Play Test Alert! Sky Arena from Hammer Labs

Hammer Labs is looking for a few awesome players to play test Sky Arena before it hits the Ouya. Watch the video and Oliver, the lead dev, will explain what you need to join them in game.

Check out their playtest schedule now!

Read on to learn more about the team and their vision for Sky Arena.

How did the idea for Sky Arena evolve?

Hammer Labs: “In September of 2012 Oliver created a small prototype over a weekend which basically was supposed to be Starfox 64 Online. How no one ever made such a game is beyond us, but whatever. During the winter break, he took a break from the development of Farm for your Life to prototype several more ideas, but the flying arena shooter stuck. Simon, the artist of Sky Arena, suggested the spherical planet idea and during a 2 day jam they produced an early version of the game. A few days later KillScreen and Ouya announced their Create contest and we thought Sky Arena would be the perfect fit. We weren’t allowed to use any previous work though so we created Sky Arena again, from scratch. But this time we specifically developed it with consoles in mind. This meant couch multiplayer and awesome gamepad controls. The old days of Starfox 64 on a crappy beamer in our basement shall return.”

What aspect of Sky Arena are you most excited about?

Hammer Labs: “The most exciting aspect is the community-part. We were already surprised by the great feedback that was given by gamers regarding our first project. This time we want to create a free2play online multiplayer, so our community might get taken to a new level. There is nothing better than people appreciating your work and participating in the process.”

Watch the Sky Arena Trailer

What do you think players will love most about Sky Arena?

Hammer Labs: “With Sky Arena we really try to serve gamers’ multiplayer needs. There is an offline split screen mode, an online split screen mode and of course the classic online multiplayer for playing alone. If you play online and a friend comes by, he can easily join without interrupting the present game. He simply logs in while the game is running and is immediately connected to the same server. So to say it is a perfect couch-multiplayer arcade flight shooter with an online component.

The controls themselves are the second key feature. Such games are online exciting if the controls are tight and feel intuitive. We try to make it a game where skill matters but it’s still easy to pick up. Even after only a few weeks of development we find ourselves just flying around the map, trying to come up with crazy maneuvers and interesting routes. It’s a good sign.”

Thanks to the Hammer Labs team for sharing this sneak peak at Sky Arena! We hope you’ll help them out with their play tests, and keep your eyes peeled for more insights from this indie game developer about what it’s like developing for Ouya, as well as details about their other game titles.