Singapore-MIT game Dark Dot hits 448k downloads; popular in Asia

Dark Dot, a Singapore-developed top-down shooter that offers a refreshing take on the genre, has achieved success.

Downloaded over 448,000 times, the app became the top action game in 48 countries, including China, US, and Singapore, and also the top free app in Singapore, Philippines, Thailand, and Indonesia, reported TODAY.

All this in just three months after its launch in October.

The game is a product of the Singapore-MIT GAMBIT Game Lab, a program supported by the National Research Foundation, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and the Media Development Authority of Singapore (MDA). 

It conducts research that is deemed useful for Singapore’s digital games industry, with the view of improving the quality of games created by local developers. GAMBIT will continue developing new games using its research. They may continue working on Dark Dot, although nothing is confirmed.

While top-down shooters often involve players maneuvering aircraft and shooting down enemies, this game puts them in charge of a group of dark dots instead. What sets this game apart is the ability for the dots to get into formation according to the shape the player draws on the screen. The dark dots can even spread out or rotate according to the tactics required.

The game has garnered rave reviews from downloaders, averaging 4.5 stars out of 5 from 300 ratings (also see external review). The only complaint? At only four levels, it is way too short.

One reviewer commented: “I refuse to believe that angry birds has a better rating than this game. This game is so under rated and it needs to be shown to more people. Please make more levels and don’t give up on this game because it has serious potential.”

If the team behind Dark Dot decides to call it a day and move on to something else, they’re seriously nuts.

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