Nine warriors from across the galaxy have been abducted, cloned, and forced to fight in an endless series of deadly arena battles.

These hunters have become, The Hunted.

I am extremely happy to announce that our next release is a multiplayer shooter named, The Hunted.
Work on the Hunted began more than a year ago when we challenged ourselves to make multiplayer a shooter work on a touchscreen device. My goal has been to recapture the awesome deathmatch experiences I had with my friends playing Quake, waaay back in the day, and bring it to a new platform and a whole new generation of players. With The Hunted, I think we've done it.

The biggest challenge to overcome was obviously the controls. While there are plenty of multiplayer first-person shooters on iOS none of them really control all that well, and it really compromises the experience. A game type that does control really well on touch screens is the top-down 'dual-stick' shooter. The only problem with top-down shooters is that you have a perfect view of the battlefield. No one can sneak up behind you and take you out with a melee attack, or duck behind a wall and make you wonder where they are going to pop up next. We knew that if we really wanted to deliver an awesome deathmatch experience we were going to have to find a way to make you feel like you were still a character in that world looking down the barrel of your gun.

Thanks to the awesome coding skill of our team we were able to do just that. We've combined a limited field of view, like the view you get in an FPS, with the top-down dual stick shooter controls that work so well on mobile and we've made the best mobile deathmatch experience you've ever seen. It's fast, it's fun, and it's coming to your iPhone and iPad very soon!

Keep an eye on our twitter feed and here on the blog over the next few weeks as we share info on the 9 unique character classes you can choose from, all the different game modes, and show off tons of new gameplay footage and images from the game.

Please help us to spread the word, real Deathmatch is finally coming to mobile!

Our vision for The Hunted has been based in that old turn of phrase 'The Hunters become the Hunted'. We wanted to play on the idea that no matter how adept you are at Hunting, or how high on the food chain you may find yourself, there is always something that could turn you into the prey.

We decided to put that idea front and center with the Human playable character who is simply named, The Hunter.

The Hunter was out in the woods early one morning when he found himself abducted by a flying saucer. When he awoke onboard the alien ship he found that he wasn't there for experimentation, or to be dinner, the aliens just wanted him to fight for their amusement.

He also finds that he is not alone in this torment, many other aliens have been taken from their homes and forced to fight as well. Each of them cloned dozens of times so that not even death can stop their endless battles.

Each fighter is given a generic title, Hunter, Brute, Stealth, that allow the thousands of spectators to bet and cheer for them without really knowing anything about them as beings. They are gladiators for a new time and place, but still nothing more than slaves

You will fight as one of these Hunters, and while you may find victory in the arena, you will never find your freedom. At least not while playing by their rules.

Next time we'll take a more in-depth look at The Hunter and talk about his weapons, special attacks, and strategies for victory. Until then, if you have any questions about The Hunted feel free to message me on twitter ( @Readmore ) or you can join the discussion about The Hunted on the Touch Arcade forums here: TA Forums.

In our new game 'The Hunted' you will have the choice of nine unique characters to take into the arena. Each of these hunters have their own strengths and weaknesses and it will be up to you, the intrepid player, to determine which character best fits your play style. To help you make that determination we're going to highlight each hunter over the next couple weeks so you can get an idea about what character you want to start with.

A little background

Before we can really get into the details about each character we need to go over how 'The Hunted' plays so that everything makes sense. 'The Hunted' is a dual-stick shooter, which means that there is a virtual joystick on the left which controls movement and another on the right that controls where your characters shoots.



The right stick controls the direction your character faces and also shoots their primary weapon. Each hunter has a unique primary weapon, which we'll explore in the following posts, but these weapons get dropped on the battlefield when a player is killed during a match. That means that, for a limited time, any character can pick up and use the primary weapon of another character which can create some really interesting 'player builds' and give you a temporary edge.

The right joystick also has two buttons, one to trigger your character's secondary weapon and another to use their special ability. As you can probably guess, each special ability is unique to the Hunter and gives them each a different play style and personality. As we explore each of the hunters over the next few posts you'll get a good look at each of these abilities and how they can be used to full effect on the battlefield.

