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Platformines

Platform(s): PC
Genre: Action/Adventure
Publisher: Namco Bandai Games
Developer: Magiko Soft
Release Date: March 28, 2014

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PC gamer, WorthPlaying EIC, globe-trotting couch potato, patriot, '80s headbanger, movie watcher, music lover, foodie and man in black -- squirrel!

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'Platformines' Coming Soon, Developer Diary - Screens

by Rainier on March 13, 2014 @ 9:54 a.m. PDT

Platformines is a 2D platformer packed with exploration, RPG and shooter elements, set in a vast 16-bit underground world.

In their quest to rebuild their spaceship, players will embark on a journey to discover the mysteries of a gigantic complex of mines. Deadly enemies, traps and treasures are just a few to mention from what players will encounter while trying to escape from the hostile world. Customise your character, master all difficulty levels and literally jump to the top of the leaderboards to prove your skills!


Thanks to this first “Dev. Diary”, players will get the chance to see how a developer comes up with new ideas.

When asked about the origin of their game and the engine behind it, Cedric and Ludovic (the co-founders) said: “Back in 2011, after several months of hard work, we had built a solid 2D platformer engine. It had allowed us to notably release "Platformance: Castle Pain" and "Platformance: Temple Death", 2 games that were well appreciated by the gamers, especially hardcore ones. We had also developed a technology which allowed us to explore a seamless world (no in-game loading)”.

After those small and highly motivating successes, Magiko Soft started to think about the idea of creating a platformer that takes place in a huge seamless world! When asked about the first prototype born from this idea, one of the developers said “I remember a gigantic world composed of only little linear platforms, with a target to reach. I remember my 9 years old nephew would play for hours in this minimal world!”

From September 2011, the two friends would start to meet-up more often and started to have a better idea of the first step for Platformines’ design: “Unlike a well-known game based on blocks, we thought about the fog: Rather than discovering new areas by deleting existing blocks, why not simply fill the world with fog :)? Then you only need to remove this fog when you have discovered a zone, and you obtain an environment that allows fluid movements and keeps the pleasure of exploration!”

Then Ludovic and Cedric thought that it was time to think about the second step: the randomly generated worlds! “After several attempts, a prototype showed us that we had to consider a world based on 1000x1000 blocks squares! We then started to work on several ways to build those block-based environments. Soon after those experiments, we managed to create a generic 2D algorithm to match blocks, and we also found a way to build new zones by juxtaposing predefined patterns”

According to the developers, the next step was all about magic, “Changing the parameters and realizing what kind of world we can obtain was absolutely astounding! We started to note all the most interesting parameters and patterns in order to apply them for the final game”.

Key Features

  • An infinite number of randomly generated worlds to explore each one with its own configuration of traps and enemies!
  • Unstoppable old-school action with 3 different difficulty levels to master!
  • Discover hidden chests or just…loot your enemies in order to get tons of items and upgrades!
  • Build your character choosing from countless customization options
  • Additional in-game fancy items, like hats & wigs, for even further customisation
  • Retro gaming experience with 16-bit graphics & reinvented classical music
  • Simple classic mechanics for immediate fun; jump and slash!
  • Prove your skills and climb to the top of the leaderboards!

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