Bit Pilot is a 2010 bullet hellaction game created by the American indie developer Zach Gage. In the game, the player controls a spaceship and must continuously dodge incoming asteroids and lasers. Released on March 4, 2010, for iOS, the game was praised for its graphics and soundtrack but faced mixed opinions for its gameplay and controls.
Gameplay
In Bit Pilot, the player must maneuver a ship to dodge incoming asteroids and lasers.
In Bit Pilot, the player controls a spaceship and must avoid incoming lasers and asteroids.[1][2] The player can control the speed and direction of the spaceship by swiping on the screen.[3][4] As the game progresses, the asteroids gradually increase in size.[1][5] When the player comes in contact with an obstacle, they lose one surrounding shield from their spaceship; hitting an asteroid without any shields or touching a laser triggers a game over.[6] Pill-shaped power-ups occasionally spawn and give the player bonus points or an additional shield.[1] Gaining enough points will unlock new modes, music, and themes.[6]
The game has two modes of gameplay: Super Massive and Tunnels. In Super Massive mode, asteroids are smaller and faster,[7] but power-ups spawn more frequently and increase the player's size when collected.[1][8] while in Tunnels mode, the player must evade larger asteroids.[8] Additionally, the player may select one of two difficulty modes—Easy or Normal—that change the number of asteroids in the game.[9]
Development and release
Bit Pilot was developed by Zach Gage, a New York City-based indie developer. While developing the game, Gage optimized the asteroids' collision checking.[10]Bit Pilot's soundtrack was composed by Sabrepulse, and the leaderboards were run by OpenFeint.[6] The game was released for iOS on March 4, 2010.[4] In June 2011, Game Center support and two game modes—Super Massive and Tunnels—were added.[8]Bit Pilot was showcased at the Austin Film Festival in September 2011 and the Hayden Planetarium in January 2012.[11][12]
On Metacritic, Bit Pilot has a "generally favorable" score of 78 based on nine critics.[13]
Bit Pilot's gameplay had received mixed opinions. Most reviewers praised the game as exciting and noticed its likeness to retro video games.[5][6][9][15][16] However, critics felt that including rewards after collecting enough points did not add to the game's replay value,[6][14] and others commented on its lack of variety.[9][17]
The game's controls had mixed opinions. Although some reviewers thought the swiping mechanic was unique and precise,[4][6][14] others criticized how the controls were unresponsive and complicated to learn.[4][6] Chris Reed of Slide to Play stated that he preferred for Bit Pilot to have a single movement stick,[15] while Andrew Hayward of GamesRadar+ described them as "the most responsive [they had] experienced to date".[7]
Critics praised Bit Pilot's graphics and soundtrack;[2][4][6][17] some felt that they complemented the game's retro theme,[4][9][17] while a reviewer from The A.V. Club stated the graphics "[belied] the atrocious challenge at hand".[5] Reed praised unlocking soundtracks as a reward, writing that they were "far more pleasing" than a leaderboard ranking.[15]
^ abcdefgFlodine, Dave (March 9, 2010). "Bit Pilot Review". AppSpy. Archived from the original on November 9, 2024. Retrieved November 9, 2024.
^ abcdFischer, Russ; Heisler, Steve; Jones, Scott; Nelson, Samantha; Teti, John; Wolinsky, David (March 29, 2010). "Sawbuck Gamer: March 29, 2010". The A.V. Club. Archived from the original on September 12, 2011. Retrieved November 9, 2024.
^ abcdefghiFanguy, Jason (March 8, 2010). "Bit Pilot". 148Apps. Archived from the original on November 9, 2024. Retrieved November 9, 2024.
