Posts from ‘Android’ Category

Synonymy

By: ithamore

On: August 15th, 2016

Synonymy is a non-profit, educational word game narrated by Richard Dawkins in which players are challenged to find the paths between random words through their network of synonyms. By taking the synonym of a word, and then a synonym of that synonym, and so on, you can ultimately arrive at any other word in the English language.”

It is rare when I’m impressed by a word game, and I love word games. The Steam demo is also a good example of a tastefully crafted demo, so please take note.

Kickstart This: Formicarium

By: Alehkhs

On: November 18th, 2014

I’ve been wildly interested in ants since an early age, and have often wished that there were more games that allowed you to take control of an ant colony, such as the classic SimAnt, or 2008’s Ant Rush. So I was especially excited earlier today, when Formicarium crawled onto Kickstarter.

Billing itself as a strategic simulation game, Formicarium allows players to “become the invisible mind guiding an ant-hive through difficulties and dangers.” Drawing inspiration from other titles such as Dwarf Fortress and The Sims, the game aims to simulate a procedurally-evolving world where insects and arachnids struggle to survive the environment, and each other – with the player guiding their own colony of ants.

Similar to Dwarf Fortress, the colonies or “hives” of Formicarium will consist of multiple “cross-section” levels, extending downwards from the surface. Chambers will need to be dug, food will need to be stored, and new ants will need to be be birthed. All the time, the player will need to keep an eye out for potential dangers from the surface, including antlions, spiders, bees and wasps, and more.

Formicarium is being created by a team of just two people. The development side of this duo is Konrad Feiler, whose history as a mathematician and software engineer is being put to good use developing a procedural world, filled with all manner of bugs behaving in realistic manners. On the design side, artist Dorota Orlof has provided an incredibly eye-catching style, bringing each of the game’s “characters” to life through a clean and colorful approach.

So far, the duo has a working prototype of Formicarium, and they are now moving to bring the project to full fruition as a game on both mobile devices as well as PC and Mac. To reach that goal, the Formicarium Kickstarter campaign is aiming to raise just a modest $20,000. If the idea of being the overseer of a virtual ant colony – struggling to survive in a procedurally-simulated world of competition and danger – appeals to you, head on over to the Kickstarter page for Formicarium to learn more and pledge. You can also keep an eye on the game’s website and Twitter for more news, and even vote for it over on Steam Greenlight.

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Pocket Fleet

By: ithamore

On: March 4th, 2014

Do you want to shoot words, bullets, or missiles? This is socializing brought to you.

Pocket Fleet is a MMO space arena shooter with different modes of play and a growing, global community. It is the latest release from Overdose Caffeine: a Turkish group of developers focusing on mobile and browser based games.

Android, iSO, Browser.

Edit: One of the developers wanted to point out that Pocket Fleet is also on Kongregate.

Preview: Ace Ferrara and The Dino Menace

By: Alehkhs

On: February 15th, 2014

Do you remember sitting in front of the TV on Saturday mornings with a big bowl of sugary cereal, watching the latest adventures of Proton Rider (Intern) Ace Ferrara as he fought off the Dino Menace? Wait – what? That was never a real Saturday-morning cartoon? Developer Philipp Seifried sure could have fooled me with his announcement trailer for the upcoming Ace Ferrara And The Dino Menace.

Described as “a space combat simulation game featuring mystery, romance, cat-augmentation, electronic brains, the Dino Wars, a scientific genius, his niece and her dog Ranger and a heartfelt appreciation for 80s sci-fi cartoons,” Ace Ferrara And The Dino Menace places players in the role of the titular Ace Ferrara, who has managed to gain an internship working with his heroes – the elite Proton Riders. Inspired by classic space-dogfighting games like the Wing Commander series, the game will offer a campaign of objective-based missions, with the story progressing through briefings and downtime interactions on board the Proton Riders’ flagship, Discordia. Philipp Seifried (the game’s sole developer in charge of “graphics, code, music, writing and cat-petting”) aims to launch the game on iOS devices this spring, with planned releases for Android, PC, and Mac following not too long after. You can keep up with the game’s development through its DevLog on TIGForums.

Hit the jump for some early gameplay footage and screenshots of Ace Ferrara and The Dino Menace.

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Teaser – Star Command

By: Alehkhs

On: April 11th, 2012

The teaser trailer for Warballoon Games’ Star Command has landed, giving us a glimpse into the fantastic pixel art of their upcoming spaceship-management game.

Star Command allows players to take control of a starship in humanities distant future. Players build their ship, staff and manage their crew, explore the galaxy, battle other species, discover far off worlds and attempt to control the universe.

The game is scheduled to launch this summer on iOS and Android devices, but the developers have plans for a future, “Ultimate” PC version as well, which would include “all the campaigns, all the expansions, [and] possible multiplayer.” I can not wait!

Xenowar – X-Com for Android

By: Alehkhs

On: November 8th, 2011

While I’m waiting eagerly to the full release of Xenonauts, I’ve been filling my commutes and times away from home with the similarly titled Xenowar; a light, X-Com inspired game available for Android and Windows.

Xenowar

With a simple touch interface and low-polygon 3D graphics, Xenowar manages to maintain the essence of X-Com, tasking players to fight an alien invasion through the construction and management of bases, researching of futuristic technologies, and commanding of ground-troops. While there are some areas where the game is vague or obtuse, there is almost always a button present to pull up a ‘help’ or ‘reference’ screen.

If you’re a fan of X-Com who’s frequently away from their computer, be sure to check out Xenowar.

Pax Britannica ported to Android, Still Free

By: Alehkhs

On: July 1st, 2011

Pax Britannica - 02No Fun Games’ one-button RTS, Pax Britannica, has been ported to Android. This port supports 2-player battles on the same device, or against an AI player if you’re by yourself. Like it’s computer (Win/Mac/Linux) counterpart, Pax Britannica for Android sports beautiful pixel graphics and easy-to-learn gameplay, as well as a price tag of ‘free.’

Game’s Site
Android Marketplace

(Source: IndieGames.com)

Orbitals

By: Alehkhs

On: February 21st, 2011

Orbitals2

For Android users who would prefer to get their physics-based kicks from a simulation with a cluttered interface rather than by flinging colorful birds at colorful pigs, Orbitals might just be the overlooked charm you missed.

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