2002 · Action · Science

Phase Zero

Phase Zero is an unreleased action-shooter video game that was in development by Hyper Image Productions and originally planned to be published by Atari Corporation on a scheduled September 1995 release date exclusively for the Atari Jaguar. It was the only game in development by Hyper Image. Assuming the role of a newcomer pilot from the titular squadron assigned to fight against an rival organization only known as The Collective in a foreign planet, players take control of a windowless VTV hovertank craft called Hunter in order to complete a series of missions and tasks, while battling against enemy VTV hovertanks. Hyper Image was originally working on a top-down shooter for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, before the team later moved to the Jaguar with Phase Zero and opted to use their own interpretation of the heightmap technique to render the landscapes and visuals, in addition of also placing emphasis on LAN play for multiplayer.

Released: 1 June 2002
Platforms: Atari Jaguar SNES
Genres: Action Science Shooter
Developers: —
Publishers: —
Themes: Action
Country: United States
Languages: English

About

Phase Zero is an unfinished shooter video game that was being developed by Hyper Image Productions and would have been published by Atari for the Atari Jaguar. Set in the future on a terrestrial planet, the player takes on the role of a newcomer to the Phase Zero squad, piloting a hovercraft to fight rival corporate states. The player is tasked with various objectives while fighting enemies in multiple missions.

Phase Zero was the first project by Hyper Image, a game company led by Jeremy Gordon, Matías Duarte, and brothers Otávio Good and Paul Good. In 1994, the group took an academic hiatus and banded together to enter the video game industry by establishing Hyper Image. The game was initially conceived as a top-down shooter for the Super NES, but the team decided to move with Jaguar due to its powerful hardware, opting to use heightmaps for the graphics and support local area network (LAN) play for multiplayer. It was produced by Ted Tahquechi, who worked on Jaguar titles such as Cybermorph and Kasumi Ninja.

The articlegameplay, story, development, reception

Gameplay

Phase Zero is a three-dimensional shooter game played from a first-person perspective, similar to AirCars and Hover Strike. The premise takes place in the future on a terrestrial planet, where the player assumes the role of a newcomer to the Phase Zero squad, piloting a Hunter-class VTV hovercraft to fight the Pulsar Collective and the Miner's Consortium, two rival corporate states seeking control of the territory by the Foundation Prime corporation. The player is tasked with completing mission objectives, ranging from rescuing a stranded soldier to destroying enemies.

The player controls the hovercraft in a landscape featuring six degrees of freedom and destructible environments, while navigating through checkpoints and fighting enemies. The heads-up display of the hovercraft shows various functions such as shields, radar, and checkpoint markers, while the player can also open a map screen, balance the ship's shields, and select weapons. There are several types of weapons, but only four can be equipped at a time, while some missions may assign preset weapons to the player. The game contains nine missions set in a variety of landscapes and some have terrain features including deserts, ramps, rivers and hills.

Development

Phase Zero was the first project by Hyper Image Productions, a Maryland-based game developer led by Jeremy Gordon, Matías Duarte, and brothers Otávio Good and Paul Good. Gordon met Duarte in high school and the Good brothers at the University of Maryland. In 1994, the group took an academic hiatus and banded together to enter the video game industry by establishing Hyper Image, with Paul investing the insurance money he received after suffering a car accident years earlier. They moved from an apartment to a house with four other members, including Bill Lanides, Andy Carlson, Sterling Krauss, and an intern known only as Damian.

The game was originally conceived as a top-down shooter with exploration elements for the Super NES, but Hyper Image later signed to become a licensed game developer for the Jaguar. The team decided to go with Jaguar because they found its hardware to be powerful and support from Atari. It was produced by Ted Tahquechi of Atari, who worked on several Jaguar titles such as Cybermorph and Kasumi Ninja.