The Hunter

The Hunter is a 'medium' build character in the game. This means that he has an average level of speed and durability to damage compared to the other hunters. He is also the starting character that every player will have access to right after downloading the game so he's a hunter that you'll more than likely spend some time with.

His main weapon is a double barrel shotgun, and it packs a punch! As you would expect from a shotgun it does tremendous damage when you are up close and personal with your target, but its long range effectiveness is limited. In 'The Hunted' we decided to go old-school and model every projectile fired from a weapon as it moves across the screen. This means that the farther away from your target you are the more you'll need to lead them if you want to score a hit. Also, when you are the target, it gives you an opportunity to dodge bullets, if you see them coming. The gif below gives you an idea of the spread on the shotgun blast over a couple different distances.

Tracking Dart

The Hunter's special ability ties into his history as an animal tracker and gives you the ability to stalk other players around the map. When you use his special ability the Hunter shoots out a tracking dart that will relay a target's location to you even if they are outside your normal field of view. Check out the gif below to see what I mean.



Once you've tagged a target they will continually give off a 'ping' until they die and respawn. This means that if you can tag your target with the tracking dart they won't be able to hide from you again until you take them down. As you can probably expect, knowing your enemy's location can be a huge advantage during a tough battle.

The final addition to the Hunter's arsenal is explosive grenades. These are really useful for clearing out space around a control point, forcing an enemy out of their cover, or giving you the time you need to escape and patch yourself up.

Between the double barrel shotgun, grenades, and tracking dart the Hunter definitely gives you everything you needs to put the hurt on your enemies. If you have any questions about the Hunter, or the game in general, let me know on Twitter ( @Readmore ) or you can join the discussion about The Hunted on the Touch Arcade forums here: TA Forums.

Next Time: The Kid

In our new game 'The Hunted' you will have the choice of nine unique characters to take into the arena. Each of these hunters have their own strengths and weaknesses and it will be up to you, the intrepid player, to determine which character best fits your play style. To help you make that determination we're going to highlight each hunter over the next couple weeks so you can get an idea about what character you want to start with.
If you missed our first post about the Human Hunter you can check it out here.

The Kid

Backstory

The Kid isn't actually a kid at all. He comes from a race that ages differently than Humans and who only ever grow to a height of 4.5 to 5 feet. Because of their small stature they have always relied on technology to help them overcome their physical shortcomings. This has bred an innate love of tech into their species and they travel the galaxy searching for new advancements that they can adapt to their own uses.

The Kid was abducted during just such a mission, while scavenging on a derelict space ship looking for technology he could rebuild or sell. Luckily he was wearing his exploration/combat suit, which is highly advanced and allows him to not only survive in the hard vacuum of space but also deal with any threat that he may encounter along the way.

Playstyle

The Kid is a 'light' build character in the game. This means that he is quicker on his feet than most Hunters but unable to absorb as much damage during a battle. Because he damages easily you'll need to constantly be on the move and harass your targets with The Kid's sweet weapons.

Arm Cannons

The Kid's main weapons are two 'Arm Cannons' that allow him to spray energy blasts across a room in record time. When you fire, each cannon alternates their fire with the other so that you can shoot a steady stream of pain across the screen. The gif below will give you a feel for this firing speed as well as the faster foot speed that The Kid has over the Human Hunter.

Cannon Blast

The Kid's special ability requires him to get in close with his target. His 'Cannon Blast' ability forces superheated air through his Arm Cannons and directly into the back, or front, of your target. The Cannon Blast not only deals damage but it also forces your target away from you which can be useful when you need to clear someone off a control point or you want to force them to take a trip on a teleporter.



The Cannon Blast is also really handy when someone tries to throw grenades at your feet. If you're quick enough you can use the blast to shove the grenades away from you without needing to clear out of the area.

Grenade Blast Combo

The Kid, like the Hunter, uses explosive grenades as his secondary weapon but, when you combine then with your Cannon Blast ability you can create a sweet character specific combo. Check out it in the gif below.



Using your Cannon Blast on your own grenades lets you shoot them much farther than any other character is capable of tossing them. This lets you grenade targets that would other wise be un-reachable.

