Posted by Derek Yu
Mon, 16 Oct 2006 19:45:00 GMT
I have a conjecture as to why this game got made:
Even though Edmund McMillen struck gold (no pun intended) with Gish, his partners still don’t trust his ideas. Maybe it’s because he wears all black to the office, or maybe it’s just the natural distrust of marketing people and programmers for artists. In any case, they promise him that they’ll let him make The Book of Knots if they get to pump out a few Tetris clones and bridge-making games first. (After all, we all know that casual games are where the real money is!) Edmund, remembering that he had to bitch and moan like a broken record for many months to get Gish made, acquiesces. Blast Miner is conceived because studies show that physics, explosions, and Tetris are “in” right now. Confusion ensues amongst Gish fans.
I don’t know, see the website. Try the demo for yourself. This is not – CANnot – be Edmund’s game. I just don’t believe it. It’s like the Blast Miner website doesn’t even believe it.
Also, see attached photo for one of the most confusing menu screens I’ve ever seen. Try and figure out what you can and can’t click and where the options are.
Or maybe I’m just dumb and the game is brilliant.
EDIT: My conjecture was completely wrong, not surprisingly. The game isn’t brilliant, but I am dumb!
Posted in Windows, Puzzle, Action / Arcade, Physics | 20 comments
Posted by Max
Sun, 15 Oct 2006 20:59:00 GMT
RED, by Armor Games, is a nice riff on missle-command style shooters. Its minimalist approach, coupled with its billiard-like projectile physics has pretty much devoured my break time at work and school. God forbid other classic games should be re-made with snazzy new physics, or I may give up sleep entirely.
Also snazzy music until, you know, the 50th time you play.
Armor Games home here.
Posted in Browser Games, Shoot-em-ups | 7 comments
Posted by Tim
Thu, 12 Oct 2006 11:41:00 GMT
Just because it’s so cool to see a b-.. dog get slapped in tha face. The Puyo remake will probably include an online multiplayer mode and world peace.
Hawt.
Now will someone remake Super Puzzle Fighter already? Zulu Gems and Angry Drunken Dwarves don’t count.
(Can’t wait? Pushover and Clockwiser have been out for ages)
Posted in Freeware, Puzzle, Windows | 11 comments
Posted by Tim
Wed, 11 Oct 2006 12:28:00 GMT
Practically the best indie game podcast right now, because the rest of the competition just closed shop and disappeared.
You’ll hate listening to the programme if you make crap games and throw a tantrum when receiving constructive feedback. Others will enjoy the honesty, something most indie game sites lack.
(Photo stolen blatantly from oddbob’s blog)
Posted in Community, Podcasts / Audio | Tags GrahamGoring, TheArsecast | 11 comments
Posted by Tim
Wed, 11 Oct 2006 12:07:00 GMT
Pretty. (pixels, cool. 3D, usually shit)
Into the Eagle’s Nest will probably be out next month. Don’t die from holding your breath waiting for it’s release.
Update: Sorry, it’s before Christmas. (as corrected by the author)
Posted in Previews | 6 comments
Posted by BMcC
Wed, 11 Oct 2006 09:25:00 GMT
Spurred on by the success of their first-person survival horror game/tech demo Penumbra, Frictional Games has announced they’re developing a full commercial trilogy of games in the Penumbra universe, the first of which being Penumbra: Overture.
The game is due to drop “Q1” 2007, which I guess is Spring, but I don’t really know and I don’t feel like Googling it even though I could’ve done just that instead of typing this exposition.
Through a deal with Lexicon Entertainment the game will be available “in stores world-wide” for a retail price of €19.99 (or $328.35 USD). Now you can pay to have Penumbra crash your system! Ha ha, I kid. You go, Frictional Games!
Posted in Adventure, Windows | 2 comments
Posted by Albert Lai
Mon, 09 Oct 2006 15:05:00 GMT
It is with mild trepidation I unveil my own, personal project, Legion
of Literacy, a website that provides a place for amateur developers and
wanna-be developers alike to congregate and do what they do best laze around
create a game! It is oriented more towards the people who are unable to find
a team to work together, rather than established coders and designers who have
no trouble getting a team together (though they’re welcome too!)
The idea is that game proposals are submitted to the main forum, and then developers
(artists, coders, writers, etc.) sign up for the ideas that they wouldn’t mind
working on. It’s all hopelessly utopian and I do a better job explaining it
on the site than in this tiny box of text.
Most of the framework had been laid down, and only a community separates this
website from bleak abandonment and hasty abandonment!
Posted in Developers, Community | 8 comments
Posted by Derek Yu
Sun, 08 Oct 2006 16:15:00 GMT
When the God of Indie Games Journalism requests something, you give it to him, by himiny!
Here’s a little teaser video that shows off some of the gameplay in the first part of Aquaria. Some of you were wondering how things move ingame. Hopefully this will convince you that it’s pretty fluid (har har)!
We mention on the game’s site that we’re using voicework in lieu of text-based dialogue (which you have to sit and click through). You’ll hear some of that in there, also. The actress is Jenna Sharpe, and the work she’s done for Aquaria is fantastic.
Anyway, I hope you guys enjoy this little glimpse at the game (still in progress)! As we get closer to our expected release date, you can expect a lot more media and info.
Posted in Previews | 24 comments
Posted by Derek Yu
Sun, 08 Oct 2006 15:16:00 GMT
Old news, but for the sake of completeness… I’ll have to be honest, despite the good things I had heard about the game, I avoided Ninja Loves Pirate precisely because because of the ninja/pirate/zombie/robot theme. I understand it was made for a Gamedev.net “4 elements” contest. So I just wish the 4 elements were something else, like old ladies, Willem Dafoe, absinthe, and child soldiers.
The presentation is, of course, gorgeous, but the gameplay is fun but far from perfect. Case in point: there’s this one part during a quest where you’re supposed to hit a switch to create a bridge over a pit, but it looks (falsely) like you can leap over the pit with Ninja. Small unbalances like that add up to make the experience feel sloppier than it should.
But it’s worth a download, certainly!
Posted in Platformers, Windows, Freeware | no comments
Posted by Tim
Fri, 06 Oct 2006 03:51:00 GMT
So far only a couple of screenshots were posted for Aquaria. Perhaps we can coax Derek to post a boss screen capture, one creature design or two, maybe even a short gameplay video while we wait for the highly anticipated spring release? (hint, hint)
I’m actually quite tempted to add a new category entitled Aquaria.
On another note, is someone working on a translation for La-Mulana yet? It’s been getting a lot of rave reviews though the game is pretty hard for non-Japanese speakers.. (La-Mulana download link)
Posted in Previews | 11 comments
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