There was never any reason to think side scrollers would have a place in the future of video game entertainment, and yet here we are. In an industry made accessible for everyone by the Internet, independent studios have been able to enjoy their own level of success with low-budget, high quality entries into the video game market. Ori and the Blind Forest, Terraria, Hollow Knight - all stellar games released in recent years that have, despite limited funding and small development teams, managed to receive higher reviews than even the most anticipated triple-A titles.
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It's in this environment that Limbo and later Inside were released, and while the two games combined only measured out to about eight hours of game time total, the two were remarkably well-received. Critics hailed the two games for their subtle story-telling and stunning use of atmosphere, which together managed to efficiently unfold an immersive narrative without a single line of dialogue.
The developers eventually went on to found an indie studio, Jumpship, which yesterday revealed a teaser for its first project: Somerville. Check it out:
The teaser certainly captures the essence of the developers' former projects; there's almost nothing to be taken from the video without taking some serious speculative liberties. Almost. Some rather futuristic buildings form the backdrop for an otherwise unremarkable farmstead. Meanwhile, bright aircraft dart to and fro in an apparent battle in the skies, suggesting that the events of Somerville will likely take place during an active conflict.
A brief summary of the game on Jumpship's new website describes Somerville as "a Sci-Fi Action Adventure that chronicles the lives of key individuals in the wake of a global catastrophe." Additional information on the site reveals that the game has actually been in development since 2014, when it was first started as a side project by animator and previz artist Chris Olsen. Eventually Olsen would form Jumpship with film animator Dino Patti.
There's also a short tagline on jumpship.co.uk:
"In neon sky our kin are lost, till future has returned to dust."
So, you know, take from that what you will.
You can keep up to date on Somerville by following the studio on its Twitter account which, while still fairly new, will likely provide future updates about the game's progress, as well as any additional projects from Jumpship.
