Posted by Terry Fri, 25 Jul 2008 08:08:00 GMT
Quoth Cactus:
The forth episode of Game Maker TV was posted here yesterday. Check it out!
Posted by Derek Yu Fri, 25 Jul 2008 06:26:00 GMT
Procedurally-generated world. Procedurally-generated characters. Deformable terrain. Day/night cycles and environmental effects. Massively multiplayer and online. ONE developer.
Do I even need to mention that he’s a Swede? ...I imagine that Eskil Steenberg, like hearty Obelix from the Asterix comic books, might have fallen into a cauldron of Swedish magic water when he was a kid.
But perhaps I’m being too presumptuous, seeing as the game is still in development. In any case, Love certainly looks beautiful, with computer-created graphics that look painted with a brush. And its cooperative gameplay, though vaguely outlined at this point, sounds very different from your average MMOG.
Eskil’s development blog is full of interesting musings, too, so check it out. I like his latest post, in which he defines his own independence:
(Thanks, Data!)
TIGdb: Entry for Love
Posted by Derek Yu Thu, 24 Jul 2008 20:20:00 GMT
I Was in the War (direct download) is a simple platformer by Bisse, made for the current Poppenkast 3-hour compo. The central mechanic in this game is that you can hit “A” to flip across the red line which acts as a two-sided platform (“S” to jump). Pretty awesome concept.
(Source: Tim, via the IndieGames.com blog)
TIGdb: Entry for I Was in the War
Posted by Derek Yu Thu, 24 Jul 2008 09:53:00 GMT
Here are a bunch of photos taken at messhof’s Light Industry premiere. Looks like a good turn out! But then again, they all look like they might be related to messhof. Hmmm…
Still, I wish I could have attended!
Posted by Derek Yu Thu, 24 Jul 2008 05:22:00 GMT
New details about Microsoft’s Xbox LIVE Community Games service were released this week. Community Games allows members of the XNA Creators Club ($99/year) to sell games on XBLA after going through a peer review system.
Here are some of the important details:
- No free games! Developers using the service must charge 200 to 800 points for their games ($2.50 to $10).
- How much you charge is partially determined by your games’s file size! “Creators can chose to sell their 50 MB games for 200 Microsoft Points, or sell their larger 150 MB games for either 400 or 800 Microsoft Points.”
- Creators will receive 70% of the revenue as a baseline, although Microsoft may choose to “invest” in certain games and deduct 10-30% revenue during that time, in exchange for special promotion of the game on the console and on Xbox.com. “Certified” XBLA developers are now (as far as we know) receiving 35-45% revenue as a baseline, by comparison.
- Each game that gets sold will have a “free timed trial” built in by the system (i.e. the developer doesn’t have to rig the trial him or herself).
- The service is in beta right now, with about 60 active games (including a “musical game for babies?!”). It’s going to launch in the U.S., Canada, and parts of Europe in early 2009.
So they’re opening up the platform like Apple did with the iPod/iPhone, except that the community decides which games will sell and which games won’t. Other than the questionable file size/price thing, that sounds pretty reasonable to me!
There’s a walkthrough of the service from February on Gamasutra.
(Thanks, arrogancy!)
Posted by Derek Yu Wed, 23 Jul 2008 16:34:00 GMT
39d was released today, bringing with it a host of nice, shiny improvements. There’s also a really good three-part interview with Tarn up on kwanzoo (part 3 goes up tomorrow). The interviewer is Matt Boyd of Three Panel Soul.
One thing I was a bit saddened to hear was that Tarn’s making less from donations now than he was before (EDIT: Tarn meant before, when he was a mathematician). But hell, I want the guy to live comfortably, given how much enjoyment he’s brought me and the internets over the years. If you’re a fan, consider giving a little to toast the new release. And I don’t know how well-known this is, but as a reward for donating you can get some awesome presents: either a short story that’s illustrated with a single line of ASCII art, or a crayon drawing.
