Co-Optimus: What is the single player Tournament mode like?
Stephan: In single-player Tournament, where the [goal is] to destroy all enemies, there are three different sub-modes for players to tackle:
- Skirmish: a short tournament game against one AI opponent and the player has to reach 1250 points to win the tournament. This can be played within 5 minutes.
- Normal: The player plays against two opponents and must reach 2500 to win. Victory can be reached in about 15 minutes.
- Agony: a four-player [competitive] game. The player becomes the winner after reaching 5000 points; this usually takes around half of hour of playing.
In single-player Key Picker, players can look forward to the following:
- Short deal: where the objective is to gather all keys in just 5 rounds. This be finished from 5 minutes to 10 minutes.
- Normal: a 10-round game. The game can take around 20-30 minutes.
- Long walk: 15 rounds - the hardest and longest mode, lasting more than half an hour, for experienced players.
Co-Optimus: What kind of options are available in the competitive multiplayer?
Stephan: In multiplayer Tournament (essentially, death match arena), [we have] three modes:
- Online against 3 randomly assigned online players: If there aren’t enough available online players, the match will be filled by AI bots.
- Local: Players can set up and configure the game for up to 4 players. [Empty spots] can be filled by bots. The difficulty of the bots is predefined and balanced.
- Vs Friends: Dynablaster creates a list of [online friends] to choose and play with.
Co-Optimus: Now then, we’re most excited about the cooperative Key Picker mode. Does it have a set number of levels?
Stephan: Yes, in the first level it is necessary to find and collect only one key. But in the longest and most difficult variant, you have to finish up to the 15th level and find all the 15 keys.
Co-Optimus: Can you tell us more about the challenges and mechanics of Key Picker mode?
Stephan: There is no time limit, and in higher levels there are AI bots. In this specific situation, there can be up to 8 [Dynablasters] at once: 4 players plus 4 AI bots at the same time, in one game! It's not necessary to destroy [the AI enemies] to win the match. When one player dies, the game doesn't end. All the uncollected keys turn silver and have to be grabbed by one of the remaining co-op players. Keys can't be destroyed nor collected by bots.
Co-Optimus: How will players unlock different looks for their characters?
Stephan: Players are rewarded with game currency for winning the tournament and collecting keys. They can spend the coins on customization, and then equip their character with various visual add-ons. They can also unlock and choose from 40 items in 6 categories: Free, Rare, Cool, Epic, Legendary, Ultimate. BUT there is one more very special hidden gem, which is super locked and can't be purchased by any Dynablaster virtual money. Players can get this unique item only by unlocking all the previous ones. Please don't ask us what this item looks like :-D
Dynablaster also [features a ranking system]. Each player gains a higher and higher rank as they advance and score in the game. This starts at the rank of Private and can rise up to 22 ranks to Army General.
Co-Optimus: Speaking of characters, can you tell us about your approach to the game’s character designs and visual style?
Stephan: The visual style of the protagonist is, shall we say, a small robot with a big head and small feet. He has no hands, and there are two blue eyes on his big head. [The eyes] express basic emotions, such as joy when he wins, sadness when he loses, and fear when he gets stuck somewhere and there is a bomb nearby. We tried to create a cute little robot, and hopefully we succeeded. I also have to mention that when the robot dies, something interesting happens. I’ll let players discover this for themselves :-)
Co-Optimus: Now then, we have a couple of platform-specific questions for you. Will the Steam version be Steam Deck compatible?
Stephan: We will have a Steam version for Windows, Mac and Linux. We would love to optimize Dynablaster for the Steam Deck. We are big fans of the hardware, and we’re already confident that our current version will run on it. We just need to get our hands on a dev kit. :-)
Co-Optimus: Dynablaster was initially announced for all the major platforms except PlayStation. Do you have any plans for a PlayStation version in the future?
Stephan: We’ve just got PlayStation 4 and 5 dev kits from Sony, and our aim is to release a PlayStation version by the end of this year.
Co-Optimus: Finally, is there anything you’re proud of about Dynablaster that we haven’t already touched on?
Stephan: We’ve poured so much into our reimagined version of Dynablaster. The team has worked so hard on this reimagined version, using the power of the platforms we're developing on to their fullest potential, it is most definitely the ultimate Dynablaster experience, and we can't wait for players to get their hands on it. We hope that people like it.
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To learn more about Dynablaster, visit Dynablaster.com and https://bbg-entertainment.com/game/Dynablaster/.
Dynablaster will come to Xbox, Switch, and Steam in early Fall, and PlayStation and Atari VCS later in the year; it will cost $19.99. You can try the free Steam demo right now.