Darkest Escape

Albertina Sparrhult and Daniel Johansson presenting Darkest Escape at the Gotland Game Awards 2007

Darkest Escape is a game played entirely without visual feedback. With surround sound headphones the player is tasked with navigating the complete darkness of a powerless space station, trying to find out what has gone wrong and how to fix it before they run out of oxygen. … as it turns out, they might not be alone in the dark.

The astronaut is wearing an EVA suit with thrusters, which the player control via joysticks built into the arm rest of the arcade.

Darkest Escape on the Gotland Game Awards 2007 showfloor
Darkest Escape on the Gotland Game Awards 2007 showfloor

Team:
Daniel Johansson, Producer
Björn Berggren, Lead Programmer
Simon Kappel, Game Designer
Albertina Sparrhult, Visual Packaging / Design
Peter Sjödin, Research
Andreas Malmberg, Programmer
Jakob Tanentsapf, Sound Programmer

Wobble Trouble

Wobble Trouble is a new take on the classic wood-labyrinth game, but in full 3D and controlled by standing on a balance trainer.

Albertina Sparrhult playing Wobble Trouble at the Gotland Game Awards 2007
Albertina Sparrhult playing Wobble Trouble at the Gotland Game Awards 2007

Awards: Wobble Trouble won Best Serious Game at the Gotland Game Awards 2008.

The Wobble Trouble team receiving "Best Serious Game" at the Gotland Game Awards 2007
The Wobble Trouble team receiving “Best Serious Game” at the Gotland Game Awards 2007

Team:
Kristoffer Landin, producer
Julius Wengelin Grantén, hardware
Daniel Martis, programmer
Emma Johansson, art
Povel Gulin, art

Head Banger

Head Banger is an arcade game produced by first year students for the Gotland Game Convention 2006. It was awarded first prize and the team (and their game) got to tour Sweden; participating in Spelfest 06 and the Swedish Game Awards 2007.

The challenge is to head-bang to the beat and playing air-guitar to the sounds of a rock video. The game can be played alone or in a showdown with a friend and features bands like Refused, Morgana Lefay and The Haunted.

The cabinet had smoke machines, wireless controllers and even (in version 2) a camera recording the players and offering to print a poster of the raging rock gods after the game!

… and beer holders. These guys sure thought of everything. 🙂

Some of the people from Team Ninja went on to create Databox Games in 2008.