Photo from 2016 (Soldat 2 - MM, Furai, Paul Zimmerman; Soldat - Shoozza; Geti - King Arthur's Gold; Sos Sosowski - McPixel)
Transhuman Design (THD)
We are an independent studio led by Michal Marcinkowski, creator of Soldat, the indie classic that dominated the 2D multiplayer world and directly inspired games like N, Showdown Effect and Take Arms.
Soldat was followed by King Arthur’s Gold, a very successful (and crazy) multiplayer build’n’kill game featuring ridable sharks, shields used as parachutes and catapults employed as rapid means of transport into enemy base.
Then we made Trench Run - a mayhem-filled, laugh a minute action game.
We also published BUTCHER - a fast-paced 2D shooter game and a blood-soaked love letter to the early 90s.
We work on our projects remotely, from different locations around the globe, without focusing on a single genre or audience. We strive to follow our instincts and passions when creating games.
Michal "MM" Marcinkowski
My name is Michał Marcinkowski and in 2002 I created a game called Soldat - a 2D side-scrolling online shooter (inspired by Liero, Quake and CS) which quickly became a world-wide phenomenon. It directly inspired games like N, Showdown Effect and Take Arms. Soldat was a true indie game before the terms “indie game” even existed (also free-to-play before “free-to-play” was coined :D).
Throughout the 00’s Soldat was a popular free internet game but then its popularity began dwindling down. I created other games including King Arthur’s Gold which was a big success for me and my team Transhuman Design. But years passed and I got tired of working in teams and I felt I needed to make something very personal, something which I know I am good at in my heart - 2D side-scrolling mouse-driven pvp action!
So about two years ago I began working on a sequel to Soldat. I came back to my roots as a “one man army” indie developer and since then have been developing Soldat 2. I hope to bring the same type of amazing fun gameplay that has been a hallmark of Soldat. Including the iconic movement and physics which brought so much joy to fans. On top of that I will be adding tons of new game modes, weapons and modding features and hopefully spawn a big community creating custom content on Steam Workshop (personally mods are my biggest joy when it comes to game development because I love to see players becoming developers!).
SOLDAT 2
A direct successor to the 2D multiplayer shooter Soldat which took the Internet and LAN parties by storm in the early 2000's.
Developed to be a 2.5D multiplayer military shooter based on classic Soldat with an expanding workshop community, customization of every part of the battle from level generation to the weapons, soldiers and game modes.
Soldat 2 aims at recreating the basic Soldat gameplay experience with fresh and enhanced content. Customization and modding will be a core feature with procedurally generated levels, custom game rules and modes, weapons, vehicles, structures and a battle simulator sandbox. Soldat 2 strives to become a powerful platform for custom created content, mods and other Soldat-like games.
Developed by one man, the original creator of Soldat, King Arthur's Gold and producer of Butcher Michal 'MM' Marcinkowski.
He told them interesting facts about the SOLDAT series development:
"Soldat 2 is the most difficult game I've ever made. Mostly because of the expectations I put on myself. I think if I just did the same thing with a bit more polished graphics and bug fixes most people would be happy. But I never go the easy route. So, there is an enormous amount of pressure I put on myself. I decided Soldat 2 has to be as good as the first one and even better".
Please ask me questions about Soldat 2, tell me what you like and what you don't like. If you remember Soldat 1 and want to ask some nostalgia related questions I'll be happy to answer those too!
I'll be live-streaming the Soldat 2 demo and giving you an overview of what to expect in the full version. If there's time I'll also show you the development version with parts of the game that aren't yet publicly available (like the level editor and other game modes).
Please ask me questions, tell me what you like and what you don't like. If you remember Soldat 1 and want to ask some nostalgia related questions I'll be happy to answer those too!