“0RBITALIS” – DevLog #2 // GDC 2014

With its Steam release approaching, the coding on 0RBITALIS continues in San Fancisco. This week the game has been demoed at GDC 2014, in the alt.ctrl.GDC section. Yes, 0RBITALIS landed in an exhibition about alternative controllers. The game is playable with mouse and keyboard, although all the people who stopped by at my booth could have a glimpse of how to launch a space probe with its own, custom made controller: the MCMC. The decision to showcase the game at alt.ctrl.GDC has been taken quite late. The main reason is that Flash does not allow any easy way to communicate with the serial port, preventing me to attach the controller earlier. Luckily, I found an Adobe Native Extension for Arduino that is compatible with the Teensy 3.1 micro-controller I am using; that helped me a lot. No, seriously: a lot!

Both the game and the controller got quite a lot of press attention, including a sweet article on Destructoid. Now, the next stop is Birmingham: 0RBITALIS will be showcased in the Left Field Area at Rezzed. And there are already rumours that its custom made controller might be there as well…