Project Status: In Development

For our latest foray into indie game development, we're getting some of the old PopCap crew back together to create a 2D metroidvania(ish) game with a twist.

It's the year 2619, and humanity has colonized the stars, fleeing the increasingly inhospitable environment on Earth. Unfortunately, humanity forgot that they weren't the only ones that lived there.

In Otter Space (working title) you play a space-faring sea otter who's looking for a planet that he and his friends can call home. Scavenging the technology left behind by human colonists, you scrape together a ship to take you deeper into the unknown. Explore zero-G environments, craft weapons and tools from parts you find along the way, solve puzzles and defend yourself from crazy AI's, mutated hydroponics and space rats. Gameplay has a heavy emphasis on the physics of zero-G environments, leading to an unexpected and fresh take on a familiar genre.

Joining me on this one is a group of familiar faces from the glory days of PopCap. Joining Ed, we have Jeff Weinstein (AstroPop, Bookworm Adventures, Zuma's Revenge) on code, Matt Holmberg (PvZ, Peggle 2, Feeding Frenzy, Magi Nation) on pixels, and Isaac Aubrey (Space Tyrant, Forza, Bejeweled Blitz, Motor City Online) on level design. It’s a tiny team working on something that’s otter this world!

Here are some early work-in-progress screens: