One of the newest video games on the Xbox 360 gaming system is coming from Yarmouth, N.S.
Twin brothers Jason and Matthew Doucette grew up playing games together such as Mario Brothers and Pac-Man. They began programming their own games when they were in Grade 3, and in junior high they placed in top spots in national math competitions.
Now the 34-year-olds have made a dream come true by becoming game developers at their new company Xona Games.
Their first game — Duality ZF — recently placed in the top 10 in a Microsoft competition for independent game developers.
That means it's on its way to the Xbox 360's downloadable game section. The finished product should be available in about a month for millions of people to potentially download.
The game will cost between $2 and $5 to download. The Doucettes said they’d be happy if they break even on the project, which would happen if a few thousand people bought their creation.
"We just want to survive for now. Hopefully, with each new game we make, it will be better and we'll have a bigger fan base, and we'll get more sales and eventually make a living out of it," Jason Doucette said.
Duality ZF is a scrolling shooter, also known as a "shoot 'em up." The player moves a small ship around thousands of bullets while facing an enemy fleet. The brothers made the game so four people can play together on a single screen, with each person controlling two ships — one with each thumb.
"It's about the skill of the player," said Jason. "It's you and your buddy's skill together, added up, how good can you get. And there's something amazing about that."
The Doucettes said they made the game based on some of the first arcade games they played and hope to make more games based on that concept.
Share Tools
Latest Nova Scotia News Headlines
- Halifax police warn of sex offender's release
- Halifax police issued a warning Friday about a man released from prison for offences against children. more »
- Sunken boat refloated in Sydney Harbour
- A half-sunken boat abandoned in Sydney Harbour several years ago was refloated Friday in the first step toward removing the eyesore. more »
- Inmate strangler sentenced today
- A Dartmouth prisoner who strangled his cellmate to death three years ago will spend at least another 14 years behind bars. more »
- 902 numbers running out in N.S., P.E.I.
- The process has begun to figure out how to handle an expected phone number shortage in Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island. more »
Top News Headlines
- Everest victim's family asks for government help
- The family of a Toronto woman who died in pursuit of her lifelong dream to climb Mount Everest is asking the Canadian government for help in bringing her body back to Canada. more »
- Employment Insurance review boards to be scrapped
- The federal government is scrapping two review boards used by people appealing decisions made about their employment insurance. more »
- Teens share bullying tales in confession booth
- Raw stories about bullying emerged when a video booth was set up inside a Quebec high school. more »
- Canada ending 'Buffalo shuffle' for visas, closing consulate
- The federal government is shutting the Canadian consulate in Buffalo less than two years after costly renovations, while dropping a requirement for visas to be renewed outside the country, CBC News has learned. more »
- New EI rules worry seasonal workers in N.S.
- Police looking for missing East Dover woman
- Shots fired on Quinpool Road in Halifax
- N.S. man acquitted in boy's 2010 death
- Canadian Hurricane Centre predicts 9 to 15 storms in 2012
- 902 numbers running out in N.S., P.E.I.
- ATV run-in with barbed wire leads to charges
- Atlantic Lottery replacing old VLTs
- 44 new Order of Canada recipients

