REQUIEM FOR A RETROSHOOTER

Filed under tremendous pity with some glimmer of hope that exposure might bring it back to life, oeFun founder Ian Dunlop — former programmer on games like Thief: Deadly Shadows and now head of his own Austin based indie that’s focused on the DS and iPhone — has released video of his now-abandoned original Wii production.

Known then as RetroShooter 2050, Dunlop has described the game’s hook as so:

The game was a simple point-and-shoot game with a twist. Each level represents a decade in our history starting in 1940 and ending in 2050. The concept was that people in the future (2050) made this game and it is their interpretation of historical events that represent the levels features and enemies. This rosy / filtered look on the past by some future historian is what gave the game it’s unique ideas and look.

The game supported two simultaneous players and featured music synced to the games action. The demo features one level from the year 2000 and ends with a boss.

I recall when Dunlop was touting Wii development as “a direction in gaming that I’ve been wanting things to go now for a long time” and ideally suited for indies, so the sting is sharp to see a game that, even for as clearly Rez inspired as it is, had a strong vision and would have been a boon for the platform.

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