Sponsored Feature: Hungry Game on how Sir Lovalot aims to vanquish the competition

The App Store isn't short of vertical platform games, but developer Hungry Game is hoping that Sir Lovalot does enough to stand out from the crowd.

An endless upwards climb game with, literally, a twist, Sir Lovalot involves tilting your iPhone/iPod touch to help the titular knight work his way up an rotating 3D tower, using randomly generated ledges on the building's walls.

There's the usual variety of platforms, from spike-ridden ones that you need to avoid to others that allow you to bounce that little bit further. Power-ups, such as chickens that help you flutter past past a few more platforms, help you to progress while adding to the light-hearted mediaeval theme.

There are elements in Sir Lovalot that you won't see anywhere else, though, such as a bundle of 'ye olde collectibles' to gather as well as the plethora of fair maidens to greet during your climbing quest.

Knight-life

One of the most notable features of the game is its accomplished cel-shaded graphical style. Hungry Game production director Cesar Guarinoni says that getting the title to look and feel just right was one of the studio's main priorities during development.

"There's no question that Sir Lovalot has a style all of its own," says Guarinoni. “From the stylised graphics to the excellent animations and voices, the game oozes personality.

"It has the quirky sense of humor I believe all our games carry, from Fly Kiwi, Fly! to Freaking Inkies, and I believe its production values help it shine as well.”

Camelot of inspiration

Despite all the effort to make Sir Lovalot look as modern as possible, one of the inspirations behind the title actually comes straight from the early years of gaming.

"The game's original inspiration came from the old Amiga/C64 game Nebulus,” says Guarinoni. “We loved the concept of a spinning tower and the game just grew from there.

"It was a very fun creative process. We started with a demon trying to reach heaven and redemption and ended up with our beloved awkward knight in search of love.”

Sir Lovalot's gameplay may look simple, but Hungry Game put a lot of effort into making sure the 3D effect worked perfectly in the final product so that it was as fast paced as possible.

“The implementation in the prototype was a breeze,” says Guarinoni, “but as soon as we went into full development we hit several performance issues. As is usually the case, it was a race against time to the date of release, but we nailed it.”

Not letting it dragon

Hungry Game managing director Ezequiel Baum promises plenty of support for Sir Lovalot in the form of updates.

“We are already working on Retina display support, achievements, Game Center, and lots of new content like themed towers, enemies, more loot, and new power-ups,” he says.

But does Hungry Game have any plans to bring its knight in shining armour to the other systems?

“We'd love to see our games in as many platforms as possible,” Ezequiel says, “but we're a small development studio in Buenos Aires, so there's a limit to what we can focus at any one time.

"It´s even a little tricky to sign up to Android from here. We might get there but not at the moment. With regards to WP7, it'll take some time until it arrives to Argentina for us to study it properly.”

Priced at just 59p / 99c / €0.79c, Sir Lovalot is available in the App Store now. An iPad version is also expected soon.