On the last post to AH, the Midwest Gaming Classic event was mentioned, along with the presence of a new “Asteroids like” arcade game called Cosmotrons. Thanks to Sean of All Castle Games, we now have a better look at this title.
Cosmotrons – Gravitar Meets Space Duel
Seeing the game in action below, I would say it’s Gravitar meets Space Duel (both color vector games from Atari back around ’82). Gravity and collisions with walls or the ground comes into play while you battle it out against other players.
This is housed in a cool retro looking cabinet and the controls appear to be completely button based with no knobs or joysticks. Since we’re combining things here, I would also venture to say that the cabinet looks a little bit like a Vewlix has mashed up with a Computer Space 😉 The HD monitor portrays the old vector look pretty well sans the flicker and the marquee monitor topper is a nice little touch in case a crowd forms around the game.
Check it out:
As the developer mentioned though, at the moment this is more of a promotional piece for the game’s release on Steam and other home platforms. Arcade is a possibility “if demand is there” but that can be a hard thing to gauge without more details (game cabinet cost, lead time, has it been tested on site and does it earn, etc.). That said, we’ve been seeing an uptick in classic style games being tried in the arcade to varied degrees of success – the 10-player Killer Queen Arcade or the upcoming Skycurser. Not to mention all of the videmption pieces like Galaga, Pac-Man and Space Invaders.
Granted, this is not the kind of game that you can just drop into an FEC and call it a day. Gravitar was notoriously difficult even then so a place that attracts a lot of casual players might not be the right venue. I would be very interested to see how this would fare in a location with more of a retro game theme / target audience though. We’ll keep an eye on this one and let you know about further developments.
Hi everyone, Shane here from Arcadeaholics LLC, the developers of Cosmotrons. A BIG thanks to Arcade Heroes and Sean from All Castle Games for posting our game Cosmotrons and for all they do for the arcade scene. Thank you much for the compliments on the cabinet we designed. We brought Cosmotrons to the Midwest Gaming Classic to see what people thought and it was received very well with near constant four player action on it. Cosmotrons actually earned two “Best in Show Multiplayer Video” awards, one from the judges and one was “People’s Choice”! We absolutely love the experience Killer Queen provides and so many at the Midwest Gaming Classic likened Cosmotrons to that experience. We are well aware of all the barcades and leagues out there offering great environments for these types of games.
Cosmotrons on purpose uses stronger gravity and is slightly more challenging. Think about the original Donkey Kong. I imagine the majority of people did not beat the first level on their first try! Even though I had DK on the Atari 2600 when I was like 5, I do not think I really beat the first level until I was like 15! Due to the gravity in Cosmotrons, piloting a ship around by yourself is in itself fun and rewarding. With four players doing so at the same time while trying to destroy each other is an absolute blast! We do though have plans to implement some sort of training/tutorial mode for absolute beginners to still be able to enjoy themselves.
One thing that is special about Cosmotrons is the asymmetrical battling and this also helps with players being able to have fun based on their skill level and play style they prefer. Cosmotron pilots choose between multiple (6 right now) space ships that each have their own play style, some easier to pilot than others . For example, the Recruit ship is more agile and great for beginners but has less firepower while the Beast is more difficult to pilot but as expected has more firepower, and as a fun treat can ram through smaller ships. There are also the Fighter, Jalopy, Snipes, and Squid ships. Users also get to choose their special charge ability (3 available now) like a larger faster shot similar to Mega Man’s mega buster, a shot that reverses a player’s controls and ensues in some laughter while watching the victim struggle,and more.
With all of this in mind, as well as having 20 or so maps, many of them dynamic, VS battle mode, Team battle mode, and a single player mode, we have replayability in mind! We are still in development with more modes, content, and polish coming. Due to the overwhelmingly positive response of Cosmotrons and so many ops/arcade owners expressing interest in the game, we are leaving the door open to some form of arcade release (which of course would have some sort of exclusive content or other exclusivity) and are looking to see if it is viable business wise. Being an arcade collector myself with about 25 games (ranging from classics like Q-bert, Tapper, Wacko, etc… to multiple CPS2 machines including two Capcom Big Blues), the prospect of having Cosmotrons in the arcades is very exciting to me, but again it must make sense for us business wise.
As stated in the video, we have an alpha/demo released for players to download and enjoy which can be accessed from our Facebook page or https://arcadeaholics.itch.io/cosmotrons
For many more photos, videos, and more info, go to http://www.CosmotronsGame.com
Thanks again Arcade Heroes and Sean! Game on everyone! Don’t let gravity bring you down!
Regards,
Shane
Arcadeaholics LLC
Developers of Cosmotrons
it reminds me of a Net Yaroze game for Playstation 1, Gravitation. But that one had race mode apart from battle mode, pretty fun stuff
Hello there. Fantastic site by the way. I have a question about a game you talked about last year and was wondering what the status was or if there any new info about it lately. The game is Deathstalker: the spectre files. I absolutely love old laser disc games and would kill for the chance to try this one. Any new info?? Keep up the awesome work 🙂
Just realized I posted this in the wrong place….sorry.
Our team and our friends had an amazing time playing this game at the Midwest Gaming Classic. Everyone should be very excited about this. I know we are!