Trailer: Legend of Grimrock

By: Derek Yu

On: September 2nd, 2011

Legend of Grimrock is an upcoming first-person dungeon crawl from the four-man Finnish studio Almost Human, whose developers have previously worked for Remedy (Max Payne) and Futuremark (Shattered Horizon). It’s slated for an end of 2011 release, on Windows, Mac, and iOS.

Semi-Review: S:S&S EP Micro

By: Brandon McCartin (BMcC)

On: April 26th, 2011

Superbrothers: Sword & Sworcery EP Micro (i.e., the iPod/iPhone version of the acclaimed game) was released the other day, so it should be available all over the modern world by now. Believe it or don’t, this is the creators’ preferred incarnation of the title, and only $2.99 USD to boot — a superb joy-to-dollar ratio if you ask me! Additionally, the original iPad version has now “gone universal,” which, I’m not sure, but I think means you princes and execs and pro athletes out there loaded enough to own multiple iDevices needn’t purchase it again. Truly now is the time of miracles!

I had actually managed to borrow an iPad and play through a pre-release copy of the game last month, fully intending to compose TIGSource’s very first Real Review, but Derek (presumably unaware of this) banged out some little blurb of a post ahead of me, stealing the heck out of my thunder. At any rate, it’d be a bit foolish writing a full-on review now, with so much said on the game’s behalf already. (Check Google to see what I mean.) So, as a compromise, this’ll be half review, half straight-up gushing. Sorry, it can’t be helped. *ahem*

Consult The Megatome the extended if you dare care…
* Now featuring TIGSOURCE EXCLUSIVE tidbits direct from the superbrother himself!

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Superbrothers: Sword & Sworcery EP

By: Derek Yu

On: March 29th, 2011

Superbrothers: Sword & Sworcery EP, the stylish action adventure fantasy game by Craig “Superbrothers” Adams, musician Jim Guthrie, and Capybara Games, has been released for the iPad. The iPhone and iPod Touch version of the game will be released in April.

A teaser for the game after the jump:

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Solipskier

By: Derek Yu

On: August 12th, 2010

Mike Boxleiter and Greg Wohlwend (aka Mikengreg) have released a wonderful new game, called Solipskier. In Solipskier, you use your mouse to paint snow on the screen for a little guy to ski on. The skier will build up speed on downslopes and can perform jumps over gaps in the snow. The goal of the game is to obtain a highscore by skiing through gates and catching air to build up your multiplier.

It takes a while to learn how to build up speed effectively, but once you get going fast, it’s blissful (gotta love it when the heavy metal turns into wind as your headphones fly off). Solipskier is a very polished game, which is not surprising, considering that Mikengreg also worked on Fig. 8, Effing Hail, and Dinowaurs as part of the Intuition Games collective. But in my opinion, this is their most enjoyable release yet.

Solipskier is also available on the iPhone and iPad for $2.99.

TIGdb: Entry for Solipskier

Kometen (iPhone)

By: Derek Yu

On: May 28th, 2010

[This is a guest review by tim_the_tam. If you’re interested in writing an article for TIGSource, please go here.]

What is a game? Does it have to be something fun to play? Do you need to be able to win or lose? Does it need a clear objective? Is it a series of choices? Kometen is a “game” that will mess with some people’s ideals of what a game is, which is no surprise coming from the guy who made Blueberry Garden. It’s because Kometen is not a “traditional” game as you can’t win or lose – there is no conflict, no official goals, and no way to die. Personally, I consider Kometen a game but I can also see an argument for it to be an interactive screensaver. But let’s not get too bogged down with the definition and for the sake of this article, Kometen is a game.

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GDC 2010: Superbrothers: Sword & Sworcery EP

By: Derek Yu

On: March 14th, 2010

Superbrothers: Sword & Sworcery EP is an iPhone game collaboration between superbrothers (aka Craig Adams), singer-songwriter Jim Guthrie, and Capybara Games, the creators of Critter Crunch. These two videos are from the GDC build of the game, where the player engages in some exploration and combat. I got a chance to try it at the IGF Pavilion, where S&S EP was being shown for winning IGF Mobile’s Achievement In Art award. It’s great – the stylized art, the evocative audio, and the detail in each area makes you excited to see what’s coming next. The combat was also fun, if simple.

The combat video is after the jump:

(Source: GameSetWatch)

IGF Mobile Finalists Announced

By: Derek Yu

On: January 26th, 2010

The finalists for IGF Mobile 2010 have been announced:

Best Mobile Game Design:

• MiniSquadron (Studio FungFung, iPhone/iPod Touch)
• Glow Artisan (Powerhead Games, DSi)
• Spider: The Secret Of Bryce Manor (Tiger Style, iPhone/iPod Touch)

Honorable mentions: Ancient Frog (Ancient Workshop, iPhone/iPod Touch), Globulos Party (Globz, DS), Mind Wall (Robinson Technologies, iPhone/iPod Touch).

Achievement In Art

• Superbrothers: Sword & Sworcery EP (superbrothers + capy + jim guthrie, iPhone/iPod Touch)
• Guerrilla Bob (Angry Mob Games, iPhone/iPod Touch)
• Zombie Pizza (Appy Entertainment, iPhone/iPod Touch)

Honorable mentions: Tilt: An Adventure In 1.5 Dimensions (XEODesign, iPhone/iPod Touch), Ancient Frog (Ancient Workshop, iPhone/iPod Touch, Minigore (Mountain Sheep, iPhone/iPod Touch).

