PlayStation Mobile spotlight: Switch Galaxy

As with many games industry developers of a certain age I grew up with the classics: Atari 2600, Commodore 64 etc. with my very first gaming experience being on a Binatone with Pong.

One game that was always a favourite of mine was Dodge-em from the Atari 2600 which I would play for hours and hours. It was so frustrating at times, especially when it got quick, but that made me really want to beat it even more.

Back in 2011 we’d just finished development of Bang Bang Racing and while thinking what we should do next, I thought about creating a 3D title that paid homage to Dodge-em. So we started work and soon came to the conclusion that it was going to take way too long and be too difficult to make it enjoyable in full 3D, so we simply just got rid of the turns and made it straight instead.

We ended up with Switch, a mobile game that has gone on to be downloaded 1.7m times so far, which was so awesome considering it was a very simple endless runner that took six weeks to make. Even though it was simple, people loved it and would always ask us for new features and improvements.

My career in the games industry started at Psygnosis/Sony working on those amazing first generation PlayStation games such as Wipeout, Destruction Derby, Colony Wars et al, so PlayStation is very dear to my heart. When we were offered the opportunity to create Switch Galaxy on PlayStation Mobile we jumped at the chance, as we’d always wanted to do more with the original game.

We’d had so many ideas over the last year on what we could do so it was quite hard settling on the final feature list. We think we captured the essence of the original game – it’s really, really fast and when the game starts to speed up it seriously tests your reaction times, even mine… and I made the levels! Only at a true indie developer will you get the CEO making levels :)

The game is still quite simple but now with a lot more content. You need to get from one side of the galaxy to the other as you’ve been tasked by Dakur Technology to collect Tantallum and deliver it to their research base, which can only be collected at very high speed.

Along the way you’ll face enemy ships, barriers and broken lanes but you’ll have help with pick-ups and power-ups plus you’ll be able to spend the credits you collect to upgrade your ship. We also included the original survival mode as a bonus, where you have one life to travel as far as you can as your speed constantly increases.

We’re extremely proud of the game – it’s got such an intense feeling of speed that certainly puts your reactions to the test and, being one of only a handful of 3D games on PlayStation Mobile, really makes it stand out from the rest. You can see for yourself this afternoon – Switch Galaxy launches today, priced £1.99/€2.49.