505 Games Announces the Launch of Objects in Space
Calabasas, 21st June, 2018 – 505 Games proudly announces the launch of Objects in Space (PAX Australia Indie Showcase winner and alt.ctrl GDC finalist), out now at $19.99 on Steam and GOG Early Access for PC and Mac.
Developed by Sydney-based indie developer Flat Earth Games, Objects in Space is a retro open-world stealth-action space game in which starships are modelled on Cold War era submarines rather than on WWII dogfighters, and has an option for players to build custom starship bridges at home using physical hardware.
In the game, players have their own ship and must make their way in the Apollo cluster – a new home disconnected from our solar system for almost fifty years – an uncaring place alone in the universe where a new era for humanity has manifested and we thrive in bleak conditions.
Objects is a time-based open world, where the game takes place over three months and player choices matter on an entirely new dimension.
The team at Flat Earth Games have gone to great lengths to make it a different kind of open world – one in which players ‘exist’ for a time but aren’t guided through a main storyline or given chances to collect every available piece of the game world. The worlds of Apollo move on – the player just lives there for a while.
“This is a massive and complicated open world game,” said Leigh Harris, co-founder of Flat Earth Games. “But we created it to harken back to some of the early open world space games of the 80s and 90s. It lends itself very heavily towards sandbox play – players can engage with whatever parts of the world interest them the most and will be equally rewarded regardless of where their focus may lie.”
“One of our main drives was to get around the reflex-based combat gameplay present in a lot of other space games, and replace it with more tactical, decision-based stealth combat,” said Elissa Harris, co-founder of Flat Earth Games. “We wanted to offer players the choice to engage in combat or avoid it in lieu of a more creative solutions to problem, especially by making the act of avoiding combat – a form of cat and mouse stealth play – enjoyable in its own right.”
Objects in Space was produced with support from Screen New South Wales.
Features List:
- Massive open world to explore full of NPCs to interact with
• Complex contract-based economic system with over 50 employers
• Time-based open world – opportunities, stories and events happen at certain times as well as certain places, so each play through will be different
• Tense submarine-influenced combat
• Fully customisable ships – design your vessel for combat, shipping, stealth and more
• Mostly avoidable combat for more pacifistic players
• A world of side quests – no single linear story players are required to follow
• Explore 12 hand-crafted populated star and 20 uncharted systems full of unknown threats and treasures
• Find derelict ships, wreckages, cargo pods and communication beacons adrift in space
• Be a trader, bounty hunter, explorer, pirate or all of them at the same time
• Sandbox mode – play the game without narrative content in an endless version of the game (coming soon)
• Scenarios – tense combat scenarios task the player with overcoming impossible odds and testing their skill (coming soon)
• Multi-player Scenarios – compete or cooperate in a variety of multiplayer modes and situations (coming soon)
• Build your own DIY controllers at home using Arduinos – anyone can construct their own ship bridge with physical switches and buttons with just a little bit of soldering know-how. Easy to learn and fun to do!
About 505 Games:
505 Games is a global video game publisher focused on offering a broad selection of titles for players of all ages and levels. The company publishes and distributes premium and free-to-play games on leading console, PC and handheld platforms as well as for mobile devices and social networks.
Publishing highlights in premium games include PAYDAY 2, Terraria, Portal Knights, Assetto Corsa, ABZÛ, Virginia, Brothers – A Tale of Two Sons and How to Survive. Free-to-play publishing highlights include Battle Islands, Gems of War and Hawken. Distribution highlights include Rocket League, Stardew Valley, Dead by Daylight and Don’t Starve. Upcoming titles include Indivisible (from the development team behind Skullgirls), and Koji Igarashi’s next project, Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night.
505 Games has offices in California, United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, Spain and China. It works with a network of distribution and sub-licensing partners in all other markets. For more information on 505 Games and its products please visit www.505games.com.
About Flat Earth Games:
Siblings Elissa and Leigh Harris started Flat Earth in early 2012 in Sydney, Australia. Following the release of their first game TownCraft (iOS/PC/Mac), they released the top-down cyberpunk hitman game Metrocide (PC/Mac). TownCraft reached #2 in the paid app charts in Australia, and the team still continues to create original games for various platforms which aim squarely at bringing a love of 90s gaming into a contemporary setting.
