Perhaps you’ve heard, the Steam store is hosting a special sale event this week called the Dinos vs. Robots Fest. Two awesome things together! Let’s walk through the surprising number of ways Cosmic Misfit Studio connects with Steam’s latest sale theme.
A history of robots and dinos
You may have noticed that Cosmic Misfit Studio’s own logo mascot is a robot. This is partly just out of love for robots but it’s also about a link that futuristic robots make to science fiction. Because my intentions have always been to produce science fiction themed games, a robot easily made sense, not to mention it also adds a touch of personality.
What many of you may be unaware of, however, is that a small handful of secret game experiments have taken place over the course of many months which include similar themes. For example, there’s a Space Dragon game that I’ve prototyped on the side. Yes, you can go play it right now to walk around as a robot on a mysterious structure floating in space and make friends with a dragon that lives there. Even further back, I tested the cute and cozy Battery Farm where you play as a farming robot that grows batteries and sells them on the marketplace.
Robots and dinos in a sandbox
More recently, I have been experimenting with an idea in which you play as the studio mascot robot and explore a world full of creatures on an alien planet. No doubt, some of these beasts could eventually qualify as dinosaurs. This prototype likely won’t be playable for another week or two from the time of this writing and only via the soon to be published Prototype Sandbox 2024.
Meanwhile, you can go play in the 2023 edition Prototype Sandbox right now if you enjoy that kind of behind the scenes experience. There is also a variety of games and prototypes by yours truly, that are not encapsulated by a sandbox and instead stand alone, which you can download from my personal Itch.io profile.
While I may not have any robot or dinosaur (or even space dragon) games published to Steam in time to participate in this week’s fest, it’s exciting to think that maybe this is a sign that such games could be of interest to others. Would you like to play a robot and/or dino game?
Is it dino or robot enough?
According to Steam’s official eligibility limitations, “Kaiju and dragons are NOT dinosaurs.” What’s this nonsense about: do you agree? I feel like any reptilian beast that can stand its own body fully up off the ground, especially on back legs only, is fair game here. Bonus question: should AI entities fit within the robot theme?
Cool games to check out
Do you know of a great dino or robot game? Have you spotted something really cool in this week’s Steam sale? Please tell me about it! It can be on Steam or not, so anything new or old goes. Share away! Here’s a cute little prototype by another developer that features an alien planet with a friendly dinosaur: Star Surveyor
While you’re at it, don’t forget that spaceships are cool, too, so stop by the REVO page on Steam (or Itch) to try out the free demo or purchase the full version to keep or gift to a neon loving friend. You can also read some of the kind reviews (or write your own to help out).
Adventure on, space friends! 🚀
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