Anyone raised from the late seventies on has probably dreamed about having one of their ideas turned into a video game, but how often does it actually happen? For a nine-year-old boy living in Seattle, the dream became a reality with Allied Star Police, a new iOS game from PopCap’s 4th & Battery division.
PopCap has announced the availability of Allied Star Police, the latest iOS game to hit the App Store from their 4th & Battery “experimental” label. The free, universal app is a side-scrolling, top down arcade-style game featuring a combination of tower defense and real-time strategy gameplay -- but behind the scenes, the game is the fulfillment of one boy’s dream.
"I have to say, my brother can’t stop playing it, my dad can’t stop playing it, and neither can I," said nine-year-old Owain Weinert of Seattle, Washington. “This started off as a dream of mine, and now my friends and people all over the world can play my creation."
That’s because Allied Star Police was actually conceived and designed by the young boy, the recipient of a dream fulfilled by the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Alaska and Washington. The all-ages game came from the nine-year-old’s imagination and was brought to life by members of 4th & Battery, who developed the game.
“Owain was literally like every other designer and developer I’ve worked with," said Matthew Lee Johnston, Senior Producer at 4th & Battery. “The minute he walked in the door he handed us a fully realized game design, figured out to the last detail. He stuck with that vision, and directed the team through the development process like a pro. When he first sat down to play it, he naturally knew what to do and won his first round easily, which felt to us like we did a good job executing on his plan.”
The young man’s dream was part of “PopCamp,” an in-house event where developers get to work on whatever projects they want. Owain was able to come into the PopCap offices weekly to work hands-on with the 4th & Battery team, and now the results of his work can be had (and played) by all.
Allied Star Police is a free universal app now available on the App Store; the 22.3MB download requires iOS 4.0 or later and is compatible with the iPhone, iPod touch or iPad. Game on -- this one’s for Owain!
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