Merry Christmas from everyone here at Project BC!  As the penultimate Act II update and our Christmas gift to you, here’s the opening theme for Act II, titled “When I Die” and featuring vocals by Melanie Ehrlich.  Check it out:

Yes, it's a bit twee. But please don't let that put you off. It's brill, honest!

Peggle is a funny one, part of a genre sadly known as “casual gaming” (simple games are not remotely casual – try playing Galaga for details) it looks a bit crap on paper – basically a pinball varient that, whilst entirely based on skill, feels more like it’s based on luck much of the time since it’s so hard to predict beyond a couple of bounces where the ball will end up. And yet its extremely simple gameplay, beautiful presentation and wide range of features make this a modern classic, easily for me one of the games of the decade.

The main reason that Peggle works is that it’s a highscore game. Unlike “hardcore” games which are often story-driven – all too often to the detriment of gameplay in the same way special effects films often spend too much time trying to dazzle and forget to tell a decent story (which reminds me, Avatar is out now) – highscore games are about achieving scores and either give the player a personal best to beat or, if they play with other people, an opponent to compete with and humiliate or be humiliated by.

And it’s in multiplayer mode that Peggle works best. Playing it on its own is like playing a high-tech version of an old-fashioned pinball machine; playing it with someone else is like competing in some kind of futuristic carnival game. It’s great fun aiming the gun and firing the shiny balls, trying to get the best angle to hit as many of the red pegs as possible whilst taking out as many blues as you can on the way; it’s even more fun when there’s someone else there to jeer as you bounce off a single blue and your ball careers into the gutter or gasp in annoyance as you hit dozens of reds and take out a cascade of blues before the ball makes a flukey landing in the bonus jar at the bottom for an extra ball.

Not everyone will like Peggle, some will be put off by its simplistic gameplay, some will dislike the somewhat “random” feel the shots can have if they’re not too good at judging how balls bounce. But I suspect most will see those as strengths, not weaknesses; a game that’s accessible and easy to play but takes real skill to master and yet is still a game where a novice can get a massive score with a lucky shot. There’s only one way to find out how you feel about Peggle and that’s to give it a try.

Video games.

I don’t think there was a point when I really discovered them. It seems like they’ve always existed.

I’ve had exposure to games since I was born. My parents were not really big on games, but they grew up with Pac-Man and Space Invaders. As a baby, they would hold me up to arcade cabinets and try to get me to play.

I remember some family reunion thing when I was four. It was at my cousin’s house. He was a little bit younger than me. I was probably four or five when it took place. He had a NES and SNES, and I spent almost the whole event chasing pet chickens and trying out all of the different games he had.

When I was five, I had to have my tonsils taken out. When I woke up after the operation, I saw my mother and my father, holding a box that read, “SEGA Genesis” with “6-Pak game cartridge included”.
I was too excited. I wanted out of that place THAT SECOND.
I wound up having to stay longer due to complications. My father ended up busting it out at home, playing it, and coming back to tell me about how awesome it was.

I digress.

Anyways. Influential video games.

All I had was a Genesis, Gameboy Colour, and PC, up until my brother got a PS2 for some birthday, a few years into it’s cycle.

The game I probably played the most of was Sonic 3 & Knuckles.
I really loved the art and all of the different landscapes and environments to explore. That was my big draw: the feelings it gave me when I would see the lush foliage, or harsh metal architecture.

I also played quite a bit of Ecco 2. Although I mostly used level select and explored all of the environments. This game creeped, no, horrified me quite a bit as a little kid. To this day, I still have nightmares about it. It’s pretty interesting. The environments are beautiful, and sometimes, twisted. The music, eerie. The story, very deep and somewhat frightening in itself, at times. I don’t care what anyone says!

Although, there are three games that influenced me more, and I played almost as much as Sonic 3.

Atomic Robo-Kid left the biggest impression on me. It’s a little spooky too. Some of the art is very bio-mechanical, and I’m sure Giger had some sort of influence. It’s pretty-much just a twitch shooter with more interesting level set-ups and structures. More like shooter with some platformer inspiration.

This game scarred me or something. It’s really bored itself into my brain.

