A pair of former South Coast students are hoping to kickstart their game development careers with the evolution of their award-winning concept.
Jade Short and Maxwell Arch in 2021 won the Australian STEM Video Game Challenge with their unique take on a platformer game - unique in that it doesn't have "platforms"!
Murus - Latin for "walls" - has the player's character bounding off walls and swinging across gaps to traverse the landscape, where to touch the "ground" is death.
What was a fascinating concept for the STEM challenge is now on its way to becoming a commercial reality, with Jade and Maxwell - and their two-man game-dev studio Soulcube - launching a Kickstarter campaign to help fund its further development.
Jade and Maxwell both graduated from Lumen Christi Catholic College at Pambula Beach at the end of 2021. Jade is still living in the region, while Maxwell moved to Canberra.
However, the distance hasn't held up their commitment to their game.
"Not much has changed in our work routine. We were working remotely already, and in such a digital field there's not a lot of difference between us here in Pambula and Tura Beach, or here and Canberra.
"The priority for both of us is getting Murus out and then see where we go from there.
"We had been trying to win the STEM Video Game Challenge since 2018 and then in our last shot of being eligible we pulled it through.
"It's all guns blazing and regardless of the Kickstarter result, I definitely want to finish a commercial project.
"We've been messing around for four or five years now so it would be good experience to work on something through to shipping a commercial product."
Jade said Murus had its beginnings at a game development class they were teaching, when they were helping someone make a platformer, but the character kept getting stuck on the walls.
The seed of an idea was planted that became what he described as a hybrid wall-climber and floor-is-lava type experience.
In SoulCube's Kickstarter press kit, Murus is spruiked as "an adventure platformer where the grass has been cursed and the terrain has taken to the skies".
You must jump, swing and glide your way through the perilous world of Terraloft, meeting vibrant characters, discovering enchanting regions and expanding your arcane abilities, all the while avoiding touching the deadly verdant ground!"
Jade said as a programmer he enjoys developing the code to expand the world of Murus as well as writing and creating the music for it.
He said Max was the visual artist creating the game assets populating the world of "Terraloft".
"I've always been into co-op multiplayer experiences but on the other side I also get into artistic indie, story-focused games.
"Max more grew up playing AAA titles, big studio shooters and role-playing games with big budgets.
"My preferences are very different to Max - maybe that's why we're so into the genre-bending things."
While there's a way to go before their Kickstarter target is reached, Jade said even if they don't make it, he and Maxwell were committed to working on Murus as a future commercial release.
"We will need a big shift in momentum to get there [on Kickstarter]. But regardless of the result we're proud to have put together the Kickstarter campaign and it has all been a valuable experience."
To pledge support for Jade and Maxwell's development of Murus, head to Kickstarter here.
The campaign is open until June 25 with any pledges fully refunded if they don't hit their target.
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