Yarrr mateys! We’ve heard word that the colorful sci-fi pirate adventure Pirates Of The New Horizon (PoNH) is very close to releasing its wares in exchange for your precious doubloons.Updates from the golden shores of Exit Strategy Entertainment regarding their Unity built PoNH say that the eye catching adventures of space pirate Anha are on the way oh so very soon.“we’re going to complete the current tasks on our plate and prepare the final build, it says in their latest blog post. “We plan to release it next week or the week afterwards at the latest.”So, between February 20th and March 4th, we should hopefully see the official PoNH website go up and pre-orders become available.

Original Source: Ahoy! ‘Pirates Of New Horizons’ Gears Up For Pre-Orders

This Article was originally posted on our sister site, The Indie Game Magazine written by Chris Priestman.

So this is interesting. Exit Strategy Studios has released a smaller PC/Mac puzzle game set in the universe of their upcoming space pirate Pirates of New Horizons. It’s called Planet Buster, it’s an unconventional match-3, and it’s pay what you want. Though there’s more to it than that.

PoNH: Planet Buster’s release is all in effort to fund the 3D platformer of the same name that originally wooed myself, and the rest of the DIY staff over a year ago. 100% of what’s earned from sales will go right into PoNH’s development. Leave it to indie gaming minds. Where creativity is the norm, especially when it comes to finding innovative methods to fund your game.

The Pirates of New Horizons prototype is finally available and ready to be played, just as Peter said it would last week.  If you’ve had your eye on it since Eric pointed it out then this is your chance to finally get some hands on time with the lighthearted pirate tale.  I played quite a bit of it earlier today and, while there are as many slight quirks as one would expect from a prototype, it’s certainly shaping up nicely.

There are three sections to the prototype build: defending your ship from attackers, exploring a town, and looting a volcano dungeon.  The world that Exit Strategy has imagined is bright and vibrant, full of robot mechanics, alien-loving hippies, and of course plenty of treasure to satisfy your pirating urges.  In what I thought was an especially nice touch, every conversation with an NPC ends with an opportunity to pick their pockets for cash.  Also notable are the items you can collect like a compas, ship remote, and grappling hook, which all come together in the prototype’s volcano level to solve some puzzles that may remind you of a certain green-wearing Nintendo mascot’s adventures.

The prototype can be played either in your web browser using the Unity Web Player plugin, or as a downloadable stand-alone file for both PC and Mac.  And while it supports a keyboard and mouse control scheme, it was clearly designed for you to plug in a wired Xbox 360 controller, which it also supports.  Just remember if you choose to use a controller to change the camera look speed in the game’s options, because the default is a bit slow once you get into combat.  So what are you waiting for?  Head on over to the Pirates of New Horizons prototype right here.

It’s no secret that Erik sparked all of our interest in Pirates of New Horizons when he first pointed it out a few months ago. Ever since then Exit Strategy Entertainment has been working hard to get their prototype done and they’ve announced a date that the world gets to play it.

Starting next Wednesday, October 6th you can download and play Pirates of New Horizons and let the developers know what you think.

Here’s what the prototype has in store for you:

*Three full levels set across different locations.

*Four different items to use: Grappling Hook, Ship Remote, Kharma Bombs and the Compass.

*Side Quests and upgrades you can buy.

Now remember, this is just their prototype to show off the concept. If it gets a good reaction we can all expect to see a fully-fleshed version of this game out sometime in the future.

Make sure you check out our interview with Exit Strategy in preparation for getting a shot at their game.

So keep your eyes on the official site next Wednesday in order to download the playable prototype. And in case you haven’t yet heard of it, check out the first trailer:

Ahead of the proto-release of Pirates of New Horizons, Exit Strategy Entertainment has released the action platformer’s original soundtrack as a free download for your listening pleasure.

Four tracks in all, the music was composed by game audio designer Harry Mack, who has several credits under his belt, including having worked with Jon Blow on his hit puzzle platformer Braid.

The file weighs in at around 7.5 MB and is currently being hosted on ModDB. Exit Strategy mentions that the soundtrack is there to get people in the right mood as the “[Pirates of New Horizons] prototype is nearing its completion.”

From what they’ve been telling us, it should be available for play as a free download on PC/Mac as well as in-browser by the end of the month. Pins and needles, for serious.

[Exit Strategy]

Exit Strategy Entertainment has passed along a fact sheet for their upcoming platformer Pirates of New Horizons, giving us some updated release target info along with some other new details.

A prototype of the game is currently being finalized and prepped for release, it will serve as a way for the developers to gauge the viability of putting in the time and resources it would take to make a full version of the game. It will be available for free through browsers as well as a download for both PC and Mac. Of course, if you’ve been tracking the title you already knew all this. So let’s get to some of the new stuff.

Now targeted for release in late September/early November, the prototype will put players in control of space pirate Annha after she’s defended herself from a hostile alien attack. Forced to land near a remote island due to a busted-up ship, she’ll have to find a way to repair her vessel as well as solve mysteries around the island in order to collect gold and jewels.