The art and feel from Tsutomu Nihei’s work with manga/comics (“BLAME!”, “NOiSE”, “The Knight of Cydonia”) reminds me of Atomic Robo-Kid a lot, sometimes.

My favourite level in the game. I love the near-infinite feel of the background.

This is actually a shot from the Turbografx-16 port. I haven’t actually seen this level in the Genesis version I love so much (although I’ve never even beat it, or have gotten too far into it, either). I’m sure it’s in it, though.

Whip Rush is probably my second favourite. As a little kid, I would spend hours trying to beat it (to no avail, haha), then run outside, hop on my bicycle, and pretend I was in the game.
It’s a very fun Gradius-style shooter, but it probably has the most beautiful pixel art I’ve ever seen in-game. Really amazing music too!

Viewpoint is great too. The graphics are a little strange. Not just in a surreal way, but because it’s got this isometric look to it. This game was probably one of the earlier examples of something like the modern “bullet-hell” stuff.
The music is absolutely fantastic. Please give it a listen. It was done by a couple of jazz composer, and consists mostly of strange samples and phrases of FM work. Good stuff.
There is also a PSOne port of the game, and there was a canceled Nintendo 64 sequel, which I cry over every time I remember it…

I’ve been into indie games and indie game development probably as long as I’ve had access to a computer. I would spend hours surfing the internet, reading about fan games, and all sorts of little things like that.

I eventually got into emulation too, and wound up playing all sorts of hardcore, JP-only games for the SNES, Genesis, and NEC PC-Engine.

I think the first indies games I really got into were Ben “Yahtzee” Croshaw’s Chzo Mythos games. I played “5 Days a Stranger” shortly after it’s sequel “7 Days a Skeptic” came out, and I went to town on both.
I was never really into point-and-click games before that. I’m still not, really, but I try and give them a shot now.

The first indie game to really blow me away was, of course, Cave Story.
It was probably the first indie game to make me realise that they can be just as good as published ones. It’s all up to those who make them.
It really took me back to the days when I would browse BRE Software and so many other little mom’n'pop game stores in town, looking for interesting Genesis games.

I’ve also been very-much in love with All Of Our Friends Are Dead and Au Sable. They’ve really given me a similar feel that Cave Story has, but a little different. More like if David Lynch had actually followed through, and gotten into more game design. I’m TOTALLY in love with the sound design on them, too!

My favourite game is Yume Nikki (next would be the No More Heroes games, followed by Contact for the DS, and Mother 3 for GBA. Though they will probably get their own posts too, someday~).
I just really love everything about it. When I’m in a creepy mood, or want to relax, I like to play it. I really love how much there is to explore. Explorations, environments, and depth. I think those are the most important things for video games.

Before finding Cave Story, though, I messed around and tried making some games of my own.
I received my first PC when I turned nine, and was really into this sprite and sprite comics craze (thankfully, I saw the errors of my ways, and fell out of it all).
I looked into this really weird, game maker-esque engine, and spent sleepless, terrible nights fiddling with it. I messed around with RPGMaker 2000 a lot too. In middle school, I grabbed some earlier version of Multimedia Fusion, and tried making a vertical scrolling shooter. Terrible stuff, though.

After finding Cave Story, my fire was rekindled, and I’ve been more and more interested in make my own games. Well, wait. Since I was little, I’ve wanted very badly to grow up and break into the game industry. This never left me, but my indie game fire was rekindled.

Simplicity at its best. Do things you wouldn’t do to break the routine. A perfect game for a monday morning.

Play it here.

Every Day the Same Dream is a beautiful independent game from Paolo Pedercini as an entry to the Experimental Gameplay Project. Illustrating the tedium of routine office work, the game allows few interactions – for example exchanging brief words with your indifferent wife, a homeless man, the elevator operator. You can only ‘win’ the game by searching out the few ways to break the routine of everyday working life. It’s bleak and often tedious – and it’s one of the most consistent and affecting games I’ve played in a long time.

