Games announced for Drop in and Play
Coming 5 September
We’re delighted to share the full list of developers who will be joining us for our popular gaming event, Drop in and Play. Drop in and Play at DCA is sponsored by Ninja Kiwi, and this event is delivered in partnership with Abertay University.
Join us on Sat 5 September between 11:00 - 16:00 to try these exciting new games and meet the developers behind them. Our September event is free, drop-in, and suitable for gamers of all experience levels aged 10+.
There are six games from developers at Abertay University's DARE Academy. DARE Academy is Abertay University's premier games design competition, challenging undergraduate students to work in teams to develop original game concepts while receiving support from industry mentors and academic staff.
Read on to find out more about the games featured in our September event.
Published
Tue 25 Aug
DARE Academy teams
This year's Drop in and Play is delivered in partnership with Abertay University. Here are the games from the DARE Academy teams...
HydraByte: Elementorum
Trapped in an alchemical nightmare you must use your elemental powers to escape. These powers will allow you to create devastating spells, harness the elements against your foes, and fight the fiendish creatures that haunt the shadows. Will you be able to escape the Elementorum?
How What Why Games: Dirty Work
Dirty Work is an old-school shooter with a janitorial twist that explores the treatment of minimum wage workers using a satirical narrative. You play as Julian McClean, a night-shift cleaner at the Worldwide Entertainment Education Experience. Gear up for your shift! Fight the remnants of dirt and debris! Finish your shift quickly! (We don't get any paid overtime here)
Exotic Rat Studios: Murder at the Clocktower
SOMEONE DIED WHO SHOULDN'T HAVE.
Play as Detective Clive Homard, an agent of the Crustacean Intelligence Agency, sent to the year 2106 to investigate the death of Mr F at The Clocktower Hotel.
TIME IS FROZEN.
Use Clive’s Time-Augmenting Pocket Watch and trusty Personal Digital Partner (PDP) to switch between the three different key moments during the day of the murder, recording all the details you find.
Travel time, solve puzzles and tune into past conversations to collect all the evidence you need to identify the murderer, their motive and their victim to break the loop and restore the timeline.
Finch Outside the Box: Loose Juice
Embark on a chaotic journey with a friend, where one wrong move could cost you everything! Two curious cats hunt for treasure in an unforgiving desert, sharing control over the unstable caravan carrying their items, overcoming dangerous obstacles and terrifying traps along the way.
On their adventures, players will find all manner of precious treasures, from rare gems and geodes, to shining flasks of juice. Trade these treasures for incredible upgrades and exciting new equipment, using your collection of unique and charming items to aid you on your travels.
Whispered Eclipse: Demon Slumber Party
A group of teen girls summon a demon to get revenge on Brad; the newly ex-boyfriend of Rae. Unfortunately, their new demonic companion, Urgethsloth, is more keen on taking four souls rather than just one, and forces the girls to play his fun, charming and downright devilish minigames to win the chance to live through the night.
Inspired by the banter of Mean Girls, vibes of Cult of the Lamb and gameplay of WarioWare, take a trip down memory lane back to the 2000's and see just how far you'll go to get revenge on your douche ex!
Crabbits: GalactInk
Express yourself through the art of tattooing in GalactInk, a tattoo shop on the edge of the galaxy. Meet a cast of quirky alien customers, each with their own personalities, stories, and unique tattoo requests. Carefully place designs, unlock new stencils, artistic styles, decorations, and shop upgrades as your reputation grows. Learn more about your regular customers through each visit and create tattoos that reflect who they are. Whether you perfectly fulfil their vision or add your own creative flair, every tattoo helps shape your journey.
New and returning developers
SPIKY TEETH STUDIOS - OVERCAT
OVERCAT is a 1v1 twin-stick fighting game, where competitive and casual players can finally have a fair fight! Pick up a sword and battle your friends in our feline fighting game!
Suitable for all.
SPIKY TEETH STUDIOS
Sloth Doctor Games: Heldritch Rush
A monstrous invasion has taken over the city. Play as Teddy MacAllister, a battle-hardened war veteran, who is no stranger to the unknown. As he guns his way through New Peak City to put an end to the outbreak, he will do it with a smile. Heldritch Rush is an action-packed game that dares to combine the classic rail-shooter genre with the modern isometric. It is the first of its kind which and will unite generations of gamers.
12+
Sloth Doctor Games
James Rhodes: Boingo
Boingo is a friendly, approachable platformer game, suitable for all ages and all levels of experience. It's inspired by classic platformers many of us have grown up with, such as Super Mario, with colourful locations and characters, with a fun challenge. My prototype contains the core mechanics, as well as some features ready for the final game, and is approaching a state where it would need feedback.
Suitable for all.
James Rhodes
Cosmic Coda: Maintenance Monk
Maintenance Monk is a Single-player Simulator game about a medieval monk managing repairing and building up pages of their chartulary. Discover women's stories from the 1300s and keep the monastery running.
10+
FORCe: Surveyor: Fetteresso
In this story-driven puzzle game, step into the role of a 19th-century surveyor tasked with selecting a new assistant. Compare candidates' work against your own, discuss their methods and decisions with them, and use your knowledge and judgement to decide who is best suited for the role.
10+
FORCe: Marginalised
Play as a medieval illuminator tasked with restoring manuscript pages in this story-driven puzzle game. Complete each page to uncover information about the lives of medieval women and unlock real historical artefacts that reveal their stories.