The version of the game will contain three different levels (30-45 minutes of gameplay) and includes usable items like the compass, grappling hook and kharma bombs. Purchasable upgrades and side quests are also teased in the fact sheet.

Exit Strategy has also pulled the curtain back on the “Volcano Island” dungeon for the game, which plays host to lava, aliens and a bottomless pit waiting to swallow anyone who slips up. The team has confirmed that the dungeon will be one of the three different levels included in the nearing prototype version of the game. Check out the new screenshots:

If you’re looking for more literature on the game, may we suggest our Pirates of New Horizons interview?

[Pirates of New Horizons]

[Soenke Seidel, also known as Warby, and Friedrich Bode of Exit Strategy Entertainment dropped in this week to answer a gold pile of our questions regarding their upcoming title that caught our attention earlier this year, Pirates of New Horizons.

We were lucky enough to grab the first interview with the developer on the recently unveiled third person space pirates action adventure game that has us and much of the ModDB/IndieDB community abuzz with excitement.]

DIYGamer: Set the stage for us. Who are Exit Strategy Studios? Where are you based, and how many are working on Pirates of New Horizons?

Warby: We are 4 guys from all around the world …well Europe mostly: that would be Friedrich Bode from Germany who runs the business side of things (or will run that once it is a business,) Skjalg S. Maehre our lead-technical-software-engineer (is that a word?) who wrote the spectacular entity framework that i use to actually build the game content, Michael “Zacker” Schmidt from Denmark who helped me nail down the feel of the core mechanics over the last couple of weeks and me Soenke Seidel aka Warby, I make all of the actual game content.

We should probably give a shout out to 2 of our most valuable contributors too: Christian Wasser for the grappling hook feature and and Harry Mack for the swashbuckling soundtrack (no it’s not Dropkick Murphys although clearly inspired by it.)

DIYGamer: You have an interesting development schedule for PONH, first you plan on releasing a free prototype of the game (approx. 20 minutes/3-4 Levels) for PC, Mac and also playable in browser. How far away are we from getting our hands on that?

Warby: I have not yet given up hope that it could be by the end of August! There is only 1 more major task left that ill be done with this week but a million small things i want to change before releasing … so we will see how those turn out!

Friedrich: The last 10% of a game’s development often take up the longest time. There are all these “little things” that you had pushed aside before and that add up. Even if this is going to be a prototype, that is rough around the edges by definition, we want players to get a proper idea of what the final game would play like. If there are small, easy to complete tasks that significantly improve the way the game plays and feels we’ll try to get those done before releasing the prototype. We are doing a bit of user-testing with friends these days and there are some reoccurring topics that require little effort to fix. Still we would like to get this prototype out to an audience as big as possible, as soon as possible, so some things simply have to wait. End of August sounds optimistic, I would estimate end of September, but as Soenke said we have to see how fast we can get those final tasks done. Just be confident that it is rather a matter of weeks or months than years!

DIYGamer: You’ve also detailed that the response you receive from the prototype will determine whether a full version of the game will be worthwhile time and money wise to develop–mentioning that it would then be potentially shopped to consoles via digital distribution (XBLA, PSN, WiiWare.) Pretend I’m a big bad exec representing Sony/Microsoft/Nintendo, pitch to me why you believe the full version would be a great fit for my console download service.

Warby: Uhh I am gonna leave this to Frie I don’t like talking to business people I am all development. ^^ That said its my deepest conviction that: a good product pitches itself! So my dream pitch would work kinda like this: I enter a room, pop in the game, turn up the volume, hand the gamepad to one of those execs,walk over to the wall and lean against it with a smug grin on my face (all this without saying a word.)

Friedrich: The game is a great fit for online delivery services like XBLA, PSN or WiiWare because you can pick it up and get playing so quickly. There is no steep learning curve, the controls are very intuitive, in fact they are designed with a controller in mind. You need to know which button to press to move the character, which button to jump and which one to make the sword swing and you are good to go!

Everybody knows and loves pirates, but have you played a pirate “girl” before? A pirate girl on her flying ship venturing through a universe filled with aliens and robots to be specific? I think that’s what makes the game’s universe so interesting: there are enough familar elements to easily find your way around but also enough strange and mind-boggling stuff to draw you in and explore. Add to that there are not enough 3D Jump’n Run games out there nowadays. PONH mixes this with elements from popular games like Zelda and God of War, beautifully drawn visuals and content for all ages. Our plans for length and pricing of the game would make this a good fit for digital distribution too. Plus we are indie developers who invest a lot of our time, otherwise spent watching Starcraft II replays and debating interactive media as an art form, so we are really dependent on this kind of money…please?!

DIYGamer: Sold! Alright, let’s get into the game’s guts a bit. From what we saw in the announcement trailer, the title seems to offer a variety of different core mechanics. What can players expect with the free release gameplay wise? Would the full version mean a lot more of what’s in the prototype, or would it potentiality bring some new mechanics in as well?

