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

video game A video game or computer game is an electronic game that involves interaction with a user interface or input device (such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device) to generate visual fe ...

developed by Dejobaan Games for

Microsoft Windows Windows is a Product lining, product line of Proprietary software, proprietary graphical user interface, graphical operating systems developed and marketed by Microsoft. It is grouped into families and subfamilies that cater to particular sec ...

. Taking place in the year 2011 in an alternate reality version of

Boston, Massachusetts Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

, players

BASE jump BASE jumping () is the recreational sport of jumping from fixed objects, using a parachute to descend to the ground. BASE is an acronym that stands for four categories of fixed objects from which one can jump: buildings, antenna (radio), antenna ...

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 A first-person narrative (also known as a first-person perspective, voice, point of view, etc.) is a mode of storytelling in which a storyteller recounts events from that storyteller's own personal point of view, using first-person grammar suc ...

Player Player may refer to: Role or adjective * Player (game), a participant in a game or sport ** Gamer, a player in video and tabletop games ** Athlete, a player in sports ** Player character, a character in a video game or role playing game who i ...

s score points by flying near objects on the way down, smashing through various colored glass plates, landing via

parachute A parachute is a device designed to slow an object's descent through an atmosphere by creating Drag (physics), drag or aerodynamic Lift (force), lift. It is primarily used to safely support people exiting aircraft at height, but also serves va ...

on a designated

drop zone A drop zone (DZ) is a place where parachutists or parachuted supplies land. It can be an area targeted for landing by paratroopers and airborne forces, or a base from which recreational parachutists and skydivers take off in aircraft and land ...

. 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. Players can also score points by hitting a bird. 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 (visual arts), composition which may exist with a degree of independence from visual references in the world. ''Abstract art'', ''non-figurative art'', ''non- ...

. 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 (optical instrument), a device used to measure true horizontal or relative heights * Spirit level or bubble level, an instrument designed to indicate whether a surface is horizontal or vertical *C ...

s, items (which includes

espresso Espresso (, ) is a concentrated form of coffee produced by forcing hot water under high pressure through finely ground coffee beans. Originating in Italy, espresso has become one of the most popular coffee-brewing methods worldwide. It is cha ...

to help slow down jumps,

graffiti Graffiti (singular ''graffiti'', or ''graffito'' only in graffiti archeology) is writing or drawings made on a wall or other surface, usually without permission and within public view. Graffiti ranges from simple written "monikers" to elabor ...

to spray on buildings, and a glove designed to give a thumbs up to supporters or a two-fingered salute to protesters), and other obscure things such as guided meditations 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 BASE jumping () is the recreational sport of jumping from fixed objects, using a parachute to descend to the ground. BASE is an acronym that stands for four categories of fixed objects from which one can jump: buildings, antenna (radio), antenna ...

in a

wingsuit Wingsuit flying (or wingsuiting) is the sport of skydiving using a webbing-sleeved jumpsuit called a wingsuit to add webbed area to the diver's body and generate increased lift (force), lift, which allows extended air time (parachuting), air time ...

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 prototype ...

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, Spin Off, Spin-Off, or Spinoff may refer to: Entertainment and media *Spinoff (media), a media work derived from an existing work *''The Spinoff'', a New Zealand current affairs magazine * ''Spin Off'' (Canadian game show), a 2013 Canad ...

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 multiplayer video game written for Atari 8-bit computers by Ozark Softscape. Designer Danielle Bunten Berry (credited as Dan Bunten) takes advantage of the four joystick ports of the Atari 400 and 800 to allow four-player si ...

'' and '' Koronis Rift''.

Reception

''AaAaAA!!! – A Reckless Disregard for Gravity'' has received generally favorable reviews, as seen by the aggregate scores of 81/100 at

Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...

. The game was a 2010

Independent Games Festival The Independent Games Festival (IGF) is an annual festival at the Game Developers Conference (GDC), the largest annual gathering of the independent video game industry. Originally founded in 1998 to promote independent video game developers, ...

finalist for Excellence in Design. It was recognized by

Guinness World Records ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a British reference book published annually, list ...

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. 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 Oculus Rift is a discontinued line of virtual reality headsets, virtual reality headsets developed and manufactured by Oculus VR, a virtual reality company founded by Palmer Luckey that is widely credited with reviving the virtual reality indust ...

Virtual reality Virtual reality (VR) is a Simulation, simulated experience that employs 3D near-eye displays and pose tracking to give the user an immersive feel of a virtual world. Applications of virtual reality include entertainment (particularly video gam ...

head-mounted display A head-mounted display (HMD) is a display device, worn on the head or as part of a helmet (see helmet-mounted display for aviation applications), that has a small display optic in front of one (monocular HMD) or each eye (binocular vision, bi ...

(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 Google Cardboard is a discontinued virtual reality (VR) platform developed by Google. Named for its fold-out cardboard viewer into which a smartphone is inserted, the platform was intended as a low-cost system to encourage interest and developm ...

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