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Maybe it’s because those bastards at King Taco got my order wrong.  Maybe it’s because I’m feeling a tad sleepy.  I really don’t know.  Now that I think about it, it may have to do with the fact that I am absolutely broke this holiday season.  I’m not even halfway done with my Christmas shopping, and I already spent all my money.  It’s tough, it’s annoying, and it makes me realize why people hate the holidays so much.  I’m not saying I hate the holidays, but I now understand why certain people do.

*Sigh*

Enough of the negativity, though.  Aside from being broke and not having a good job, things have been decent.  I played through Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance.  I had a ton of fun with that game, and it made me remember my appreciation for the GCN.  A tactical RPG in its purest, most enjoyable form, Path of Radiance was not only a joy to play, but a truly rewarding experience.  The story, the music, and the gameplay were all excellent.  Methinks I’ll be giving the game another go sometime next year.

I beat it in about a week or so, clocking in 33 hours.  A decent-sized game, and I finished it in time for The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks, which I’m currently playing and enjoying a whole lot.  It’s nice to see Zelda as a companion to Link as opposed to being the damsel in distress.  They gave her attitude, a personality, and a great sense of charm not seen before in the princess of Hyrule.

Other than that, I haven’t played much of anything else.  I have a backlog of indie games I’d like to get to, but alas my writing on GamerSyndrome has been my top priority.  Speaking of indie games, I was supposed to talk about RunMan and Aether in this post.  Oh, well…

Whoo! After a 20 hour train ride, I’m finally home for the holidays. Though this week’s Act II update is still forthcoming, I’ve got something else for you in the meantime. I’m starting up an Act I character poll, where you vote for your favorite male and female characters.

Once Act II has been out, a follow-up poll will be held and it should be fun to see if certain characters go up or down in the rankings. Without further adieu, here’s the character list:

Male
Rayonne de Bellemont
Zaqris jaGrane
Vastale/Michael Ranksmith
Weapon
Blaise Tearson

Female
Auria Edith
Serijala Racorie
Sandarga
Auria’s Mom
Fiora

Submit your vote either by response by email by comment or email (blue.oblivion@gmail.com) or whatever method of communication you feel like and I’ll add it to the tally. I’ll post again next Saturday with the results.

Square Off is a great game from Gnomic Studios that I found on Xbox Live Indie Games.  It’s got a solid game mechanic and great art direction.  Well worth the 240 points ($3), and a good benchmark for what Xbox Live Indie Games should be.

The Gnomic Studios team paid a lot of attention to detail.  The characters facial expressions are one of the first things I noticed; I like how they change to reflect what’s going on.  The sound queues lend fun to the game, too, especially the dash of funk that accompanies every round.  Enemy variety steadily ramps up as you progress through the levels, which themselves are not-so-obviously designed to maximize opportunities for mega kills.  The weapons are specialized for different scenarios and strategies, and the game forces you to make little trade-offs, sacrificing speed to aim, for instance.

This “horde management” game harder than it looks.  The game’s actually pretty stingy with the bigger weapons, and encourages you to conserve ammunition, which you’ll need in abundance as there doesn’t seem to be an upper limit on how big the horde can get.  Of course, your only source for ammunition is killing off the horde itself.

I haven’t played co-op with the wife yet, but I suspect that’d be really fun.

I only found a couple of things in the game that I would have changed.  For example, I can’t seem to come up with a good strategy for using the bomb.  50% of the time its bounciness sends its careening into a totally empty space, and the unpredictability of the ships’ movement make them useful only against clusters of slow-moving horde.  I’d also like to have seen a bit more whimsy in the weapons, like MIRV grenades or homing missiles–things that are guaranteed to cause lots of carnage.  An overall increase in the giblet count would’ve been welcome, too.

So this week has been a busy one and I haven’t had nearly enough time to post what I’ve been doing.  It’s odd that I found enough time to do so much that warrants writing about.  I officially am on Christmas break and had my last concert this morning.  Time to play gaming catch-up and get some rest on the side.

