Insight from the Developer of the Action Shooter Rival Megagun, Available Now on Xbox One

I’ve been passionate about game development since childhood. I started with software like level and map editors, Klik & Play, Multimedia Fusion, and Flash. This led me to discover my love for programming. In 2013 I finished a computer systems degree in Victoria BC, Canada, and immediately began working on mobile and PC games at a local game studio while building the prototype for Rival Megagun in my spare time.  Today, as the development of the game concludes, I work full-time with the help of a small team: Jordan Ivey, sound designer; Brooke Fargo, narrative designer; Aarne Hunziker, artist; and Dominic Ninmark, musician.

Rival Megagun began as a simple prototype written in Java called Project Rival. Project Rival looked like digital barf, which was fine, because the main focus at this point was to play test many different features to make it as fun as possible. As the game started to take shape it was moved to Unity to reduce development time. Rival Megagun exists purely to serve as a source of fun with a side of kicking and screaming.

It was side project to satisfy my nostalgia-fueled craving for a particular style of competitive gameplay — the kind that quickly gets your adrenaline pumping and ends with a controller tossed across the room. Along the way I’ve learned that there are many others out there who share my thirst for competitive shoot-’em-up action.

There are only a handful of similar games, all hidden away in dusty arcade cabinets or the dark corners of the Internet. No, really. There are like, five similar games. The “Versus Shmup” sub-genre is criminally neglected, which is shocking because it is tremendously fun.

Rival Megagun aims to tear apart friendships. Completely crushing your opponent gives you a sense of satisfaction that just can’t be found anywhere else — and with such short rounds, the rush of endorphins never ends.

Rival Megagun aims to revitalize the Versus Shmup genre by staying true to shoot ’em up fans while also being accessible to newcomers. The gameplay at its core looks and feels like the classics, just as you would expect. That’s what makes it so fun – it takes the tried-and-true formula of classic shmups and spins it with a unique competitive twist.

So if you haven’t heard of it yet, Rival Megagun is a shmup that features split-screen gameplay for two players. Each player avoids flurries of bullets as they blast through waves of enemies to charge their “Attack Power” while also attacking the player on the opposing screen by spawning drones and launching rockets or other attacks. The excitement really kicks into high gear when a player reaches full power – at this point they can transform into a huge, devastating boss ship to invade their opponent’s screen and battle head-to-head. I can’t wait for all your shattered friendships.

Rival Megagun is available now on Xbox One via the Microsoft Store. Click here to learn more.