Dare Blogs – Kind of a Big Deal

Our game is Starcrossed, a 2D space platformer game for Windows Phone 7. In Starcrossed you play as a whimsical astronaut who has crashed his ship and must use his bazooka to hop from planet to planet.

The goal in each short level is to reach the home planet as quickly as possible, collecting these little stars along the way and all the while avoiding the extreme temperatures of space.

Dare to be Digital has been fantastic – and I’m sure everyone says this. The new people you meet, the excellent feedback from the industry mentors, the professional working environment in Abertay University, the thrill of competition.

It all weaves into a terrific experience. And it looks great on the CV. The less work-oriented things like the ceilidh dinner have also been very memorable.

During the competition so far I’ve learned a lot about leading a team in a real-life working environment, managing a project, meeting deadlines and making a commercially viable product. Especially that last point. There’s a big leap from developing ‘for fun’ and making a commercial game.

I’m definitely looking forward to ProtoPlay. It’s a real acid test for the games, and while the event will probably be quite something in itself, I’m most anxious to hear the judges’ verdict. That is, who are the best three teams.

We will be releasing our game to Windows Phone Marketplace later this autumn, but further plans really depend on how well our game fares both in Dare and the marketplace. This game could go anywhere, but these are difficult things to predict.

Kind of a Big Deal are the Dare 2012 Nordic representatives, from Finland, and are supported to take part by the Scottish Government.

Follow Kind of a Big Deal on Twitter @Dare2012_koabd to learn more about their game.

Dare ProtoPlay and Indie Fest takes place between August 10th and 12th in Dundee, with all 15 Dare student games on show, as well as indie games, conference talks and much more.