Flower

I still absolutely love this game.  Even after a bit of wondering if it was just the initial impact that had me so wowed, I’m convinced I just love the game.  I finished up the main bit of the game and was quite impressed by the “story” as it were.  In the first 3 flowers I had no idea, but the last 3 were a roller coaster.  It’s nice that not all of the levels were just pretty playgrounds.  I also managed to get all but 2 trophies with relatively little difficulty.  Even the seemingly difficult trophies were pretty easy to get.  The remaining trophies require me to take a week off the game and return and to get 10,000 blooms.  So I think I’ll take my week off starting yesterday and come back reinvigorated to try to bloom 10,000 flowers.

The game is short.  I wanted more.  That doesn’t mean I wish it were longer.  I think the game was just right.  It did something awesome and left me wanting more at the end rather than beat me over the head with an interesting mechanic until I didn’t care any more.  I’m constantly growing to believe that shorter games with fuller experiences are far superior to 60+ hour epics.  It’s odd, because the super long games (especially RPGs) is what I grew up loving.  Now I just want more quality in less space.  Many Indie games lately have really hit this concept home for me, but also games like Portal.  Portal initially feels to short, but the game wouldn’t have been what it was if it were longer.

Indie

So I was browsing about some of the best Indie games of the last year and noticed VVVVVV by Terry Cavanagh.  That’s cool, but then I noticed he was the creator of Don’t Look Back which I thought was brilliant.  Such a tiny, simple game that was so though provoking.  The game looks like it’s made for Atari, was only about 5-10 minutes long, has no dialogue… and still made me cry the first time I played it.  So I checked out his site and decided to give a few of his other games a whirl.

First I played Pathways which didn’t make much sense to me at first.  As I played it I started to get it more.  The pathway where you realize that he has another wife and kid aside from the one you leave every morning really hit me.  By the end of the game I was really sad he couldn’t find her.  How did a grow so much attachment to this character that had one line of dialogue in a 5 minute game?  I also noticed that many of the pathways didn’t resonate with me.  The fantasy dragon thing and the alien creature thing just seemed silly and the solider bit wasn’t really my bag, but I realized that to a lot of people the cheating thing might not have seemed to mean much.  Some people do have family in the military.  That might mean a lot more to them.  Nobody is going out fighting dragons, but there are people who identify with that in their own way.  Overall I got far more out of the game than I’d expected.

Next, I played Judith. This one grabbed me more than Pathways. I don’t want to ruin it if anyone decides to read this an play it (unlikely), but once again I was amazed at how poignant it was given its simplicity.  It’s first person and is basically a short story told through you taking control of characters.  Toward the last half of the game my heart was pounding and I was on the edge of my seat… but I was also a little uncomfortable.  I realized somewhere along the way how significant it is that you’re always in first person and almost never actually see other characters.  You never get to see your protagonist(s).   After the game was over I realized that it just wouldn’t work quite as well as a short-story or short-film.  The fact that you are in control (even though you can make no real choices) makes a huge difference.  There’s no writer telling you what the protagonist feels.  YOU are the protagonist and you are feeling what you feel.  It’s compelling to me that this game provided an experience I’m pretty certain I could never get from just reading or watching something. I loved the game and highly recommend it.

If you’re reading go to Terry Cavanagh’s site and at least try out Don’t Look Back, and Judith.  If you think you might enjoy something a little more artistic, try Pathways as well.  The games are all very short and easy to play.

Dead Space

I picked this up today to play with my wife over the break.  I haven’t really gotten to far, but I’m enjoying it so far.  My wife is also enjoying it more than she had expected to.  I decided to make an attempt at an incremental review of this game.  The first entry is quite long, but I’m sure subsequent entries will be less so.  There’s just always so much to say about the first feelings you get when you try a new game.  Maybe there are people out there that want a good idea of what to expect in their first 30 minutes of play.  If you care go check out my thoughts here.

On the Shelf

I have nothing much in the way of serious plans.  I’m on my current path.  Gonna play a lot of Mega Man games on emulator.  Gonna play Dead Space with the wife.  Gonna try to finish Demon’s Souls and then start it again.  I may look into some other PSN/XBLA type stuff.  I’ll probably buy the Metal Gear Solid Collection off of Amazon though I don’t know when I’ll start it.  Having it on the shelf will at least be a step toward getting to it, and I’m constantly reminded how much I need to play the series, so having it around my be all the push I need to play them.

