''Serious Sam Double D'' is a 2011
side-scrolling shooter
Shoot 'em ups (also known as shmups or STGs
) are a sub-genre of action games. There is no consensus as to which design elements compose a shoot 'em up; some restrict the definition to games featuring spacecraft and certain types of chara ...
game developed by
Mommy's Best Games and published by
Devolver Digital
Devolver Digital, Inc. is an American video game publisher based in Austin, Texas, specializing in the publishing of indie games. The company was founded in June 2009 by Nigel Lowrie, Harry Miller, Graeme Struthers, Rick Stults, and Mike Wilso ...
. The game follows Sam "Serious" Stone traveling through various historical settings to destroy the horde of his nemesis, Mental, and its teleportation beacons. As Sam, the player navigates 2D levels and can use the "gun stacker" to create vertical stacks of up to six weapons that are fired simultaneously. Enemies appear from all sides and their corpses can be used as platforms.
Announced in March 2011, ''Double D'' was created as part of the ''
Serious Sam
''Serious Sam'' is a video game series created and primarily developed by Croteam. It consists predominantly of first-person shooters. The series follows the advances of mercenary Sam "Serious" Stone against Mental, an extraterrestrial overlo ...
Indie Series'' to promote the release of ''
Serious Sam 3: BFE''. Devolver Digital requested a "''
Contra'' on
acid
In computer science, ACID ( atomicity, consistency, isolation, durability) is a set of properties of database transactions intended to guarantee data validity despite errors, power failures, and other mishaps. In the context of databases, a sequ ...
" and designer Nathan Fouts modeled the game after Mommy's Best Games's first release, ''
Weapon of Choice''. ''Double D'' debuted for
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 ...
in August 2011. ''Serious Sam Double D XXL'', an expanded version, was co-released by
Mastertronic
Mastertronic was originally a publisher and distributor of low-cost computer game software founded in 1983. Their first games were distributed in mid-1984. At its peak the label was one of the largest software publishers in the UK, achieved b ...
for the
Xbox 360
The Xbox 360 is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. As the successor to the original Xbox, it is the second console in the Xbox series. It competed with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation ...
via
Xbox Live Arcade in February 2013, introducing more content and a local
cooperative multiplayer mode. This version was ported back to Windows and released in October 2013 as a free update for the original game.
Both versions of ''Double D'' were met with mixed reviews. The gun stacker was well received, although a lack of depth was noted. The sound design was praised. Conflicting opinions were raised regarding the game's writing, level design, music, and visual style. Its repetitiveness and technical issues were criticized.
Gameplay
''Serious Sam Double D'' is a 2D
side-scrolling shooter
Shoot 'em ups (also known as shmups or STGs
) are a sub-genre of action games. There is no consensus as to which design elements compose a shoot 'em up; some restrict the definition to games featuring spacecraft and certain types of chara ...
with
run and gun,
platform, and exploration elements.
It is played as a
twin-stick shooter with a
gamepad or with a
keyboard
Keyboard may refer to:
Text input
* Keyboard, part of a typewriter
* Computer keyboard
** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping
** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware
Music
* Musi ...
–
mouse
A mouse ( : mice) is a small rodent. Characteristically, mice are known to have a pointed snout, small rounded ears, a body-length scaly tail, and a high breeding rate. The best known mouse species is the common house mouse (''Mus musculus' ...
control combination.
The primary objective is leading Sam "Serious" Stone through various historical settings, fight enemies from the horde of his nemesis, Mental, and destroy teleportation beacons it placed.
The antagonist is General Maxilla, who is leading the horde on Mental's behalf.
Sam, as the
player character
A player character (also known as a playable character or PC) is a fictional character in a video game or tabletop role-playing game whose actions are controlled by a player rather than the rules of the game. The characters that are not control ...
, traverses confined levels, most of which have a primary route leading to the right, while others have branching paths, and some include puzzles.
Enemies approach from multiple directions and attack using varying behaviors: some engage in
melee combat, others bear ranged weapons, and some act as
suicide bombers.
Sam can use up to four weapons of each of eight types, which can be collected throughout levels.
By default, he brandishes one machine pistol.
