news\/?p=54733"},"modified":"2013-06-04T14:08:07","modified_gmt":"2013-06-04T12:08:07","slug":"sa-game-devs-can-definitely-compete","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mygaming.co.za\/news\/features\/54733-sa-game-devs-can-definitely-compete","title":{"rendered":"SA game devs “can definitely compete”"},"content":{"rendered":"

Center Space is an upcoming turn-based strategy game featuring mechs, developed by South African studio Heart Attack Games. MyGaming caught up with lead developer Jonathan Locke to discuss his new game and what it’s like being a game developer in South Africa.<\/p>\n

Locke was very optimistic about the SA gaming scene, but does see a changing trend in the mainstream gaming sphere. \u201cI think indie gaming in SA is looking promising – I see a lot of promising kickstarter projects and new indie game developers – BroForce springs to mind as a good example of what we can make,\u201d said Locke. \u201cI think South Africans are starting to realize that, as far as indie game development goes, we can definitely compete.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cRegarding gaming in general, I’m somewhat disillusioned by new releases and by what I see as anti-consumer actions, such as DRM. So I like that indie gaming has had an upsurge recently because I think it gives gamers a good alternative if they want something fun that doesn\u2019t cost R500 and require an Internet connection\u201d.<\/p>\n

Locke also elaborated on some of the obstacles that he has faced in designing Center Space.<\/p>\n

\u201cI’ve faced three main obstacles. The first is difficulty obtaining funding. The second is difficulty finding artists and modellers who would like to work on the game. And the third has actually been motivation related,\u201d explained Locke. \u201cWhen a project stretches into months, it becomes difficult to keep your motivation up! So some days were a real struggle, but I’m getting there.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Center<\/a><\/p>\n

Centre Space<\/h3>\n

\u201cCenter Space is chiefly inspired by MissionForce: CyberStorm, which is a 1996 turn based game also involving giant robots,\u201d said Locke. \u201cI played it a lot as a child, and always thought it was a pity that so few games similar to it existed.\u201d<\/p>\n

Locke believes that Center Space will offer something new to players and fans of the genre, particularly with its mech-based units.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think [Center Space] has some interesting mechanics and possibilities. One example is the sheer range of equipment and weapons to use, each with their own advantages and disadvantages.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cFor instance, a player might choose a drive system that is more efficient at crossing flat terrain, but worse at jumping up and down cliffs. They could also choose to use shorter range plasma weaponry that does heavier damage than laser weaponry, of course at the expense of range,\u201d explained Locke.<\/p>\n

\"Center<\/p>\n

The developer elaborated that each of the three factions in the game has a unique philosophy and approach to combat, and that will influence the way in which they operate.<\/p>\n

MyGaming asked Locke how the incorporation of mechs (an element usually related to fast-paced action games) will influence the gameplay.<\/p>\n

\u201cMechs can carry a greater number of weapons than other vehicles, such as tanks. A tank only has a single barrel, whereas a mech can mount multiple weapons in a variety of configurations,\u201d said Locke, explaining the customisation possibilities for mechs. \u201cAnother example is the fact that mechs can jump up and down cliffs, which would be impossible for tracked vehicles.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Center<\/p>\n

Center Space is scheduled to release in 2014, with a demo expected to be released within the next few months.<\/p>\n

More SA gaming news and features:<\/h3>\n

Kalahari Father\u2019s Day game specials<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Nintendo 3DS: is it worth buying?<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

BT Games selling smartphones?<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

TopTV on Xbox One?<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

SA developer Heart Attack Games talks about its new sci-fi game Center Space and the state of the SA gaming market<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":196,"featured_media":54734,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_sma_x_autopost_enabled":true,"_sma_x_custom_text":"","_sma_x_autopost_status":"idle","_sma_x_autopost_error":"","_sma_x_post_id":"","_sma_x_attempts":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[10186,10187,21,10189,10188,9697,5793,5794],"class_list":["post-54733","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-features","tag-center-space","tag-centre-space","tag-headline","tag-heart-attack-games","tag-jonathan-locke","tag-sa-feature","tag-sa-gaming-news","tag-sa-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mygaming.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54733","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mygaming.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mygaming.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mygaming.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/196"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mygaming.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=54733"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/mygaming.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54733\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":54794,"href":"https:\/\/mygaming.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54733\/revisions\/54794"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mygaming.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/54734"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mygaming.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=54733"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mygaming.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=54733"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mygaming.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=54733"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}