Warby: We have a huge backlog with ideas for mechanics that didn’t make it for the prototype do to time constraints …and well let’s just say experience ^^ for the full game I’d definitely love to resurrect some stuff out of that spoils-bag of ours! As far as the mechanics in the prototype are concerned you can expect alot of puzzles platforming combat and grappling hook action and also some slight adventure/quest-ish stuff! This may drift a little into technical territory but our extended player controller/scripts allow players to swim in water, slide down from too steep surfaces and be passively moved by elevators and other moving platforms. This may not seem like a big deal, if you are a 3D jump and run player all those things are pretty standard, but Unity’s out of the box player controller does not come with these features so we are very proud to have successfully added them and we will release this for free to the Unity community after the prototype is out! Promise!

DIYGamer: While the game certainly has its own charm, one of the reasons it grabbed my attention was that both the look and feel of it immediately conjured memories of good times with several classic titles and series. Sonic and Zelda jumped to mind for me, and looking through the game’s comment section, Super Mario Galaxy, Kingdom Hearts, One Piece, Jak and Daxter, Psychonauts and Windwaker all have been mentioned. That’s a nice list of names to be compared to at this stage, but what media (video games or otherwise) have you guys actually drawn upon as influences for the title?

Warby: When I wrote the design doc, the first chapter was MUST KNOW TITLES and I embedded youtube links to a hand full of games that whoever wanted to work on the game must have intimate knowledge of. Let me see if I can find that for you …. *searches* … I doubt all of my mates know all of these games to be honest ^^:

• God of War (For its polish and just being the best game franchise EVER EVER!)
• Psychonauts (For its characters and humor … this is the game that sparked this project into being.)
• Monkey Island (For currently being the best pirate game…until we come along!)
• Cave story (For its “el mariachi of video games” holy shit i can’t believe one guy alone did this factor)
• Zelda: Windwaker (Art style and campaign structure)
• Jak and Daxter (For its seamless-ness and love for geometry)
• Portal (For its length and pacing)
• Jet Set Radio Future (The connection here might seem a bit nebulous because the features that linked the games got cut)

I’m also gonna take this opportunity and deny some influences:

• One Piece ( i had never heard of this until people started comparing PONH to it )
• Super Mario Galaxy (Although an excellent jump and run game i am going for something completely different!)
• Sonic (Not a big sonic fan especially not the 3d ones. That the sliding and picking up of coins has a sonic feel is pure coincidence.)
• Kingdom Hearts (I have no idea what this is. I have seen tons of promotional artwork over the years but i couldn’t even tell you if this is a jrpg or a beat ‘em up)

Anyway, yeah being compared to high profile AAA titles feels quite warm and fuzzy. I hope people will still do that AFTER they played the prototype. =^.^=

DIYGamer: As mentioned, the main character is a rather beautiful female sky-pirate. May we have her name and a bit of backstory? Also, does she have a love interest?…and as a follow up to that question: Could it be me?

Warby: Her name is annha ( yes thats an “h” before the “a” think of it as a fantasy name,) her back story is what the prototype is about so i am not gonna spoil that here. The only thing she loves is gold ! And no 4th wall breaking in my game this is not Charlie Kaufman’s adaptation!

DIYGamer: I’m heartbroken, but I’ll keep it professional…let’s continue. Any other games or projects in the works beside PONH at Exit Strategy you can let us in on?

Warby: Should this prototype not yield the interest in the project that we are currently hoping for, I have 2 or 3 different ideas for game prototypes that I am DYING to build but I am not gonna spoil what those are here yet. Also it’s not strictly an Exit Strategy release but Christian ”grapplinghookaction” Wasser and I did a little Facebook game during one weekend just to gauge if there is advertisement money in it.

DIYGamer: Anything else you’d like readers to know?

Warby: Thanks for the overwhelmingly positive feedback so far! I am always cautious not to get too hyped over a game pre release (I get burned quite often when i get too hyped for a game) so keep your expectations low for the prototype…so that we can then totally blow your minds!!!!!!

Friedrich: Thanks a lot for giving us the opportunity to get the word out about our game! Everyone who would like to keep up with our progress or would like to ask us directly is more than welcome to visit our website www.piratesofnewhorizons.com!

The quad squad of Exit Strategy Entertainment seems to be cooking up something very nice in their upcoming unity-powered third-person action adventure platformer Pirates of New Horizons. In development for nearly two years, the game is grabbing some buzz on the heels of its recent announcement, debut screenshots and trailer (below) of a female space pirate and her awesome adventures.

Exit Strategy is currently gauging interest for the title, stating that some prototypes of the game will make its way out for PC and Mac for sure, but they’re hoping it builds enough interest for the team to justify putting the time and money into making a full game; potentially aimed for digital distribution on consoles (PSN, Wiiware, XBLA.)

My smile lit up the room from what I saw of the gameplay. Several different mechanics have been brought together, many building on the enjoyable elements similar to what we’ve seen before in tried and true series such as Sonic and Zelda. Words can only sway so much, tell me after watching the trailer you wouldn’t want to play that.

For the record: I muted the trailer volume, dodging the Dropkick Murphys track and opting instead to run a Radiohead song over it. It may not be the right decision for everyone, but it was the right decision for me. Read up on the game and its development over on Pirates of New Horizons IndieDB page.

Definitely on our grid and we’re eager to see more.