Have you heard? We’re making a wholesome sandbox game about designing and building robots to serve the needs of squishy, hapless humans in the world of tomorrow. It’s called RoboCo, it’s our biggest and most ambitious game to date, and it’s coming to Steam Early Access for PC desktop (and VR!) in 2021. Here’s a look:
RoboCo | Gameplay Trailer (YouTube)
Supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF) Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program, RoboCo is a game-based learning robotics experience focused on fostering STEM interest in young people. By assembling robots piece by piece, rigging each creation with motors, gears, and customizable wireless controls, players will be able to form hypotheses, build robots, test, and iterate, mirroring the processes of hands-on, project-based robotics and maker programs.
In addition to an expansive sandbox mode, RoboCo also features an array of decidedly silly challenge levels, each testing players’ ability to build to specification and meet the needs of the human inhabitants within. For example, our Sandwich Server challenge tasks players with navigating a busy diner in order to deliver a meal to a hungry human, requiring a robot with maneuverability and the ability to pick up, transport, and deliver a delicate meal. These tasks serve as a model of the underlying dynamics of engineering design: identifying a problem, thinking critically, and developing a solution engineered specifically to that problem.
Since first unveiling the game on our dev blog back in March 2019, we’ve seen a ton of excitement from fans on sites like Twitter and Reddit, in-person indie gaming events like PAX West, and most recently, online showcases like the Steam Games Festival and EGX. Oh, and content creators across YouTube and Twitch adore RoboCo too – with folks like ScrapMan, Robbaz, Giantwaffle, and more highlighting an early version of the game on their channels. RoboCo is our studio’s passion project, and the game simply wouldn’t exist without the love we receive every day from our fans and followers like you. 🤖💙
What’s next for RoboCo? While we’re not ready to announce our release date quite yet, we’re working every day on new features and improvements with our sights set on a 2021 launch on Steam Early Access. In the meantime, we’re currently inviting educators and robotics coaches to sign up to playtest RoboCo – so if this describes you and you’d like to get your hands on an early version of the game, be sure to sign up. And for everyone else – we invite you to learn even more about RoboCo and follow our development progress using the links below!
⚙️ Add RoboCo to your Steam wishlist
⚙️ Read our dev blog
⚙️ Follow us on Twitter
⚙️ Join the RoboCo community on Discord