Last month we interviewed Demergo Studios’ Todd Bluhm to get the lowdown on their iOS debut, function.repair. We’ve spent some time with the opening levels while it awaits Apple approval, so why not give you a little more insight into the game during the leadup to release?
The first gameplay element introduced in function.repair is the one that’ll stick in your memory the longest. The single-player campaign puts you in command of a space ship’s last remaining Fixbot, charged with – what else? – fixing damaged corridors. A Fixbot doesn’t get around like your average platforming hero. You swipe out from the Fixbot at an angle so it bounds from one wall to another and attaches itself through magnetism. Imagine if a frog could jump straight from the floor to the ceiling and you’ll have a pretty good feel for how this works. A laser sight and destination shadow help you aim the Fixbot as you move along. Not all walls and ceilings are created equal here: some will repel the Fixbot, drag it along like a conveyor belt, or even zap it to the tune of a Game Over. Pretty much all the expected platforming hazards are on tap here, only now you have to handle them in new ways. It’ll be interesting to see how function.repair’s co-op mode turns out with several players bouncing around all at once.
Blue orbs line the ship’s interior, with repairable areas marked by red or non-colored crystals. Plop the Fixbot within a reasonable distance of these and you can make it go to work simply by holding at the object. Tapping anywhere else onscreen makes the Fixbot fire its hand blaster — quite helpful when it crosses paths with the jelly aliens responsible for all the damage! Their motive, not to mention the goals of the scientists inhabiting this vessel, presents a mystery we’ll be busy unraveling until release day. Until then, check out the game’s new and improved website, Facebook page and Twitter feed for the latest!