''SketchFighter 4000 Alpha'' is a

scrolling shooter In computer displays, filmmaking, television production, and other kinetic displays, scrolling is sliding text, images or video across a monitor or display, vertically or horizontally. "Scrolling," as such, does not change the layout of the text ...

with a focus on exploration for

Mac OS X macOS (; previously OS X and originally Mac OS X) is a Unix operating system developed and marketed by Apple Inc. since 2001. It is the primary operating system for Apple's Mac computers. Within the market of desktop and lapt ...

. The game was created by

Lost Minds Lost may refer to getting lost, or to: Geography * Lost, Aberdeenshire, a hamlet in Scotland * Lake Okeechobee Scenic Trail, or LOST, a hiking and cycling trail in Florida, US History *Abbreviation of lost work, any work which is known to have be ...

together with

Ambrosia Software Ambrosia Software was a predominantly Macintosh software company founded in 1993 and located in Rochester, New York, U.S. Ambrosia Software was best known for its Macintosh remakes of older arcade games, which began with a 1992 version of Atari, ...

. ''SketchFighter'' uses

OpenGL OpenGL (Open Graphics Library) is a cross-language, cross-platform application programming interface (API) for rendering 2D and 3D vector graphics. The API is typically used to interact with a graphics processing unit (GPU), to achieve ha ...

and a custom

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 softwar ...

to create visuals for all elements of the game reminiscent of hand-drawn sketches. ''SketchFighter'' is distributed as

shareware Shareware is a type of proprietary software that is initially shared by the owner for trial use at little or no cost. Often the software has limited functionality or incomplete documentation until the user sends payment to the software developer ...

; specifically,

crippleware Crippleware has been defined in realms of both computer software and hardware. In software, crippleware means that "vital features of the program such as printing or the ability to save files are disabled until the user purchases a registration key ...

as only a subset of the game is playable prior to registration. In 2020, ''SketchFighter'' was re-released for the

Mac App Store The App Store (also known as the Mac App Store) is a digital distribution platform for macOS apps, often referred to as Mac apps, created and maintained by Apple Inc. The platform was announced on October 20, 2010, at Apple's "Back to the Mac" ...

Gameplay

''SketchFighter'''s gameplay consists of using the ship to explore different "zones" or areas in the game. Players must fight a variety of enemies as they explore and progress through the game. Players acquire different power-up items in the game, such as different weapon types, different colors of weapons, improved shields, and faster and stronger engines. Some of these power-ups require defeating a boss; others are offered for exploring new areas of the map, including areas that can be unlocked by the player through the use of the newly acquired power-up (one of many.) The ship can navigate forward and backward and rotate. Strafing is not supported; the ship fires in the direction it is facing (within a random margin of error). ''SketchFighter'' offers two-player cooperative and competitive modes, and it includes a Web-based high score board. ''SketchFighter'' also includes a custom level generator that the player can use to create their own levels.

References

External links

Official Web SiteMacWorld News: SketchFighter game evokes grade school doodlingInside Mac Games Preview: ''SketchFighter 4000 Alpha''
2006 video games MacOS games MacOS-only games Classic Mac OS games Ambrosia Software games Video games developed in Sweden {{scroll-shooter-videogame-stub