IndieGames.com - The Weblog

Ha-Satan: The Last Shmup on Earth

editors@indiegames.com (timw) — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 17:48:48 +0000

This Something Awful GameDev Challenge IV competition entry isn't packing a lot of gameplay (only one playable level, tries to copy cactus a bit too much, ripped sprites etc.) but you can't beat an intro like that when it comes to cooking up a background story for your game under pressure.

Video quality is very poor and the text is hardly readable, although it doesn't matter anyway as the epilepsy-inducing Game Maker release is already available for download and play. (music by AA.Kurtz)

Freeware Game Pick: Vanguard Princess (Sugeno Tomoaki)

editors@indiegames.com (timw) — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 09:06:18 +0000

Vanguard Princess is a versus fighting game created with Enterbrain's 2D Fighter Maker engine, and a freeware download that showcases the sort of quality usually reserved for full-price commercial releases only. There are ten playable characters to choose from, an assortment of special moves distinct to each combatant, excellent sprite work, creative costume design, and even a multiplayer mode that is unfortunately limited to just two people playing on the same computer with no online capabilities. Depending on your interest in the genre you could still squeeze out an hour's play or two from it, although the end sequence for every character is practically the same.

The game will only work on Windows operating systems which can read names of files and folders in Japanese, or those that already have the Japanese language pack already installed (XP instructions, or use AppLocale). You can switch between full screen and windowed mode by using the left Alt and Enter key, while the button configuration option is accessible via the menu bar. (source: Canned Dogs)

Author's web site
Vector information page
direct download link
moves list
AppLocale instructions (by TC-man)

Round Up: Gamasutra Network Jobs, Week of July 3

editors@indiegames.com (Simon Carless) — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 08:37:01 +0000

In this round-up, we highlight some of the notable jobs posted in big sister site Gamasutra's industry-leading game jobs section this week, including positions from Blizzard, Microsoft Game Studios and more.

Each position posted by employers will appear on the main Gamasutra job board, and appear in the site's daily and weekly newsletters, reaching our readers directly.

It will also be cross-posted for free across its network of submarket sites, which includes content sites focused on online worlds, cellphone games, 'serious games', independent games and more.

Some of the notable jobs posted in each market area this week include:

Gamasutra.com - Game Industry Jobs

Volition Programmer
"Volition, Inc., a video game development studio in Champaign, IL, is seeking experienced C/C++ programmers to work on games for the Xbox 360 & PS3. Volition is one of THQ’s premier internal game development studios. We are the creators of such franchises as Saints Row, Red Faction, and the Descent/Freespace series."

2K Sports: UI Artist
"At 2K Sports our goal is simple: Make AAA games that are the best in the genre and have fun doing it. 2K Sports is proudly developing the critically acclaimed NHL 2K and MLB 2K series of games. Owned by Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. (NASDAQ: TTWO), 2K Games is a successful, stable company that produces high-quality titles every year."

Harmonix Music Systems: Senior Producer
"Harmonix is seeking an experienced Senior Producer for a large, internally-developed project. We are looking for a creative, flexible, and resourceful project driver who will understand the vision for the game and distill it into a sensible, prioritized schedule, ensuring both title quality and timely delivery."

Microsoft Game Studios: Senior Level Designer
"No Strings or Controllers Attached. Introducing Project Natal, a revolutionary new way to play: no controller required. See a ball? Kick it, hit it, trap it or catch it. If you know how to move your hands, shake your hips or speak you and your friends can jump into the fun -- the only experience needed is life experience."

WorldsInMotion - Online Games

Tencent Boston: Environment Artist
"We are looking for outstanding individuals with passion, talent and a team focused mindset. We are located in the Boston area and offer competitive salaries, superb benefits and profit sharing. This is your chance to get in on the ground floor of a great new development studio, a studio that can produce top tier quality games and bring them to market worldwide."

Blizzard Entertainment: Software Engineer, Tools
"Blizzard Entertainment's corporate applications team is currently looking for an experienced software engineer to join our corporate applications engineering team. This person will design and develop internal applications that aid the company and our players. The ideal candidate is a .NET expert, has successfully delivered robust solutions that can handle high-load situations, and isn't scared of ambiguity or tight deadlines."

To browse hundreds of similar jobs, and for more information on searching, responding to, or posting game industry-relevant jobs to the top source for jobs in the business, please visit Gamasutra's job board now.

Browser Game Pick: Aubergine Sky (Jonathan Whiting)

editors@indiegames.com (timw) — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 04:41:59 +0000

Aubergine Sky is a short puzzle game which is controlled entirely using the mouse, with no keyboard input required from the player. The story follows a man who is taking a quiet stroll on the outskirts of his town, lost in his thoughts and deeply troubled by some personal worries. Your task is to figure out a solution to the puzzle in each location, and to execute the action correctly in order to progress.

There are only a handful of screens to visit, and you won't be needing more than a couple of minutes to complete the entire game. (mirrors: Kongregate, Newgrounds)

Fez Coming to Xbox Live Arcade Early 2010

editors@indiegames.com (Michael Rose) — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 23:56:04 +0000

Of course, it was already obvious that the Xbox 360 was going to be at least one platform of choice for Polytron's upcoming title Fez due to the ickle A buttons displayed on past screenshots.

