Village Gamer

Canadian indie developer Phantom Compass takes its upcoming pinball puzzle role-playing game Rollers of the Realm on several side-quests in March. Rollers brings together the drama of RPGs with the fun and skill mastery of pinball, combining physics puzzle play with a unique nudge mechanic. Each character is a pinball, and each scene in the story is a new pinball board. Players can hot-swap characters during play to combat enemies on each board and protect their vulnerable flippers. A vertical slice of gameplay will debut in San Francisco this month.

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-j_0yX95HeE]

Last year, the game’s innovative mechanics earned the financial support of the Canada Media Fund. This year, the Ontario Media Development Corporation (OMDC) joined as a project funder, and Rollers of the Realm will be pitched as part of the Selected Projects program at Game Connection America. Rollers will also be featured in the Canadian Videogame Showcase at GDC 2013, presented by Telefilm Canada in collaboration with the Canada Media Fund.

“We’ll reveal the first of our six epic story chapters in San Francisco at the Selected Projects pitch competition, then at GDC Play,” said game director David Evans. “We plan to hand the public, press and potential publishers a controller and add some brave adventurers to our party.”

The game is targeted at PC and iPad gamers ages 9 and up. It is slated for a summer 2013 release.

Rollers director David Evans, Phantom Compass producer Ericka Evans, and executive producer Tony Walsh will be available to demonstrate the game, meet the press, and potential publishers on the following dates:

March 26, San Francisco – Selected Projects at Game Connection America

• Rollers of the Realm is a contender in the exclusive Selected Projects pitch competition.

March 26 & 28, San Francisco – GDC Play / OMDC Kiosk

• Get hands-on with Rollers of the Realm at Game Developers Conference. Game director David Evans will give demos in the GDC Play area.