As part of the "gun stacker", using collectible connectors, the player can stack up to six weapons vertically and fire them simultaneously.
Eight stacks can be configured and at any time altered and swapped between.
Each gun has a separate type of ammunition, of which explosive projectiles may inflict self-harm on the character.
Once acquired, a portable jump pad can be thrown repeatedly. It remains where it lands, including on walls, and Sam and enemies bounce off it. Among other techniques,
wall jump
This list includes terms used in video games and the video game industry, as well as slang used by players.
0–9
A
...
s can be performed using it.
Sam's movement direction can be adjusted mid-air.
Upon death, enemies' corpses persist in place and become navigable platforms.
Some level sections continuously spawn enemies until enough corpses pave the way, either vertically or horizontally, for Sam to proceed.
Some collectibles are hidden, among them unlockable challenges that pit the player against a certain number of enemies with a pre-determined arsenal.
The game automatically saves the progress at
checkpoints
Checkpoint may refer to:
Places
* Border checkpoint, a place on the land border between two states where travellers and/or goods are inspected
* Security checkpoint, erected and enforced within contiguous areas under military or paramilitary cont ...
, while
quicksave
A saved game (also called a game save, savegame, savefile, save point, or simply save) is a piece of digitally stored information about the progress of a player in a video game.
From the earliest games in the 1970s onward, game platform hardw ...
s can be performed manually.
In ''Serious Sam Double D XXL'', each type of weapon has four distinct upgrades.
These, as well as ammunition, can be purchased from shops using currency dropped by enemies that are killed by player characters.
For the
local multiplayer mode, a second player, assuming the role of Dan "Huff" Huffington, can join in at any time and engage in
cooperative
A cooperative (also known as co-operative, co-op, or coop) is "an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly owned and democratically-control ...
gameplay. If either player character goes off-screen, he is automatically transported back to the other. If one of them dies, the other can resurrect him by collecting crosses the corpse emits.
Two players can also engage in
head-to-head combat in a separate mode.
Of the twenty-one levels in ''XXL'', three employ
auto-running gameplay using vehicles.
Development and release
''Serious Sam Double D''
''Serious Sam Double D'' was developed by
Mommy's Best Games, an
indie game
An indie game, short for independent video game, is a video game typically created by individuals or smaller development teams without the financial and technical support of a large game publisher, in contrast to most "AAA" (triple-A) games. ...
studio founded in 2007 by Nathan Fouts.
The studio had previously created ''
Weapon of Choice'' (its first), ''Shoot 1Up'', and ''Explosionade''.
After coming across ''Weapon of Choice'',
Devolver Digital
Devolver Digital, Inc. is an American video game publisher based in Austin, Texas, specializing in the publishing of indie games. The company was founded in June 2009 by Nigel Lowrie, Harry Miller, Graeme Struthers, Rick Stults, and Mike Wilso ...
, the publisher of the ''
Serious Sam
''Serious Sam'' is a video game series created and primarily developed by Croteam. It consists predominantly of first-person shooters. The series follows the advances of mercenary Sam "Serious" Stone against Mental, an extraterrestrial overlo ...
'' series, contacted Fouts, asking him to create a game as part of the ''Serious Sam Indie Series''. A triplet of
spin-offs to be created by small studios to promote the impending launch of ''
Serious Sam 3: BFE'', the ''Indie Series'' also encompasses ''
Serious Sam: Kamikaze Attack!'' and ''
Serious Sam: The Random Encounter''. Fouts had been a fan of the series, wherefore he accepted the request. The publisher sought a "''
Contra'' on
acid
In computer science, ACID ( atomicity, consistency, isolation, durability) is a set of properties of database transactions intended to guarantee data validity despite errors, power failures, and other mishaps. In the context of databases, a sequ ...
", while Fouts ruled out simply creating a
2D conversion of a previous ''Serious Sam'' game.
Fouts modeled ''Double D'' after ''Weapon of Choice'', re-using and improving on its development tools and
XNA-based
game engine
A game engine is a software framework primarily designed for the development of video games and generally includes relevant libraries and support programs. The "engine" terminology is similar to the term "software engine" used in the software i ...
.
Using a prototype image and specifications for the "gun stacker" mechanic, he pitched the idea to Devolver Digital, which replied with "Make this right now!"
