I’m Olivier Vermeille, Marketing & PR Manager at Zallag (an independent publisher from France) and I’m thrilled to be able to talk directly with the PlayStation Community once again through this blog!

I’m here to talk to you about a game that was just released this week in the minis section (compatible PlayStation 3 and PSP) of the PlayStation Store: SHIFT extended.

It’s actually a very unique platform/puzzle game where you have the ability to reverse each level to find new ways out. It’s all based around this concept of “shifting” and the black & white art style.

Basically, you’re the subject of an experiment and you have to go through the 120 twisted levels using the only power you have: shifting. It lets you completely change the environment and the very structure of the level by reversing the gravity and the colours: black becomes white, plain becomes void and vice-versa. It’s not the easiest thing putting this concept into words, but you’ll instantly know what I’m talking about once you have a look at the trailer.

This extended version of SHIFT was specifically developed and enhanced for the PlayStation 3 and the PSP. The content from the original version was doubled and there are five new gameplay features added as well (converters, mobile blocks, mobile spikes, elastic blocks and a time attack feature) which you can have a glimpse of in this second video.

I was really curious about the making of such a unique game so I asked the developers, Fishing Cactus, a few questions.

Why is the entire game in black and white? It doesn’t seem very complicated to add a few colors so why didn’t you?

The art style is completely driven by the gameplay mechanic. It’s the idea of completely reversing the space, of being able to play in a level and a second later in its negative form, which dictated this choice. Not to mention that a black and white game is much more pleasant to look at than, let’s say, a red and blue game for example.

On top of that, the levels are not overloaded with information. There’s a reason why the levels are so uncluttered: with that original a mechanic, it’s important for the player to be able to focus on the puzzles and therefore everything must be slick and intuitive. Having too many background elements would cause some confusion to the players.

When you think about it, this particular art style contributes to the success of the game: when you see a screenshot of SHIFT extended you just can’t confuse it with another title, it’s what makes the game so unique!

60 in the original version, 120 for SHIFT extended. How do you manage to keep the player interested after so many levels?

Everything depends on the skill of our Level Designers, doesn’t it? More seriously, we introduced a lot of new mechanics since we have had a lot of creative possibilities. Actually, the biggest issue was to make sure that we were not redundant and that each level had its unique look and sequence, despite the recurrent black and white paradigm.

What’s the most time-consuming: the level design or the technical development?

Actually it’s quite the same for me since it is a 2D game with only one-screen levels. The development of the level is made in same time as the level design. The only restriction we had was to fix a well-adjusted curve of difficulty, and to make sure that the player had fully understood the mechanics we had introduced through the game before bringing new ones bit-by-bit.

What are the levels you are the most proud of?

The 20 last levels are among our favourites. Those are also the hardest of the game, so maybe is it linked. There is one we particularly appreciate. We can’t wait to see how long you will need to get through it.

SHIFT extended was released on January 19th on the European PlayStation Store for €3.99/£3.49. You’ll find it in the minis section (as it’s a minis, when purchased, the game is playable both on your PlayStation 3 and/or on your PSP). Everyone from Zallag and Fishing Cactus hope you’ll have a blast playing it!

You can find more information by following SHIFT extended and Zallag on Facebook.

Our official website at Zallag.com is also a great way to keep in touch with news, blogs and many ways to contact us.

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Hi everyone,

I’m Olivier, I work for Nobilis as the product manager of Trine and I’m thrilled to tell you that the demo of Trine is now available on the European PlayStation Store!

Trine is a fantasy action / platform game that combines 2D gameplay with 3D graphics. The game is balanced between action and puzzle solving sequences which uses physics extensively. Three heroes are bound to a mysterious device called the Trine in a quest to save the kingdom from evil and the player can at any time freely choose whoever is best suited for the upcoming challenge or puzzle.

Players all around the world – and on this very blog – wanted a demo of Trine. We listened! You can download it right now on the European PSN. You’ll be able to play the first two levels of Trine in solo and in cooperative mode. Just have a go with the physics engine and the many possibilities it offers.

