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aBOUT THE PROJECT
To The Skies! is a breakneck hoverboard racing game combining the speed and competition of classic arcade racers with the freedom and spectacle of extreme sports games. Inspired by games like Wipeout and SSX Tricky, we want to recapture the excitement and sense of mastery that made those games so much fun.
We’re exploring ways to combine racing lines, aerial manoeuvres and risk-taking to create a racing experience that’s exciting to pick up and rewarding to master. We’re currently developing the core racing experience and establishing the game’s visual style. During DunDev, we’re hoping to learn more about the commercial side of game development, refine our plans for release and understand how best to bring the game to market.
After DunDev, we plan to continue growing our community through public playtesting and Steam events, working towards a commercial PC release with Steam Deck support as a priority.
About the Studio
Clear Skies Interactive
We are Clear Skies Interactive, a team of three devs who first met through the Oxford indie game development community. The studio grew out of a hoverboard prototype developed by John, our founder and lead programmer. Simon leads the visual development, including the game’s art style and environments, while Derek focuses on game design, progression and the player experience.
The prototype became To The Skies!, a breakneck hoverboard racing game inspired by classic arcade racers and extreme sports games. We’re aiming to capture the sense of speed, freedom and sheer joy that made those games so much fun, while bringing some fresh ideas of our own. We’re currently developing the game with support from the UK Games Fund, working towards our first public playtests and building a community around the game.
We’re looking forward to DunDev as an opportunity to meet other developers, share experiences, get feedback on our game and learn more about the business side of running a sustainable indie studio.
Looking to the future, we hope to take To The Skies! through to release and establish Clear Skies Interactive as a studio that can keep making games together.
Founders attending DunDev 2027
John Best
He/Him
I'm a programmer, lifelong gamer and founder and lead developer of Clear Skies Interactive. I love experimenting with new ideas, solving interesting problems and, most of all, making new toys for our game designer to play with (and occasionally break).
Derek Hartin
He/Him
I'm a veteran game designer, having worked on games including "Clumsy Ninja" and "DiRT Rally 2.0". I've also taught game design at Digital Bros Game Academy. This is my first true indie project, and I'm excited to make something easy to pick up and difficult to put down!