And for those of you that are tired of hearing about DF, well, tough plump helmets! But seriously, I imagine this will be the last release for this particular arc. See ya!
Posted by Derek Yu Tue, 22 Jul 2008 17:37:00 GMT
There’s a new Shift game out! In Shift the primary mechanic is being able to switch from black to white, turning platforms and walls into walkable space and so forth. Conceptually, the game bears more than a passing resemblance to Portal and Negative Space/Yin Yang, but… maybe we shouldn’t even go there! It’s a fun, mind-bending game that stands on its own merit.
Whereas in the previous games you progressed linearly from room-to-room, Shift 3 lets you go back and forth. And your actions in some rooms will affect other rooms. This game also delves into the story a bit more, provided that you take the time to read the clues!
(Source: Alex Meerkat, via Razor, Placenta, Shopping Cart <3)
TIGdb: Entry for Shift 3
Posted by Derek Yu Tue, 22 Jul 2008 00:22:00 GMT
Jim McGinley, author of the amazing Mario Inna Space, informs us that the 3rd Annual Toronto Game Jam ended last month and was a resounding success. The theme this year was “cheese,” and entrants were asked to develop a game in 3 days that incorporated cheese, a goat on a pole, and the sound of the TTC subway door closing. 34 games came out of the jam, and it’s pretty impressive (and unique) stuff.
Here are the ones that Jim recommends to TIGSource readers:
a game about bouncing (First Place, depicted above) – an atmospheric abstract game where you have to “grab” bumpers and dodge missiles. Faint smells of Everyday Shooter and fl0w reminisce… and no, that sentence doesn’t mean anything, but it sounds like it does!
Debugger (Second Place) – a game where you smash bugs by hitting keys on your keyboard. Each key corresponds to an area on the screen.
Cheese is War (Third Place) – a multiplayer-on-one-keyboard game where the goal is to topple a tower of cheese onto your opponent.
flowers of error – a drag n’ drop “anti-shooter” by Jonathan Mak and Pekko Koskinen.
Super Cheese Repulser – a one or two player game where the gold is to get a piece of cheese to a mousetrap using a “repulser.”
Office Smash – smash up your office using physics!
Goats Amoré – in Jim’s contribution to the competition, you play a cheese that has to earn the respect of other cheese in order to find a goat. Um.
Some of the games require XNA Framework, and Office Smash requires Unity. But if you wish to live vicariously, there are videos of each game accompanying the downloads. Thanks, Jim!
TIGdb: TOJam Games (still being added)
Posted by Derek Yu Mon, 21 Jul 2008 08:58:00 GMT
Colin Northway’s Fantastic Contraption is a super-nifty Flash-based physics toy that follows in the steps of games like Armadillo Run and Crayon Physics. The goal in FC is to get a red polygon into a goal area by attaching to it various wheels and rods. It’s an elegant concept, it’s executed very well, and it’s tons o’ fun! Some of the later levels are just devious, too…
A paltry $10 lets you create your own levels and share them with other registered players.
(Thanks, reetva!)
P.S. Does anyone else see something a little, ah, Freudian about that screenshot up there?
Posted by Derek Yu Sat, 19 Jul 2008 16:56:00 GMT
Well, someone’s finally gone and put a game in a favicon. Mathieu ‘p01’ Henri’s DEFENDER of the favicon is a simple remake of Eugene Jarvis’s classic shoot ‘em up. It’s 16×16, making it even smaller than the 18×18 games at guimp. It’s also in a friggin’ favicon.
The game works in Opera and Firefox, although Firefox 3 causes the game to hiccup. It doesn’t work at all in any version of Internet Explorer.
Mathieu is also responsible for the 4k Javascript FPS 3D TOMB II.
(Source: LaughingCrow, via Lithium Leaf)
TIGdb: Entries for DEFENDER of the favicon, 3D TOMB II
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