It was hard at times to juggle all of that with the enormous amount of time and energy needed to make a releasable game, and the enjoyment and excitement we got from adding new features and improvements meant the scope of the game kept growing and growing. Gareth also taught in Sheffield and Japan for some months, and Ned finished a screenplay. Alongside it we also did some other work as Cyberlamb Studios: we developed a mediation app for a French company, volunteered with a Canadian charity making games for kids with respiratory diseases, and we even became Unity Certified. How long have you guys been working on it?īetween that initial train-jam and Steam release, it took us around 18 months.
Inspired by one of our favourite childhood games – Super Smash TV – we settled on a top-down co-op shooter set in a gritty sci-fi arena as the perfect basis for our new project. We settled on certain criteria that we knew we wanted: accessible, 2D, co-op multiplayer, sci-fi, fast-paced action, and also something manageable enough for a small team to actually pull off in a few months. We travelled to where Richard is based in Germany, and on the train there we brainstormed what our new game design should be. We decided to kick off our new project with an intensive month of work with our developer friend, Richard Elms, who wanted to help us with the initial prototyping. What was the inspiration for DEATHPIT 3000? DEATHPIT 3000 was subsequently born, and so too was Cyberlamb Studios.
We learned Unity, and with Gareth focusing on artwork and Ned on code we messed around with a few learning projects before deciding to develop a fully releasable title. When we grew up we pursued our own different careers, until deciding that we both wanted to give our mutual dream of becoming game developers a shot. We’re two childhood friends who’ve played video games together since as far back as primary school. Interview with Cyberlamb Studios, developers of DEATHPIT 3000Ĭan you tell us a little bit about yourselves and Cyberlamb Studios? See our first impressions in Rockape’s video and read on for an exclusive interview with North Wales developers Gareth Brown and Ned Birkin. After chatting to the developers at Player Nation, Rockape told me that online multiplayer was in the works and once that had launched, we checked it out. Originally DEATHPIT 3000 was 4 player local co-op, making it a local party game. You progress through the game until you hit the finals, steadily unlocking more goodies as you go. Each round rewards cash and a shop with upgrades specific to that match, whilst completing the entire match unlocks upgrades and features for the next qualifier.
DEATHPIT 3000 is a twin stick top down arena based shooter where you fight a variety of monsters whilst avoiding environmental damage and try to survive. Don’t worry, I’m not talking about Cardiff’s nightlife, I’m referring to DEATH PIT 3000, available on Steam from Cyberlamb Studios and currently priced at £2.99. Last week I entered a dark and dangerous area, and armed with a whip and Rockape, we battled terrifying hordes who launched themselves at our faces.