10+
Riverboat Games: Galactic Postal Servitude
Galactic Postal Servitude is a single-player point-and-click deduction game set in a chaotic alien post office. Players inspect packages bound for strange worlds with ever-changing regulations, scanning for clues, consulting an in-game database, and deciding whether each parcel should be approved or denied before time runs out.
Suitable for all.
Riverboat Games
Celtic Dragon Studios: Azzy Battles the Darkness
Unleash elemental powers through your bionic arm in a story-driven 3D action-platformer inspired by the PS2 era. Explore 5 sprawling elemental realms, master explosive mobility upgrades, battle chaotic bosses, and search for your missing father before the Darkness consumes everything.
7+
Celtic Dragon Studios
Evilkookey Games: Hop 'n' Karty
Hop and Marty are back in an all new Kart Racing game from Evilkookey games. Play as all your favourite characters from the Hop 'n' Marty and battle it out as you blast through the courses on your way to first place. Play alone or with friends and try to beat your best times.
3+
Evilkookey Games
Deep Crypt Games: Grease Trap '99
Grease Trap ’99 is a retro-style horror mystery game set in a Scottish fish and chip shop. It features full voice acting in Scottish Gaelic, with both English and Gaelic subtitle options. The game recently won the public vote for Best in Show at the Glasgow Independent Games Festival.
13+
Deep Crypt Games
Studio Catloaf: Book of Abominations
Book of Abominations is a cosy Lovecraftian monster tamer that combines the cute with the grotesque. Capture and battle Eldritch horrors in snappy turn based combat, explore a mysterious, moody yet vibrant world, and unravel the secrets within the book!
Suitable for all.
Studio Catloaf
Birdworks: Pieces of the Kingdom
What if Chess…was a roguelite? Assemble your party and battle your way across a broken kingdom in a fantastical, tactical take on Chess. Loot epic gear, recruit powerful pieces with unique abilities, and strategise your way to victory.
3+
Birdworks
Morch Games: RopeBot
RopeBot is a third-person puzzle platformer built around realistic rope physics. Use your Rope Arm to shoot, control, and manipulate ropes as you navigate through challenging levels.
Morch Games
Spike Candy Games: Floppy Cat Café
This is a chaotic cooking game about making coffee. Play as our boy Bean, a floppy little cat with a big passion for serving coffee, if he doesn't spill his drink of course.
Suitable for all, recommended 12+.
Spike Candy Games
Ant Workshop - TBD!
Ant Workshop will be presenting a new game prototype, and you can be a part of naming it!
Ant Workshop Games
Lowtek Games: FLEARUN!, MASUKU and TOTEMS 64
There are three games from Lotted Games!
FLEARUN! a multiplayer 2d side scrolling race game for the NES here you cant stop jumping.
MASUKU a puzzle game where you take turnes placing cards with holes on them to score
TOTEMS 64 a 3d puzzle platformer collection where you solve puzzles by stacking animals abilities.
Lowtek Games
Zumo: Hell of a Rescue
Hell of a Rescue is a 2.5D isometric adventure/ strategy game where you play as Rufus, a punk rock deadbeat musician, who must cross corporate hell to find and save Euri from abandoning music forever and selling her soul to her workplace.
12+
Zumo
Sleepy Bard Studios: Lumberin' Jack
Play as Lumberin' Jack the Lumberjack as he travels across the fantastical land of Kanada on his quest for the legendary Syrup of Life, a holy elixir he must recover to save his lover's life. Defeat the Great Lords of Kanada by enhancing your combat and traversal skills with the power of fantastical syrups harvested from the kingdom’s magical maple trees.
7+
Sleepy Bard Studios
Tinderbox Collective: Playing Poetry
Playing Poetry is a one-player digital game created by Tinderbox Games Club young game designers, inspired by the poetry of Edwin Morgan as well as visual, digital & playful poetry by other artists. In the game you play as King Bubblio, a little lost poet exploring an old typewriter, searching for their lost poem - meeting other poets along the way who may or may not help you on your journey!
The game was made in a game-making tool called Construct 3, and is also played with a custom controller made of embroidered words designed by the group themselves, that uses conductive thread and a Makey Makey to control the player character. All the art, audio, and games design you see, hear and experience was created by the young people at Tinderbox Games Club as a collaborative group.
Tinderbox Collective
Ninja Kiwi: Bloons Blitz
Bloons Blitz is the brand new Bloons game from Ninja Kiwi, so new, it's not out yet! In Bloons Blitz you take control of a Monkey Hero as they try to clear the world of the dangerous Bloons. During a run, other Monkeys join your crew and you can unlock upgrade choices to boost your setup. Each run is unique so choose those upgrades wisely!
Ninja Kiwi
In partnership with
Drop in and Play is a free DCA gaming event which was first held in November 2012 as part of NEoN Digital Arts Festival and Discovery Film Festival. Our September event is sponsored by Ninja Kiwi and presented in partnership with Abertay University.
Ninja Kiwi has been making awesome games since 2005. Developers of the hit Bloons series of games, Ninja Kiwi are always striving to make the most enjoyable experiences for audiences across the globe from their offices in Dundee, Scotland and Auckland, New Zealand.
This event is delivered in partnership with DARE Academy, Abertay University’s premier games design competition. DARE Academy challenges undergraduate students to work in teams to develop original game concepts, with support from experienced industry mentors and academic staff.