Hermit Crab In Space’!

‘Hermit Crab In Space’!

I wrote recentlyon New York indie devs, Golden Ruby Games , and their new space-themed runner game, Worm Run . Since then. the Golden Ruby team has been pretty busy, developing a new game, Hermit Crab In Space as part of a Sony-sponsored game jam at IndieCade East.

The game jam asked developers to create a mobile game, specifically for play on the Vita, and gave developers the theme of “evolution” to spark game creation. Golden Ruby created an 8-bit game about a hermit crab, in a detailed universe where hermit crabs in space totally make sense. (That is, um, not exactly my understanding of how evolution works, but the game looks like a space shooter with a cute retro aesthetic.)

Hermit Crab In Space was declared a finalist at IndieCade, along with Crumble , Crystallon , and Don’t Wake The Bear . Finalists received a trip to GDC to present the game again, and discover the final winner.

At Sony’s recent Indie Arcade presentation, Golden Ruby was declared the overall winner of the PlayStation Mobile GameJam, for their Hermit Crab in Space . The prize is a trip to annual expo E3, a pot at the PlayStation booth, and a pretty sweet offer for publishing and promotion, if Golden Ruby Games decides to submit Hermit Crab in Space to Sony. No word yet on whether Golden Ruby plan to keep Hermit Crab in Space as an indie, or work with Sony, though.

Sources: A really big GameJam check, Sony’s heavy indie push continues, Golden Ruby Games’ blog update, PSP screenshots of Hermit Crab in Space here, and Golden Ruby Games’ lovely photo of a giant check.