''AaaaaAAaaaAAAaaAAAAaAAAAA!!! — A Reckless Disregard for Gravity'' (officially abbreviated as ''AaAaAA!!! – A Reckless Disregard for Gravity'') is a 2009 video game developed by

Dejobaan Games Dejobaan Games, LLC is an American video game developer based in Boston, Massachusetts. The company was founded in 1999 by Ichiro Lambe, and originally developed games for mobile devices, but has since branched out to other products for Micro ...

for

Microsoft Windows Windows is a group of several proprietary graphical operating system families developed and marketed by Microsoft. Each family caters to a certain sector of the computing industry. For example, Windows NT for consumers, Windows Server for serv ...

. Taking place in the year 2011 in an alternate reality version of Boston, Massachusetts, players BASE jump from the highest building, trying to get the highest possible score.

Gameplay

''AaAaAA!!! – A Reckless Disregard for Gravity'' is a game where players BASE jump headfirst from the top of the highest building downwards. The game is viewed in a 3D first-person perspective. Players score points by flying near objects on the way down, smashing through various colored glass plates, landing via

parachute A parachute is a device used to slow the motion of an object through an atmosphere by creating drag or, in a ram-air parachute, aerodynamic lift. A major application is to support people, for recreation or as a safety device for aviators, who ...

on a designated drop zone. Players also receive points for "kissing" (flying very close to) buildings or other airborne obstacles, and for "hugging" (remaining in close proximity to) these obstacles as they fall. Players receive bonus points for "threading the needle", spraying paint on buildings, giving a thumbs-up to fans and making rude gestures to protestors. Hitting a bird is also worth quite some points. Hugs and kisses are the main way to increase score. Structures, obstacles, and objects vary amongst levels. Some levels feature mountain slopes, floating and/or moving structures, birds, and

abstract art Abstract art uses visual language of shape, form, color and line to create a composition which may exist with a degree of independence from visual references in the world. Western art had been, from the Renaissance up to the middle of the 19th ...

. Players are rated for how well they jump, and they attain "teeth" for achieving certain benchmark high scores on jumps. Teeth allow players to unlock new

level Level or levels may refer to: Engineering *Level (instrument), a device used to measure true horizontal or relative heights *Spirit level, an instrument designed to indicate whether a surface is horizontal or vertical *Canal pound or level *Regr ...

s, items (which includes espresso to help slow down jumps, graffiti to spray on buildings, and a glove designed to give a

thumbs up A thumb signal, usually described as a thumbs-up or thumbs-down, is a common hand gesture achieved by a closed fist held with the thumb extended upward or downward in approval or disapproval, respectively. These gestures have become metaphors i ...

to supporters or a

two-fingered salute The two-finger salute is a salute given using only the middle and index fingers, while bending the other fingers at the second knuckle, and with the palm facing the signer. This salute is used by the Polish Armed Forces, other uniformed service ...

to protesters), and other obscure things such as

guided meditation Meditation is a practice in which an individual uses a technique – such as mindfulness, or focusing the mind on a particular object, thought, or activity – to train attention and awareness, and achieve a mentally clear and emotionally calm ...

s and pig de-bristling techniques. Earning high enough scores allow players to post their scores on online leaderboards. Developers say the game was inspired by BASE jumping in a wingsuit.

Development

The first version of ''AaAaAA!!!'' was a

prototype A prototype is an early sample, model, or release of a product built to test a concept or process. It is a term used in a variety of contexts, including semantics, design, electronics, and Software prototyping, software programming. A prototyp ...

that was based on people who were base jumping off the side of a mountain. One of the challenges of developing this game was building a core gameplay mechanic and then simplifying it down to what was necessary. It was then developed as a

spin-off Spin-off may refer to: *Spin-off (media), a media work derived from an existing work *Corporate spin-off, a type of corporate action that forms a new company or entity * Government spin-off, civilian goods which are the result of military or gove ...

of a previous game, Inago Rage. Some of the influences during the development were Alternate Reality: The City,

M.U.L.E. ''M.U.L.E.'' is a 1983 multiplayer video game written for the Atari 8-bit family of home computers by Ozark Softscape. Designer Danielle Bunten Berry (credited as Dan Bunten) took advantage of the four joystick ports of the Atari 400 and 800 to ...

and

Koronis Rift ''Koronis Rift'' is a 1985 computer game from Lucasfilm Games. It was produced and designed by Noah Falstein. Originally developed for the Atari 8-bit family and the Commodore 64, ''Koronis Rift'' was ported to the Amstrad CPC, Apple II, MSX, ...

Reception

''AaAaAA!!! – A Reckless Disregard for Gravity'' has received generally favorable reviews, as seen by the aggregate scores of 81/100 at Metacritic. The game was a 2010 Independent Games Festival finalist for Excellence in Design. It was recognized by Guinness World Records for the "longest word in the title of a commercially released video game", being 28 characters long.

Legacy

In 2011 an updated version, subtitled ''For the Awesome'' was released in collaboration with

Owlchemy Labs Owlchemy Labs is a video game developer based in Austin, Texas. The company was founded in 2010 by Worcester Polytechnic Institute graduate Alex Schwartz. Owlchemy is best known for its virtual reality video games ''Job Simulator'' and '' Rick an ...

. It includes several graphical upgrades and new expert levels, as well as every level from the original game. Also added to this version was support for the Oculus Rift Virtual reality head-mounted display (HMD). In 2012, again in collaboration with Owlchemy Labs, mobile port ''Force = Mass x Acceleration'' was released for iOS and Android. The game currently has a rating of 90% on Metacritic based on 12 critic reviews. In a third collaboration with Owlchemy Labs, a second Android port titled ''Caaaardboard!!!! (AaAaAA! Cardboard Edition!)'' was released in 2014, designed solely for use with the Google Cardboard virtual reality platform.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:AaaaaAAaaaAAAaaAAAAaAAAAA!!! - A Reckless Disregard for Gravity 2009 video games Video games set in Boston 3D GameStudio games Oculus Rift games Parachuting video games Single-player video games Indie games Video games developed in the United States Windows games IOS games Android (operating system) games Dejobaan Games games