Rodrigo Testa's new game Scavenger feels the most like an actual NES game out of all 8 NES FAN Game Jam entries. Testa has some experience with simulated retro authenticity, being the developer behind the Strider-inspired Cataegis - The White Wind. Both of these games feel like emulated NES ROMs. While Cataegis is still in development, Scavenger is a complete experience, and a remarkably rich one considering its short development cycle.]]>
Scavenger doesn't just look and sound like a great NES game; it plays like one, as well. The difficulty level eases you in but ramps up quickly, then stays high but fair. This is more puzzle than action game, and you need to move deliberately in order to complete each level while maximizing your score and minimizing your number of lives lost. Scavenger plays like a darker, cooler version of the classic game H.E.R.O. Equipped with a jetpack, bombs, and a gun, you explore the blasted tunnels of an underground biotech research facility and try to rescue the people trapped there.
Use the arrow keys to fly or walk around, and the Z key to fire your weapon. If you press down while standing on solid ground, you will drop a bomb, which will explode shortly thereafter. Your gun will dispatch most of the biomechanical horrors that get in your way, and your bombs will take out the rest. The primary function of bombs, of course, is to blow up walls (they only work on the thin ones). You have a limited amount of explosives which only replenish between levels, but you have an unlimited supply of ammo and jetpack fuel. However, your time in any one level is limited by your slowly diminishing oxygen supply. You also have a limited number of precious lives (which I initially mistook for hit points). These don't replenish, but you can thankfully save your progress between levels.
Unfortunately not available as an NES cartridge, you can get Scavenger as free download for Windows.
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Innovative RPGs aren't unearthed often enough. When they do come along, as in the case of Toby Fox's UnderTale, they are such a joy to share. Sharp writing, engaging puzzles, and fresh battle systems makes UnderTale a triple threat, even in its demo state.
I'll save the puzzles (leaf patterns, switches, and stubborn rocks are just the beginning) and human-monster story (told initially with some stunningly drawn cinematics) for a post about the completed version. I want to dive into the combat, because you'll be doing that a lot. You're given the chance to fight enemies with a timing based skill, show them mercy, or do enemy-specific acts such as "compliment" to change their dispositions.
While showing them mercy yields no XP, it can avoid sometimes difficult offensive and defensive bouts. Along with timing-based attacks for the offense, players control a tiny heart that must dodge enemies' various attacks in an enclosed rectangular arena for the defense. This arena becomes more crowded when multiple enemies attack you simultaneously.
No matter what you've read about the newly-unveiled Xbox One, I'll wager you haven't seen much mention of the role of indie developers on the new console.
Noticed on Twitter, Quarantine is the first released game by John T. (Crono Maniac). It would have been a great fit for Ludum Dare 26. It's a minimalist, mysterious little puzzle-platformer with a cool twist. There appears to be a sinister narrative suggested by the game and its title, but nothing is explained in the game--not even the gameplay. You awaken trapped in a large room, encased in a chamber of red blocks. Other blocks in the room are blue and transparent. One of the giant lamps that woke you up is pulsing, as if beckoning you.]]>
I'll break down the basic mechanics now, so don't read this if you want to go in blind, as the author probably intended. Use the right and left arrow keys to walk and to move while falling or jumping. Jump with Z. Pressing X will phase between the red and blue blocks, making one color solid and enabling you to pass through the other. To progress on to the next room, you have to "activate" each of the flashing lamps. The rest is for you to discover.
Blake Fix, designer of the excellent Walker and the upcoming Omulus, announced the release of his latest project, (my) Life as a Game (designer). He describes it as "a minigame that is supposed to convey the frustration of life's distractions while trying to complete a project", but it is so much more. While it does convey tedium and frustration, it does so with wit and style, while employing a surprisingly intricate game system.]]>
Controlling your onscreen avatar is simple: Just use the arrow keys to move and X to interact with things and people. A note at the top of the screen will tell you what X will do in any given situation. The basic goal is to try to make a game while attending to your other needs, using Sims-style management of time and resources. Each of your needs is represented by a bar at the top left of the screen, most of which diminish at various speeds and can be replenished in different ways. The interplay between each of these factors forms the heart of the game.
Microsoft has all but completely failed to acknowledge independent development in the course of unveiling its new console, the Xbox One. But what it has said isn't too inspiring.
These Robotic Hearts of Mine and Traal developer Draknek/Alan Hazelden has released a short but clever puzzler for iOS, Android, and Blackberry today. Dr. Biology's Educational Game is an exercise in splitting and moving cells until they cover all the gaps. Simply drag the cells where you want them to move, and they will split upon moving. That's not all there is to it, but that should be enough to get you going!
Swofl, developer of the exceptionally creepy indie classic Lasting, has delivered a new horror game of a different flavor. Super Product Line, or SPL, is an 8-bit styled survival horror game created for the NESFAN Game Jam. It's a bit like what Resident Evil might have been on the NES, but with a sense of humor.]]>
Stuck at work in the midst of a zombie outbreak, you'll need to survive and find a way to escape the building. Most actions are performed with the arrow keys: Use left and right to walk (the walking animation is a sort of waddle that makes running from zombies pretty funny to watch), use the down arrow to pick things up and press up to enter doorways and other points of egress. After you find a gun, you'll use Z to shoot. Keep in mind that, as is standard for the genre, ammo is extremely scarce and zombies generally take a few shots to take down. Pick up health packs and what other items you can; they'll be automatically used at the appropriate times. The puzzles are good but not too difficult, but with all of the zombies running around, you might need a few tries before you make it through to the end.
With upcoming console Xbox One, the Xbox Marketplace will no longer offer a distinction between retail, Arcade and Xbox Live Indie Games -- instead, all titles will be available under the same banner.