Size Does Matter, stylized as Size DOES Matter, is a 2014 indie rhythm game developed by DOS Studios and released by Channel 4 Television for iOS and Android. Players move and resize a set of blocks to fit through moving obstacles and score points. It won the Channel 4 Award at Dare to Be Digital 2013, and the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) Ones to Watch Award 2014.
| Size Does Matter | |
|---|---|
 App icon | |
| Developer(s) | DOS Studios |
| Publisher(s) | Channel 4 Television |
| Designer(s) | Silje Dahl, Lars Andersen |
| Programmer(s) | Nick La Rooy, Trond Fasteraune |
| Artist(s) | Mattis Delerud |
| Engine | Unity |
| Platform(s) | iOS, Android |
| Release | iOS August 13, 2014 Android August 22, 2014 |
| Genre(s) | Rhythm |
| Mode(s) | Single-player |
Development edit
Initially called Size DOS Matter, the game was created for Dare to Be Digital 2013, a student game design competition run by Abertay University, over a period of nine weeks. The team consisted of a group of five students from the Norwegian School of Information Technology. Mattis Delerud was the team leader and artist, Silje Dahl and Lars Øvre Andersen were game designers, and Nick La Rooy and Trond Fasteraune were programmers.[1]
Videos of the game's development and early demo builds show that the game was developed using the Unity game engine.[2] During development an internal level editor was created,[3] multiple input schemes were tested, and the visuals were designed to emphasise the beat of the songs.[4] The "Super Easy" tutorial level was added to help teach the player the basic controls of the game.
The prototype was presented at the Dare ProtoPlay festival from 8–11 August in Caird Hall, Dundee, where it was announced that they had won the Channel 4 Award.[5] This included £25,000 of funding for additional work on the game and mentoring support.[6] The game was published on the Apple App Store, Google Play Store and Amazon Appstore the following year.
Reception edit
| Aggregator | Score |
|---|---|
| Metacritic | 77/100[7] |
| Publication | Score |
|---|---|
| Pocket Gamer |   [8] |
| TouchArcade |  [9] |
Size Does Matter was generally well received by reviewers, with an average Metacritic score of 77/100.[7] TouchArcade criticised the perfection demanded by the three strike system, but considered it a good "arcade survival game" praising its fun frantic gameplay.[9] Pocket Gamer called it "elegant and challenging" praising the bright neon visuals, comparing the game to Super Hexagon which also includes music by Chipzel. Whilst they also criticised the three strike system, they liked the potential for mastery and enjoyed the rewarding feeling of beating the levels.[8]
Awards edit
References edit
- ^ "Team DOS - Size DOS Matter". Dare to Be Digital. 2013. Archived from the original on 12 Aug 2013. Retrieved 31 Dec 2022.
- ^ Size DOS Matter - Input Schemes, retrieved 2022-12-31
- ^ "Week 2 - Team DOS - Size DOS Matter". Dare to Be Digital. Archived from the original on 2013-09-16. Retrieved 2022-12-31.
- ^ "Week 4 - Team DOS". Dare to Be Digital. 2013-07-06. Archived from the original on 2013-08-09. Retrieved 2022-12-31.
- ^ a b "Dare Protoplay 2013 – the event, the games and the winners". the Guardian. 2013-08-12. Retrieved 2022-12-30.
- ^ "Channel 4 £25,000 award for Dare to be Digital 2013 | Channel 4". www.channel4.com. Retrieved 2022-12-31.
- ^ a b "Size DOES Matter (2014)". Metacritic. Retrieved 2022-12-31.
- ^ a b "Size Does Matter". www.pocketgamer.com. 20 August 2014. Retrieved 2022-12-02.
- ^ a b "'Size DOES Matter' Review – Rhythm Without Rhythm – TouchArcade". 20 August 2014. Retrieved 2022-12-31.
- ^ DOS Studios - Dare To Be Digital 2013 | ProtoPlay, Channel 4 Award Announcement, retrieved 2022-07-13
- ^ "BAFTA Ones to Watch 2014 - Size DOES Matter". www.bafta.org. 2013-08-14. Retrieved 2022-07-13.