The subtitle "''Double D'' characterizes that the game is in 2D, as opposed to previous entries in the series.
Fouts was responsible for the
design
A design is a plan or specification for the construction of an object or system or for the implementation of an activity or process or the result of that plan or specification in the form of a prototype, product, or process. The verb ''to design'' ...
, hand-drawn
art
Art is a diverse range of human activity, and resulting product, that involves creative or imaginative talent expressive of technical proficiency, beauty, emotional power, or conceptual ideas.
There is no generally agreed definition of wha ...
, animations,
programming, and
sound effects.
He was joined by three collaborators: Arizona-based Hamdija Ajanovic composed original music, Florida-based AJ Johnson wrote the story and dialog, and Richard Rosenthal provided further programming.
Croteam
Croteam is a Croatian video game developer based in Zagreb. The company was established by Davor Hunski, Damir Perović, Roman Ribarić and Dean Sekulić, four former classmates, in late August 1992. Croteam is best known for ''Serious Sam'', ...
, the main developer of the ''Serious Sam'' series, was hands-off in the development.
Devolver Digital rarely interfered with Fouts's creative direction but provided funding and marketing.
The gun stacker was conceived as Fouts wanted to include irregular guns (as he had in his previous games) but constrained himself to those from previous ''Serious Sam'' games.
At one point, up to twelve guns could be stacked, but Fouts considered this chaotic and reduced the number to six.
The ability to stack chainsaws was added in response to a comment by user greyson97 on a ''
Joystiq'' article about the game.
The jump pad was added to adapt the
circle strafing technique often used in 3D ''Serious Sam'' games.
For levels that require the player to pile enemy corpses, Fouts was inspired by game covers that depicted the protagonist standing on such a pile, although the games themselves had no such element.
He picked
ancient Egypt as the first setting, as fans of the series were already accustomed to it, and settled for original locations for later parts.
The game incorporates several enemies previously seen in other ''Serious Sam'' games, as well as original designs.
The ''Serious Sam Indie Series'' was announced by Devolver Digital in March 2011.
An early version of ''Double D'' was playable at the
PAX East
PAX (originally known as Penny Arcade Expo) is a series of gaming culture festivals involving tabletop, arcade, and video gaming. PAX is held annually in Seattle, Boston and Philadelphia in the United States; and Melbourne in Australia. PAX was ...
trade show later that month,
and at
E3 2011
The Electronic Entertainment Expo 2011 (E3 2011) was the 17th E3 held. The event took place at the Los Angeles Convention Center in Los Angeles, California. It began on June 7, 2011, and ended on June 9, 2011, with 46,800 total attendees. E3 201 ...
in June.
During development, Fouts was under pressure to finish his game before ''Serious Sam 3: BFE'' was released.
Three trailers were published, one in July and two in August: The first two showcased parts of the gameplay, while the third coincided with the launch.
Fouts was not significantly involved in their creation but liked them nonetheless.
''Double D'' was released for
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 ...
on August 30, 2011, as the first entry in the ''Serious Sam Indie Series''.
The game was
cracked by the Theta group within five hours of release, which Fouts described as "flattering" as it would have required high interest.
A free demo was made available in October.
Fouts held a
postmortem at the March 2012
Game Developers Conference.
''Serious Sam Double D XXL''
Following the release, Fouts took a break before commencing work on an
Xbox 360
The Xbox 360 is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. As the successor to the original Xbox, it is the second console in the Xbox series. It competed with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation ...
port in December 2011. Mommy's Best Games and Devolver Digital agreed on features that would make such a port worth releasing, which Fouts subsequently developed, following the content specifications for the platform.
By March 2012, Fouts was deeply engaged in creating new game art for a "(sorta) secret project" relating to ''Double D''.
Voice-over was added for all characters, with John Dick reprising his role as Sam.
For the
cooperative multiplayer mode, Fouts initially considered adding a "Hologram Sam", based on one of the characters from the multiplayer modes of other ''Serious Sam'' games, as the second player character. He eventually agreed with Michael Dalmon, the actor from the trailers, to use his voice and likeness, adding his character to the game as Dan "Huff" Huffington, along with additional dialog between him and Sam.
