A Retro Challenge Check-In

Hi ho…Jason here. Guess it’s my turn to write the blog post again!

I’m still super hard at work crafting all the “Retro Challenge” levels for Runner3. Today I’ve decided to share a very scrumptious screenshot of what’s to come.

Pretty different, huh? You need to see these levels in action. They are FUN.

They’re not only fun, but they’re also very different Retro Challenges than what you’ve played before. In actuality, the entire set of Retro Challenges will take place across multiple worlds that are separate and unique from the main game, but also, you’ll find that these special levels add up to essentially be an entire, separate video game within a video game.

In past RUNNER games, the Retro Challenges were much more simplified auto-running levels. In RUNNER3, these levels are serious business. Tons of unique enemies, loads of strange obstacles and puzzles and pitfalls, and all sorts of surprises to discover and explore. I’m very certain that you are going to have tons of fun times with this sub-game. But here’s the secret sauce that’s really going to freak out all you CommanderVideo fans: you’re in total control of CV in these levels! That’s right…run, jump….OR EVEN STOP! Writing that sentence even freaked ME out! Where am I?! What world is this that I live in?! What are these fabric tubes my legs are trapped in?!!? (Editor’s Note: Jason, those are your pants.)

I certainly hope you’re ready to use all those other weird directions that your D-pads can move in. And remember, you heard it here first: you’re getting two games in one with RUNNER3! Congratulations to you, video game buyers of…THE FUTURE.

- Jason

The Mollusc Among Us

Hey everyone,

This week’s update is a pretty exciting one! After much consideration on our end, we’ve decided the time is finally right to share a pretty awesome background character with you. Take a look: 

Now, this isn’t your ordinary background character. It has gameplay implications, you see. This is something you’ll likely see a fair amount of in Runner3: The inhabitants of the world playing a part in CommanderVideo’s adventure. Sometimes in a helpful way, and other times not so much!

Do you have any guesses as to what our eight-armed friend is up to? Share your ideas in the comments and we just might let you know if you guess correctly!

- Dant

A Dog-Filled Update

Hey everyone,

My name is Brian and I’m one of the artists working on Runner3. This is my first time writing on the blog, so let me just say it’s nice to meet you!

If you’ve played Runner2, you know we have a tendency to jam-pack our games with as much art as possible. Runner3 will be no different, which means I probably have a lot of late nights ahead of me. The good news is that I have four dogs—including a 16-year-old Boston Terrier who’s deaf and only has one eye—to keep guard for me. These are the kinds of things you need to worry about when you live in the middle of the woods. 

With Runner3, we’re challenging ourselves to “open up the world” and allow people to see as much of the surrounding environment as possible. Since I’m primarily an environmental artist, this presents an especially unique challenge for me. It’s a fun challenge, however, because we have a lot of amazing sights and spectacles planned for the game. If you thought this carrot creature was strange, trust me when I say you ain’t seen nothing yet. 

Now that I’ve had the chance to introduce myself a bit, I figured I should probably end this post by offering you a glimpse of something I’ve been working on recently: 

Thanks for taking the time to read this, and I can’t wait to show you more of what we have planned for Runner3! And in the meantime, let me know in the comments if you have any questions!

- Brian

Call Me Ishmael

Hey, everyone. Dant here. Although I usually speak to you from the point-of-view of a producer, today’s post is going to be a little different. As is common in most indie studios, I wear a few different hats over here in Choice Provisions land. I’m the producer on Runner3, yes, but I’m also going to be the writer of it. 

Writing has been a hobby of mine since I was 14. In fact, before I started working at Choice Provisions, I was writing about video games for a living! That in itself was a dream come true, and it still blows me away that I ended up moving on to a job I enjoy even more. I know sincerity is pretty un-hip these days, but I really do have to admit how lucky I feel to do what I do for a living.

             This soap has gotten me through some hard times.

If you’ve played any of our more recent games, then chances are you’ve seen my writing pop up here and there. I contributed heavily to the writing of Destructamundo, and I’ve also written most of our store descriptions, press releases, marketing text, and blog posts over on the Choice Provisions site these past few years. I also wrote all those silly Good Friends Character Pack videos that Charles Martinet narrated, which still feels surreal to say.

With Runner3, I’m pushing myself to write the best—and silliest—story I possibly can. It’ll be a challenge, certainly, but it’s a challenge I’m incredibly excited to take on. And, truthfully, knowing that we have someone as talented as Charles Martinet to narrate means that I could just copy-and-paste the contents of the phone book and it would still sound great. I mean, I probably won’t do that, but it’s good to know I could.

Speaking of story stuff, a lot of you have been asking us what CommanderVideo and friends are up to in Runner3. We’ll be sharing some more information about that in the near future, but we’ve decided for now that we’d like to keep it under wraps. There is one thing I’m willing to tell you, however: You can expect to see a Stargazy Pie or two pop up at some point...

All that said, let me know in the comments if you have any questions/remarks about the story of Runner3! If you ask the right questions, we just might let a few more details slip!

- Dant

Winding Techknowledgy

Hello my fellow BIT.TRIP fans!  My name is Mike Roska and I'm the lead programmer on the 3D portion of Runner 3 (SPOILER).  My day is filled with typing things like "if (bug_Really_exists) { sweep_under_rug(); }".

Some of you may have seen me lurking around the Tharsis forums and Twitch streams being all friendly and polite, but behind the scenes I'm a typical programmer with the social skills of a Canadian Mounty.  Wait, that's a good thing?  Oh, well then, thank you!

Speaking of Canadian Mounties, I'd like to dip my toes (and yours, if you'll allow me) into the wonderful technical world of Runner3. 

Making a linear beat-based infinite-runner game isn't that difficult, technically.  However, one huge, awesome, mind-bending feature we're adding to Runner3 is winding paths!  That makes programmer-y things a little more difficult as CV can now go any-which-way Alex wants him to.  Not only that, he has to interact with things on the beat! However, at the cost of a little more elbow grease, the upside is tremendous, and we're seeing some amazing gameplay come out of it.  So, I'm up to the task of coding it.  Are you up to the task of playing it?

What do you think about all the possibilities winding paths bring?  What do you think of me?  How about my Canadian Mounty comparison?  My mom and I think all of the above are pretty amazing but we're biased.

It's been great meeting you all on here and I look forward to seeing your comments in the section below.  Mounty, out!

- Mike (Roska)