Sponsored Feature: Get shooty with CosmoHero 2.0

Retro gaming has been big business for going on a decade now, and the word ‘retro’ itself has taken on a new meaning.

Not so long ago, ‘retro’ suggested old, second hand, out of vogue. Now it comes with an entirely different connotation. If something’s retro, it’s got chic.

But that doesn’t mean a brand new game would necessarily appreciate being called retro. We spoke to Vitaliy Borodovsky of Dava Consulting to ask whether his hot new iPhone shooter, CosmoHero, was a retro hero or a contemporary contender.

“We've certainly played other games of a similar style, both old and new. But we didn't try to make our game like any of them. Quite the contrary, we tried to introduce something exclusive, make a unique gameplay."

CosmoHero picks up where the 2D scrolling shoot-‘em-ups left off, before the gaming world went three-dimensional. Playing CosmoHero, it’s easy to see what Borodovsky means when he suggests the game borrows from both old and new.

It follows that idea of a retro chic, but it’s still a game that aims to use its technologically superior platform to the fullest.

“We also intended to make the game accessible not only to hardcore gamers but also to more casual iPhone users. And we had one more idea about the game, which is to make it something Tetris-like but in space - the game is never repeated irrespective of how often and how long you play it. The only thing that is repeated is the bosses at the end of levels.”

Fans of classics such as R-Type will immediately appreciate this aspect of CosmoHero. For over two decades we’ve been shooting exactly the same enemies in exactly the same parts of space.

Here we’re seeing a shooter that intends to keep your eyes on the screen and the blood pumping in your chest.

Keeping a game fresh is massively important. Gone are quick and dirty play-and-forget titles. Whether it’s reasonable or not, when we buy a game these days we expect it to last. The benefit Borodovsky and Dava have with their platform of choice, of course, is ease of upgrade. CosmoHero 2.0 contains some fairly major refinements.

“The main difference in version 2.0 is the addition of a new difficulty level. Some players used to complain that the game was a little slow and boring. We've added action and divided the game into two levels of difficulty. Moreover we've improved special effects, so now it all looks more dynamic.”

As obvious as it might sound to people on our side of the screen, listening to the gamer’s thoughts is a commodity too many designer overlook. So it’s reassuring to hear Borodovsky say that CosmoHero 2.0 is an update built on user feedback.

But it’s not all surface improvements, as Vitaliy explains.

“We have also done a great work on productivity improvement, as a result version 2.0 works smoother than the first one. And of course we've added the possibility to continue the game from the level where you ship was brought down.”

A classic-styled shmup also comes with certain expectations, which is a real challenge for the modern developer. We gamers demand recognisable features that made previous additions to the genre really light up, but we want them with a new twist every time.

Borodovsky told us what aspects of CosmoHero he thinks will really grab gamers by the thumbs.

“CosmoHero has very colorful special effects; we think our players will like it. Besides that, we think our bosses at the end of levels turned out excellent. Many of the enemy ships in our game react to the player's actions, which we find really interesting in such game types.”

But with all the modern systems available to game developers these days, why choose the iPhone?

“The best thing about developing for the iPhone is the system of application distribution. It's just excellent when the developer has a possibility to get the user reviews, make the necessary changes quickly and present a new version.

"The present system is very suitable both for developers and customers.

"The second remarkable advantage of iPhone is the variety of control systems available to the user. Using a combination of a touchscreen, accelerometer and a microphone one can craft unique and very interesting gameplay.”

It’s clear from the early stages of our conversation with Vitaliy that Dava has been using the iPhone’s perceived strengths to its fullest - otherwise there wouldn’t even be a CosmoHero 2.0 for us to chat about.

So what does the future hold for Dava Consulting’s new and burgeoning relationship with the iPhone?

“First of all we are going to improve and work further on the released projects. For CosmoHero's next version, for example, we are planning to add a new game mode with preset enemy positions and another armament system.

"All our new projects are in the very early stages to talk seriously about them. One of our new projects is a simulator in the manner of SimCity, but at the moment we are not ready to disclose the details.”