SketchFighter 4000 Alpha

SketchFighter 4000 Alpha is a 2006 Metroidvania scrolling shooter video game developed by Lost Minds and originally published by Ambrosia Software for Mac OS X. SketchFighter uses OpenGL and a custom game engine to create visuals for all elements of the game reminiscent of hand-drawn sketches.

SketchFighter 4000 Alpha
Developer(s)	Lost Minds
Publisher(s)	Ambrosia Software Lost Minds (Revival)
Designer(s)	Lars Gäfvert
Platform(s)	Mac OS X
Release	November 30, 2006
Genre(s)	Scrolling shooter, Metroidvania
Mode(s)	Single-player, multiplayer

SketchFighter was originally released on November 30, 2006 as shareware; specifically, crippleware as only a subset of the game is playable prior to registration.^[1]

In 2020, SketchFighter was re-released for the Mac App Store by Lost Minds after Ambrosia closed its doors.^[2]

Gameplay

SketchFighter's gameplay consists of using the ship to explore different "zones". The ship can move forward and backward and rotate and fire in the direction it is facing. Players fight a variety of enemies as they progress through the game and acquire different power-ups, such as weapon types, different colors of weapons, improved shields, and faster and stronger engines. Some of these power-ups require defeating a boss.

SketchFighter has two-player cooperative and competitive modes. It includes a web-based high score board and a level generator that the player can use to create their own levels.