Karn Bianco

Just Like Real Life

A unique and critically acclaimed take on the SHMUP genre. (Sort of)

Just Like Real Life is a unique and critically acclaimed take on the SHMUP genre. It was developed over the course of 48 hours (5-7th October, 2012) for the JournoDevSwap game jam hosted by Ukie, in which professional games journalists (with the help of student programmers) and games developers swapped places for the day.

The game’s key twist comes in the form of bouncing bullets. Every shot you fire will bounce off the scenery around you and subsequently pose a threat to your continued survival. The threat is often far greater than that posed by the enemies which also surround you wherever you go. You are, as ever, your own worst enemy. Just Like [in] Real Life

Developing Just Like Real Life was made possible thanks the extremely intuitive Unity game engine, as well as regular design input from journalist-turned-designer Lewie Procter. Additional selling points include an original, semi-procedural soundtrack by Micheal Bowerman, and an online high score table (now defunct 😢) topped off with “infinite” gameplay.