Skymap Games is currently cooking up a new project on Kickstarter, and it is sizzling. The developers are making a new platformer called Bacon Man, and it looks just as fun and ridiculous as it sounds.
Recently, I was able to site down with Neal Laurenza, co-founder of Skymap games who also teaches at Southern New Hampshire University (SNHU). Neal was able to talk about Bacon Man and his Kickstarter campaign, and I was able to play a bit of the Alpha version of the game.
To start, readers should know that Bacon Man, who is the main character in the game, is exactly what he sounds like—essentially a man made out of bacon. He is not particularly smart, but he is able to make up for that his brawn. Players get the chance to play as him, as well as four other characters, in the upcoming Skymap Games platformer powered.
“Bacon Man is kind of your all around fighter, and we have Feta, who is a feta cheese samurai,” said Laurenza. There will be two other playable characters as well, but those are not currently being disclosed. On top of that, Laurenza has said that there will be local co-op, allowing friends to play together as wacky food people.
However, despite the different characters, the main story will revolve around Bacon Man and his quest to regain his kingdom.
“Bacon Man is the heir of the Meat throne. There is a planet called Nomround, and Nomround’s continents are based on the food groups. Bacon Man is next in line to take over the Meat zone, but unfortunately his grandfather (Old King Roast Beef) has been murdered under some mysterious circumstances, and Bacon Man has been blamed,” Laurenza explained.
“He’s been declined his rightful heir to the throne. So, instead, his supposed friend, who is now known as the Pork King, has taken over his spot. Bacon Man is thrown into the freezer (which is the first level), and he is going to fight to take back the throne.”
And his journey will not be an easy one. Bacon Man is filled with a number of enemies, traps, and bosses. Each level will have a boss, Laurenza told me, and there will be mid-bosses scattered throughout the game. Normal enemies come in many different forms—some fly, some shoot things, and others just run at you.
But, despite their differences, each enemy can be used as a potential weapon or tool. Bad guys can be picked up and thrown into the water to make a sort of bridge, or they can be thrown into other enemies to kill them, making the gameplay a lot more fun.
The world, which is powered by Unreal Engine, is incredibly detailed. The environment, enemies, and Bacon Man himself are all cleverly planned out and designed. Even the dialogue, which is typically humorous, is done well. For an Alpha version, the level of detail is actually surprising. The finished product will feature many of these detailed levels, Laurenza says.
“Normally, a level is about 15 minutes long. Sometimes a little longer, sometimes a little shorter. On average, there will be between three or five levels per world, and there’ll will be seven worlds… possibly an additional world depending on how the Kickstarter does, “ he shared with Siliconera.
Going through the levels, Bacon Man has to punch, jump, and shoot his way to the end. Besides being able to knock down enemies and then use them as weapons, Bacon Man will also have a complete arsenal. Currently, Skymap is only showing one gun, a Toaster Gun (it shoots toast, of course), but Laurenza gave me the scoop on one of the other crazy weapons. “Something we’ve discussed is being able to fire turkeys like a bazooka,” he told me, laughing.
One of the last things I talked with Neal about, although it is certainly one of the more amazing things, is the game’s soundtrack. Skymap was able to get pianist Kyle Landry and composer Braxton Burks of Pokemon Reorchestrated to create an original score for the game. To listen to some of the music that will be found in Bacon Man for free, check it out on SoundCloud.
To donate to the Kickstarter project or to just check it out, head to Bacon Man’s Kickstarter page by clicking here. The game is expected to be out for PC and Mac, with the possibility of console releases.
