It’s increasingly difficult to find quality new games on touch screen devices that aren’t littered with in-app purchases or free-to-play monetization mechanics. However, developer Motiviti has set out to make a game for mobile devices that is devoid of all of those mechanics. It’s a game made from love and passion of the classic point-and-click adventure genre, a genre that is in dire need of some tender loving care. That game is Elroy and the Aliens, and it’s coming to iOS devices later this year, with planned ports to other mobile platforms.
Motiviti is an independent development studio founded by Tadej Gregorcic and Jernej Kocjancic, both based out of Slovenia. They made their start as a studio that worked on random projects like interactive billboards, websites, mobile apps, and cartoons. But they always held a passion to create a game they themselves would personally want to play on a mobile device, and in 2013 they set out to do just that.
“In 2013, we decided to focus all of our energy on one game,” they say on their official website, “No in-app purchases, no free-to-play, just a very sincere attempt at pouring all our passion, ideas and creativity and love into a lovely slapstick comedy adventure game that can be enjoyed on a touch screen.”
With a quote like that it’s hard not to feel how much effort they’ve poured into Elroy and the Aliens.
Citing games like Monkey Island as direct inspiration but unsatisfied with the port to iOS devices, Motiviti wanted to create a 2D adventure game designed from the ground up, for a touch screen, and with the Unity Engine. But fear not: Elroy and the Aliens will not look like a Unity game as all of the artwork and assets were carefully hand drawn and the animations hand-crafted. This design philosophy has gone on to create a wonderfully vivid cartoon world that is almost unparalleled on any mobile device.
With mobile gaming being so accessible for families with small children, Motiviti wanted to create a quality gaming experience that everyone could enjoy. They have done so by focusing on slapstick humor, wacky events, and fully-voiced, witty characters accompanied by an original musical score. The game focuses on the “unlikely hero” Elroy, who somehow has found himself at the center of an all-out alien invasion of Earth after our planet blocks out the alien homeworld’s sun.
Puzzles are promised to be full-screened while staying interesting and relevant to the story, with no tedious dialogue puzzles. Furthermore, Motiviti has stated that there will be no pixel hunting puzzles (clicking everywhere on screen because you don’t know what to do), huge and convoluted inventories, long cut-scenes, or pointless wandering. To complement the traditional point-and-click adventure gameplay of the genre, there will also be fast-paced running sequences where players will have to maneuver Elroy through various obstacles as he is being chased.
Earlier this week, Motiviti released the announcement trailer for Elroy and the Aliens and it looks fantastic. This is definitely a game to keep an eye out for as it will be making its way to the app store later this year. We’ll be sure to bring you any more news on the development as we’re always excited for new quality games on mobile devices, and we hope you’re as interested as we are.
Be sure to check out Motiviti on Twitter and Facebook for direct updates. Their developer blog is also quite charming.
Brian Kale
@brianwkale
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