14 DAY TRIAL // Settlers of Catan for Microsoft Surface exquisitely blends together analog and digital gameplay. Vectorform is the company responsible for the transition of the classic board game to Microsoft’s tabletop computer, working in partnership with the software giant, but also with the Catan LLC and Mayfair Games. Softpedia readers have already been able to get a taste of the digital version of Settlers of Catan designed for Microsoft Surface in June 2010, when Vectorform was preparing to share the first demonstrations of the title at Origins Game Fair in Columbus, Ohio. The game has evolved consistently since the initial demo, as Gen Con Indy participants will be able to tell. Gen Con Indy starts on August 5 and ends just three days later on August 8.
Users that will not be able to attend the Indianapolis event will still be able to get a peek at all the work Vectorform ported into tailoring Settlers of Catan to Microsoft Surface, via the video embedded at the bottom of this article. It’s easy to see that the digital version of Settlers of Catan brings to the best of both the digital and analog worlds, while taking advantage of the social features (together computing) and the Natural User Interface (NUI) of Microsoft Surface
“Where a computer game is a solo computing affair, board games are connected experiences. Together computing has its place now, and will be more prominent in the future,” revealed Vectorform Game Studio Executive Director Joe Engalan.
Gamers will undoubtedly be delighted by the way that Vectorform managed to keep intact the look of the original board game, but also by the new feel introduced by the new Microsoft Surface platform. And excellent move from the developer was to compliment the digital experience with real world details such as acrylic dies and x-ray visors, which are tailored specifically to Microsoft Surface.
“I’ve never seen real die used in a digital game,” Mollie Harms, Game Producer for Vectorform Game Studios, added. “I think the visors could revolutionize digital card playing. This is a new way to maintain secrecy that doesn’t hinder game play.” The visors, the dice, and the game-play experience on Surface were wildly popular with fans of The Settlers of Catan, who were involved in the design and development process, loaning time and feedback to informal focus groups.
Settlers of Catan for Microsoft Surface is currently still in development, and unfortunately, without a Microsoft Surface unit there’s no way for gamers to play it. The promise from Vectorform is that it will wrap up the game by the end of the year, when it will become available to customers offering experiences based on Microsoft Surface in their venues. “The future for The Settlers of Catan is very bright, and we are going to push that experience to new markets and communities. But we’ve got quite a few more titles in the queue, and they are all very exciting. Keep watching, because this is just the start of the empire,” Engalan noted.