Choice Provisions, developer of the Bit.Trip series, announced the next game in its Commander Video-starring platformer series today: Runner 3. The studio didn’t provide much in the way of detail on the follow-up to Bit.Trip Runner 2, but did release a short teaser trailer and a release window for the game; it’s coming in 2017.
In a press release, Choice Provisions said Runner 3 will feature "friends both old and new" and will be the studio’s "biggest and most ambitious game yet." On the game’s website, Choice Provisions wrote more about its plans for Runner 3, specifically how the team is approaching the game’s difficulty.
Too often, games focus on rewarding hardcore players and perpetuating the idea that if you play on easy, you're somehow less of a gamer. What if games don't bring you as much joy if they're ultra-challenging? Maybe that doesn't make you "less". Maybe that just makes you "you".
So in Runner3, we're focusing on bringing our notions of difficulty and what makes a game rewarding front and center. The focus in Runner3 is on giving the player a joyous experience. In fact, one of our development pillars for the game is:
"Runner3 needs to be a joyous experience in every moment--both in the game, and during its creation."
If you like being challenged relentlessly, will you get that? Yes. (It is us, after all.) But if you prefer being able to experience the entire game without being ultra-challenged, you'll be able to do that as well--without penalty.
The developer didn’t announce platforms for the game, though the Bit.Trip Runner games typically come to a variety of console, handheld and PC platforms.
