{"id":7531,"date":"2024-08-31T13:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-08-31T13:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/phoenixengin.com\/?p=7531"},"modified":"2024-09-02T20:27:35","modified_gmt":"2024-09-02T20:27:35","slug":"how-do-you-revive-a-game-like-yars-revenge-do-something-unexpected","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/phoenixengin.com\/index.php\/2024\/08\/31\/how-do-you-revive-a-game-like-yars-revenge-do-something-unexpected\/","title":{"rendered":"How do you revive a game like Yars\u2019 Revenge? Do something unexpected"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"\" data-caption=\"\" data-portal-copyright=\"\" data-has-syndication-rights=\"1\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" class=\"lazyload\" data-src=\"https:\/\/platform.polygon.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/08\/YR_PC_Screen5.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;crop=0,0,100,100\"><figcaption><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"has-text-align-none\">For more than 40 years, Atari 2600 game <a href=\"https:\/\/www.polygon.com\/2015\/3\/9\/8163747\/yars-revenge-is-a-journey-back-to-a-lost-world-of-video-games\"><em>Yars\u2019 Revenge<\/em><\/a> has endured. Atari has rereleased the 1982 action game multiple times, both in cartridge form and built into retro consoles. Multiple developers have attempted to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.polygon.com\/23219000\/yars-revenge-remake-announced\">remake it<\/a>, reimagine it, or create an official sequel to the simplistic shooter.<\/p>\n<p class=\"has-text-align-none\">In September, developer WayForward Technologies will take another shot at <em>Yars\u2019 Revenge<\/em>, but it\u2019s zigging where others have zagged. WayForward\u2019s <em>Yars Rising<\/em> is an action-adventure exploration game in the style of <em>Super Metroid<\/em> and <em>Shadow Complex<\/em>, and instead of starring a vengeful chrome alien fly, its protagonist is a young hacker \u2014 named Emi \u201cYar\u201d Kimura \u2014 who is trying to take down a shadowy corporation from the inside.<\/p>\n<p class=\"has-text-align-none\"><em>Yars Rising<\/em> is definitely a swerve, but it\u2019s being created \u201cwith as much reverence as possible\u201d for the original <em>Yars\u2019 Revenge<\/em>, game director James Montagna tells Polygon.<\/p>\n<p class=\"has-text-align-none\">\u201cI did about the deepest of dives you could possibly do on the entire history of <em>Yars\u2019 Revenge<\/em>,\u201d Montagna told me during a video call. \u201cI mean even stuff like the 1982 vinyl record release of <em>Yars\u2019 Revenge<\/em> \u2014 really obscure stuff that maybe two people in the world care about. We were just trying to absorb as much knowledge as we can, because if we\u2019re going to do this thing, we want to make sure to do right by it. We want to know the legacy of where it came from. And I think that\u2019s really important when you\u2019re handed something like this, because it has history, and we want to honor it.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<div>\n<div>\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Yars Rising - Gameplay Trailer\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/r3EpmZ062-g?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p class=\"has-text-align-none\">Still, <em>Yars Rising<\/em> is thematically, aesthetically, and mechanically very different from the original <em>Yars\u2019 Revenge<\/em>, but that\u2019s by design, Montagna said. Some of that\u2019s in service to the new game\u2019s story, but some of it, Montagna admitted, is playing to WayForward\u2019s strengths as a developer of platformers and Metroidvanias.<\/p>\n<p class=\"has-text-align-none\">\u201cIt\u2019s also a little bit of [us] surprising players with something they maybe didn\u2019t even know that they wanted,\u201d he said. \u201cNo one was expecting or asking for an exploration action-platforming <em>Yars\u2019 Revenge<\/em> reimagining, right? But I think part of our job as designers is to show people why and how something like that can make sense.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"has-text-align-none\">The story of <em>Yars Rising<\/em> is about a black hat hacker ring that gets approached by a \u201cmysterious figure with deep pockets to hack this mega conglomerate called QoTech.\u201d Emi takes the gig because the price is right, Montagna explained. \u201cShe\u2019s got this antagonistic streak; she\u2019s doing something immediately a little bit nefarious and dishonest,\u201d he said. \u201cShe gets a job at QoTech to win their trust over the course of several weeks, and the game kicks off the night where she\u2019s going to pull off her heist. As the game progresses, you\u2019ll learn more and more about her backstory.<\/p>\n<p class=\"has-text-align-none\">\u201cWhy is a <em>Yars\u2019 Revenge<\/em> reimagining having this kind of character and this style of gameplay? It starts to make sense the more you play it. And I can only explain so much without just completely giving certain things away, but it really comes down to, well, this is how we communicate the story. It\u2019s a genre we\u2019re good at, and a little bit [that] we want to surprise and delight.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" alt=\"\" title=\"\" data-has-syndication-rights=\"1\" data-caption=\"\" data-portal-copyright=\"\" class=\"lazyload\" data-src=\"https:\/\/platform.polygon.