If after being off the radar for quite sometime, you thought the name brand of Square Enix’s flagship series had lost some of it’s firepower – think again my comrades. A few days ago, Japan came out in droves for the December 17th launch of Final Fantasy XIII (13).  Not only were there long lines at every electronics retailer in Japan, the majority of them started at around midnight the previous day waiting for a 6:00 am opening. And you only thought Black Friday shoppers went to some ridiculous lengths. Meet the Japanese gamer everyone.

Japan Comes Out For Final Fantasy XIII In Droves [Kotaku]

In other awesome links of the day: looks like Video Games Live is going to be shown on a PBS station near you, a survey issued by Sony smells of Paid PSN features, Gamasutra chimes in on what the top 10 indie games were for 2009, and IGN asks ‘What Spider-man Can Learn Batman: Arkham Asylum.’ Oh yes sir! Hot links here! Get your hot links here!

Video Games Live To Air On PBS [GameSpot]

Sony Survey Hints at Paid PSN Features [1UP]

Gamasutra’s Best Of 2009: Top 10 Indie Games [Gamasutra]

What Spider-man Can Learn Batman: Arkham Asylum [IGN]

CLICK on pic for LARGE version

Darius of Tiny Subversions explains it all here.

Or…. you can read the original “comedy gold” comments thread here.

Hope you enjoy my motivational poster. It’s available at JOMG for FREE, but I maybe putting it on Xbox live arcade for 400 points.

New, weekly slot rounding up some games ‘what I played’.

This is the first instalment, and features Scribbleland, Don’t B Nervous Talking 2 Girls, Space Phallus and This is the Only Level.

Scribbleand is a  delightful little platformer that offers a fairly decent test with a very simple control system.

The player must traverse the level by holding LMB to move, and releasing LMB to jump. A forward jump is achieved by pressing and holding LMB while in the air.

Although this scheme sounds quite easy, its within the rhythms and nuances that the true beauty of this game is found. The LMB clicking itself almost becomes musical, as your finger slips at the last obstacle for the fourteenth time in a row. You sigh to yourself, then repeat quickly with the same rhythm that got you there the last time, hoping your timing will be better so you may move onto the elusive next stage.

The game is built in flash and available free to play here.

Space Phallus is a game that needs no lyrical waxing – it is, as you may have guessed, a side-scrolling shooter with a secondary school sense of humour.

(Yes, that is a giant heli-bollock shooting sperm.)

This is the Only Level is a platformer with a twist – instead of playing with the same set of controls and variables on different levels, the player is instead plays on one level with different variables each time. It’s up to you to work out what the hell is going on, and get that trademark elephant through that exit pipe.

Each round a poses a different test, and minimising the death count as well as the customary timer will be the arbiters of your final result.

Happily, the game also features a no-brains-required save system, so when you rage-quit after thirty successive deaths your game will be saved at that stage for when you’ve calmed down.

Definitely this week’s oddball choice is Silver Dollar’s Chat’Em’Up game-cum-self help book, Don’t B Nervous Talking 2 Girls [XBOX 360].

In the ‘game’ the player must try to attain a girl’s number by correctly answering the questions posed. If the wrong answer is given, the girl will turn you away, however (oddly for a game) you are allowed to re-take the question immediately.

As you would expect, Silver Dollar have had quite a bit of fun with the concept in terms of script writing, although the lack of a decent question pool can become tiresome very quickly.

For 80M$ it could be a fun little distraction – just don’t take it seriously!

Clipping from a screenshot of Windowsill

I discovered a wonderful little game called Windowsill by Patrick Smith of http://smithpix.net.

I’d really like to include a type of puzzle interactivity into my own website but I’d have to be careful not to overcomplicate it. One of my aims is to keep the site simple enough so that people can navigate around without any confusion.

Sweden has had a strong game development industry even since before the launch of the classic shooterBattlefield 1942. In the last year though, the economic downturn has cause some large studios to file for bankruptcy or sale. But the worst economic down turns usually make the most fertile grounds for new industry. Something the Swedes are proving true.