Now Phil Fish has announced that their incredible-looking platformer will be coming to an Xbox near you early next year. I don't know about you, but I think I'll be using permanent marker to scribble the word BUSY across the entirety of early 2010 on my calendar. Check here if you can't remember why this is seriously one to watch out for.

Trine Released

editors@indiegames.com (Michael Rose) — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 20:47:53 +0000

Trine, a mix of 'Prince of Persia with Flashback', is now available to download through Steam for $29.99 (£19.99).

I'll be perfectly honest, I only noticed Trine a month ago, but the most recent trailer (shown after the cut) and a play through the demo was enough to get me interested.

Here's the blurb:

Trine is a fantasy action game where the player can create and use physics-based objects to beat hazardous puzzles and threatening enemies. Set in a world of great castles and strange machinery, three heroes are bound to a mysterious device called the Trine in a quest to save the kingdom from evil…

Switching between these three heroes is essential to completing each puzzles and destroying enemies. The demo is definitely worth a play, showing off the first level. As usual I will be reporting back sometime next week with my opinion. For now check out the official Trine site for more details.

Browser Game Pick: Push (Ian Snyder)

editors@indiegames.com (Michael Rose) — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 05:49:40 +0000

Push is a twisted platformer all about moving the level around to reach the goal. The WASD keys move the little expressionless guy around, while clicking the mouse button will push all the surrounding blocks away from the centre of your click, allowing him to progress past originally solid walls.

Great concept, yet painfully difficult to master. Push the blocks in the wrong way and your guy will go splat. I was terrible at it. See how you fare at BonusLevel.

Independent Games Summit @ GDC Austin Reveals First Speakers

editors@indiegames.com (Simon Carless) — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 15:10:16 +0000

[We're starting to announce the content for the first-ever Indie Games Summit @ GDC Austin, and though this is only about a third of the total lectures, you can see it should be a hopefully interesting gathering of the minds. Full info below...]

Organizers of this September's Independent Games Summit at GDC Austin have announced first speakers, with the indies behind titles like Bit.Trip Beat, Age Of Booty, Fantastic Contraption, and DeathSpank speaking on a multitude of notable topics.

Initial information about the September 15th-16th Summit, a separate part of the wider, 'connected game'-focused Austin-based event, is available on the GDC Austin website. Other Summits taking place at GDC Austin this year include a brand-new iPhone Games Summit and the notable, long-running Writing and Audio Summits..

Details on the Independent Games Summit at GDC Austin include specifics on the first five lectures and panels for the first-ever Austin edition of the popular main GDC event, and the highlights include:

- In 'The Bit.Trip Series: Holistic Indie Console Game Design', Gaijin Games' Alex Neuse will speak on "how the small team created the retro-infused [game] series, giving tips on standing out on WiiWare and how to intelligently mine classic gaming for a unique look."

- Speaking in 'Business Managing Your Indie Developer Through The Downturn', Jennifer Bullard of local Texas independent developer Certain Affinity, which has done contract work for big AAA console titles (Left 4 Dead, Call Of Duty: World At War) and developed significant original IP (downloadable title Age Of Booty) will discuss running your indie as a business, and how a small company intelligently juggles work for hire and original IP.

- In a lecture called 'Postmortem: The Design & Business Behind Fantastic Contraption', Colin Northway will explain how the Flash-based physics sandbox webgame -- which has been played by millions of people, and brought in six-figure profits for its single developer -- was designed, monetized and marketed itself, based on an initially free title with paid upgrades.

- Wolfire COO John Graham (co-creator of the upcoming Overgrowth) will discuss 'Effective Marketing For Indie Game Developers', explaining how you use your own website, social networking channels, independent editorial content, and even pre-release versions of your tools to build a robust community around your game before it even ships.

- Finally, in 'The Indie Business Rant', notables including Hothead's Joel DeYoung (DeathSpank, Penny Arcade Adventures), Klei's Jamie Cheng (Shank), and IGS advisory board members Matthew Wegner (Blurst.com, Crane Wars) and Adam Saltsman (Fathom) will "each give short 5-10 minute presentations on aspects of indie business that irk, disgust, or nauseate them, hopefully also including some panaceas for the indie business pain that sickens them."

More information on 2009's Independent Games Summit at Austin GDC, including registration details and other specifics, is available at the official IGS @ Austin GDC website.

Review: Time Gentlemen, Please! (Zombie Cow Studios)

editors@indiegames.com (Michael Rose) — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 11:25:54 +0000

Adventure games are a lost art these days. Not to sound like an old man, but they just don't make them like they used to. I can't say I particularly enjoyed the more recent outings of a certain dog and rabbit (or any of Telltale's recent works to be perfectly honest) and nothing else has really caught my attention.

Time Gentlemen, Please!, the sequel to Ben There, Dan That, is not only the best adventure game I've played in a very long time - it is one of the best adventure games I've played. Ever.

And it's $5.

