Gradient Run [beta] is Xion Develper Group’s first official release. Headed by Michael Miller Jr, and teaming with various individuals who wish to pool their talents, XDG is but a fledgling development team (it’s not even anything of a game company, hense the “Group”). Michael has been learning the ins-and-outs of game development for the last two years, primarily learning via Construct 2 game editor/HTML5 engine.

Aiming to refine himself in the discipline of game making, Michael entered the #construct2coinop Game Jam (hosted here at Game Jolt), taking on an ambitious, but doable, project that melded features from 7 classic video games. The final product released for the jam was not perfect, but it was a success for very personal reasons. Primarily: a project was finally finished. For some time, Michael has been keeping close to heart the Biblical verse Ecclesiastes 7:8, “Better is a patient finish than a boastful beginning.” It was the finishing part that he struggled with the most.

With Gradient Run [beta] finally out, it marks the beginning of a new level for Xion Developers Group. While the game is not groundbreaking,nor did it place in the top three of the Game Jam, it has been met with mostly positive and certainly construtive reviews. Here on Game Jolt, within the first couple of days, the game was given three votes with an average score of 4/5. A surprising and very welcomed and appreciated response.

Work begins anew to refine noted flaws or lacking features in the game. Michael will be leading the team - Emily Eason (3D modeler), Joy Eason (concept artist), and Ryan A Miller (composer) - to refine the game and add missing features. The scheduled release date for the completed game is July 31, 2015.