Baraboom is a small group of friends trying to make it on the iPhone. Not an original concept but not a bad one either. They’ve chosen to be inspired my Remedy’s classic car shooter Death Rally and with a unique style and control scheme their first title Auto Crisis looks awesome. Check it out when it launches in the app store around christmas.

Ludosity is another small independent studio launching their first own IP very soon. This small startup is comprised of students straight out of school into an incubator. Most impressive and looking at their really unique title Bob came in pieces you can really tell where the innovation in the industry is going on.

So don’t hesitate to innovate and stop worrying about the economy. If small companies such as these two can create high quality products like this on small funds and high spirit, we’ll pull through.

Also please note that while none of these companies have dedicated resources or large budgets to create their web presence, they both have more professional sites than most larger companies…

WarioWare meets Simon Says?

I must say, I am starting to warm up to ArmorGames[sic], and their latest offering Obey the Game does not cool my interest.

Essentially, the player must complete a task (or not) within the time limit. When you answer correctly, you receive +1 life. If you fail, you lose 1 life. This is all set to cheesy music and a psychedelic backdrop and requires a lot of focus!

There are five modes, which become unlocked the more you play, so  there’s plenty to come back to later. Some of the top scores seem daunting, but I guess the game is easy enough early on to keep you occupied even if you aren’t aiming to break records.

As the first part of my ‘Games of the Year’ roundup, I’ll be covering my favourite indie games of 2009. These games, as reviewed, are all for PC (although some are available on other platforms).

I highly suggest you try them!

#5 – The Devil’s Tuning Fork

The Devil’s Tuning Fork is visually quite an odd game, looking like some kind of Tron meets Knightmare. In the game, you control a child cast into a netherworld where the use of the eponymous utensil allows you to view the world around you.

The main aim of the game is to progress from level to level, collecting the plush toys and save the souls of children who, in the ‘real’ world, have mysteriously dropped into comas en masse. You progress by using the fork not only to see, but to open doors and start floating platforms moving, in the best platformer tradition.

tDTF is a game that possesses lots of character, and is definitely worth a play, especially as the whole game is available free to play.

The Devil’s Tuning Fork was developed by DePaul Game Elite and is available here.

#4 – Focus

Focus is a platform game with one defining mechanic – the eponymous ‘Focus’. Whilst in this Focus mode, the player stops still and can aim a new trajectory – when the player drops out of focus, the player ‘shoots’ along this trajectory. In addition, when the focus mode creates a bubble around the player which will slow enemy attacks, allowing the player time to breathe.

As always with these titles, this core mechanic is explored to its fullest. Many very imaginative puzzles are laid out before you and the game asks you, in turn, to be imaginative with your use of Focus.

However, do not expect an easy ride – this game is also about speed! Some levels will require you to act quickly in order to pass, and on top of this the game features a ‘Speed Run’ mode so you can compare times with the rest of the community.

Mercifully for the new player, however, each level can be replayed an infinite number of times before it is passed, and the game automatically saves your progress.

Check out the game at the link below, again it is free to play and come highly recommended.

Focus was developed by Jesse Venbrux and is available here.

#3 – The Company of Myself

The Company of Myself is a very interesting flash take on the ghost player mechanic often seen in racing games. It plays out like a stripped-down version of The Lost Vikings – only with each player being a replica of your last movements. Sound confusing? Try Cursor*10 for some obvious inspiration.

A great little game that will have you scratching your head at least once, give it a go on the link below.

The Company of Myself was developed by FreeAsANerd on Newgrounds, and is available to play here.

#2 – Crayon Physics Deluxe

As most people will know, I have been a big fan of this game since I played the BETA version last year. A truly delightful idea, now spun out into a fully fledged game.

Crayon Physics is like a dream you may have had whilst a youngster, drawing in crayons when suddenly.. everything you draw becomes reality in front of your eyes.

Of course, there must be structure in order to make this a game, and to this end, the player is tasked with moving a circle across a map to collect a star. How you do this is up to your imagination, but usually there are one or two simple ways to do it. Underpinning the explorative aspect of the game is a solid physics system that never errs, making the game both fun and consistent however you play it.

