Posted by Eos
Fri, 08 Sep 2006 23:21:00 GMT
I just finished playing the demo for the first episode of The Exchange Student by Pan Metron Ariston, which was was released recently.
This game can be read as a very clever way of satirizing games that invoke the stereotypical male desire to get laid. Because it can’t be just a particuluarly campy soap made into a point and click adventure game. No, and do you know why? Because, according to anonymous’s review on MadMonkey, Pan Metron Ariston’s initial sales statistics show that 40% of the customers so far are female gamers and therefore, they must must be on the right track.
Interesting.
Being a female gamer myself, I know how well I can relate to a 22-year-old upper-middle-class, upwardly mobile, male university student with slimy hair, who happens to think he’s a sexy beast deserving of attentions from blond, bouncy-breasted women.
In conclusion, possibly 6 men liked this game because they can identify with having to hide adult magazines under their beds. And likely 4 women liked this game because they secretly wonder what the thrill of hiding adult magazines under their pillows is like.
I don’t know if these figures are accurate. I’ve never taken a stats course before but I think I can say with certainty that my interpretation and presentation of the data is absolutely objective and completely free of bias.
Posted in Adventure, Macintosh, Windows | 8 comments
Posted by Derek Yu
Mon, 04 Sep 2006 20:19:00 GMT
Argh, I totally forgot to do a post about Moonpod’s development diary for last month. Anyhoo…
The Moonpod team is still working hard on Mr. Robot, their isometric platform game. August and September was about bots, boxes, and bugs, with a dash of ghost hacking for good measure. The end is nigh?
Hope all the Yanks are enjoying their Labor Day. I had to spend it sleeping and working… boo hoo fucking hoo hoo.
Posted in Community, Previews | Tags Moonpod | 3 comments
Posted by Eos
Sun, 03 Sep 2006 23:10:00 GMT
A retro platform/puzzle game by Monokey made with Allegro, Bollen is simple and clean. The music is good. The goal is to move the pink/purple ball that you control to the red flags in each stage, collecting coins on the way.
The main feature is that your purple ball can only move fowards and backwards. So you must rely on the green Mr. Happy’s or the jump blocks in order to jump higher places. (The more I talk about this game, the more it’s starting to sound like a metaphor for life.)
The red Mr. Evil’s frown at you until misfortune dashes you against them. Then they laugh mockingly at you, pleased that you have failed miserably at life.
Posted in Puzzle, Windows, Freeware, Platformers, Highly Recommended | 24 comments
Posted by Eos
Sat, 02 Sep 2006 21:38:00 GMT
I’m ashamed to say that until recently, I had never heard of Super Cosplay War Ultra. It’s arguably the best free fighting game out there. The abundant and sometimes obscure references a source of endless amusement. The quirky characters and their transformations are so awesomely impressive that, when describing this game, it’s not a grammatical error to use redundancy. The experience of watching Totoro beat the heck out of little Chobits-like characters in a “Battle Royale” stand-off is just sublime.
As for the picture above, I think it’s just another testament the game’s greatness.
You can download the game from the above link or from this link. The password to unzip the game is “http://www.fkdigital.net”.
Posted in Fighters, Freeware, Windows | 20 comments
Posted by Albert Lai
Fri, 01 Sep 2006 16:48:00 GMT
This article
details how a few students have created "Metalheads", a neat indie
game that was built for the DS, despite the fact that there is no DS hardware
available – they mimick it using a tablet instead. There’s no demo available
(dang! It actually uses the touchscreen better than a slew of most games, from
what I read), but hey, maybe the people at Nintendo will take note!
(Source: Slashdot)
Posted in Community, Homebrew | 1 comment
Posted by Derek Yu
Fri, 01 Sep 2006 12:11:00 GMT
GAME. TUNNEL. MAGAZINE. That’s right, ladies and gentlemen, we’re now about two steps away from a Game Tunnel movie, Game Tunnel video games, Dan MacDonald bobbleheads, a Russell Carroll centerfold in Playboy… you name it. And you know what I have to say to that?
