Factsheet

Developer:
Not Very Original
Based in Phoenix, Arizona

Release date:
23 November, 2012

Platforms:
Xbox 360

Website:
https://www.notveryoriginal.com/games/?game=stracoep1

Regular Price:

USD$1

Description

Think you can save the world all by yourself? Well think again! Heavily outnumbered and out gunned, it's time for you to start dropping towers like a crazy tower dropping tower dropper! Survive against the odds, beat back the enemy hoards, march to glorious victory, rescue the fair maiden... wait... what? Forget that last part. STRACO is a top down 2D twin stick shooter tower defense game (say that five times fast!) with a mission based single player campaign. In the campaign you will fight to turn the tide in a long standing war. Along the way the player will meet various characters and overcome varied obstacles to achieve victory.

History

Initially created as an entry for DBP 2012, Epsiode 1 is the end result of many many hours of hard work. On first release, EP1 was poorly received by reviewers and consumers alike. Descriptions like impenetrable, too difficult, and ugly were not rare. However, after spending an additional 5 months fixing bugs, changing game mechanics around, and hiring an artist to "prettify" the worst of my artistic crimes, EP1 became what it is today!

Features

  • 6 mission single player campaign featuring varied play styles
  • 2 mini games (Tower Defense Infinite, Survival)
  • Global high scores for campaign levels and mini games
  • In depth tutorials for new players

Videos

V2.0 Update Trailer YouTube


Images

download all screenshots & photos as .zip (3MB)
box_art.png
SS2.png
SS1.png
SS3.png
SS4.png

logo


Selected Articles

  • "Yes I did just say the word that strikes horror into most gamers hearts around XBLIG titles, I said hybrid, unlike most other hybrids however this game seemingly sacrifices nothing from either genre."
    - Jimmy Page, The Grumble indie supplement
  • "Now for the million dollar question. Do I think it's worth the 80 msp? I'd have to say yes. With all the successful work that was put into making this title fun, and understandable I definitely think it's worth 80 msp ($1)."
    - Bradley Carver, OtakuDante's Gaming Inferno
  • "Yes the learning curve's a bit steep, but this game is so experimentative and does such a good job of bringing it all together, that it’s well worth its 80 Microsoft Points for those who have the patience to play around with it and master the game."
    - Steven Hurdle, Writings of Mass Deduction
  • "Though it’s short and teeters at the brink of blandness visually, STRACO kicks off its adventure with a serviceable introduction. The daunting structure and controls, as well as the multitude of building options, are stripped away quickly, leaving you with a more-shooter-than-tower-defense game that’s left feeling a little uncertain about its identity."
    - Tim Hurley, theXBLIG
  • "STRACO: Episode One . . . has effectively been re-launched after debuting in November of last year, to the point that my original review really no longer applies. . . . the gameplay side of things has seen a huge boon to its playability. Even if you’ve gone through the game once before, you’ll essentially be playing a brand new one after applying the update."
    - Tim Hurley, theXBLIG
  • "Straco is by no means a bad game, but it just suffers from trying to spin too many plates at once. . . . Straco has potential, it just needs major fine-tuning to realise any of that potential."
    - Mark Robinson, The Indie Mine

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Monetization Permission

Not Very Original allows for the contents of STRACO Episode 1 to be published through video broadcasting services for any commercial or non-commercial purposes. Monetization of videos created containing assets from STRACO Episode 1 is legally & explicitly allowed by Not Very Original. This permission can be found in writing at https://www.notveryoriginal.com/press/sheet.php?p=STRACO_Episode_1.


Original DBP 2012 Entry Video
You can see how far STRACO has come https:.


About Not Very Original

Boilerplate
Not Very Original is a hobby game studio owned and operated by Mike Johnson.

More information
More information on Not Very Original, our logo & relevant media are available here.



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