In comparison to the BETA, this game is one of utmost polish. Your ability to draw is unhindered and the wealth of interactions makes this an absolute joy, with plenty of replay value.

This expression of imagination shown here is one of the true beauties of games and games design, which I feel is becoming evermore lost in the slew of ultra-realistic titles. Whilst those games are fun to play, too, its games like these that take an idea and just run with it that will always be the most inspirational.

Crayon Physics Deluxe is made by Petri Purho and a demo is available here. 

#1 – Archibald’s Adventures

Although Crayon Physics will always have a place in my heart, it is still not as comprehensive as Archibald’s Adventures.

Strangely given away entirely free for a day last month, RakeInGrass’ opus is perhaps one of the best puzzle/platformers I have played this side of 16-bit.

The spirit of Chip’s Challenge and its ilk is definitely prevalent here, as your ability to compute logic is ultimately the arbiter of how far you can progress into its almost two-hundred levels. Each ‘stage’ of levels is named after a classic from the past, showing that RIG are well-played and appreciative of those that came before them, which is always a good quality to see.

Archibald traverses the levels firstly on his trusty skateboard and then within a robotic orb (see below) in search of those elusive exit-doors. He cannot jump at whim, however, and must have a run up of at least three blocks. It is little rules like this that create the base for an interesting (and again, head-itch inducing) game, which is then topped up by liberal use of additional mechanics, discovered throughout the game.

For example, early in the game, the player develops the ability to produce a bubble which can be moved independently. The bubble can reach areas off-limits to Archie, and even pick up blocks. However, it is susceptible to the whimsy of fans and the like.

It is in the timing (and indeed balancing) of these diverse mechanics that keeps the game interesting over the course of those hundred- and-ninety-one levels, making it feel a lot shorter than it actually is, even leaving you wanting more!

Archibald’s Adventures is made by RakeInGrass and a 40-level demo is available here.

Braid-sky

I like admiring the sky at the start of Braid.

Not only does it serve as a particularly atmospheric introduction to Jonathan Blow’s splendid little game, it also holds promise of -and tracking for- some exceptionally hard to reach secrets.

It doesn’t, however, contain any robots.

Bit of a disappointment, that.

Braid-sky = better with robots

…better.

]]> http://mattyongames.wordpress.com/2009/12/08/but-not-in-demin/ Tue, 08 Dec 2009 19:55:27 +0000 Matty http://mattyongames.wordpress.com/2009/12/08/but-not-in-demin/

The novel reached the 50,000 words demanded by NaNoWriMo quite easily but it’s only about half-finished! T’is something of an epic, really.

"What? Write an article? Begone, medieval wench!"

Anyway, I don’t have a full article for you yet because, er, um… ooh, look

what’s that?! Why it’s Bob Smith’s Stranded for the ZX Spectrum, now ‘undenianced’ and available for free download. And, if you like that, why not buy the sequel from Cronosoft for whatever reasonable price it’s going for?

What? You still want to know about articles? Well, erm, to be perfectly honest I’m not quite sure what to write about. I’ve been playing quite a lot of

Daggerfall recently (now available as a free download from publishers Bethesda) and someone suggested last night that I give Dwarf Fortress a try so I might do something on one of those games. Or both of them. Or I might do one of those Sega Megadrive games I keep meaning to write about. We’ll see.

ACMI (The Australian Centre for the Moving Image) is one of the most gaming-friendly museums in the world. In the past 4 years, this venue in Melbourne (Australia) has dedicated exhibitions to Sonic the Hedgehog, Games with an Agenda, Machinema, Aussie developer Beam Software/Melbourne House, and of course the exhibition we covered quite thoroughly… Game On.

Most years… (2006, 2007) ACMI has also exhibited (for your playing pleasure) the best of the year’s Independant Games Festival.

2009 is no exception… and from today till Feb 14 2010, you can play the following games at ACMI…

Blueberry Garden

Brainpipe

Cortex Command

Eufloria

Machinarium

Musaic Box

Osmos

Pixeljunk Eden

The Graveyard

The Night Sky

Don’t be shy! Click on any of the thumbnails above to employ our patented Zoom-in-o-vision™.

