My Very Second Announcement about a Game I’m Working On

Wednesday, December 3, 2014

It’s been a couple months since I announced that I’m working with Tom Happ on his amazing game, Axiom Verge. That game is coming together really well. Press has been excited about the slow reveal previews we’ve been sending out, and players will be able to check it out this weekend at PlayStation Experience this weekend (December 6-7, 2014) in Las Vegas.

But it’s now time to talk about another project I’ve been working on a bit for the last little while and will be working on quite a bit more: Chasm by Discord Games.

Chasm has a group of dedicated fans who have been tracking it since its successful Kickstarter last year, but for the most part James Petruzzi, Tim Dodd, and the other folks at Discord have been heads down focusing on building out the game and not really pursuing press, so it’s still under the radar for far too many people.

I Guess I Have a Type

Chasm is a retro-style 2D action-platformer that encourages exploration to unlock the secrets of a mysterious world. Wait a minute, are we still talking about Chasm or are we back to Axiom Verge?

I’ll be the first to admit – there are definite similarities in terms of the genre and overall framework. Tight controls. Challenging boss fights and a wide range of enemies. But it’s the differences that really make both games stand out as prime examples of how much variety you can have within one genre. A genre that I tend to be a big fan of! (By the way, for some other recent examples of a great variety of games in this genre, check out Guacamelee and Teslagrad, among others.)

I’ve been thinking about it, and the best analogy I can come up with is that Axiom Verge is to Cave Story as Chasm is to Spelunky. Combat in Chasm is much more up-close as opposed to being more of a shooter. There is a far greater emphasis on the platformer aspect of the gameplay: timing jumps, avoiding obstacles, just barely reaching that ledge. You can get a sense by checking out the PS4 trailer:

What Platforms and When?

Chasm is currently confirmed for PS4, PC, Mac, and Linux and is targeting the 2nd half of 2015. We’re looking into what it would take to bring it to other consoles, such as the one from my former employer. We’re still in the due diligence phase and want to see what can be done to make it happen.

In the meantime, if you’ve already been following Chasm, thank you for being there so early on. And if you’ve never heard of it, well, make sure to keep it on your radar!