LEVEL: a puzzle-platformer from Chatty's theDrMikey

Mike Stanton (a.k.a. theDrMikey) has opened a Kickstarter for a new game called LEVEL, a puzzle-platformer in which a maintenance bot scrolls the screen forward, while areas above and below him remain in place.

Ozzie Mejia

January 10, 2014 2:45 PM

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Mike Stanton (known to Chatty as theDrMikey) is no stranger to game development, having previously participated in Activision's Independent Games Competition in 2012 and also having worked on a 2D deathmatch game called Vespidae.

Now Stanton is looking to start his next project, a unique puzzle platformer called LEVEL, which was originally submitted to Sony for a split-screen tablet that didn't wind up seeing the light of day. He's taken his pitch to Kickstarter, where he hopes the Shacknews community and other fellow gamers will help make his next game a reality.

LEVEL puts players in the role of a maintenance bot that's trapped in a testing facility. The game unfolds as a normal platformer, in the sense that moving towards the edge of a screen will scroll the level forward. However, areas above or below will remain static. Players can use this idea to solve puzzles, move to new areas, or dupe monsters into a different area.

"It wouldn't be much struggle to just add a few more levels and call this a basic puzzle platformer, but that's not what I want to do," said Stanton. "I want to make this into a real adventure game with a story that motivates the player to keep going and keep learning. You'll meet a suspicious AI who you will distrust, then work with, befriend and eventually maybe save. You'll overcome obstacles together and help solve problems that neither of you could solve on your own. You'll fall back on your maintenance routines to keep the facility functional enough to allow you to pass through. You'll find bits of technology that you'll reassemble to achieve goals and become more than the busted spare maintenance bot. You'll be the unlikely hero."

Stanton is seeking to raise $10,000 for LEVEL, which is aiming for PC, Mac, Ouya, iOS, and Android. Those wanting a taste of what the game entails can try out the demo now.

Ozzie Mejia

Senior Editor

Ozzie has been playing video games since picking up his first NES controller at age 5. He has been into games ever since, only briefly stepping away during his college years. But he was pulled back in after spending years in QA circles for both THQ and Activision, mostly spending time helping to push forward the Guitar Hero series at its peak. Ozzie has become a big fan of platformers, puzzle games, shooters, and RPGs, just to name a few genres, but he’s also a huge sucker for anything with a good, compelling narrative behind it. Because what are video games if you can't enjoy a good story with a fresh Cherry Coke?