The Kid is one of my favorite characters because I love to speed around the map and pin down the other guys with a constant wall of fire. His ability to move other players, and grenades, around the map is just an awesome bonus! If you have any questions about the Kid, or the game in general, let me know on Twitter ( @Readmore ) or you can join the discussion about The Hunted on the Touch Arcade forums here: TA Forums.

Next Time: The Brute

In our new game 'The Hunted' you will have the choice of nine unique characters to take into the arena. Each of these hunters have their own strengths and weaknesses and it will be up to you, the intrepid player, to determine which character best fits your play style. To help you make that determination we're going to highlight each hunter over the next couple weeks so you can get an idea about what character you want to start with.

If you missed our previous posts in this series you can catch up on them here:

1. Human Hunter
2. The Kid

The Brute

Backstory

The Brute comes from a race of savage warriors that live on a world of massive forests and emerald green seas. While they have no advanced technology their skills in physical combat are rarely matched, as is their ability to leap great distances and heights during the hunt. Once the Brute was abducted for the arena the alien battle masters set about creating a weapon to match his deadly power.

Playstyle

The Brute is a 'heavy' class character in the game. This means that while he moves slower than medium and light characters he can absorb more damage than any of them. This ability to soak up more damage allows him to charge right into the fray and shoot, or smash, his targets with ease.

Bounce Cannon

The Brute's main weapon looks like a large cast iron cannon but instead of shooting traditional cannon balls this weapon shoots projectiles that bounce off walls before finding their target. This makes the Brute especially effective against campers.

Trap Mines

As his secondary weapon the Brute can set trap mines to disable his target. Once these mines are set they cloak themselves and lay in wait until an enemy player walks over them. When detonated these mines deal explosive damage and stun the target to give you an extra second to pounce and finish them off.

Jump Slam

The Brute's special ability is a jumping slam that lets you close the distance with your target and then slam into them from above. This move deals a ton of damage to any target that you land on and then, if they survive, it pushes them away from the point of impact. This is a great move to clear out a control point or just to get bragging rights over your friends.



You can also use the Jump Slam to leap over walls in the game! This is not only awesome to do but it helps you overcome your slower foot speed by taking a more direct route than other players are capable of. It can also let you get the drop on your enemies and slam them before they even know you're there.

The Brute is a really great character and combo-ing his Trap Mines and Jump Slam together can have some really awesome results. If you have any questions about the Brute, or the game in general, let me know on Twitter ( @Readmore ) or you can join the discussion about The Hunted on the Touch Arcade forums here: TA Forums.

Next Time: The Ranger

In our new game 'The Hunted' you will have the choice of nine unique characters to take into the arena. Each of these hunters have their own strengths and weaknesses and it will be up to you, the intrepid player, to determine which character best fits your play style. To help you make that determination we're going to highlight each hunter over the next couple weeks so you can get an idea about what character you want to start with.

If you missed our previous posts in this series you can catch up on them here:

1. Human Hunter
2. The Kid
3. The Brute

Backstory

The Ranger grew up on a planet that had once been very advanced technologically, but a combination of environmental and economic collapses plunged her species back into a strange sort of dark age. While technology still exists from their previous civilization there are very few remaining who can operate or maintain it, and almost none who could recreate any of it from scratch.

Within these circumstances the Ranger servers as a hunter and protector for her people. Using her laser bow she is quick, silent, and deadly to both prey and any foe who may threaten her village. However, when the aliens came to cull a new fighter for the arena she was quickly outmatched and abducted from her home.

Playstyle

The Ranger is a 'light' character in the game. This means that while she moves quickly, faster than any other Hunter in fact, she also is unable to absorb much damage. Because of this, her play style requires fast movement and shooting from a distance to give her time to dodge any shots that are coming her way. Her weapons are well suited to this and make her a formidable opponent.

Laser Bow

The Laser Bow is a silent and fast firing weapon that can deal considerable damage when multiple shots find their target. It requires great accuracy, as there is no spread to its firing pattern, but if used correctly you can line up two or three shots before your target even knows they are being hunted.

Explosive Dart

The Ranger's secondary weapon, the Explosive Dart, excels at dealing damage from a distance and keeping her out of harms way. The Explosive Dart is a small projectile that latches on to any target it strikes and quickly counts down to detonation. While this is another weapon that requires accuracy it causes great explosive damage to its target, and anyone around it, after a few seconds.

