Years of dedication have come to fruition for veteran game developer Chris Foster and his son, Ian.
Loose Nozzles on Sept. 20 (EDT) has landed on the iOS App Store and Google Play, Foster and Family Games announced.
In Loose Nozzles, players need to rescue humans stuck in space without, as the title suggests, losing their rockets' nozzles.Like most classic arcade games, the ramshackle rocket can only be controlled using two thruster buttons.
The free-to-play app combines physics-based gameplay, a hand-drawn art style, and vocalized sound effects. The Fosters themselves planned, designed, and crafted every aspect of the game.
Calling it a "labor of love," Chris and Ian started developing the game eight years ago. They traced the origin of Loose Nozzles to then five-year-old Ian, who, one day, showed his father a drawing of a 'cannon-shooter' firing at a rocket.
"I was teaching myself how to move sprites in Unity. And Ian, then 5, showed me a picture of a rocket falling apart while an enemy shot at it, and explained the game he was dreaming up," Chris recalls.
The drawing, in turn, would become the "heart of Loose Nozzles." From there, Chris and Ian would spend nights and weekends constructing the game. The father and son also found themselves doing recording sessions under bed covers. Despite these, Chris said they decided to take their time to develop Loose Nozzles.
"I never wanted this to feel like work for Ian, and I already had work to feel like work, so we kept things light, and took our time," he said.
Aside from co-developing Loose Nozzles with his son, Chris also works full-time at Hidden Door and teaches game development at Northeastern University. Chris' notable works include The Beatles Rock Band, Green Day: Rock Band, and The Lord of the Rings Online.
Foster and Family Games is the Fosters' game-making venture.