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Original Boulder Dash Creators Team-Up For Mobile Remake
Co-creators of the original 1984 Boulder Dash arcade game Peter Liepa and Chris Gray have announced a new development studio and an upcoming Boulder Dash remake for mobile devices.
The new studio, TapStar, has three games in development, one of which is Boulder Dash 30th Anniversary, which you can see above. It represents the first time Liepa and Gray have teamed up since the release of the original arcade game.
Boulder Dash 30th Anniversary will be available early this year as a "freemium" game for iOS and Android devices, with plans to bring the game to PC, Mac, and console platforms in the future.
The other two games in development are a crossword puzzle and slot machine crossover game and a title called Run for Your Life, a zombie action game. For more on the games, you can check out TapStar's website.
To read the full press release for the announcement, head to page two.
Our Take
Boulder Dash already has a few iterations on mobile devices and has also appeared on Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo platforms in the last few years without making a huge splash. I'm curious to see if having the original creators on board will help revitalize the series.
TAPSTAR INTERACTIVE AND FIRST STAR SOFTWARE ANNOUNCE DEVELOPMENT OF THE 30th ANNIVERSARY EDITION OF BOULDER DASH®
Original Co-Creators Reunite for the First Time in Thirty Years to Put a Contemporary Twist on the Classic Hit Game
TapStar Announces 1H-2014 Product Roadmap
SAN FRANCISCO, January 21, 2014 – TapStar Interactive (www.tapstargames.com), a boutique developer and publisher of interactive entertainment across platforms, debuts today with the announcement of a 30th Anniversary edition of the wildly popular video game, Boulder Dash®, currently in development. The game reunites the two original creators of the classic hit, TapStar co-founder Chris Gray and programmer Peter Liepa, for the first time since the iconic Rockford™ character was first introduced in 1984. TapStar is co-developing this sequel with the owner of the Boulder Dash® brand, publisher First Star Software, Inc., to create this, and potentially future titles, based on the Boulder Dash brand. Boulder Dash®- 30th Anniversary™ will launch early in 2014 first as a freemium game for iOS and Android smartphones and tablets, followed by PC, Mac and select gaming consoles and handhelds.
TapStar also announced today two additional games that are in development. Spell Slots, an addictive word game that combines crossword puzzles and slot machines; and Run for Your Life, an action-packed 3D running game with innovative twists, where players run, gun, blast and slice their way through an underground Zombie world. Both games will be available in the first half of 2014 for universal iOS and Android smartphones and tablets.
Boulder Dash®- 30th Anniversary™
“Boulder Dash is a classic game that's due for a proper update,” said Chris Gray, who co-founded TapStar in 2012 along with game industry veteran Steve Wall to develop casual and mid-core games based on new and licensed IP.
While remaining true to the classic gameplay, TapStar has added new elements such as diagonal movement to Boulder Dash, which opens up new and intriguing puzzles while creating a very different look for the caves. The 30th Anniversary sequel will be the first ever freemium game in the Boulder Dash series. Additional features include:
- 50+ all-new levels (many designed by Liepa and Gray) and more advanced physics
- Never-before-seen worlds and new creatures with 3D elements and animations
- New multicolored gem combos, powerups, collectibles and Dash Mode
- Cave packs featuring new worlds, additional creatures and features available as In-App-Purchases
- Cave editor included for the first time since 1986
- Both male and female characters: Rockford™ and Crystal™
- First Boulder Dash game ever to include diagonal walls and movement
- Developed in Unity
Boulder Dash was originally published by First Star Software, Inc. in 1984 for Acorn Electron, Atari 8-bit computers, Atari 5200, Amstrad, Apple II, BBC Micro, ColecoVision, Commodore 64, Fujitsu, IBM PC jr, NEC, MSX and ZX Spectrum. This made Boulder Dash one of the first games to be released across multiple platforms worldwide. Millions of units have been sold and four games in the series have been released into coin-operated arcades. Versions of Boulder Dash have appeared on Android, Apple iOS; Amiga, Atari ST, Atari 2600, BlackBerry, BREW and J2ME Cellphones, HipTop, GameBoy Advance, GameStick, Mac, NES, Nintendo DS, Nintendo 3DS, Nintendo’s WiiWare, OUYA, Windows and Xbox LIVE Arcade.
Richard M. Spitalny, co-founder and president of First Star Software, Inc., oversees the Boulder Dash® franchise and is a co-producer of Boulder Dash®- 30th Anniversary™. “I’ve been a fan of Boulder Dash® since the first minute I played the unfinished game submitted by Chris and Peter in 1983, and continue to be amazed by its success over three decades. Seeing the original team reunite, and experiencing their incredible talent, vision and creativity all over again, has been truly rewarding.”
Introducing TapStar Interactive
Based in San Francisco with offices in Montreal, Canada and Gdynia, Poland, TapStar Interactive creates and publishes unique and innovative gaming experiences that appeal to a wide range of players. Its portfolio includes original and licensed IP, from location-based to casual puzzle games. TapStar works with talented game development teams from around the world, both for its own titles and for its third party publishing program.
“We have spent the last year under the radar, developing new IPs and game mechanics, as well as building relationships that will allow us to bring visually and technologically dynamic properties to the mobile platform,“ added Gray. “We formed TapStar to satisfy our creative needs as game developers, but also to push the boundaries of what is possible on mobile.”
For more information on the TapStar team and current games in development, please visit the website at http://www.tapstargames.com or follow us on Twitter @tapstargames.
About First Star Software, Inc.
Founded in 1982, First Star Software, Inc. develops, licenses and publishes games across all platforms including smartphones, tablets, hand-held devices, home computers and next generation consoles. Creators of numerous best selling and award winning video game titles including Boulder Dash® and the SPY vs. SPY series of games, millions of units of each series have been sold throughout the world. A privately held corporation, it is one of a very few surviving publishers from the early 1980’s that are run by the original founders. For more information please visit http://www.firststarsoftware.com.
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