Good on them! No really, I think it’s a great idea and a big step towards maybe someday having a “legitimate” (i.e. non-web) small-press game rag on the store shelves. And that rag will be called TIGSource Magazine. (I kid, I kid.)
GRAPHICS: The design is amateurish – I’ve never seen rounded boxes and primary colors abused like that. However, more importantly, it’s very clean and there are lots of pretty pictures.
SOUND: It’s a magazine, dumbass. There’s no sound!
GAMEPLAY: I hate reading PDF’s on my monitor, but that’s no fault of Game Tunnel. The layout is simple and effective as such!
CONCEPT: Great idea! They should diversify the staff, though. Because I’m pretty sure more people play indie games than white males with glasses in their 20s and 30s… I could be wrong. The two-page reviews are too damn long, also. Put in some more editorials and features. Maybe from some developers?
FUN: Yes! Fun! I love fun!
VALUE: Well, it’s fucking free, ain’t it?
OVERALL: Game Tunnel holds up better as a magazine than a website, especially since reviews and columns (the meat of their content) tend to roll out pretty slowly. It’s a fun and informative read and I think it’s a great boon to the community. This is a nice start, guys!
VERDICT: ALWAYS, ALWAYS try before you buy. Especially if it’s free.
Posted in Community | 12 comments
Posted by Eos
Fri, 01 Sep 2006 00:47:00 GMT
Speaking of competitions, SHMUP-DEV has just announced their AutoFire 2007 Shooter Competition. There’s a nice booty for the winner – tons of free games, and of course , the $250 prize money.
There’s only one basic rule for the contest – you guessed it – “The game must have an autofire feature. It can be the primary and only weapon, a powerup, or another weapon in the game.”
There’re already 5 titles in the registered entries section. So make sure you register and post before the deadline of January 1st if you’re interested.
Posted in Competitions, Community, Shoot-em-ups | 1 comment
Posted by Shabadage
Thu, 31 Aug 2006 23:21:00 GMT
Well, another Retro Remakes Competition has ended (kinda). While the final judging results won’t be avaliable for some time (December according to the site); the entries are all up for download.
The magic number sits at 73, yes, 73 entries into this year’s compo. That’s 73 more reasons to visit The Retro Remakes Homepage than usual.
Or you lazy people can just hit this link to get a look at all the wonderfully juicy, deleciously sweet, and oh so much fun remakes.
I apologize for the lack of a picture with this news post; but it’s rather late, and I don’t have the brainpower to muck about with pictures at the moment. Just use your imagination. [I added one for you! -Derek]
Posted in Competitions, Remakes, Community | 4 comments
Posted by Derek Yu
Thu, 31 Aug 2006 18:25:00 GMT
Digital Eel is offering the full version of their trippy Snake-esque game Plasmaworm for free as part of a promotional deal with Manifesto Games. You have to register as a user at Manifesto by September 15th before you can download the game. You must also name your firstborn Greg Costikyan. As in, “Greg Costikyan” would be your child’s first name. Yeah, two words. That’s right. Like, I was going to name my daughter Bruce, after Bruce Lee, but now her name is Greg Costikyan Yu.
Posted in Community, Windows, Action / Arcade | 7 comments
Posted by Derek Yu
Wed, 30 Aug 2006 16:06:00 GMT
Microsoft’s XNA Game Studio Express (beta) has been released today! As mentioned earlier, XNA Game Studio is a set of tools targeted at students and hobbyists who want to develop games for Windows and XBox 360.
With Express you can develop commercial titles for Windows only. In order to distribute your XBox games, both you and the person playing will need a “Creator’s Club” subscription ($99 for a year, $49 for four months). Next spring Microsoft will release the Professional edition which will allow you to sell your XBox games.
Hmmm, is XNA supposed to be like DNA, except, you know… X-treme? Like if you made a man out of pure Mountain Dew.
(Source: Joystiq)
Posted in Xbox 360, Community, Developers | 7 comments
The Commonplace Book Compo is over! Voting will begin shortly!
