Billed as a concentration platform game, Binaries requires players to simultaneously control two glowing neon circles and guide them through a series of increasingly fiendish and dangerous levels.
Binaries is a game idea that has been stuck in Tony’s head for a long while, and he thought it was about time to let it out. After years of being humiliated by his lack of skills at Super Meat Boy and n++, Tony decided the only way he’d be able to beat one of these fast-paced platform games would be if he made it himself, so he’d know the tricks to all of the levels. At the same time he wanted to add something new, and the idea of controlling two characters seemed fun. How to differentiate them? Well, the “all Hollywood movies are the same two colours” meme was doing the rounds at the time, and so Tealy & Orangey was born as a 20 level Flash game. It picked up some press attention and that was that. Except it wasn’t. There was always a lot that could be improved with the original, and seeing that nobody had used the same mechanics and gameplay since, Tony set about making a definitive take as Ant Workshop’s debut title in 2015. But the name had to change, obviously – it was awful. Binaries passed through Steam Greenlight in just 3 weeks, and is due for initial release on Windows & Mac OSX in April 2016, with PlayStation 4 and Xbox One versions to follow later in the year. (At the time of writing, Tony still cannot beat all of the levels in Binaries.)
The game has already inspired some excellent responses from the media and games industry luminaries. Ken Levin, the creative director of Bioshock called Binaries Very clever and unique, while Will Freeman, writing in the Observer said, Full of subtly brilliant flourishes, stimulating and delightful and implemented with attention to detail.
Yeah, celebrity endorsements too…
You can find out more on the Ant Workshop website, the Binaries microsite, or follow the studio on Facebook and Twitter.In the meantime, enjoy a promotional video…