ZOTRIX

CLASSIC ARCADE GAMING WITH SOME SPICE

sIPX’ 3rd placed RIG2014 Indie Title

Have you ever been to a real arcade? Ever put a coin in one of those wooden cabinets with a monitor, some buttons and joysticks? No? - Well you definitely missed something there. But don't worry! First, you can always travel to Tokyo and enjoy (almost) the same "arcadian" atmosphere like in the 80s and secondly: True arcade games still exist, they are still developed and can also be played on several of your home systems!

So can Zotrix, my personal third place pick of the best indie games displayed at Reboot Infogamer 2014. The game, developed by Zerobit Games, stays very true to mostly cherished but nowadays also often misunderstood arcade values. A lot of gamers even think arcade should be a core factor of any true videogame, and they are probably right.

But arcade back and forth, believe it or not Zotrix is actually much more than just the generic space shooter I was expecting myself, when I saw first images on twitter some time ago. Of course simplicity, colorful graphics, Atari-esque sound effects, fast pace shooting, patterns, memorizing, dodging, highscores, and so on can be found in Zotrix, but that's not all; similar to most indie developers, also the visionaries behind this game really know how to cook. From years of experience in the videogame industry, they know that a good game doesn't have to be completely original. It is rather the well-balanced mixture of the best ingredients together with a love for certain details that makes the perfect stew. So in that sense, additionally to what you might expect, Zotrix not only features an in-game trading and resource harvesting system, but also adds an RPG-like improvement model by giving you the option of customizing your ship and therefore changing your style of gameplay to your likes.

Naturally, the right sound is very important for any game. And what could fit better to stylish menus, intensive color palettes and a futuristic space environment than Trance? Although not my personal alley of music, I am happy to see a game that not only puts a great deal into what music fits, but above all does this by acknowledging the inspiring work of a lot of other talented people. Zerobit Games invites Djs and talented musicians from all over the world to submit tracks for this game until release. So far the list of signed up contributors includes names like Michael Featherstone and Fat Benjamin (UK), Alain Jacob (FR), Davor Stosic (Croatia).

The game's release is supposed to be in 2015 for PC and Mac and already available to greenlight on Steam. What is keeping you from checking out the trailers or even playing a demo of the game to see how fluent the controls are and how much fun it actually is? If you grew up in the 80s and games like Asteroids or Centipede still put that certain spark in your eyes, you have to. - If you grew up later, well... you have to even more. And if you plan on visiting Tokyo in some years, who knows, maybe by then this kind of Geometry Wars meets FTL game also found its rightful spot in one of those noisy and colorful places that barely exist anywhere else anymore. - Seriously, it could happen!

Play more! Laser more!

I strongly suggest following and supporting the development of the game as well as the creators under the following links:

http://www.zerobitgames.com/
http://www.zerobitgames.com/zotrix/
http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=329398457
Twitter: @ZotrixGame