Many times the Ranger can stick someone with a dart, hit them with a couple arrows and be half way across the map before her target explodes and the kill is registered.

Boomerang

While the Ranger would prefer to engage her targets from across the screen that isn't always going to be the case. Her special ability, the Boomerang, is most useful for those times when the enemy has gotten the drop on you. The Boomerang flies out in an arc from the Ranger and then returns on her other side. It only deals a small amount of damager to any enemy it strikes but it also stuns them for a couple crucial seconds. As the Ranger you can use this time to deal a quick blow or escape and search for a health pack.



You can also grab power ups with the Boomerang! Nothing is sweeter than using your Boomerang to snag a Double Damage just before someone else picks it up!

The Ranger is a really interesting character and, I believe, will be a favorite for a lot of players. If you have any questions about the Ranger, or the game in general, let me know on Twitter ( @Readmore ) or you can join the discussion about The Hunted on the Touch Arcade forums here: TA Forums.

Release Update

I am very excited to say that we just received word from Apple that The Hunted has been approved and will be releasing for iPhone and iPad this Thursday!

We're also going to be doing some special for launch day. For the first 24 hours of release all of our characters will be unlocked! This means that, if you grab the game on launch day, you can try out every one of the characters we have been highlighting and see which one best suits your play style.

I can't wait to start playing against all of you in the arena! I hope you'll keep reading about our characters this week and that I'll see you in the game on Thursday.

Next Time: The Lurker

In our new game 'The Hunted' you will have the choice of nine unique characters to take into the arena. Each of these hunters have their own strengths and weaknesses and it will be up to you, the intrepid player, to determine which character best fits your play style. To help you make that determination we're going to highlight each hunter over the next couple weeks so you can get an idea about what character you want to start with.

If you missed our previous posts in this series you can catch up on them here:

1. Human Hunter
2. The Kid
3. The Brute
4. Ranger

The Lurker

Backstory

The Lurker belongs to an ocean-dwelling species that found itself being hunted and killed off by a land-based species on their home planet. Rather than retreat from this threat, their scientists developed war suits that would not only allow their warriors to breathe while out of the water but also allow them to burrow through the ground in much the same way that they swim in the water. The result of this amazing breakthrough was a quick turn in the war as their land locked enemy quickly had no place on their planet that they could hide.

Plucked from his native ocean to fight in the arena The Lurker is ready to take out his frustrations on anyone who crosses his path.

Playstyle

The Lurker is a 'medium' class character in The Hunted. This means that, like the Human Hunter, he has an average speed and average level of durability compared to the other hunters. While his base stats may sit in the middle of the pack he is definitely one of the most interesting characters to play. His main weapon can blanket the play field with fire, and his burrow ability opens up all kinds of interesting strategies that you can deploy on your enemies.

Trident Gun

The Lurker's main weapon is a Trident Gun that shoots out about a billion bullets a second. This very heavy rate of fire allows you to cover an area with shots that will give your target little chance to escape. While each of these shots does a small amount of damage their overall volume lets you keep your enemy on the run and move in for the kill.

Explosive Grenades

With grenades as a secondary weapon the Lurker is great at controlling an area of the map. He excels in control point game types as he can use his grenades to clear enemies off the point or to harass anyone trying to take his point away.

Landshark

The Lurker has the greatest, in my opinion, special ability in the history of competitive shooters. He can burrow into the ground and stalk his prey as a Landshark! Once burrowed you can tunnel under the ground and choose when you want to burst through the floor, biting anyone who may be above you.

With this ability you can approach a control point without taking damage from standard weapons, sneak up behind an un-suspecting target and chomp them from below, or retreat from a battle to grab a much needed health pack.



To counteract this awesome ability the Lurker moves very slowly while burrowed and he can still be damaged by explosions. This makes grenades, trap mines, and explosive darts shot on walls all something to worry about while you are burrowed.

As you can probably tell the Lurker is my favorite character, he has a great standard weapon and the ability to burrow really changes the landscape of a battle for everyone involved. I hope you'll give him a try this Thursday ( November 20th ) when the Hunted hits the Appstore.