Then visit the ACMI Best of IGF 2009 page – and (a) Get yourself to Melbourne or (b) If you can’t make it, google the games above, and start playing…

*ACMI photo by Flickr user PSD.

Today:

• Solved a little bug that prevented play when level 1 was the first level.
• Did some research on save games in ActionScript 3.
• Decided to add some polish before adding more features, to have a build to send to contributors as soon as possible.
• Thought of adding tutorial levels that are right in the game.

Example of a help screen in-game:

Well, for one Jack and I are now on holidays, and he’s going to be writing more for this blog. This is a good thing, he can wax a mean poetic; this also means that we will be doing collaborative posts now and then.

In light of this recent trend in playing through a game with a permanent death mentality, we’ll be partaking in an experiment with the game Fallout 2. The objective of this experiment – get as far through each of our respective games as possible with the knowledge that a single death equals game over. The reason why we have done this, apart from the inherent curiosity, is to see how our reactions, and emotional experiences are impacted, and impact the game in ways that we cannot yet imagine.

Until then, I somewhat incongruously leave you with a list of indie games that I have really enjoyed over the years, I trust you’ll like them as well… Because they’re all awesome and deserve to be known of.

Cave Story
Au Sable
Noitu Love 2
Seiklus
Ad Nauseum 2
Eversion
Star Guard
Jumpman
I Wanna Be The Guy
Time Fcuk
Knytt
Psychosomnium
Everyday Shooter
Gridwars 2
World of Goo
All of Our Friends are Dead
Slaves to Armok II: Dwarf Fortress
Braid
Machinarium

Enjoy

Miles Newton – The Machination, Creative Director

Last night I completed my First Playable (FP) build!

Build 0.23.FP04

• Random Levels that loop once they’ve all been played once
• 8 fully playable levels for now, thought it’s really easy to add more in
• “Bonus Levels” and “Difficulty Up” every once in a while, although they do nothing for now
• Working placeholder “Found” and “Wrong” animations
• Transitions between levels
• Animated Timer that stays constant between levels
• Game Over screen when time’s up!
• Some placeholders sounds in a couple places

^_^

Things to add for the Alpha Build:

• Gradually Increasing Difficulty (DIFF +)
• High Scores
• Reward Coins
• Achievements
• At least 30 working levels
• At least 3 working Bonus Levels
• Save games

Optional stuff for the Alpha

• Placeholder music
• Placeholder sounds
• First version of clean transitions, found and wrong animations

Welcome to December!  As Act II moves into the final push to alpha, things are shaping up to be released on time and I’ve got a new track for you all.

The fifth in a series of updates leading up to the January 1 release of Vacant Sky Act II.  This song is the nighttime version of the Svaneholm town theme.  Take a listen to “Nightlife“.

I mentioned it here shortly after I first played it, but now you can find my full review over on Savygamer. I aimed for a slightly more personable style this time, which I think has sort-of worked, although reading it back now I feel like I should have done better with that clunky fourth paragraph.

Looks fun and addictive, right? Yeah, just like a real video-game, that’s distributed at retail stores or an online video game shop, like Steam.

But it still doesn’t look that complicated, to be impossible to make in Flash!

In fact, some of the indie game makers actually started their career with Flash. Take Edmund McMillen and his Meatboy series for instance. The first part came to internet as a free flash game with the name Meatboy, the second part was an extra map pack, and now he is releasing a brand new Meatboy game for Steam. Guess what? It’s also made in flash.

So, what makes a good indie game, worth to spend your money on?

First of all, it has to be original, not just another asteroid clone. Or, it could be an asteroid clone, but with an unique twist, that noone has ever seen before… like Shift, a platformer that gives the player an ability to turn the screen upside down and play the level like you’ve never seen it before.

Secondly, it has to be addictive! It needs to have something, to make the player get lots and lots of adrenaline, and keep playing the game.

Thirdly, it doesn’t have to be annoying, or plain stupid, that would make the user curse and throw knives at people.

Or does it? It’s up to you to decide. Experiment with the gameplay, graphics and everything else (if you’re a game developer) and eventually you’ll come up with something interesting and fun.

That’s all for now!