Posted by Derek Yu Wed, 16 Aug 2006 02:30:00 GMT
“Indie superstar / that is what you are
Coming from afar / reaching for the stars
Run away with me / to another place
We can rely on each other uh huh
From one corner to another uh huh”
Posted by Derek Yu Tue, 15 Aug 2006 10:37:00 GMT
So yeah, I guess the big news right now is that Microsoft is releasing a toolkit called XNA Game Studio Express that will let anyone with $99 create titles simulataneously for XBox 360 and PC. The caveat is that in order for people to play your games on their 360, they also need to have paid $99 to join the “XNA Creator’s Club” and must have the appropriate runtimes installed on their console. Then they can download your source files (via XBox Live?) and compile them to play. Commercial PC games can be made with Express, however.
Later, M$ is planning on releasing XNA Game Studio Professional, which will allow you to create commercial games for XBox.
The beta of XNA Studio Express is going out August 30th, and, since it is beta, you will not be able to share games made with it on XBox 360.
Link: XNA FAQ (Microsoft)
EDIT: Oh yeah, there’s a XNA team blog, too.
(Source: Gamasutra)
Posted by Tim Mon, 14 Aug 2006 18:06:00 GMT
Free Lunch Design of Icy Tower fame is currently working on three new games. One of them is Hodja and the Sleeping Eggplant. If you’re wondering why the screenshot is rather small, it’s because all three games in development are for the mobile platform! Here’s a description snagged from the web site:
“All Hodja’s sister wants for her birthday is a sleeping eggplant; too bad they’re almost impossible find! Hodja and the Sleeping Eggplant is a non-linear platform game of exploration and puzzles, power ups and surprises. Guide Hodja on his adventureous search for the sleeping eggplant, a journey filled to the brim with excitement! “
One player, with a 2006 release date. Could this possibly signal the end of free meals from FLD? Only time will tell, eh…
Posted by ARelativelyHotGirl Mon, 14 Aug 2006 12:20:00 GMT
For many years Blender (the crossplatform Open Source 3D modelling/rendering package) has had a very unrefined ability to make games. Only recently, with many rewrites and the integration of the Bullet Physics Engine, are we starting to see some real potential for coolness.
The advantage of using Blender (in addition to the whole it-being-free thing) is that the creator can model, animate and script all within the same package. None of the entrants are particularly great games, but the winner, Club Silo, is the most visually impressive Blender game project to date.
For a quick overview, one can view the YouTube Video of the entrants. To play or edit the games, the latest version of Blender is required. Load up the desired game’s .Blend file into Blender, hit CTRL+UP in the game window and press P to play. Recommended more for developers than gamers atm.
Posted by Tim Mon, 14 Aug 2006 06:53:00 GMT
The latest Shmup-Dev competition results are out, but with very little to cheer for as most participants either dropped out of the contest or were disqualified.
Still, there are seven playable entries though many are not particularly striking either. Plus the innumerable delays had caused a loss of interest when the actual winners were announced.
I was also expecting to read different views for best graphics, sound and most unique category but we’re left with vanilla reviews which is slightly disappointing.
Could the uninspiring prizes be the reason for a lack of success this time around? Or the contest frequency itself? We can only wonder.
A round of applause goes out for of all the contestants. Finishing a game can be a rather daunting task and they deserve credit for the attempt.
Posted by Tim Mon, 14 Aug 2006 06:52:00 GMT
The latest release from Mr. Warning Forever, RAY-HOUND is an action game which requires no shooting from the player’s part. Trapped in a room with enemies consisting of turrets, you can retaliate by clicking on the left mouse button to muster a shield and send their shots back at them. The other method is to move your ship towards the lasers rapidly to initiate a boost and repel the beams of destruction.
In the options menu, it is possible to adjust and increase the chances of boosting with quick mouse movements by lowering the figure. Press F11 or use the ALT and enter key combination to play in full screen mode.
A timer is always counting down, but you can increase it by destroying all enemies to complete the level. The gameplay system is pretty offbeat, since it can be rather hard to direct shots unless the player is adept at slinging projectiles.