In general, I don't usually laugh out loud at games. It's not a rule of mine - I just find the majority of gaming humour will at most achieve a grin from me. When I say that Zombie Cow Studios caused me to chuckle on numerous occasions, I must point out the bias; Time Gentlemen, Please! is written in a very British manner and, since my heritage aligns, I in turn adored the humour. It is incredibly British, with a mix of witty banter, silly animations and hilarious facial expressions.

But seriously, have you seen the plot? After accidently wiping out the whole human race, hero Ben and his sidekick Dan go back in time to stop coathangers being invented and, in turn, allow Hitler to take over the world with his army of Nazi dinosaurs. Clearly the game is aimed at an adult audience and contains multiple swears, literal toilet humour and general rudeness.

While the laughs set a high standard, the puzzles follow suit superbly. The game features lots of going backwards and forwards through time, allowing for the player to change things in the past to affect the future. It's a tried-and-tested mechanic, but Zombie Cow pull it off well and, in some cases, have devised some pretty unique scenarios (for example, being able to see both the past and present on either side of the screen).

Another stand-out feature of the game is the fact that nearly every item can be used with every other item and yield a different line or conversation from our heroes. The sheer quantity (and quality) of dialogue is astounding - rarely did I encounter a generic 'I don't want to use that with that' line. This incredible effort alone is worth the $5 asking price.

This becomes even more impressive when you factor in the length of the adventure. I'm pretty bad at adventure games (most of the time my brain can't figure out the most obvious of puzzles) so when I say that it took me a week to complete, this time-scale may not be the best to go off. Let's put it this way - it's not short.

What it boils down to is this - if you're an adventure games fan, this is a must-buy. If you play the occasional adventure game, this is your occasional must-buy. For everyone else, there's a demo to scope out. If you're still not convinced, give the completely free Ben There, Dan That a playthrough and see if that helps make your mind up.

Did I mention the Nazi dinosaurs?

Browser Game Pick: Queens (noonat)

editors@indiegames.com (timw) — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 16:41:29 +0000

Queens is a small 2D platformer created by noonat in under three days for a mini Ludum Dare contest, made possible with the help of Adam Atomic's flixel framework and tutorial resources.

The game isn't particularly long or difficult, and you won't be spending more than fifteen minutes or so to complete the entire adventure. (source: auntie pixelante)

Freeware Game Pick: Succor (Sean Barrett)

editors@indiegames.com (timw) — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 18:12:06 +0000

Succor is an experimental project created by Sean Barrett, the developer of Lost in the Static, with the original protype designed in under three days but then expanded to include a total of twenty-seven levels in the public release version.

The game is rather simplistic in nature, where only the most basic of polygons or lines are used to represent walls, objects, and ships. You can hold the left or right arrow key to turn the ship, press up to move forward, or use the space key to shoot. Players should be able to breeze through the first few stages with ease, but the difficulty will pick up immediately once you're presented with a new gameplay element that changes the way you approach and overcome challenges radically.

This is one of those special cases where a developer cannot be squarely blamed for making a game extremely easy or too difficult. Jonathan Blow's name is also mentioned in the credits as a tester, for extreme Braid fans.

New Demo for The Underside

editors@indiegames.com (timw) — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 12:47:23 +0000

An updated demo for Arthur Lee's The Underside is now available for download. New areas and items previewed in the last gameplay video posted are all accessible in this release, with more than double the number of locations to explore and a couple of surprises to be found as well. (source)

Follow Twitter Accounts, Get Free Games

editors@indiegames.com (timw) — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 07:13:00 +0000

Rake in Grass is currently running a Larva Mortus giveaway promotion, where the first fifty followers of their Twitter account will get a copy of the full game for free. There were at least twenty-two copies left to grab at the time of writing.

As proven by Wolfire and Pocketwatch Games' free game promotions, indie game developers stand to gain a lot in return (everything from growing support to sales increases) just by giving away their games.

If you have a Twitter account for development updates and encountered difficulties in getting the word out, then start giving some games away today.

[UPDATE: Rake in Grass' giveaway promotion has been extended for an extra week, so there's plenty of time for everybody to follow their Twitter account and get a free code for Larva Mortus.]

Preview: Across the Lake (Alexitron)

editors@indiegames.com (timw) — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 18:32:35 +0000

Across the Lake is an upcoming freeware platformer currently being developed by Alexitrón, developer of Shocker and The Power. Playthrough for the first two level is shown in the video above, and the full game should contain at least eight stages if not more.

Made with Game Maker.

Freeware Game Pick: Monos (Yamahara)

editors@indiegames.com (timw) — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 05:01:17 +0000

Monos is a puzzle game with Tetris-style controls and irregular coloured shapes for the players to place inside a well. The level count increases by one for every ten shapes cleared from the screen, and there are a total of fifty levels to play regardless of the difficulty setting chosen.

Your objective is basically to match two or more blocks of the same colour to remove them. The Z and X keys can be used to rotate the current piece in play. Press up to place a block at the bottom of the well immediately, or hold the down arrow key to move it downwards at a slower pace.

In the percent gameplay mode, players are given random shapes to fill a well with. The more shapes you can fit in, the higher your percentage count will be at the end of the game. (direct download link)