Upcoming 2.5-D Platformer Heroki Teases Flight-Friendly Gameplay And Button-Free Controls
May 10, 2012
Nearly three months since we last heard from Picomy Games, we now have another exciting update regarding the up-and-coming indie developer's soon-to-be-released debut title, Heroki. While the last update treated us to a series of splendid screenshots, this one indulges us with terrific offscreen preview footage from the alpha build of the forthcoming 2.5-D platformer.
Right from the get-go, Picomy has resolved to make Heroki a cut above most other platformers by giving it a couple of key attributes rarely, if ever, encountered in an iOS platformer. First, Heroki is markedly focused on flying. Second, Heroki is without any onscreen control buttons.
Unlike your typical platformer where walking, running, and jumping are the requisite movements, Heroki devotes a great deal of its gameplay to making its main and eponymous character fly. Although the aforementioned earthbound movements are called for in some parts of the game, it's the exhilarating act of flight that really keeps things moving in Heroki. As you can see below in the preview footage recently released by Picomy, flying makes for greater explorations of the varied game environments and more ingenious confrontations between the heroic Heroki and his enemies.
If you can't see the video embedded above, please click here.
The other highlighted innovation in Heroki is its use of what Picomy calls FlowMotion Control. With this awesome-sounding technology integrated in Heroki, there's no need for virtual buttons that often take up a lot of screen space. FlowMotion Control lets you control the movements of Heroki through special swipe and tap gestures, with the occasional tilt actions thrown in for good measure.
As it is, Heroki already has the qualities of a great platformer. It has hints of iOS platformers LostWinds, Paper Monsters, and Cordy, but it looks set to be in a class of its own. I expect it will land on a permanent spot on my iDevice when it flies into the App Store sometime this summer.