(Source: the2bears)
Posted by ARelativelyHotGirl Sun, 13 Aug 2006 21:56:00 GMT
From the Potential department… best described as forcing Marble Madness, Mario Kart and Doom to mate – the gameplay in Plasma Spheres 3D is actually a bit of odd fun. The ol’ indie concept of mashing seemingly incompatible styles of games together is amusing to observe here.
I’d love to see this with smoother controls (with a bit of ease/lerp on ‘em), some stylish graphics, real sound effects and some catchy tunes!
Posted by Shabadage Sun, 13 Aug 2006 11:01:00 GMT
Well, considering it’s my first post here at the good olde TIGSource; I figured I’d share one of my favorite freeware games with you guys. The game in question is called X Operations. It’s an FPS made by two Japanese fellows; and while the the graphics will not blow you away, the gameplay is solid, and it’s a hell of alot of fun. It’s available in two flavors; single player and multiplayer.
Single player Xops takes its cues from Timesplitters. You’re given the choice of 17 levels, and each of these levels has multiple layouts with their own separate goals. You’ll be protecting VIP’s from zombies, breaking up gang wars, and even assassinating/protecting Bill Gates and Saddam Hussein. The great thing about these missions is this; you’ll spend at most 5 minutes per mission. Making the single player version great for a quick shooting fix. The only downside is that the mission descriptions are in Japanese, so it may take a bit of trial and error before you “get” the objective.
Multiplayer Xops is a whole other ball game. While it’s your standard “Kill the other team” affair, the game randomizes teams each round, making it harder for one “Clan” to rule the field. The same levels from the single player version make re-appearances here and, with the exception of one or two levels (Duel comes to mind), they play just as well, if not better than the single player versions. The only problems you may run into is the relative lack of native english speakers, as the game is Japanese in origin, and that there is a slight lag before you actually shoot, meaning you need to lead your target.
All in all, if you’re a fan of the FPS genre; you owe it to yourself to at least try Xops. It may not win any awards for innovation or graphics; but its damn fun.
QUICK TIP: You have to run the Config4Xops before you can play the game. This goes for both versions (single and multi) and is included in the zip.
Posted by Derek Yu Sun, 13 Aug 2006 01:23:00 GMT
Despite having the most ridiculous name since Destiny Sword Buster Golden Dragon Myth XXL (no, that’s not a real game), Dragon X Omega 2 is a really, really competent hack of Final Fantasy. We don’t cover hacks too often on TIGSource (actually ever), but DXO2 is a total conversion that’s worth checking out. As far as I can tell, every part of the game is completely new, from the graphics to the music. It’s such that you’ll forget that you’re playing an FF hack every now and then.
The gameplay is the usual NES RPG faire, with plot points pushing you linearly to the game’s conclusion. Unlike FF, you control a single character in this game, which is kind of unfortunate. It does add to the overall feeling of desolation, though.
Find a Final Fantasy ROM, a NES emulator, and an IPS patcher to play!
(Source: Romhacking.net)
Posted by ARelativelyHotGirl Thu, 10 Aug 2006 17:20:00 GMT
From the olde news department: Charlie “Flayra” Cleveland, creator of the excellent Half Life mod Natural Selection (which kicks the crap out of the spazzy Tremulous, imo) has unleashed his latest masterpiece…
Zen of Sudoku! Uh, say wha?
Yes folks, its a game so revolutionary that you’re urged to “consider telling your parents or grandparents about it”. The idea is to make money off of Zen to help keep Charles afloat while he and the team put together Natural Selection: Source, which will be released commercially on Steam.
In an older post on Charlie’s blog, he speculates that “Instead of either making immersive shooters for a hard-core audience or puzzle games for a casual audience, we can make medium-technology games that are easy to pick up and play yet have a long-term appeal and artistic messages.”
I long for the day when this type of market becomes popular. Until then, expect heaps more puzzle clones. (I’ve often wondered why we can’t release one skinnable version of each type of puzzle game and be done with them once and for all)
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