Sunday, May 20, 2012
By: Matthew Doucette
Intense Retro is a merge between retro gameplay and modern-day intensity. To our knowledge, we invented it in the summer of 1996 -- the same summer Quake was released! View our Decimation X3 game as an example:
Decimation X3, one of our intense retro games.
Popular examples of "intense retro" are Geometry Wars and Resogun. I know these games well. I won the PAX East 2012 Geometry Wars tournament and won all trophies in Resogun. I love these games.
We invented "intense retro" with a prototype of Decimation X back in 1996. Back then, indie games were not a big thing. Neither were retro games. It was 12 years before Space Invaders Extreme and 7 years before Geometry Wars. We had something speical and never knew it. You can read about a misunderstanding that we copied Space Invaders Extreme. Game reviewers, know your history! And own up to your mistakes!
Intense Retro a manifestation of our game development philosophies. Essentially "intense retro" means we concentrate on nostalgic game concepts with modern-day gameplay and intensity.
We understand that hardcore shmup fans do not consider shmups (shoot 'em ups) to be retro, as they still exist, just like FPS's (first person shooters) are not retro because FPS's still exist. Interesting point. But, as with all marketing, it matters to get to the point quickly. Technicalities are interesting for those reading this paragraph right now, but the average consumer simply has no time for them. Company tag lines cannot dive into details, however much we appreciate them ourselves. And "intense retro" messages (verb), clearly to everyone, the type of games we produce, even to those who disagree with the technicalities behind the proper usage of "retro".
Score Rush, another intense retro game of ours.
For more examples, view our games. Let us know what you think!
That is all.
About the Author: I am Matthew Doucette of Xona Games, an award-winning indie game studio that I founded with my twin brother. We make intensified arcade-style retro games. Our business, our games, our technology, and we as competitive gamers have won prestigious awards and received worldwide press. Our business has won $190,000 in contests. Our games have ranked from #1 in Canada to #1 in Japan, have become #1 best sellers in multiple countries, have won game contests, and have held 3 of the top 5 rated spots in Japan of all Xbox LIVE indie games. Our game engines have been awarded for technical excellence. And we, the developers, have placed #1 in competitive gaming competitions -- relating to the games we make. Read about our story, our awards, our games, and view our blog.