When they were children, brothers Tony and Kieran Howlett were big fans of Traveller, a pen-and-paper game similar to Dungeons Dragons that was released in the 1970s.
Thirty-five years and two attempts later, they’ve released their own version of the space-themed game for decidedly modern devices — the iPad and iPhone.
“Traveller AR” is a massively multiplayer online game, in which players can battle one another in flight combat. And like its old-school predecessor, there’s a heavy choose-your-own-adventure element, with players able to explore, battle or trade virtual goods.
The brothers admit the transition from game manuals and dice to iPads and iPhones was a challenge. But it’s clear that building “Traveller AR” was a labor of love.
“It’s a life dream,” Tony Howlett said. “If you had told us … when we were 14, that we’d be making the computer game of this, we could have died happy.”
The beta version was released this month by their Austin-based mobile software company, IngZ Inc.
And so far, so good. “Traveller AR” ranks among the top 20 role-playing games in Apple’s App Store. The brothers say they’ve got thousands signed up as beta players, and they expect to release the final version in the next month or two.
It’s the second offering from IngZ, which previously released a travel app based on the popular “365 Things To Do In Austin” blog.
“Traveller AR” was much longer in the making. The brothers tried to launch a PC version of the game a decade ago, but it never got off the ground. After that, each took other jobs to make enough money to fund the game.
“Traveller AR” is based on the Traveller games, which were first released in 1977 and still have a cult following of tens of thousands.
Of course, building upon decades of history runs the risk of alienating longtime fans. To avoid that, the Howletts asked for fans’ help in designing the game, incorporating feedback in online forums.
They’ve also added new twists — there’s an augmented reality option, which uses the mobile devices’ camera to paint the in-game world onto the real one.
They’re also planning on crowd-sourcing parts of the game — allowing players to write missions and adventures as a reward for discovering far-flung areas.
“It’s sort of an open-ended architecture for creating adventures,” Tony Howlett said.
While the game has been in beta for a few weeks, the reception has been positive.
“It’s been well-received,” Tony Howlett said. “I was worried that they’d be real critical … but people have just loved it.”
Game designer Jason Hawks, who worked on the development team, said the game is a faithful reproduction of the original that will appeal to new and old fans.
“What I like about Traveller is that it offers science fiction role playing without the Hollywood spin, like ‘Star Wars’ or ‘Star Trek,’ ” Hawks said. “The mobile device version of the game is a lot of fun to play, particularly when you can team up with friends and go on missions together.”
Beta player Jon Donovan didn’t play the original game but said “Traveller AR” has drawn him into the game’s backstory.
“I have spent most of my time in the game so far simply scouting and surveying the many systems and worlds, but I may adapt my character to become a hit and run pirate,” he said in an email. “The freedom of being able to carve out your own path is quite liberating.”
The Howlett brothers have self-funded the game, licensed the rights to develop the mobile version and staffed up to a team of 20 to 25 developers at the peak. They’re now down to a handful of employees.
Because of the lean operation, they say that they only need to hit 10,000 players to break even. Besides selling the game in the App Store, they plan to make money off microtransactions — charging players to upgrade ships and buy weapons and other items.
“What we really want to tap into is the younger kids who have never played a pen-and-paper game … if we do that, that’s the home run,” Tony Howlett said. “But a solid hit is going to be if we just get all our guys in and keep them happy.”
Staff writer Brian Gaar covers the video game industry for the American-Statesman. He can be reached at bgaar@statesman.com or 912-5932.
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