Graphics Reference
In-Depth Information
The video game
Robotron 2048
arrived in 1982 and was made by a company called
Williams Electronics.
Robotron
featured the same basic structure as
Berserk
and
Robots
,
with screens full of robots moving toward the player. Designed by Eugene Jarvis and Larry
DeMar, the game introduced dual-stick controls to the genre, which have become a com-
mon component in today's arena shooters.
Today, the arena shooter genre is alive and well. Over the last few years, there has been
quite the renaissance in the arena shooter, mostly in zombie survival shooters. Games
such as
Geometry Wars
on Xbox360 and a
Robotron
remake have spun off into a new genre
known as the psychedelic arena shooter. I was lucky enough to get to work with Robert
Fearon, a true leader in the genre, on bringing his masterpiece
Death Ray Manta
to iOS
and Android devices (as shown in Figure 11.1).
Lazer Blast Survival
(see Figure 11.2) is a basic template for a top-down shooter, which
borrows heavily from its predecessors; the action has a single player moving around an
arena fighting of hoards of killer robots.
Fig u re 11.1
Death Ray Manta
by Rob Fearon, iOS version, published by PsychicParrot Games.
Figure 11.2
Lazer Blast Survival
.