To combat repetitiveness and adjust the game's pacing, Fouts created more levels that required less shooting, of which some used vehicles and others necessitated strategizing.
Some existing levels were slightly adjusted to suit the changes made to guns and ammunition.
He stated that many of the elements added were previously not included in the original game due to time constraints.
The expanded release was announced in May 2012 as ''Serious Sam Double D XXL'' with a projected release later that year.
The certification process for
Xbox Live Arcade was completed in December 2012.
In a two-part "Gun Diary" series of videos publicized between January and February 2013, Fouts explained the additions made to ''XXL''.
By February, he lent most of his work time to marketing efforts for the game.
Ajanovic, Johnson and Rosenthal also worked on this version in their respective capacities.
A launch trailer was released alongside ''XXL''.
Devolver Digital released the game through Xbox Live Arcade on February 20, 2013, co-publishing it with
Mastertronic
Mastertronic was originally a publisher and distributor of low-cost computer game software founded in 1983. Their first games were distributed in mid-1984. At its peak the label was one of the largest software publishers in the UK, achieved b ...
.
Mommy's Best Games held a launch event titled "Shave and a Haircut 8-Bit" in March in
Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border ...
, and invited local game developers to showcase their work.
At the time, Fouts stated that ''XXL'' was likely to arrive on
personal computer
A personal computer (PC) is a multi-purpose microcomputer whose size, capabilities, and price make it feasible for individual use. Personal computers are intended to be operated directly by an end user, rather than by a computer expert or tec ...
s at some point.
In June 2013, he started porting the game to the platform, cleaning up
hard-coded
Hard coding (also hard-coding or hardcoding) is the software development practice of embedding data directly into the source code of a program or other executable object, as opposed to obtaining the data from external sources or generating it at ...
elements, and after a break continued development in September.
''XXL'' was released on Steam on October 21, 2013, as a free update for existing owners of ''Double D'', which remained playable separately.
''The Serious Sam Collection'', a physical compilation of Serious Sam games including ''XXL'' for Xbox 360, was released by Mastertronic and
Maximum Games
Maximum Games, Inc. is an American video game publisher based in Walnut Creek, California. Originally founded in 2009 as a publisher of family-oriented titles for the Nintendo DS and Nintendo Wii, the company shifted to publishing games of all ge ...
in July 2013.
The game was altered to run directly off the
disc and without requiring a connection to the
Xbox Live
The Xbox network, formerly and still sometimes branded as Xbox Live, is an Internet, online multiplayer video game, multiplayer gaming and digital media delivery service created and operated by Microsoft. It was first made available to the Xbox ...
services, which was otherwise a requirement of XNA-based games. Fouts believed that this was the first time an XNA game had been distributed physically.
''XXL'' continued to "sell well" through 2015, although sales had been declining.
The Xbox 360 version was delisted from Xbox Live Arcade shortly after Mastertronic filed for
administration
Administration may refer to:
Management of organizations
* Management, the act of directing people towards accomplishing a goal
** Administrative assistant, Administrative Assistant, traditionally known as a Secretary, or also known as an admini ...
in November 2015.
Reception
''Serious Sam Double D'' received "mixed or average reviews", according to the
review aggregator
A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews of products and services (such as films, books, video games, software, hardware, and cars). This system stores the reviews and uses them for purposes such as supporting a website where users ...
website
Metacritic
Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...
, which calculated a
weighted average rating of 66/100 for the original version and one of 68/100 for ''XXL''.
Jacob Siegal (''
VentureBeat
''VentureBeat'' is an American technology website headquartered in San Francisco, California. It publishes news, analysis, long-form features, interviews, and videos.
History
The ''VentureBeat'' company was founded in 2006 by Matt Marshall, a ...
'') ranked it as the fourth-best indie game of 2011.
Several critics responded to using the gun stacker variously with joy, satisfaction, or a sense of empowerment.
Jim Sterling (''
Destructoid
''Destructoid'' is a website that was founded as a video game-focused blog in March 2006 by Yanier Gonzalez, a Cuban-American cartoonist and author. Enthusiast Gaming acquired the website in 2017, and sold it to Gamurs Group in 2022.
