Volgarr the Viking | |
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Developer(s) | Crazy Viking Studios |
Publisher(s) | Adult Swim Games (PC) Crazy Viking Studios (XONE, PS4, PSV) |
Platform(s) | Windows, OS X, Linux, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita, Wii U, Nintendo Switch, Dreamcast |
Release | Windows, OS X, LinuxXbox One
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Genre(s) | Action platformer |
Mode(s) | Single-player |
Volgarr the Viking (stylized as Völgarr the Viking) is an action platformer video game developed by Crazy Viking Studios. Inspired by side-scrolling platform games from the 1980s like Rastan and Ghosts 'n Goblins, the game is a modern interpretation of the genre, while retaining both the graphical style and the difficulty level of the earlier titles. After a successful Kickstarter campaign to crowd-fund the production of the game, Volgarr the Viking was published on Steam by Adult Swim Games in September 2013 and is supported on Windows, OS X and Linux-based personal computers. In October 2014, an Xbox One version of the game was published by Crazy Viking Studios itself.
Gameplay[edit]
In Volgarr the Viking, the player controls the titular character, who has been charged by Odin with a quest to defeat an evil dragon.[1] Volgarr is armed with a sword, a spear and a wooden shield at the start.[2] Along with hitting enemies at range, the spear can also be used to create temporary platforms.[3] Treasure chests located throughout the level will contain power-ups that will grant Volgarr new abilities and, most importantly, enable him to take more damage.[2] In his initial state, Volgarr can sustain a single unblocked hit at the cost of his shield, and a second hit will force the player to return to the last checkpoint, either the beginning of the level or the midpoint of the level.[4] The player has an unlimited number of chances to complete the main levels.
The warrior Volgarr has been charged by Odin with a quest to defeat an evil dragon, armed with a sword, a spear and a wooden shield he embarks on a journey to complete his duty. Volgarr the Viking is a difficult action/platformer developed by Crazy Viking Studios, and published by Adult Swim Games.
Enemies drop coins and jewels when defeated, which the player can collect. If Volgarr is defeated, he will lose a portion of those coins. Only coins in hand when Volgarr completes a level are kept permanently. Levels can be replayed for additional coins and for faster completion times. By completing a level without losing a life, the player can obtain special key items that unlock additional bonus levels, which ultimately lead to the game's best-possible ending.[2]
Development[edit]
Crazy Viking Studios is based in Bothell, Washington and was founded by Kris Durrschmidt and Taron Millet, an artist and a programmer that left their former studio, Griptonite Games, after it was bought out by Glu Mobile, due to their distaste for the freemium mobile business model.[5] Before leaving Griptonite they had held key roles in some of the studio's more well-known titles such as Shinobi 3D for the Nintendo 3DS, Assassin's Creed II: Discovery for the Nintendo DS, Spider-Man: Web of Shadows for the Nintendo DS, and The Legend of Spyro: The Eternal Night for the Game Boy Advance.[6]
In July 2012, the studio launched a Kickstarter campaign to fund Volgarr the Viking, a game they based around 'simple controls, high challenge, and meticulous design'.[6] The game reached its US$18,000 funding goal within one week, and concluded the campaign with just under $40,000.[6] By then the game's development was already underway, with Taron as the game's designer and programmer, Kris as the artist and business manager, and audio contracted from Kochun Hu of Superhero Soundworks.[7] The game was published on Steam just over a year later, on September 13, 2013, under the Adult Swim Games label.[2] At the 2014 E3 convention, Microsoft announced an Xbox One version of the game would be released under its ID@Xbox program for independent developers;[8] the game debuted on Xbox One on October 31, 2014.[3]
Reception[edit]
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Volgarr the Viking received positive reviews from critics upon its release. On review-aggregating website Metacritic, the PC and Xbox One versions of the game have scores of 76 and 77 (out of a possible 100), respectively.[9][10] On Metacritic's game-focused sister site, GameRankings, the games have scores of 78.33% and 81%, respectively.[11][12]
In his review of the game for GameCritics.com, critic Daniel Weissenberger observed the game's similarity to the 1987 Taito video game Rastan, both in general mechanics and also level design, noting that Volgarr's first level was a re-creation of the first level of Rastan, including the skeletal remains of the earlier game's protagonist.[1] Although Weissenberger did not give a numeric score for his review, he did call the game 'an amazing accomplishment' and said that Crazy Viking had 'taken the skeleton of a classic title and transformed it into the greatest game the 80s never produced.'[1] Dan Whitehead of Eurogamer described the game design as 'more Ghosts N' Goblins or Rastan than Golden Axe, but there's also a heaping helping of the Bitmap Brothers classic Gods in the mix, along with Rafaelle Cecco's Stormlord'.[4]
Critics paid special attention to the game's high difficulty level. Scott Nichols of Digital Spy said 'you will die repeatedly', but that the game was 'never unfair'.[3] Nichols concluded that Volgarr 'demands much from its players, testing their skills, determination and patience', but at the same time 'it does so in such a balanced and beautifully designed way that makes the joy of playing every bit as high as the toll it demands'.[3] GameCritics' Weissenberger said 'there are no unfair deaths nor unexpected enemy behavior'.[1] Tony Ponce of Destructoid said that Volgarr shouldn't be labeled 'unfair' because it was 'constructed in such a way that the greatest obstruction to victory is your own mediocre skills'.[2] However, Ponce was critical of what the game required to reach its best ending, saying 'you're being asked to 1CC (one credit clear) the game, or close enough to it, all without ever getting touched once' and that 'if I had to draw the line dividing what I'm willing to endure for the sake of enjoyment, that would be it'.[2]
References[edit]
- ^ abcdDaniel Weissenberger (November 30, 2014). 'Volgarr the Viking Review'. gamecritics.com. Retrieved March 24, 2016.
