Description
Highway to the Moon is a fast-paced scrolling arcade style shoot 'em up where you guide motorcycle warrior Jacob Helaway up route 767 (or the highway to the Moon) in pursuit of the interstellar criminal known only as the Moon Man. The ride won't be easy as the Unger Max Gang, Air Traffic Control, Alien Affairs, and Leadersquad, all want to get the Moon Man first. Luckily, Jake's got a Phase Shifter that he can use to become intangible, dodging bullets and flying over gaps in the road with ease. This combined with a huge arsenal of weapons, including grenade launchers, energy sabers, satellite summoners, and much more will give you the edge you need to blow away the competition. Are you ready to fight your way to the Moon?
History
We came up with the concept for Highway to the Moon as an answer to the question of what our company (Vernacular Games) would make for its first publically sold title. At the time we didn't have very many resources, and Unity hadn't gone with its "free until successful" payment model yet. This lead us to choose to make a shmup (scrolling shoot 'em up) style game as we felt we could execute on that design most effectively. Taking notes from the original Spyhunter for gameplay, Neo Contra/Metal Slug for weapon design, and Megas XLR for aesthetic and overall narrative tone, Highway to the Moon is made entirely from scratch, utilizing C++ and C# to build both a custom engine and suite of powerful editing tools. It is also completely funded by the development team at Vernacular Games (Although it should be noted that we attempted an unsuccessful kickstarter for the game in 2014). The game was released on Steam on August 26th of 2016.
Features
• Dodge enemy attacks and cross gaps in the road using the Phase Shifter .
• Lay down waves of destructive force with all sorts of varied and unique weaponry
• Vary your attack timing to produce different types of shots with each weapon
• Fight complex and engaging Bosses
• Extend your shields by collecting gold points
• Go Ultra to become a golden force of infinite destruction (and bullets!)
• Customize your gameplay experience using the Reality Alternator
• Unlock new weapons, characters, and more as you play!
Factsheet
Developer
Vernacular Games
Release Date
August 26th 2016
Platforms
PC
Regular Price
Steam: 7.99
Itch: 7.99
Videos
Steam Release Trailer
Kickstarter Trailer
How to Play
Podcasts
Songs
Images
Logos
Additional Links
Highway to the Moon
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Steam: http://store.steampowered.com/app/488330
Itch: https://vernacular-games.itch.io/highway-to-the-moon
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Vernacular Games
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Wordpress: https://vernaculargames.wordpress.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VernacularGames/
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCkdOnpvr00HN8dCmq59Hpyw
Bandcamp: https://vernaculargames.bandcamp.com/
Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/redcoatvernac
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About Vernacular Games
Vernacular Games is an independent game development studio based out of Redmond, Washington of the United States of America. Founded late in the year of 2012, Vernacular Games is guided by 3 tenants:
Make Games We Want To Play
Make Opportunities For Aspiring Developers, Artists and Programmers
Operate Efficiently As A Game Development Studio
At current the group is focused primarily on the development of video games and providing creative content the provides informed commentary on the game development process. Our completed projects include one completed game (Highway to the Moon) and a suite of 41 podcasts (Games from a Developer's Perspective). Looking ahead, the team at Vernacular Games intends to reach into many genres of video games with their future titles, including various 2D action genres, classic Japanese style RPGs, Tactics games, and Fighting games. We also intend to continue our academically focused commentary on game development with more podcasts and other related forms of creative content.
Credits
Core Team
Producer/Lead Designer :: Sakai Maurice Dozier
Tech Director/Programmer :: Benjamin Vandergrift
Programmer/Designer :: Anton Fiest
Programming Team
Graphics/Framework :: Lester Dusty Parrott
Physics/Framework :: Joshua Stewart
Design Team
Level Design/Enemy Design :: Nathan Kinnick
Enemy Design/Learning Curve Consultant :: Matt Trussell
Level Design/Boss Design :: Weylin Etra
Level Design/Boss Polish :: Kenneth Treffry
Enemy Design/Boss Design :: Joshua Stewart
Weapon Design/Boss Design :: David Everett
Sound Team
Music/SFX :: Sakai Maurice Dozier
Music :: David Everett
Art Team
Sprite Artist/Visual Style :: Kevin Waddell
UI and Menu Concepts/Logo Artist :: Aren Khachetryan
Environments/Road Artist :: Catherine Hoffman
Sprite Artist/Boss Artist :: Jordan Mullen
UI Design/Menu Design :: Andrew Sudangnoi
Concept Artist/Sprite Artist :: Tyler Campbell
Environments/VFX Consultant :: Shane McIntire
Road Artist/Boss Art :: Kenneth Treffry
Special Thanks
Brandon Victor
Brien Perkins
Torben Strobel
Contact
For More information about Highway to the Moon or Vernacular Games, send an e-mail to:
vernaculargames@gmail.com