TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Long-term Taipei resident and UK native Gareth Murfin’s latest video game, “Tenement,” is a straightforward first-person shooter (FPS) where players aim to achieve enough kills to trigger a “holy nuke,” resulting in mutually assured destruction.
To reach this apocalyptic climax, players must run, gun, jump, and leap through various time portals to accumulate 100 kills. Along the way, players can collect perks such as double ammo, invincibility shields, and nuclear bombs.
Murfin debuted the game on Sunday (Oct. 20) at Parklife Plus+, a popular craft beer bar in eastern Taipei equipped with pinball machines and a dart board. “Tenement” was available for play on four large TV screens, with bar patrons invited to try it on Nintendo Switch consoles and a wireless keyboard.
Between sips of Red Bull, Murfin discussed his inspiration for “Tenement,” his second game since the decade-long development of his popular title, “Genocide Dolphins.”
“I was thinking of calling the game ‘High Rise,’ but ‘Tenement’ has a better ring to it,” Murfin said. “It’s just a 2D game that can be played offline, and it will retail for US$9.99 (NT$320) on Nintendo and Steam.”
Murfin explains that many video games use 2D images manipulated to create a 3D illusion, which reduces the processing requirements for video rendering. While most games feature different levels or missions, “Tenement” offers a straightforward mission: achieve nuclear annihilation.
“Game developers face horrible statistics of 99.9% failure. About 15,000 games come out every year, and most of them fail,” said Murfin. To support himself, he works many freelance computer developer jobs, including several Web3 games involving cryptocurrencies and the NFT (non-fungible token) market.
“One of my latest projects was a game where players had to put in cryptocurrency, and in the end, they could earn cryptocurrency or NFTs,” Murfin said. He completed that project about a year ago, though trouble in the NFT market—which tanked in 2022, leaving behind a much smaller residual market—hasn’t helped similar gaming concepts.
Murfin also develops apps, including one that functions as a “valet service,” enabling users to summon their cars to a hotel entrance. He acknowledges the challenges of app development, as they must be compatible with both iOS (Apple) and Android (Google) systems.
Murfin has also ventured into children’s games with a project called “Jellystar,” which is currently in development. In this game, players guide a ladybug-like insect through mazes and obstacles.
Murfin shared that he commissioned an artist to create thousands of hand-drawn images and individual frames for “Jellystar.” Like “Tenement,” he plans to sell the game for US$9.99 on major online gaming platforms.