If you have any questions about the Lurker, or the game in general, let me know on Twitter ( @Readmore ) or you can join the discussion about The Hunted on the Touch Arcade forums here: TA Forums.

Next Time: Stealth

We're taking a quick break from our 'Meet the Hunted' series to talk about the game modes that you'll be able to enjoy when the game launches tomorrow! (Nov 20).

Hunted Game Modes

The Hunted allows for both free-for-all and team gameplay in four different games modes. We'll take a quick look at each of them to explain how they work so you'll know what to expect when you start playing.

• Deathmatch
• King of the Hill
• Krazy King
• Skulls

Deathmatch

Deathmatch in The Hunted has the same classic feel that you'll remember from early 90s shooters. It's kill or be killed in the arena. Each player you take out rewards you with a point and the first player, or team, to hit the kill max for that game wins. You can play in a game from 2 to 8 players either as a free for all or on teams, and it's a blast.

One thing that is different in The Hunted is that when you take out another player their main weapon is left on the battlefield for any other player to pick up. When you grab another player's weapon you can carry it around as long as you like but you can only fire it for one full clip of ammo. This lets you change out your damage potential for a few seconds and gives you a quick boost as a reward for your kill.

King of the Hill

King of the Hill is another classic multiplayer mode that appears in The Hunted. In this mode there is a control point, or hill, that appears on the map in a specific spot. To win the match you, or your team, has to hold the hill for a set number of seconds.

To hold the hill only you or your teammate can be inside it. You'll know this is the case because the hill will turn green and a green '+1' will appear on the screen every second. If there is an enemy player in the hill with you then it will turn yellow and no one will receive points until one of you leaves. When one of your enemies controls the hill it will turn red and a red '+1' will appear on the screen for each second they control it.



This is an awesome team mode because it rewards teamwork and it helps to concentrate all the action into one spot on the map. This usually results in some pretty epic moments.

Krazy King

Krazy King grabs all the awesome-ness of King of the Hill and takes it on the move! In Krazy King you're still playing King of the Hill but the hill doesn't stay in one spot anymore. The hill will disappear for a small amount of time and then re-appear in a different location on the map. This creates a mad scramble to the new hill zone and usually creates running firefights from one point to the other.



Basically, it's great; you should play it.

Skulls

Skulls is a really fun mode that combines aspects from a bunch of different competitive game types. In Skulls each time you kill a player they drop a skull on the ground. Anyone who runs over this skull will pick it up and add it to their collection. However, to get points for the skulls you are carrying you have to take them to a control point that is randomly appearing at different spots on the map.



This creates all kinds of awesome gameplay opportunities because if you have collected a lot of skulls you'll want to start avoiding conflict until the next control point appears so you can deposit them and get your points. It also makes anyone with a large number of skulls into a huge target for the other players because they are basically a point piñata for the first person who can kill them.

Fortune's can swing pretty quickly in this mode because someone can accumulate five, six, or seven skulls before hitting the control point and leapfrog any players who may be ranked above them. Teamplay also becomes more interesting because you can get into situations where you need to protect a teammate who is carrying a lot of skulls so that they can make it to the control point and score for your team.

Skulls is probably my favorite mode in The Hunted just because it creates so many interesting gameplay opportunities. I hope you'll check it out on when the game launches on Thursday and let me know what you think.

I hope you enjoyed this quick look at the Hunted's game modes. If you have any questions or comments about the modes, or any modes you'd like us to add, you can let me know on Twitter ( @Readmore ) or you can join the discussion about The Hunted on the Touch Arcade forums here: TA Forums.

The Hunted for iOS

That's right, The Hunted is out now all over the world! If you have an iPhone or iPad you can grab the game from the Appstore right now and jump in the game!

The Hunted on PC

But, what if you don't have an iPhone? Are you just out of luck, is there to be no awesome online deathmatch action for you? To that I say NO. To that I say, you can play in your web browser! That's right, simply by visiting The Hunted's Online Player you can play online with everyone in the game directly from your computer!

So what are you waiting for? Jump in there and start hunting some people! Here are those links again, just in case you skipped over them.

Download The Hunted for iOS

Play The Hunted Online in your browser

Good Hunting!