David Jaffe consulting on Autoduel, multiplayer car combat game coming to Kickstarter

Noted Twisted Metal and God of War designer David Jaffe has signed on with Pixelbionic, a new independent games studio formed in southern California late last year. Jaffe will take a creative advisory role to aid in Pixelbionic's first game, Autoduel – an online vehicular combat game for the PC that will seek funding on Kickstarter sometime soon.

On the advisory board, Jaffe is joined by Zack Norman, the creator of Interstate '76, and Chanel Summers, a sound expert who helped design the audio systems of the Xbox hardware. There isn't much detail in the press release past the break about Autoduel itself, other than it's a team-based affair set in the post-apocalypse (of course) with "RPG-influenced persistence and progression gameplay."

Pixelbionic was founded by Maxx Kaufman – a founding member of inXile Entertainment with a long list of games to his name such as The Bard's Tale, Return to Castle Wolfenstein and the Redneck Rampage series – and Mike Arkin, who served as producer for many studios, including a stint at Fox Interactive where he helped on Die Hard Trilogy, ID4 and Aliens vs. Predator.%Gallery-188499%

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GAMING LEGEND DAVID JAFFE JOINS INDIE DEV PIXELBIONIC TO DELIVER AUTODUEL - THE ULTIMATE CAR COMBAT EXPERIENCE


Industry Veterans Maxx Kaufman and Mike Arkin Build Dream Team Comprised of Key Creators of Interstate '76, Twisted Metal, God of War, Battlezone and Return to Castle Wolfenstein to Launch Community-funded Online PC Game


Santa Ana, CA – May 16 @ 7:30AM/PST, 2013 – Pixelbionic, an independent game developer committed to creating immersive action games, today announced that David Jaffe, legendary creator of gaming milestones Twisted Metal and God of War, has joined the company's advisory board as a Creative Advisor for its inaugural project, vehicular combat game Autoduel™. Jaffe is the latest addition to Pixelbionic's development 'Dream Team', assembled for the game by co-founders Maxx Kaufman - a founding member of InXile Entertainment and Art Director of Return to Castle Wolfenstein, Kingpin: Life of Crime and The Bard's Tale, and Mike Arkin - a Studio Head and Producer with over 150 published titles, including Die Hard Trilogy, Battlezone and the Tokyo Xtreme Racer series.

Other key members of the Autoduel team include designer Scot Kramarich - Lead Designer of Interstate '82 and Designer on Interstate '76 - and coder Rafael Paiz - Senior Programmer on The Matrix: Path of Neo and Programmer on Redneck Rampage and Return to Castle Wolfenstein. Joining David Jaffe on Pixelbionic's advisory board are Zack Norman - creator of Interstate '76, and Chanel Summers - a recognized leader in the field of interactive audio who while at Microsoft was instrumental in the design of the Xbox hardware's audio capabilities.

Autoduel is a PC online multiplayer game which pays homage to epic car combat games of the past such as Interstate '76 and Twisted Metal-while offering gamers the chance to see what can be accomplished when a talented team of experienced developers is unleashed on modern hardware with cutting-edge graphics and online multiplayer capabilities. The game combines the high-octane thrills and spills of team-based car combat with RPG-influenced persistence and progression gameplay.

In a post-apocalyptic future, warriors drive to survive in their tricked-out, heavily armed vehicles scavenged from the blistered landscape, armed with a deadly array of lethal weaponry. Autoduel features team-based combat in a variety of open arenas from abandoned cities to dried-up riverbeds. Players choose from over twenty unique cars which are divided into three warring factions - the Ratters, the Scavengers and the Techies. The cars can all receive a wide variety of upgrades, from mechanical modifications to the drivetrain and suspension, to a broad array of powerful weapons and protective armor which can be bolted onto the vehicles. Additionally, players can extensively customize the paintwork and add decals in order to show their allegiance and express their unique style.

"I was super excited when I heard Pixelbionic's vision for Autoduel," said Pixelbionic creative advisor David Jaffe. "As a huge fan of the genre, I'm really looking forward to contributing to the game's vision and design goals."

Pixelbionic was founded to create spirited games such as Autoduel that are ignored by publishers, leaving the door open to independent developers supported by fans of the genre. Autoduel development funding will be crowdsourced, with a Kickstarter campaign launching soon.

"Our mission is to assemble a team of car combat visionaries to deliver the game fans want to not only play but also help create," said Pixelbionic co-founder and President Mike Arkin. "Autoduel pairs the vision of the best talent in the industry with the enthusiasm and support of gamers, a combination we are confident will set the bar for what can be achieved in a new PC vehicular combat game."

More details on the Autoduel Kickstarter campaign will be released shortly, with additional core members of the development team expected to be revealed over the coming weeks.

For further information about Pixelbionic or to share thoughts and ideas about the game visit our community forums at www.pixelbionic.com. To receive regular updates and announcements, Like us on Facebook at facebook.com/autoduel and follow us on Twitter @autoduelgame.


About Pixelbionic
Located in the heart of pre-apocalyptic Southern California, Pixelbionic is an independent developer focused on games which are built around the ideals of no-holds-barred hardcore fast-paced action and a vibrant online community, as embodied by its inaugural project, the PC online multiplayer car combat game Autoduel. The game will be developed by a 'dream team' that includes primary creators of great car games of the past including Interstate '76 and Twisted Metal. Pixelbionic was co-founded in 2012 by Mike Arkin and Maxx Kaufman, two industry veterans with numerous top-selling games to their credit.
A founding member of Grey Matter Studios and InXile Entertainment, Pixelbionic CEO Kaufman moved from creating special effects for the film industry into gaming 18 years ago. He has been Art Director and Director on top-selling games including Kingpin: Life of Crime, the Redneck Rampage series, The Bard's Tale, and Return to Castle Wolfenstein. Prior to becoming Pixelbionic's President, Arkin spent over 25 years creating video games as a Producer and Studio Head in both publishing and development roles. While working at Acclaim, Fox, Activision, and Crave, he shipped over 150 titles including Die Hard Trilogy, the Tokyo Xtreme Racer series, Battlezone, UFC, Global Operations and WWF Wrestlemania. In 2006, his studio, Zono Inc., was acquired by leading games publisher Mumbo Jumbo.