The Ball
First-person action adventure puzzle goes gold, hitting store across Europe on November 5th.
Haarlem, The Netherlands – 6 October 2010 – Premier PC videogames publisher Iceberg Interactive, publisher/developer Tripwire Interactive and indie development studio Teotl Studios today announce that their upcoming first person action adventure puzzle game „The Ball? has gone Gold. Iceberg Interactive will get The Ball rolling on 5 November 2010 in retail stores across major European territories, including the UK, Germany, France and Benelux. The Iceberg Interactive retail version of The Ball includes a special exclusive postcard with the autographs of the entire Teotl development team, as well as an exclusive bonus CD featuring the soundtrack of the game.
“The Ball won multiple awards in Epic's latest “$1,000,000 Make Something Unreal” contest and is now coming to PC as full stand-alone single-player game, greatly expanded from the mod version – from 40 minutes of gameplay, to a full 8 hours.”
“We are really happy to see The Ball get a full commercial launch. It is the first UDK-based game to get into stores and the previews show just how much a group of talented developers can achieve with the toolset,” said Mark Rein, Vice President of Epic Games. “Like previous success stories from the Make Something Unreal contest, such as Red Orchestra, it is a highly-polished standalone product – and a great fun game, too! This is a great example of why we put the effort into supporting the community with the UDK and the MSU contest.”
Iceberg Interactive CEO Erik Schreuder said: “The Ball is an exciting retail release for us that may well surpass expectations if the excellent press quotes thus far are any kind of good omen. This really is a great game, part of an upcoming genre of games that feature vast amounts of both action and brainteasing. The extra?s in the boxed version I feel will make it worthwhile to wait until 5 November.”
The game is now available for pre-order in the Iceberg webshop. Pre-orders will be delivered on the day of release with free shipping.
What the press is saying about The Ball:
“The Ball is likely to become a sensation.” – Electronic Theatre “The Ball is a must-buy indie game of 2010.” – PC MMGN “An utterly beautiful game ... may well be the next Portal™ ...” – Strategy InformerAbout the Ball
The Ball is a first person action-adventure game featuring a full single-player experience built on Epic?s Unreal™ Engine 3 technology. As a swashbuckling archaeologist working on the slopes of a dormant volcano somewhere in Mexico, you get stuck in a cavern. It doesn?t take long before you realize this is more than just a cave. You reveal ancient ruins that have been hidden from outsiders for centuries and discover a mysterious artifact, a gold and metal shelled Ball. As you progress towards solving the mystery of this amazing place you must unlock the secrets of The Ball and learn to control this ancient artifact. You will also start to encounter not just puzzles and traps, but also various strange creatures – the guardians of this mystery. These creatures also have to be overcome, using only The Ball to defend you. Venturing deeper into the volcano, you reveal some of mankind?s greatest secrets…
The Ball Features
Six hours of single-player adventure Game mechanics that are very simple to pick up, immersing the user in the physics-based gameplay right from the start 8 huge levels to explore Includes bonus Survival game mode, with 4 additional levels Wide range of enemies to overcome, including mummies, an undead gorilla and boss characters Unique vehicles – an underground train and the mysterious “Ball Chariot” More than 30 secrets hidden away to be discovered, as well as multiple achievements for the player to earn Steamworks™ features including achievements and leaderboards Retail-exclusive bonus materials: postcard with the autographs of the entire Teotl development team and a CD featuring the soundtrack of the game. For more information about The Ball, please visit the official website www.theballthegame.com.About Teotl Studios
Teotl Studios is a young game development studio located in central Sweden. Teotl Studios focuses on creating high quality and immersive single player experiences. The staff is a unique mix of seasoned veterans and highly talented professionals from around the world. Leveraging its diversity and years of experience, Teotl Studios is an independent development company committed to building and delivering high-level entertainment for its fans. It's founders have previously worked on games such as “Killzone”, “Unreal Tournament 2004” and “The Chronicles of Spellborn”. The studio is currently in its final stages of production on its debut game, The Ball.
About Tripwire Interactive
Based in Roswell, Georgia, Tripwire Interactive is an entertainment software developer and publisher founded in 2005 by the award winning mod team and winners of the 2004 edition of the “$1,000,000 Make Something Unreal” competition. Released in early 2006, Tripwire Interactive?s debut retail title Red Orchestra: Ostfront 41-45 achieved both critical and commercial success garnering several awards including “Multiplayer Game of the Year” and “FPS of the Year” for 2006. Killing Floor, Tripwire?s second title, jumped straight to the top of the Steam best-seller list and instantly became one of the top-ten most played FPS games in the world. With some of the most played PC Multiplayer games on the market and over 1,000,000 units sold on PC, Tripwire Interactive have proven that with hard work, determination, and great distribution partners, independent game developers can still make a big splash in the games industry. For more information visit Tripwire Interactive?s website at www.tripwireinteractive.com.
About Iceberg Interactive
Iceberg Interactive is a premier videogame publisher set to make a splash in the interactive entertainment industry. The company is staffed with a mix of industry veterans and upcoming young talent, has offices in key locations across Europe and has established relevant partnerships all over the globe, both for digital and retail releases. Hence why Iceberg is a great alternative for developers looking to bring their products to a worldwide audience. Iceberg focuses foremost on PC gaming and is among the market leaders for the following niche genres for PC: simulators, adventure and MMO/action games.
For more information visit www.iceberg-interactive.com to keep up with the latest breaking news.
Iceberg Interactive
PR & Marketing Manager
Kimara Rouwit
pr@iceberg-interactive.com
Tel: (+31)23-5430960