Unity user-gen platformer makes hi5 debut

Argentina-based Minor Studios has become one of the first companies to release a Unity-based game onto the hi5 social network platform, the developer has announced.

Its user-generated platform game creator, Atmosphir, is now available on the platform, incorporating thousands of levels made by the community.

The toolset has been available in a beta format on the company's own website for some time, but the PC and Mac platforms could only be the beginning, according to Minor Studios CEO Martin Repetto.

"We'll also have a downloadable version - because the game can be played in a browser, or you can install the Mac or PC downloadable version - which should be launched in December," he told GamesIndustry.biz at the recent Unite conference in Montreal.

He also admitted that an iPad version of Atmosphir was in development, but other platforms would be taken on a case-by-case basis, and that some might suit a play-only version of the game, without the level creation facilities.

"The game's finished, but we're still fixing and tweaking and doing other stuff. It's a service model, so we want to ramp that up on an ongoing basis.

"We're not doing any marketing at all, we're looking at organic growth - the game's out there and it's a word of mouth thing, which has been helpful for us. We're registering 1000 users per day at the moment, which isn't a lot, but it's a lot for us right now."

He added that while the business was in a "pre-revenue" stage at the moment, he hoped that it would be "cash-positive in a year or so."

The full interview with Repetto - and creative director Dave Werner - which explains the thinking behind Atmosphir and where the game's concept came from, is available now.