Aaero Launches April 11 on Xbox One

This post has been republished via RSS; it originally appeared at: Xbox Wire.

While working together at Codemasters and then later at FreeStyleGames, Dan and I had regularly joked that big studios were getting too complicated and we should probably ‘go indie’ and make a game between the two of us. I didn’t think we’d ever actually do it, though.

As it happens, it turned out that’s exactly what we did! Aaero came about as the answer to a list of things we wanted to achieve with a game.

First, we wanted to create a game that delivered the buzz you get playing rhythm games and having the action synched with the music, but without limiting it to rigidly tapping buttons on beat.

Moving away from the age of plastic gaming instruments, we didn’t want to attempt to emulate a musical instrument using a standard controller. Instead of compromising, we wanted the controller to do what it does best: precise control via analog sticks.

We discussed reverse engineering the gameplay around the music so it became like a cinematic score rather than a performance to be replicated. The player would have full control and the game engine would bring everything back into time without feeling forced.

These conversations resulted in the first prototype for Aaero. (You can actually see a portion of the prototype in our video at the top). Since then, we’ve been refining and polishing the concept and we’re extremely proud that we’re about to release it into the wild.

Getting support from some of the top names in EDM like Flux Pavilion, Katy B, and Noisia was incredible and the soundtrack is absolutely mind-blowing. The reception we’ve received when we’ve shown the game at various conventions has been overwhelmingly positive and we really hope you enjoy playing Aaero as much as we’ve enjoyed developing it.