SEATTLE, PAX 2013 – As we walked around the show floor at Penny Arcade this year, our attention was drawn to a beautifully hand-drawn platform game playing on a Wii U in one corner of the more independent gaming section of the expo. Called Teslagrad, this is a 2D puzzle platformer with action elements that uses magnetism and electricity as its main mechanic.
This is the second game from developer Rain AS, itself based in Bergen, Norway, and it’s just gotten picked up for Steam’s Greenlight program, a way for Valve to support independent game developers on its own digital distribution platform.
From the Steam Greenlight page:
You play as a young boy who suddenly finds himself embroiled in a long-forgotten conspiracy, involving the despotic king who has ruled the nation with an iron fist for several years. Jump into an outstanding adventure told through voiceless storytelling, writing your own part. Armed with ancient Teslamancer technology and your own ingenuity and creativity, your path lies through the decrepit Tesla Tower and beyond.
The game is utterly beautiful, with glowing lighting effect, incredibly detailed, hand-drawn animations, and simply gorgeous environments and backgrounds. It’s like playing in a painting of a steampunk-style old Europe. Here’s a short Vine video of our time with the game.
https://vine.co/v/h5HBW2arHWr
We chatted with lead programmer and bosswrangler Thomas Tyssøy at the PAX booth, and he told us the game should come out sometime this year. There’s a demo available now for Mac, Windows or Linux on Desura.com if you want to check it out ahead of release.