- ^ abcdefgTony Ponce (September 23, 2013). 'Review: Volgarr the Viking'. destructoid.com. ModernMethod, LLC. Retrieved March 24, 2016.
- ^ abcdeScott Nichols (November 5, 2014). 'Volgarr the Viking review (Xbox One): Brutally hard, perfectly crafted'. digitalspy.com. Hearst Magazines UK. Retrieved March 24, 2016.
- ^ abcDan Whitehead (November 7, 2014). 'Volgarr the Viking review'. eurogamer.net. Gamer Network. Retrieved March 24, 2016.
- ^Jonathon Holmes (December 21, 2013). ''Sup Holmes?' Interview'.
- ^ abcCrazy Viking Studios (July 23, 2012). 'Volgarr the Viking'. kickstarter.com. Retrieved March 24, 2016.
- ^'Volgarr the Viking credits'. Moby Games. Retrieved 25 March 2016.
- ^Chris Carter (June 13, 2014). 'Volgarr the Viking Will Be Coming to Xbox One 'Soon''. destructoid.com. ModernMethod, LLC. Retrieved March 24, 2016.
- ^ ab'Volgarr the Viking (PC)'. Retrieved March 24, 2016.
- ^ ab'Volgarr the Viking (Xbox One)'. Retrieved March 24, 2016.
- ^ ab'Volgarr the Viking (PC)'. Retrieved March 24, 2016.
- ^ ab'Volgarr the Viking (Xbox One)'. Retrieved March 24, 2016.
External links[edit]
Retrieved from 'https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Volgarr_the_Viking&oldid=886088238'
ID@Xbox director Chris Charla as the Game Developers Conference 2019ID@Xbox was announced by Xbox Vice President at on August 20, 2013. Angela Hession was the Launch Architect of the program and developed the program based on input from Independent Developers. Is director of the program.Developers who are registered in the program get access to two development kits at no cost, as well as access to all required technical documentation. Additionally, there will be no fees to update any game submitted through the program. Games released through the program also have access to all Xbox One and components, including, Achievements.
Developers in the program also receive access to the engine as well as an optional subscription to.At the 2017, Microsoft announced it will launch the Xbox Live Creators program that, for a one-time fee, will allow anyone to develop for Xbox One and Windows 10 games using the using any consumer Xbox One system (including console) and distribute directly through the Xbox Live storefront. Such applications will not have access to some Xbox Live features like achievements or multiplayer matchmaking, but will include support for leaderboards and party chat. Reception A number of indie game developers have praised the introduction of the ID@Xbox program. Developers involved in the program have been impressed by Microsoft's responsiveness and the support provided on any issues that arise.
The appointment of Chris Charla as director of ID@Xbox was met with positive reception, due to his background and previous involvement in the video game industry.However, the program has received criticism for enforcing a launch date parity policy which means that developers can only release their titles on Xbox One if they haven't been released on other consoles first. Many developer have called for the policy to be dropped; Microsoft has since dropped the parity clause.
Notable developers The following developers have been mentioned as being a part of the ID@Xbox program. Charla, Chris (August 20, 2013). Retrieved February 7, 2015. Retrieved February 7, 2015. Charla, Chris (November 5, 2013).
Retrieved February 7, 2015. April 24, 2014. Retrieved February 7, 2015. McWhertor, Michael (March 1, 2017). Retrieved March 1, 2017.
