DiveLand - A 3D adventure in a 2D world
Recently, Famously Simple's husband and wife team Andrea and Steve Bourne created a new iPhone game that thrills with minimalist black and white and fast-paced action, all to a techno beat.
“DiveLand is inspired by Flatland,” says Steve Bourne. The classic mathematics fictional novel is about a two dimensional world, where spheres appear as circles, and circles as lines. “We wanted to create a world where simple two dimensional objects create a rich three dimensional world.”
The object of the game is to dive through 100 worm holes, one after another. The worm holes are made of alternating black and white circles, nested within each other. As you dive, they move as a single unit, zooming past you as you approach the center. The worm holes come fast, though, and only the most precise players will be able to make it through.
“It’s tough to get used to targeting the worm holes at first,” says Andrea Bourne. “You have to move the cross hairs toward the center of the worm hole as quickly as you can.” If you’re off, then you very quickly go Splat. That’s right. If you hit the sides of the worm hole, you find yourself looking at a big green “Splat” accompanied by a bug-against-a-windshield sound.
Sound is actually a huge factor in DiveLand. An entrancing techno beat sets the pace, pushing you farther and farther down the rabbit hole. “We wanted to create a game that was immersive for the player. So, we focused on both the visual and the sound,” explains Steve Bourne.
“We estimate it’s only an 8 minute ride to get through all 100 worm holes. But, the player should feel like they’ve been to another world and back if they get there.” Bourne went on to explain that the eight minutes is only an estimate because they don’t know anyone who has done it, including themselves.
