Arcen Games in development of puzzle game Tidalis

by: Tina - posted: 4/8/2010 3:13:00 PM

Indie developers at Arcen Games are in the midst of a second standalone project due out for PCs and Macs in late June. A far travel away from their first – the RTS known as AI War: Fleet Command – their newest game, Tidalis, is of the puzzle genre.

Although you may wish to liken it to Tetris or Bejeweled after watching the gameplay trailer below, Arcen assures you that the co-op and other distinct features of the game will set it apart from the tried and true puzzle games we’ve come to know and love (and sometimes hate).

Beta begins April 15th on both platforms, and Arcen will be looking forward to some fan-created content on the puzzles and levels that can possibly make it into the final release of the game.

Tidalis is the second standalone game from indie developer Arcen Games, known originally for their hardcore RTS/4X hybrid, AI War: Fleet Command. Not wishing to be typecast, and having game and level design backgrounds in a wide variety of genres, Arcen chose pretty much the exact opposite genre for their second game. The final game will be complete with Arcen staples such as co-op, huge amounts of content, and attention to depth and detail -- Tidalis is extremely easy for casual players to pick up, but it will also keep hardcore puzzle fans entertained for months.

The game will be coming to both Windows and Mac OSX now that Arcen has switched platforms to Unity 3D, and beta will begin on April 15th, 2010 for both platforms. Beta means that people who want to demo the prerelease versions of the game can do so, and customers who preorder will be able to play the whole thing as soon as each new feature and component becomes available. This should be a pretty familiar arrangement to anyone who was around for the beta phase of The Zenith Remnant -- though instead of soliciting feature suggestions, Arcen will be interested in fan-created levels and puzzles, some of which may make it into the official game (with permission, and with full credit given, of course). Full digital release is expected in late June.