MechRunner has been in development for a little over a year now and we're excited to finally present it to the world! The game is in its final stages and we're hoping to give it the strong finish that it deserves - so we'd be thrilled to have YOUR support as we put all of the polish and TLC into this game that we can before launch. Want to know more? Read on!

Story

On June 30th, 1908 a mysterious explosion took place over the Tunguska River in Siberia, Russia that wiped out trees and wildlife for over 800 square miles. To this day it remains the largest “impact event” in our planet’s recorded history.

In the years that followed, dozens of scientific expeditions to the site attempted to explain the disaster but failed to come to any conclusions. In the mid-1940s however, a team of scientists from the Russian secret service visiting the site stumbled upon the wreckage of an alien spacecraft containing technology that far exceeded our own. In the years that followed, the KGB set to work harnessing this mysterious new power source and created a new secret weapons program - The Division of Advanced Weaponry or "O.S.O."

They thought they could control the new power they’d discovered, but it began to do more than run their machines. It began to drive the men working on it mad. The man in charge of the O.S.O., General Yuri Petrakoff, seemed particularly affected and on April 14th, 1949, Petrakoff launched a full scale assault on Europe.

One of Petrakoff’s lead engineers, Jesper Teterev, went AWOL and left the program early, wary of what was happening there. He went to live in secret with his sister, Isabel and niece, Allison. While in hiding however, Jesper (with the help of budding engineer and pilot, Allison) was busy building his own mechanized war machine, called the XP-41, certain it may be needed one day to stave off the O.S.O.'s evil creations. Jesper was right.

Jesper, Allison, and Gen. Petrakoff

The XP-41

Gameplay

MechRunner is an endless-style arcade action game mixed with fast and furious mode-changing mech action!

It is a "runner" in that the player is constantly moving forward while tracking down lethal O.S.O. forces but what makes it special is that you’re piloting a giant robot capable of some serious destruction! Other endless runners feature action elements, but none like this. Heat seeking missiles, heavy caliber bullets, laser cannons, and concussion bombs meet destructible buildings, debris littered streets, and tons of slice-able enemies to create a fast paced, visually stunning experience!

A typical game may take anywhere from a few seconds to several minutes to play. The higher your skill, the longer the game, the more rewards you will collect, and the more content you will unlock!

Features

Meticulously detailed, fast-paced action

Switch between Tank and Robot modes on the fly

Slice & Dice enemy units with your swords

Extensive arsenal of weapons, customizations, and power-ups

Unique environments that blend seamlessly together

Procedurally generated levels for endless variety

Numerous enemy types with different tactics

Epic boss battles!

Dynamic environment obstacles

Unlockable skins, upgrades, and achievements

Rescue civilians for extra points and rewards

Amazing Hollywood quality soundtrack

Optional controls - play with a mouse or controller

A few of the weapon upgrades that are available...

Click to view the XP-41 in full 3D!

MechRunner will be available on Steam®, Playstation® 4, and Playstation® Vita.

We've been hard at work making a fun arcade-style action game like the ones that we all enjoyed as kids. We're close to the end and just need that final push to get us across the finish line. The game's mechanics are all in place, but we want to put those final touches on it that we know gamers want and deserve. So where will the money go? We want to:

Finalize the boss battles for each district

Weave more of the story elements into the game.

Hire professional voice actors for in-game dialogue.

Add more sound effects and music

Bug test (QA)

Optimize for all platforms

Market the game upon release

Spark Plug Games is small team of experienced and dedicated independent game developers based out of Cary, NC. Many of us have been in games for 15+ years and we've done it all, making everything from PC games to console to mobile. We've made hard core games, casual games, and even serious games. But mostly we like to make games that we enjoy playing - and that's why we're making MechRunner.

SPG has shipped more than a dozen titles since our founding in 2008 and, as developers, we've shipped more than 50 games throughout our careers. Here's a quick list of some of the games SPG team members have worked on:

Civilization 2 || Robotech: Battlecry || Robotech: Invasion || Spy vs. Spy || Marvel: The Trading Card Game || Flushed Away || Dead Head Fred || PuzzleQuest || PuzzleQuest 2 || The Clockwork Tower || Escape from Frankenstein's Castle || Plight of the Zombie.

We're also hard at work on Firefly Online, due out later this year.

To create MechRunner, we're partnering with the uber-talented JOSH NIZZI. Josh is responsible for many of the incredible designs you see in some of Hollywood's top-grossing blockbusters like Transformers, Thor, Wolverine, Spider-Man, Iron Man, The Avengers, and more!! (Yes, you read that list right.) Josh has provided all of the visual design for the game and created some of the most detailed and awesome mechs you're likely to see in a video game... ever!

Learn more about Josh on his website.

Grammy®-nominated composer DAVID JOSEPH WESLEY brings an amazing amount of talent and experience to the MechRunner team. Dave's created a thrilling and memorable soundtrack that takes the already intense levels of action in the game to new heights. Check him out on the web, facebook, and twitter, and listen to a couple sample tracks from the game below:

Samples from the MechRunner soundtrack:

Here's a video about the game that we put together in co-operation with the Hunt Library at NC State University:

Click image for a larger preview.

**The XP-41 statue is currently IN PRODUCTION.**

The image above is a render of the sculpt being used for the statue. We're working with the amazing 3D printing artists at OWNAGE to make the most awesome, detailed model we can. Below is a sample of some of their previous work.

Click image for larger preview.

Click for a larger preview.