The Ball is a 2010 first-person action-adventure game developed by Teotl Studios and published by Tripwire Interactive.
| The Ball | |
|---|---|
 UK cover art | |
| Developer(s) | Teotl Studios |
| Publisher(s) | Tripwire Interactive |
| Director(s) | Sjoerd De Jong |
| Programmer(s) | Markus Arvidsson |
| Artist(s) | Markus Palviainen |
| Composer(s) | Theodore Wohng |
| Engine | Unreal Engine 3 |
| Platform(s) | Windows, Ouya, OnLive |
| Release | October 26, 2010 |
| Genre(s) | Action-adventure |
| Mode(s) | Single-player |
The game was one of the OnLive's UK launch titles, and one of the 13 games contained in the Potato Sack Bundle, which was a part of the Potato Sack Alternate Reality Game, promoting Portal 2's release.
A spiritual successor,[1] The Solus Project, was released on PC and consoles by Teotl and Grip Digital in June 2016. The game features a different setting, featuring an astronaut in the future stranded on an alien world, but the games share a universe and some themes.
Gameplay
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The Ball is a first-person action adventure game. The player controls an archaeologist trapped in an underground city, armed with only an artifact that can attract or repel a large metal ball. To progress in the game, the ball must be guided into triggering the puzzle mechanisms, act as a platform in platforming or defend the player in combat. As the player progresses, the ball will gain additional abilities, strengthening its combat ability or allowing the player to progress in platforming and puzzles.[2]
The game contains an eight-level single-player campaign and a survival mode focused on combat.[3]
Development
editThe Ball was developed by Teotl Studios, a small Swedish independent studio consisting of three developers: Sjoerd De Jong, level designer and creative director, Markus Palviainen, art director, and Markus Arvidsson, programmer.[4] Fifteen other independent developers were also involved in the project, including Theodore Wohng, composer and sound designer.[5]
To develop his game, Sjoerd De Jong had used several sources as inspiration: Portal for its simple and effective design, Unreal Tournament for its style and atmosphere, Tomb Raider for the mysterious and intriguing atmosphere that emanates from the individual settings and, on the whole, early first-person shooters which were set primarily in dark dungeons and castles.[6]
Originally developed as a mod for Unreal Tournament III at 2008, it was ported over to the Unreal Development Kit to enable a standalone commercial release. The game was released on October 26, 2010.[7][8]
In 2013, the game was ported as a launch title for the Ouya console.[9]
Reception
edit| Aggregator | Score |
|---|---|
| GameRankings | 73.83%[10] |
| Metacritic | 68/100[11] |
| Publication | Score |
|---|---|
| Eurogamer | 6/10[12] |
| GameSpot | 5.5/10[2] |
| IGN | 7.0/10[13] |
| PC Gamer (US) | 81/100[3] |
The original mod entered the Unreal Engine 3 Make Something Unreal contest and picked up multiple awards, including prizes for Best First-Person Shooter Game Mod, and Second Prize overall.[14][15]
The commercial release generated a mixed critical response, receiving a rating of 68% from review aggregator Metacritic[11] and 73.83% from GameRankings.[10] PC Gamer US awarded the game 81/100, calling it "a joyous and addictive action puzzler".[3]
IGN gave the game a 7/10, criticizing the story presentation and combat but praising the variety of gameplay.[13]
The Ball was awarded by PC Gamer US as the 2010 Action-Adventure Game of the Year.[16]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "The Solus Project - What Is Solus?". Archived from the original on June 9, 2016. Retrieved June 13, 2016.
- ^ a b Maxwell McGee (November 15, 2010). "The Ball Review". Gamespot. Archived from the original on April 7, 2014. Retrieved March 14, 2014.
- ^ a b c Evan Lahti (January 18, 2011). "The Ball Review". PC Gamer. Archived from the original on December 13, 2013. Retrieved March 1, 2014.
- ^ Teotl Studios staff. "Meet the Developers".
- ^ Teotl Studios staff (July 30, 2010). "Developer Friday – Theodore Wohng". Teotl Studios. Archived from the original on January 7, 2014. Retrieved March 4, 2014.
- ^ "The Ball is Rolling…". Mod DB. October 17, 2008. Archived from the original on January 6, 2014. Retrieved March 4, 2014.
- ^ Teotl Studios staff (November 5, 2009). "The Ball UDK Demo Released". Teotl Studios. Archived from the original on July 16, 2011. Retrieved November 29, 2010.
- ^ Teotl Studios staff (October 26, 2010). "Release!". Teotl Studios. Archived from the original on August 6, 2014. Retrieved March 4, 2014.
- ^ "The Ball Coming To Ouya". Ouya Report. Archived from the original on June 24, 2013. Retrieved June 5, 2013.
- ^ a b "The Ball for PC". Game Rankings. Archived from the original on March 1, 2014. Retrieved March 1, 2014.
- ^ a b "The Ball Critic Reviews". Metacritic. Archived from the original on December 13, 2024. Retrieved November 29, 2010.
- ^ Kristan Reed (October 29, 2010). "The Ball". Eurogamer.
- ^ a b Charles Onyett (October 25, 2010). "The Ball Review". IGN. Archived from the original on February 22, 2014. Retrieved March 2, 2014.
- ^ Epic Games staff (August 4, 2009). "Phase 3 Winners -$1 Million Intel Make Something Unreal Contest". Epic Games. Retrieved November 29, 2010.
- ^ John Callaham (February 18, 2010). "The Haunted wins grand prize in second Make Something Unreal mod contest". Big Download. Archived from the original on February 2, 2011. Retrieved November 29, 2010.
- ^ PC Gamer US Staff (January 11, 2011). "PC Gamer US's Games of the Year Awards". PC Gamer. PC Gamer US.
External links
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