FingerGaming

Gaming industry veteran Anders Hejdenberg, lead designer for the popular PC first-person shooter Battlefield 2: Modern Combat, among other games, is now focusing his efforts on the newly formed iPhone development studio 1337 Game Design. Hejdenberg’s Dark Nebula: Episode 1 ($0.99), released today, is the first 1337 Game Design title to debut in the App Store.

Dark Nebula is a tilt-controlled action title in which players must guide a sphere through a vertically scrolling enemy gauntlet. Think of it as Labyrinth with lasers and spiked walls, and you’ve got a good idea of how it plays.

1337 Game Design is adopting a sensible release strategy with Dark Nebula — the first episode can be completed in less than an hour, but the publisher justifies its short length with an appropriate price point of 99 cents. Future episodes will likely offer similar gameplay length for a low cost.

Dark Nebula contains ten levels and includes a ranking system that awards fast completion times with gold stars. A gameplay trailer is below.

Tags: 1337 game design, accelerometer, Action, Anders Hejdenberg, dark nebula