Death Squared by SMG Studio has done nothing but affirm the belief my mother always had that maybe I should have gone to school for psychiatry or something of the like.
When doing interviews with developers, my favorite question is always to ask about the inspiration behind the creation of the game. I like to know what makes people tick, what makes them think in a certain way, and the inspiration between Death Squared was one of the sweetest and most awe-inspiring that I have ever come across.
I was explained to that the wife of the creator that came up with the idea was not much of a gamer, but he wanted something relatively simple to pick up on that she could play with him relatively easy. (I had to ask if his grand scheme was a success and was happily informed that it was!)
Death Squared is a puzzle game of sorts where each player controls a block corresponding to a particular color. The levels start out simple enough where you simply have to reach the block that corresponds to your block color, and this goal does not change throughout the game. What does change, however; is the difficulty of the levels and what must be done in order to accomplish the end goal. It requires massive amounts of teamwork and even more massive amounts of trial and error.
Sometimes, you have to use your block to guard your partner(s) so that they can pass and get where they need to be and vice versa. Certain blocks have the ability to create bridges so that your teammates can move and help you meet your end goal.
The challenges and trials by death only escalate as you progress through the game, but I will say this. Death Squared is a game that can make or break relationships…if you are the type with thin skin, but from what I noticed while playing the game at PAX East with a complete and total stranger that I had never met before, it can forge almost instantaneous friendships.
As soon as I can find a friendship that I am willing to break, I will find another victim…ehm…teammate to play with me and see how many times we can die before we start threatening to throw various items from the room around each other.
Side Note: I may be a bit biased when it comes to puzzle games and will do by best to absolutely wreck anyone willing to play with me. As such, I am really excited to find a game that will test my teamwork abilities as opposed to making it an outright challenge and cannot wait to see exactly how far I can get.
Thank you for all your time showing off Death Squared SMG Studio!