Some comments also mentioned that the trophies’ designs were a bit disappointing. We took that into consideration as well and released a patch two weeks ago which brought new icons for the Trophies.

You can watch this trailer and get a glimpse of the many possibilities offered by the gameplay of Trine. Just see how different obstacles can be overcome by the clever use of each character’s abilities.

Keep in mind that the possibilities are even more numerous by combining the character’s powers in cooperation!

Trine is available for download on the European PlayStation Store for: €19,99 and £16.99.

Thanks for reading this and good gaming to you all!

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Hi everyone,

I’m Olivier, I work for Nobilis as the product manager of Trine and I’m really happy to be able to tell you that it’s now available on the European PlayStation Store!

This long-expected innovative action / platform game that combines 2D gameplay with 3D graphics is finally here! Acclaimed by players throughout the world and designated as “Best E3 Downloadable Game” by Gamespot.

Three heroes are bound to a mysterious device called the Trine in a quest to save the kingdom from evil and the player can at any time freely choose whoever is best suited for the upcoming challenge or puzzle.

Trine is balanced between action and puzzle solving sequences which are just fantastic to play. Thanks to an extensive use of physics, you’ll be able to solve puzzles in many different ways, whether you play alone by switching characters or alongside with a friend (up to 3 players simultaneously on the same system). Just take a peek at this trailer and you’ll get a sense of what I’m talking about!

For those of you who always on the hunt for trophies, rest assured! I’m thrilled to announce that Trine has full support for Trophies and also features a Platinum Trophy as the ultimate reward!

I realize that many of you have been waiting to get your hands on Trine for some time. I’d like to assure you all that we are deeply sorry about this delay. We worked really hard in order to give you the best experience possible playing Trine and we really hope you’ll enjoy it.

One more thing, don’t forget to get all the experience vials that you can pickup throughout the levels! With them you’ll be able to improve the abilities of your characters and become an even bigger threat to your enemies!

Trine is available for download today on the European PlayStation Store for: €19,99 and £15.99.

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Hi everyone,

My name is Olivier; I work for Nobilis, a publishing company which is based in Lyon, France. I’m a Product Manager and I’m here to tell you about an exciting new release for PlayStation Store: Trine. Trine is a fantasy action and platform game that combines 2D gameplay with 3D graphics. The game is balanced between action and puzzle solving sequences. Three heroes are bound to a mysterious device called the Trine in a quest to save the kingdom from evil and the player can at any time freely choose whoever is best suited for the upcoming challenge or puzzle.

Because physics is at the core of the gameplay there is not just one solution for each puzzle, in fact you can even find a way the developers have never thought of! You can control one of the three characters of the game and switch at any time to solve the puzzles in a different manner. Each character as a unique ability so choose the one you think is best suited for the situation. The Wizard can create and move objects around to build a bridge or crush his enemies with a box. The Thief uses her bow to attack and her grappling hook to move quickly and avoid dangerous traps. The Warrior is better suited for close combat and tends to hit before he thinks! So you can play through the 16 levels of the game switching from character to character but you can also play with one or two friends in a cooperative mode. Play the whole adventure together and find new solutions by combining your characters’ powers.

How about asking the Wizard to create a box so the Thief can use it with her grappling hook? Or why don’t you make the Wizard levitate you, while you, The Warrior, destroy your enemies that were too high to reach in the first place? With 3 players, the range of options widens : ask the Thief to use her bow to fire at your enemies while the Warrior protects her with his shield and the Wizards creates boxes on top of the skeletons’ heads to crush them ! Possibilities are huge and this trailer will show you what sort of things you can do in Trine.

Coming Soon to the PlayStation Store. For sure…you’ll love it!

Update: Many of you have been asking about the price of Trine and in a few comments below I mentioned that it would be £19.99 / € 19.99 – please note that the price is actually expected to be £16.99 and  €19.99. I’m sorry for any confusion caused.

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