Under The Sun Announced – A 4D Puzzle Game
Developer Stegabyte Games out of Melbourne Australia describes Under the Sun as a time-waster about not wasting time. Brain freeze! But after examining the trailer below, I've discovered that it plays out as an intriguing turn-based exploration puzzle game that involves the fourth dimension - time.
Your aim is to get a lazy sailor named Maurice across a little island to a campfire before sunset. Each turn (read: step) you take brings the sun one bit closer to the horizon, so “solving” the island involves maximising your distance with each move. Simple in concept, negotiating the obstacles that pop up in your path is where your brain will be tickled, especially as the island also changes with the passage of time – trees will grow, animals move, ladders will rot, etc. What's more, you can collect items like fishing rods and bombs as you go, which may provide new solutions to old puzzles, promising replayability.
Under the Sun certainly is certainly packed with neat ideas!
The trailer below gives a very clear view of where the game is heading, and there is plenty of time for polish ahead of its mid-year release on iPad (and Android and Windows Phone for that matter.) Whether it will indeed waste time, or make you question the value of every moment remains to be seen, but we love what Stegabyte is attempting and look forward to seeing more.
In the interim, be sure to check out Issue 1 of Grab It - The Game Discovery App. It includes 22 in-depth reviews of indie iPad games, 14 exclusive interviews and five big features starting with our big reveal for the amazing Thralled.
