Runnin’ Down A Dream

"It’s been a consistent progression, but it is definitely bigger than anything we’ve done before,” studio and game director David Jaumandreu tells me when I ask about the scale of Denshattack from their office in Barcelona, Spain. Developer Undercoders has been a‑ round for some time, with credits that span from mobile and Nintendo DSi games to the recent 3D platformer, Koa and the Five Pirates of Mara. But Denshattack, its a game about driving a train at high speeds through an apocalyptic but inviting and colorful version of Japan, while leaping and performing tricks between rails, is the biggest Undercorders has made to date, and it is born from an absurd, but wonderful idea.

“The idea came to me... I was playing with a train toy model, and in a very childish way to play, I thought, ‘Oh, wouldn’t it be cool if trains could jump and skate?’” Jaumandreu says. “I presented a pitch, and at first it was like, ‘What’s this nonsense?’” But then producer and tech designer Àngel Beltran started experimenting with the idea and it didn’t take long to win him over, which in turn put it on track (pardon the pun) for it to become Undercoders’ next project.