WOne of the first indie game superstars of the 2000s, Derek Yu started designing games on graph paper with his friend John Perry while still a student. When Yu’s first major success, “cave exploration,” became a hit, he and Perry decided to collaborate once again, this time as men in their 40s. This heartwarming backstory is reflected in UFO50, an ambitious collection of 50 games. The narrative structure was crafted by a fictional game company during the years of 1982 to 1989. Each game in UFO50 features the nostalgic Atari 2600 and NES aesthetics with chunky sprites and a retro chiptune soundtrack, but incorporates modern design elements to bring a fresh twist to the retro style.
Why 50 games? No one knows for sure. But Yu and Perry, along with their supportive developer friends, showcased their design talents across a variety of genres, both familiar and completely innovative. One standout is “party house,” where players must balance a mix of guests to throw the ultimate house party, scoring points based on the success of the event. Other games in the collection include “night manners,” a point-and-click horror story, “bushido ball,” an Edo period themed game similar to Pong, and “rail robbery,” a stealth action game where players take on the role of an outlaw robbing trains.
Creating 50 games was a daunting task for Yu and Perry, requiring immense dedication and effort. The end result of UFO50 is a testament to their creativity and highlights the vast possibilities within the realm of game design, even in the simplest looking games.
circleWhen it comes to video games, they all have one thing in common: Releasing one game is hard. But releasing 50? All at once? That’s a whole other challenge. That’s the challenge for the team behind UFO 50. Seven years after it was announced, this long-awaited anthology of 8-bit, retro-style games is finally set to release this September. With 50 games included, it’ll be worth the wait.
UFO 50 is a giant variety pack of complete video games, each with its own title, genre, and story. “These aren’t mini-games,” asserts Derek Yu, creator and developer of the 2008 platform game Spelunky. Considered one of the greatest games of all time“All of the games could potentially exist as full releases on ’80s consoles or computers.”
The concept that holds this collection together is that these games were all developed by UFO Soft, a mysterious (fictional) 80s video game company that developed an entire catalog for an equally fictional gaming console. There’s a mix of single-player and multiplayer, and everything from puzzle games and platform games to tactical war games and RPGs. Some games don’t fit into typical categories at all, like Pingolf, a side-scrolling pinball-golf hybrid, or Waldorf’s Journey, where you try to crash your flying walrus into your friend’s flying walrus. Every game looks like it was released for the NES, but with a decidedly modern gaming feel. Think low-res, high-concept games.
While some genres in the mix didn’t exist in the ‘80s, like roguelike platformers and tower defense games, classic genres bring new mechanics to their retro roots. “Take Mini & Max, for example. It looks like a regular platform game, but you can make yourself small or big anywhere and explore the world. You might find an entire microscopic city on an unremarkable dirt tile,” hints Yu.
A simple arcade style experience…UFO 50 screenshots. Photo: Mossmouth
Some of the games are simple arcade-style, where the goal of the game is to get a high score, but others are on a grander scale. “Grimstone is one of the largest games in our collection. It’s an RPG, so I think it’s not crazy to say it takes 20 hours to play,” Yu reveals. “UFO Soft’s history stretches from 1982 to 1990, and games have become more technologically advanced over the years. If you go through the timeline, you’ll notice that there are games with sequels and recurring characters.”
One such character is the company’s mascot, the Pilot, who appears in many of its games, including in Pilot Quest, a dedicated top-down action game in which players explore dungeons and expand their base.
The not-so-fictional team behind UFO 50 is a six-strong supergroup of indie game developers known for cult hits like Spelunky, Catacomb Kids, Cadence of Hyrule, and Madhouse, as well as card games like Air and Land & Sea. For the group, the ‘80s gaming style is more than just an aesthetic: “Everyone on the team loves the mystery and charm of ‘80s games,” says Yu.
“You didn’t always know what experience you were going to have, which only added to the tension and excitement. I wasn’t afraid to get a little lost while playing. The design was more adventurous, despite the limitations of the hardware.” The original Legend of Zelda was a particular reference for Yu. “I remember playing the game while my dad drew maps, marking dungeons and secret locations. It really felt like we were on an adventure together. Working together as a team, we began to understand where everything was and how it worked. The graphics weren’t realistic, but the world felt incredibly real.”
There’s a lot to explore in UFO 50. It could take you months to play through all of these games, unlock their secrets, and find their connections, but whether you’re familiar with video games from this era or not, you’ll have a ton of fun making those discoveries.
According to a recent Pentagon report, there is no reliable evidence to support the belief that U.S. authorities have hidden extraterrestrial life in the form of unidentified flying objects, despite the strong beliefs of some Americans.
The report provides various explanations for UFO sightings. Over 40% of Americans believe that life forms from another galaxy have visited Earth.
The report, which spans 63 pages and focuses on Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAP), concludes that most sightings are due to misidentification of ordinary objects or phenomena.
Pentagon spokesman Maj. Gen. Patrick S. Rider stated that there is no verifiable evidence to support claims that the U.S. government and private companies are accessing or reverse engineering extraterrestrial technology.
The report lists various satellites and data-gathering vehicles developed by governments or private companies that could be mistaken for UFOs. It also highlights unclassified aircraft from companies like Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman as possible sources of false UAP reporting.
Despite the findings of the report, Americans’ beliefs in UFOs are unlikely to change due to the prevalence of misinformation and disinformation, as well as confirmation bias facilitated by modern technology.
The report’s conclusions seem to contradict some elements of a previous House Oversight Subcommittee hearing last July that had firmly established UAP in the public consciousness.
Former US intelligence official David Groush claimed during the hearing that he knew colleagues who had been injured by a drone and had recovered “inhumane biological products” from a downed drone. The Pentagon had previously denied these claims.
This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.
Strictly Necessary Cookies
Strictly Necessary Cookie should be enabled at all times so that we can save your preferences for cookie settings.
