ABA Games

Overview

Kenta Cho started making computer games as a hobby during his childhood in the 1980s, using an NEC PC-6001 microcomputer because few commercial games were available. After leaving university, he thought about becoming a professional game developer but instead took a job at Toshiba doing multimedia research and development. He still works full-time at Toshiba while running ABA Games as a weekend hobby. Cho is the only person working on ABA Games.

Since he lacks musical training, he builds his game soundtracks from pre-made samples he buys commercially. The studio puts out a new game about every six months: the first three months go into creating prototypes, and the last three are spent polishing a finished version. ABA Games released its first Windows shoot 'em up, Noiz2sa, in 2002, and the positive reaction Cho got pushed him to focus on that genre. His games are avant-garde reimaginings of classic arcade shoot 'em ups that use modern 3D graphics to mimic older vector graphics, paired with imaginative, fresh gameplay ideas.

Cho has said his graphical style was inspired by the game Rez and by street billboards, while his attempts at innovative features were inspired by Radiant Silvergun, Ikaruga, and Gradius V. His games tend to use random events instead of scripted ones. They are developed for Windows, but some have been ported to macOS, iPhone, iPod Touch, and PSP. Cho also made BulletML, an open-source program that can copy bullet patterns from other shoot 'em up games.

Games

Gunroar is a naval-themed shoot 'em up that has been compared to a vertically scrolling version of Geometry Wars or a cross between Asteroids and Space Invaders. Players control a small, abstract gunboat that can rotate 360 degrees, similar to Geometry Wars and Robotron. The game scrolls vertically, but unlike standard shoot 'em ups where the craft's propulsion sets the pace, players can control how fast they move through each level. Moving faster earns more points.

Gunroar offers multiple modes: a single boat controlled by keyboard or mouse, and a more complicated dual mode that uses two boats controlled with both hands on the keyboard. Critics praised the game for its minimalist design, impressive polygonal graphics, and frenetic action. Tumiki Fighters is a side-scrolling shooter where the player flies a toy airplane through a cartoon setting. It uses a mechanic inspired by Katamari Damacy that lets players attach debris from destroyed enemies to their aircraft, which then acts as armor and power-ups.

This game became the foundation for Blast Works: Build, Trade, Destroy, published by Majesco in 2008 for the Wii. Developer Budcat Creations remade Tumiki Fighters for the console and added an editor that allows extensive user-created content. Critics called Blast Works an innovative and entertaining game, describing it variously as an upgraded version, a remake, a port, or a re-release of Tumiki Fighters. Blast Works included Tumiki Fighters plus three other ABA Games titles as bonus content.

UGO said the minimalist graphics, while not outstanding, did keep some charm. Cho has stated he did not receive any money for the port and allowed his game to be used for free.