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/08\/YR_PC_Screen9.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;crop=0,3.4613147178592,100,93.077370564282\"><\/p>\n<p class=\"has-text-align-none\"><em>Yars Rising<\/em> does honor the original <em>Yars\u2019 Revenge<\/em> in one major way: The game is filled with hacking minigames built around the original game\u2019s concept. To hack things in <em>Rising<\/em>, you play as the pixelated fly (Yar) and attack the enemy (Qotile), which is guarded by a shield. The hacking games are remixed versions of the original\u2019s playfield, mashed up with other classic Atari 2600 games like <em>Space Invaders<\/em> and <em>Missile Command<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"has-text-align-none\">\u201cIt\u2019s almost just as much a WarioWare microgame experience in a certain light,\u201d Montagna said. \u201cIt\u2019s also a stealth game. So I think there\u2019s, like, so many elements of different [game genres] [\u2026] probably why I personally hesitate to put certain labels on it, but I can\u2019t really correct anyone that calls it a Metroidvania.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"has-text-align-none\">While WayForward is trying to do something new and different with its take on the Yars series, <em>Rising<\/em> is also an Atari love letter, Montagna said. In <em>Yars Rising<\/em>\u2019s gameplay trailer, you can see <em>Computer Space<\/em> cabinets and references to Atari creator Nolan Bushnell. But these shoutouts to Atari\u2019s history will be more than just set decoration, Montagna explained.<\/p>\n<p class=\"has-text-align-none\">\u201cIn so many ways, we wanted to make it so that every detail is something that could potentially matter to somebody,\u201d he said. \u201cThere\u2019s a way to do that that doesn\u2019t feel invasive or [exclusionary]. There should be some emotional reaction \u2014\u00a0like, <em>Oh, they get me<\/em>. <em>I grew up with this<\/em>. Or <em>I know what this is<\/em>. So throughout the game, it has varying degrees of Atari references \u2014\u00a0even entire boss battles in this game are references to something to do with Atari in some way, shape, or form. I hope players look forward to seeing what those are.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" alt=\"\" title=\"\" data-has-syndication-rights=\"1\" data-caption=\"\" data-portal-copyright=\"\" class=\"lazyload\" data-src=\"https:\/\/platform.polygon.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/08\/ss_0f733ac85cf493e65847e753830af1d1e4ebc9c4.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;crop=0,3.4613147178592,100,93.077370564282\"><\/p>\n<p class=\"has-text-align-none\">Even the game\u2019s hacker hero is built around Atari iconography. Emi\u2019s aqua blue hair is a combination of the Atari \u201cFuji\u201d logo and the silhouette of the original Yar sprite.<\/p>\n<p class=\"has-text-align-none\">But Montagna said that <em>Yars Rising<\/em> can\u2019t simply rely on nostalgia or a familiar game name to succeed. It has to play great, and be a good action-adventure exploration game in a crowded market of Metroid-inspired retro games.<\/p>\n<p class=\"has-text-align-none\">\u201cI\u2019m happy to say I think we did a pretty darn good job of making sure that flow is right,\u201d Montagna said of <em>Yars Rising<\/em>\u2019s focus on precision and gameplay variety. \u201cYou might be gunning down enemies, jumping from platform to platform, mowing through a series of enemies, then in the next room, it\u2019s going to change up on you. It\u2019s going to be a little bit of stealth gameplay where we\u2019re slowing things down. I think that that ebb and flow is good, because if it\u2019s just pure adrenaline, it can be exhausting. We\u2019re also incorporating those hacking challenges, which also break up the moment-to-moment a bit.\u201d<\/p>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\" \/>\n<p class=\"has-text-align-none\">Yars Rising<em> is coming to Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X on Sept. 10.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>For more than 40 years, Atari 2600 game Yars\u2019 Revenge has endured. Atari has rereleased [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7533,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/phoenixengin.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7531"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/phoenixengin.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/phoenixengin.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/phoenixengin.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/phoenixengin.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7531"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/phoenixengin.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7531\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7532,"href":"http:\/\/phoenixengin.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7531\/revisions\/7532"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/phoenixengin.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7533"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/phoenixengin.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7531"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/phoenixengin.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7531"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/phoenixengin.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7531"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}