Makedonski, Brett (March 20, 2014). Retrieved February 7, 2015. Yin-Poole, Wesley (December 9, 2014). Retrieved February 7, 2015. Karmali, Luke (May 1, 2014). Retrieved February 7, 2015. Philips, Tom (October 10, 2014).
Retrieved February 7, 2015. Staff, GamesRadar (July 26, 2015). Retrieved August 27, 2015. Charla, Chris (December 4, 2013). Retrieved February 7, 2015.
Charla, Chris (February 27, 2014). Retrieved February 7, 2015. Moriarty, Colin (June 9, 2014).
Retrieved February 7, 2015. (Press release). Seattle, Washington: Studio Wildcard. July 1, 2015.
From the original on July 2, 2015. Retrieved July 3, 2015. ^. 5 April 2015. Retrieved 16 April 2015. Missing or empty title=. Judd, Alex (January 21, 2015).
Retrieved February 7, 2015. January 28, 2015. Retrieved February 7, 2015. Hryb, Larry (June 10, 2014). Major Nelson's blog. Retrieved February 7, 2015.
^. June 25, 2013. Retrieved February 7, 2015. Hryb, Larry (November 27, 2014).
Major Nelson's blog. Retrieved February 7, 2015. Hryb, Larry (September 24, 2014). Major Nelson's blog. Retrieved February 7, 2015.
Hryb, Larry (October 1, 2014). Major Nelson's blog. Retrieved February 7, 2015. Lee, Ben (October 7, 2014).
Retrieved February 7, 2015. Hryb, Larry (August 21, 2014). Major Nelson's blog.
Retrieved February 7, 2015. Whitehead, Dan (September 11, 2014). Retrieved February 7, 2015. Hryb, Larry (January 9, 2015). Major Nelson's blog. Retrieved February 7, 2015.
Martin, Liam (November 27, 2014). Retrieved February 7, 2015. Matulef, Jeffrey (June 27, 2014). Retrieved February 7, 2015. Hryb, Larry (September 26, 2014). Major Nelson's blog.
Retrieved February 7, 2015. ^ Sarkar, Samit (December 3, 2014). Retrieved February 7, 2015. Retrieved November 13, 2015. Hryb, Larry (November 19, 2014). Major Nelson's blog. Retrieved February 7, 2015.
Hryb, Larry (May 8, 2014). Major Nelson's blog. Retrieved February 7, 2015. Philips, Tom (June 19, 2014). Retrieved February 7, 2015.
Hryb, Larry (November 21, 2014). Major Nelson's blog. Retrieved February 7, 2015. Philips, Tom (August 14, 2014). Retrieved February 7, 2015. 7 August 2014.
Retrieved 10 August 2014. Scullion, Chris (November 14, 2014). Computer and Video Games. Retrieved February 7, 2015. Sarkar, Samit (June 18, 2014). Retrieved February 7, 2015.
Hryb, Larry (January 23, 2015). Major Nelson's blog. Retrieved February 7, 2015. Philips, Tom (June 19, 2014). Retrieved February 7, 2015. Yin-Poole, Wesley (August 28, 2014). Retrieved February 7, 2015.
Hryb, Larry (April 8, 2015). Major Nelson's blog. Retrieved February 7, 2015. Makuch, Eddie (July 28, 2015). Retrieved February 7, 2015.
Donlan, Christian (May 13, 2014). Retrieved February 7, 2015. Matulef, Jeffrey (August 28, 2014). Retrieved February 7, 2015. Hryb, Larry (February 10, 2015). Major Nelson's blog. Retrieved February 11, 2015.
Philips, Tom (August 19, 2014). Retrieved February 7, 2015. Hryb, Larry (November 19, 2014). Major Nelson's blog. Retrieved February 7, 2015. Hryb, Larry (November 25, 2014). Major Nelson's blog.
Retrieved February 7, 2015. Hryb, Larry (November 21, 2014). Major Nelson's blog. Retrieved February 7, 2015. Hryb, Larry (January 30, 2015).
Major Nelson's blog. Retrieved February 7, 2015. Hryb, Larry (October 31, 2014). Major Nelson's blog. Retrieved February 7, 2015. Philips, Tom (September 2, 2014).
Retrieved February 7, 2015. Karmali, Luke (May 19, 2014).
Retrieved February 7, 2015. McWhertor, Michael (November 26, 2014). Retrieved February 7, 2015. Hryb, Larry (June 24, 2014). Major Nelson's blog. Retrieved February 7, 2015.External links.