Technical Achievement

• Stair Dismount (Secret Exit, iPhone/iPod Touch)
• SCVNGR (SCVNGR, iPhone/iPod Touch)
• Tumbledrop (Starfruit Games, iPhone/iPod Touch)

Honorable mentions: Dawn Of Heroes (Wicked Studos, DS), Aera (ichromo, iPhone/iPod Touch), iPixel (Hecticus Software, iPhone/iPod Touch)

Audio Achievement

• Lilt Line (different cloth, iPhone/iPod Touch)
• MuBlip (para9, iPhone/iPod Touch)
• Zombie Pizza (Appy Entertainment, iPhone/iPod Touch)

Honorable mentions: MelodyBloxx (Beatshapers, PSP Minis), Earth Dragon (levitylab, iPhone/iPod Touch), iBlast Moki (Godzilab, iPhone/iPod Touch)

Best iPhone Game

• Spider: The Secret Of Bryce Manor (Tiger Style, iPhone/iPod Touch)
• Drop7 (Area/Code, iPhone/iPod Touch)
• Hook Champ (Rocketcat Games, iPhone/iPod Touch)

Honorable mentions: Minigore (Mountain Sheep, iPhone/iPod Touch). Pocket God (Bolt Creative, iPhone/iPod Touch), Doodle Jump (Lima Sky, iPhone/iPod Touch).

IGF Mobile Best Game
Finalists will comprise the winners of the five above categories, to be announced on Monday, February 8th.

Congrats! I’m working on another iPhone game round-up right now, too.

10 Sweet iPhone Games

By: Derek Yu

On: December 15th, 2009

I think we’re well due for an iPhone/iPod Touch post. My Touch has become the peripheral of choice for the go, so I made sure it was well-stocked with games. Here are 10 of my favorites:

Eliss – Steph Thirion’s Eliss was one of the first iPhone games to catch my eye, and still stands out as one of the best games for the platform, in my opinion. It’s gorgeous and challenging, and makes great use of the iPhone’s multitouch.

Canabalt – Conceived by Adam “Atomic” Saltsman, the big brain behind Flixel and Edgecrement, Canabalt has you leaping from roof-to-roof in a frantic and stylish escape from a dying city. It’s the best one-switch game I’ve ever played and the latest update – which features new environments and sick beatz by Danny B. – make it even better.

Developers should check out Adam’s post about “The $0.99 Problem”, too.

Evacuation – We covered Bennett “Benzido” Foddy’s Evacuation on TIGSource before, when it was a Flash game. It’s even better on the iPhone.

Little Master – Likewise, Benzido’s cricket game started life as a Flash title before it became an iPhone game, and we covered it before. What can I say? I really like his work!

Sword of Fargoal – Jeff McCord’s classic roguelike game has been rebooted by McCord and his partners, Paul Pridham and Elias Pschernig. For those of you yearning for a good roguelike experience on the iPhone, this is it! It’s a fantastic update to the game.

Earth Dragon – Earth Dragon was created by Chaim Gingold, the design lead for Spore’s Creators, including the Creature Creator (now indie as the day he was born). It’s quite cute and fun and makes clever use of the accelerometer and touch to let you control your dragon. The art is by Jane Ng, who also worked on Spore.

ZenBound – Zenbound is a calm (I wrote “clam” first, and almost left it), meditative game that has you tying up wooden animals with rope. It’s really striking to look at. The creators, Secret Exit, are best known for their Stair/Truck Dismount series of games.

Stair Dismount – And yes, Stair Dismount has finally made it to the iPhone. This version has a variety of different levels and lets you paste your friends’ faces onto the ragdoll via Facebook. I chose Edmund McMillen, because his photo was cropped the best. Then I chose a baby.

Skull Pogo – Chevy Johnston’s Skull Pogo started off as a Game Maker game, but it works best on the iPhone, where you can use the accelerometer to control your little skullpogoman. Aside from being an awesome, creative, and helpful dude on the forums, Chevy knows how to make an addictive game. The recent update is pretty sweet, too.

Cross Fingers – Because of a certain someone asshole, Edge has been removed from the App Store again. But at least he didn’t prevent Mobigame from releasing their next title, Cross Fingers, a sliding-block puzzle game that uses multitouch. Although perhaps not as unique as Edge, I actually prefer CF as a game to play on the go.

So there you have it! 10 good games for under $22. And I’m sure you got more, so lay it on us in the comments.

Dead Panic

By: Brandon McCartin (BMcC)

On: August 18th, 2009

Sean Maher has quit his day job at the age of 35 to make indie games. Dead Panic is his first release — a strategy game where you must position your troops to defend against oncoming hordes of zombies. You can find screens of the game and more information in his post on the forums. It’s never too late to go indie, I say!

App Store link is here.

Touch KO Released

By: Brandon McCartin (BMcC)

On: August 14th, 2009

Adam and Matt from Flashbang Studios, The Brothers Mechtley, have released a side project they’ve been working on since January: Touch KO, an iPhone boxing sim that quite reminds me of Fight Night, with its hilarious ragdoll knockouts and everything. From the video it looks to be polished and fun—if I had an iPhone, I’d be playing it right now! You can find the App Store link here.

In semi-related news, Matt has announced he’s leaving the world of indie games to pursue a career in super science, going for his PhD in Astrophysics at ASU. Next thing you know he’ll have his own island fortress and army of spider robots and all that. (That’s what scientists do, right?)

Matt: You have been a consummate gentleman, and you will be missed! Best of luck to you, sir.