Independent developer and publisher Bungarra Software announced that The Surfer is available for the PlayStation®3. The games unique PUMP control scheme captures the feel of surfing via its physics-driven surfing and button input pressure sensitive moves. Building on the tradition of PS2 games such as Sunny Garcia, Transworld Surf and Kelly Slater Pro surfer, the games retro graphic art style is coupled with its evolution in surfing gameplay. The Surfers unique random behavior driven waves morph as they traverse, providing an authentic surfing experience every time you play.
“We are surfers, so for us it was always vital to focus on capturing a genuine feel and understanding of our sport as well as the surfing lifestyle,” said Andrew West, Development Director, Bungarra Software. “As an indie shop we love the PS2 era surfing games and we wanted to bring that back to consoles. So we set out to create a retro art style for the PS3 and then we focused on creating gameplay depth; still building on the past but aiming to be as innovative as we could in the games design. Out of this emerged our unique PUMP control, a method that centers on the player using the physics of the wave to generate speed in order to combo. The faster you surf the higher you score. It’s pure momentum based surfing. Another cool feature is our tactile button input; the longer you hold your button in for wave moves, the harder you carve. It has taken us many years of grinding R&D to figure out how to create a compelling surfing mechanic and the result is a deceptively simple control system uniquely suited to surfing. PUMP is combined with button input pressure sensitive moves, physics driven animations and cameras that all work together to deliver a new way of thinking about surfing games. So while the game is pickup and play, has a light arcade feel and art style, at its core, The Surfer has the soul of a simulation. So if you surf and you like the old games, we think you might like what we’ve done in creating The Surfer”.
The Surfer features a cast of surfers all aiming to win on the game’s world tour featuring locations from all over the globe. The small development team focused heavily on the sport of surfing and creating genuine gameplay depth. The game features a highly competitive leaderboard tour featuring Qualifying & Pro Tour events, Free Surf, local split screen multiplayer. It also features a solid equipment focused management system where players select combinations of board and wetsuit to carefully suit conditions, as well as jet-ski tow-in surfing for specific levels. The game even allows players to break and/or fix their surfboards in real-time. There are two major download content drops currently in development to complement the initial core version for the PlayStation®3 system, as well as the possibility of additional versions of the game for other platforms.