Nocturnal unveils 'Pocket Arcade Classics' for the Game Boy Advance(tm)
Melbourne, Australia - 21st January 2005 - Nocturnal Entertainment Australia today unveiled 'Pocket Arcade Classics', its first title for the Game Boy AdvanceTM platform.
'Pocket Arcade Classics' is a collection of more than 10 games, each of which has been inspired by a classic arcade title. All games have been reworked for the modern gaming community, providing deeper and more exciting gameplay than ever before. In 'Pocket Arcade Classics' the player must explore the game world, solve puzzles and complete challenges in order to collect additional games. Only when the player has beaten all of the games, can they earn the title of master gamer. The list of collectable games include:
- Galhero - Inspired by the arcade classic GalagaTM, this lightning fast shooter pits the player against wave after wave of galactic alien attackers. There are more than 30 levels, in which the player navigates minefields, collects powerups, deploys smart bombs, and much more.
- Scavenger Advance - Based on the classic Rockford / Boulder Dash / Scavenger series of games, complete levels by collecting diamonds and reaching the exit before you are crushed, vaporised, eaten or trapped! Includes new elements never before seen such as hatchable eggs, keys and switches, suckers, daemons and more. More than 50 mind-bending levels in this addictive action-puzzler.
- Copter - Inspired by the arcade classic Scrambler, this horizontal shooter encompasses more than 5 distinct worlds and over 20 levels. Navigate your helicopter through the terrain avoiding enemy fire, collecting powerups, and obliterating enemy troops.
- ChipBot - A blend of classics Pac ManTM and BombermanTM. The player must guide a robot through more than 20 different playfields. Collect and use bombs to protect yourself from rogue viruses, while you complete the level.
- CowJump Adventure - A parody of the classic Super MarioTM games, the player must help Mika the cow escape imprisonment on her island farm in this hilarious action platformer. Use combo stampede attacks, bovine wrestling moves and milk sprays to avoid being captured or eaten by the horrible inhabitants of each level! Ride a hot-air balloon, fight a Yeti at the top of an icy mountain, and defeat forest denizens in Mika's quest for freedom.
Nocturnal CEO Michael Shamgar says:
"The Game Boy Advance has a huge library of high quality games already available. It was essential that our first title be something really special to stand out from the crowd, and all indications are that we are on track to meet our goal. The classic gameplay, and the sheer scope of the title are sure to appeal to gamers everywhere."
'Pocket Arcade Classics' is currently 65% complete, and does not yet have publisher attachment. Nocturnal expects to start contacting publishers in 4-6 weeks. The game has been completely developed by using Catapult technology, a Game Boy AdvanceTM development solution wholly developed and owned by Nocturnal.
For additional information and media, visit the 'Pocket Arcade Classics' Web site:
http://pocketarcadeclassics.com/
About Nocturnal Entertainment Australia:
Founded in 2002, and with headquarters in Melbourne, Australia and founded in mid 2002 - Nocturnal Entertainment Australia is a software development company working on technologies and games for the Game Boy AdvanceTM. Nocturnal uses a unique business model that combines traditional office development, with a distributed development model - similar to open-source projects. Pocket Arcade Classics is NEA's first commercial title, with several other titles also in development. Future plans include self-publishing, and development of technologies and games for the Nintendo DSTM. Nocturnal currently has more than 180 registered contributors from all over the globe.
For more information on Nocturnal or our development practices, visit the Nocturnal Web site:
http://www.nocturnal-central.com/
About Catapult:
First released in December 2002, Catapult is an integrated development environment for Windows to develop software and games for the Game Boy AdvanceTM. Catapult includes an editor, debugger, simulator and an extensive set of built-in tools. Applications are wholly developed on the PC, then exported seamlessly into a GBA compatible ROM. Catapult is based around a custom language, which was designed from the ground up for GBA development. Catapult's integrated tools include an image editor, sound editor, music editor, image processing tool, palette processing tool, resource manager, multi-lingual string manager, and more.
Catapult is currently available in English, Spanish and French with German and Malay versions in development.
A freeware version of Catapult (v1.41.2) is available for trial, and can be downloaded from Nocturnal's Web site.
An educational Catapult license is also available. The integrated nature of the tools within Catapult makes it ideal for use within an educational environment. Catapult also comes with extensive documentation including a 400+ page users guide, 20 programming tutorials, sample projects with complete source and more. To date Catapult has been licensed by two educational institutions.
For more information on Catapult, or to download the freeware version:
http://www.nocturnal-central.com/catapult.php
*- Game Boy AdvanceTM is a registered trademark of Nintendo Corp.
All classic titles and their likeness, characters, names and content are the property of their respective license holders.