Scrap Divers turns things upside down

Let’s face it. Mobile games don’t have the best reputation. Access barriers are virtually non-existent on Google Play and Apple ‘s App Store, and this has led to an endless stream of more or less miserable titles that seem to exist only to bombard you with ads or steal your data. In addition to games that are downright deceptive, we also find games from major producers that deliver what they promise, but also use every psychological trick in the book to entice players to spend money on microtransactions.

In such a noisy digital flea market, it can be incredibly difficult for smaller developers who want to make really good games to be heard and seen. Especially since in the fierce battle for users’ fleeting attention, they must compete not only with other games, but also with notifications from other apps, calls from grandmothers and messages from friends. Nevertheless, there they are, the small developers fighting to break through on mobile platforms. And perhaps taking the next step to consoles.

The autorunner genre turned on its head

One such developer is Danish Gearhead Games, based in Solrød Strand near Køge Bugt. The small studio consists of the duo Nicolai Danielsen and Constantine Berg, and despite their limited staff, they still have five games available on mobile devices. On Google Play, where most of the reviews are, the games score between 4.3 and 4.8 (out of 5), and their most downloaded game, Retro Highway, has more than half a million downloads.

Last year, the studio released its most ambitious title to date, an endless runner called Scrap Divers. The genre description, however, is a bit misleading. Because you don’t run. You’re falling. And not even with a parachute, like in the Sky Diver game you might remember from the old Nokia phones. No, it’s free fall. Like in God of War III, where at one point Kratos plunges into a seemingly endless hole and has to dodge all sorts of obstacles. However, the poor robots in Scrap Divers do not have the robust physique of the Greek god of war, nor do they have magical wings to cushion their fall. On the other hand, they are mass-produced and there is always a new one ready to take over.

“We’ve worked with the autorunner genre before and wanted to challenge ourselves with a new angle – literally – so the idea of turning everything upside down and having the player fall instead of run came quickly.” explains game designer Nicolai Danielsen about the game’s premise.

The road to console

A unique premise is a good start, but far from complete on mobile platforms, where users quickly move on to the next game and delete if you don’t hold their attention. Gearhead Games therefore designed 15 different robots, each with their own unique features that can be unlocked gradually, as well as eight different environments with unique obstacles.

The result was a game with about 5-6 hours of play time without the use of artificial barriers and half-hearted padding to extend play time. This is especially beneficial for the game since it made the jump to console in March.

“Scrap Divers was not originally intended for a console, but during development we realized that a controller actually suits the game very well – in particular, the joystick works very well for controlling the falling robots, a bit like in a flying game. So the transition was surprisingly easy and we were fortunate that the controls could be ported without changing the gameplay itself.”

“The element of the robots losing limbs wasn’t there from the beginning. It actually came about as a natural extension of the animation system.”

Although Scrap Divers is now available for consoles, parts of the design still bear the imprint of its mobile origins. This includes the music, which was created by the studio’s regular collaborator, Mikhail Rublyov.

“We asked him to create a soundtrack that combines punchy 8-bit percussion with surf-rock guitar riffs to give the game a somewhat unusual and energetic atmosphere that suits its pace and style. The reason there are not so many different tunes is actually partly practical, since most mobile gamers have the sound turned off anyway.”

A bleak but entertaining future

“The Future….” That’s all you find out about the universe in Scrap Divers, but that’s all you need to know. The seemingly post-apocalyptic world is populated only by robots, and the only thing left to humans is their raw sadism; they amuse themselves by throwing each other into endless holes. Despite the abandoned universe, the game still exudes life, thanks to vivid sprites and simple but effective effects that give the feeling of free fall.

“After the success of Retro Highway, we stuck to our goal of combining classic arcade aesthetics with modern gameplay. Graphically, we have taken the retro look very seriously. There are no 3D assets in the game, the whole sense of depth is created using techniques from the 1990s “superscalers,” where 2D elements are distorted, scaled and layered. Some of our assets actually consist of 30+ separate layers, all hand-drawn.” explains Danielsen about the game’s graphical style.

“When it comes to advertising, the reality is that it’s virtually impossible to survive in the mobile market with a paid game unless you’re already a big name.”

The old-fashioned method also inadvertently led to one of the game’s most unique mechanics. When they fall, the poor robots’ bodies can be torn apart. This, of course, affects their balance. But as long as the central CPU doesn’t break down, you still have a chance and can hope for a power-up that repairs your robot.

“The element of robots losing limbs wasn’t there from the beginning. It actually came about as a natural extension of the animation system. I was trying to make their movements look more lifelike, and since the limbs were already separate sprites, it seemed obvious (and quite fun!) to have them fall off along the way.”

Your death, the developers’ bread and butter?

No, the poor robots don’t have it easy. The varied level design is sometimes reminiscent of a kind of vertical torture chamber, with all kinds of traps ready to turn the robots into electronic garbage. You die. Again and again. Unless you invested a few bucks in the ad-free version, you will see many ads for various mobile games with very questionable marketing techniques. The ads here work almost like the coins you used to throw into arcade machines. Here you just pay with your attention.

For Gearhead Games, it’s a delicate balancing act. But ads are hard to avoid, because few people will download a game that asks for payment at the entrance. So it’s better to lure people in with free entry and hope they buy the ad-free version later.

“When it comes to ads, the reality is that it’s virtually impossible to survive in the mobile market with a paid game unless you’re already a big name.” explains Danielsen. “That’s why we chose the free model with ads, which we see as ‘the best of both worlds.’ Everyone can play the game for free, and those who still want to buy the game can just pay to remove all the ads. We deliberately avoided microtransactions.”

The last level jumps out a bit, though. Here you reach something resembling hell with flaming balls, ripping nails and other unpleasantness coming at you at tremendous speed. Appropriately, it is devilishly difficult. Yes, you almost get the suspicion that the developers intentionally increased the difficulty to expose the player to as many ads as possible as the journey comes to an end. Danielsen, however, denies that this is the case.

“The difficult end level is not meant to show ads or entice a full purchase. As a developer myself, I have played Scrap Divers countless times, which is why the final level is deliberately made a little extra challenging, mainly to give myself and other experienced players a good ending to the journey. In this way, the game covers the entire spectrum: from easy to challenging. And yes, I’m not too keen on the content of the ads either. That’s why in the future we are looking more at PC and console, where we can offer an experience completely free of ads.”

In addition to iOS and Android, Scrap Divers is also available on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5 and Xbox One if, like the developers themselves, you prefer not to deal with ads. For the console versions, the price is between £4.20 and £4.50, but until August 6, the Switch version is available for just £1.52.