History
' ...
'') called it "clever", saying that it added a "perfect level of freshness" to the ''Serious Sam'' formula, which Iain Farquhar (''
Bit-Tech'') opined had been adapted faithfully. However, Sterling and Farquhar each cited a lack of depth in the mechanic, finding themselves using the same weapon combinations for most of the game.
Simon Parkin and Patrick Hancock, reviewing ''XXL'' for ''
Eurogamer
''Eurogamer'' is a British video game journalism website launched in 1999 and owned by alongside formed company Gamer Network. Its editor-in-chief is Martin Robinson.
Since 2008, it is known for the formerly eponymous games trade fair EGX ...
'' and ''Destructoid'', respectively, considered ''Double D'' a good fit for the ''Serious Sam'' series, although Sterling believed that it would have limited appeal to players with no background knowledge of the series.
Some reviewers criticized the game's repetitiveness, where Ozzie Mejia (''
Shacknews
''Shacknews'' (originally Quakeholio, then ShugaShack) is a website that hosts news, features, editorial content and forums relating to computer games and Video game console, console games. It is currently owned by a company called Gamerhub Cont ...
'') specifically pointed out the commonality between bosses.
According to Rich Stanton (''Eurogamer''), the shooting in the game was "quantity over quality" and did not feel good enough to make up for its extensive usage.
Speaking of the upgrades introduced in ''XXL'', Parkin said that they critically changed the game and its feel.
Stanton further disliked that explosions inflict self-harm and found little replay value.
Hancock noted a lack of a "meaningful"
learning curve
A learning curve is a graphical representation of the relationship between how Skill, proficient people are at a task and the amount of experience they have. Proficiency (measured on the vertical axis) usually increases with increased experience ...
.
David Sanchez (''GameZone'') opined that the level design was "nicely varied",
although Parkin called it "scattershot and somewhat amateurish".
Charles Onyett (''
IGN
''IGN'' (formerly ''Imagine Games Network'') is an American video game and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa distri ...
'') was entertained by the difficulty progression.
The change of pace posed by the puzzle sections was welcomed by Stanton and Adam Smith (''
Rock Paper Shotgun''), of whom Stanton had wished that there were more.
Hancock labeled the unlockable challenges as "interesting" due to their limited arsenal, while Farquhar opined that they added little content beyond the campaign.
Furthermore, Hancock considered the head-to-head mode in ''XXL'' a "throwaway distraction".
The writing received conflicting responses: Sterling called the humor "genuinely amusing",
Onyett characterized it as "childish" but found it fitting for the game's tone,
Sanchez described the writing as "pretty sharp and filled with genuine laugh-out-loud moments",
and Mejia expressed general enjoyment.
Conversely, Smith stated that the writing was bland, and the dialog unnecessary and "not amusing",
Killham felt that its jokes "generally fall flat",
and Hancock said that the humor was "very hit or miss, though it misses way more often".
Killham positively regarded the visual variety, while Stanton considered the animations "nice".
However, Stanton also labeled ''Double D'' as "not a great-looking game" and Hancock criticized the visuals as "bordering on generic".
Contrarily, Sanchez considered them "cool" and apt for the game.
Stanton praised the sound design as effective, while Hancock labeled the music as "generic".
Farquhar experienced "mushy and unresponsive" controls and
input lag
Input lag or input latency is the amount of time that passes between sending an electrical signal and the occurrence of a corresponding action.
In video games the term is often used to describe any latency between an input and either the game or ...
in ''Double D'';
long loading times and occasional
frame rate
Frame rate (expressed in or FPS) is the frequency (rate) at which consecutive images (frames) are captured or displayed. The term applies equally to film and video cameras, computer graphics, and motion capture systems. Frame rate may also be ca ...
issues were reported for the Xbox 360 version of ''XXL'' by others.
Notes
References
External links
*
*
{{Authority control
2011 video games
Devolver Digital games
Horizontally scrolling shooters
Indie games
Microsoft XNA games
Mommy's Best Games games
Multiplayer and single-player video games
Serious Sam
Video games developed in the United States
Video games set in Canada
Video games set in Egypt
Video games set in Italy
Windows games
Xbox 360 Live Arcade games