Time to frag it like it’s 1999. With the boom of competitive gaming and e-sports, it is a sad moment for old-school fans and pros of arena shooters like Quake and Unreal Tournament not see the all the fame and glamour from today’s hit e-sports games. Though there are a new Quake and Unreal Tournament in the works, many indies have figured to jump in and make a no-frills arena shooter again, free from classes or loadouts. That’s where Diabotical comes in.
It is the first game made by The GD Studio, which previously was an e-sport media production crew led by ex-pro player James “2GD” Harding, who was infamously called out by Gabe Newell in regards to the poor production quality of the Shanghai Majors. The studio that was all about producing e-sports content has now changed directions. In Harding’s own words: “After doing silly things on camera and covering esports from our basement for five years, we’re now going against common sense and the advice of pretty much everyone. In a nutshell, we’re creating a niche esport from scratch.”
The game just got through Kickstarter and is now in development. This here is their trailer:
Yes, the trailer is full of contemporary memes and in-jokes (that “fired” joke only works if you knew what happened with the Shanghai Majors) but provides a look at solid FPS arena shooter gameplay that one would expect to be there: weapon and power-up pickups, jump pads, rockets and rail guns, and a crazy announcer. The egg bots look a bit weird at first, but maybe it has its charm, probably.
We will have to check back in the following months to see where development has progressed. Like most Kickstarters, there is a likely risk of it not making it out to release, which would be a shame if that happened. The GD Studio is promising mods and map making tools to be available, as well as in-game tournament systems and many small touches that can help foster that niche e-sports community they are aiming for. No release date is being announced so far.