Posts from ‘Unique / Bizarre’ Category

Updated Everyday Shooter Trailer

By: Brandon McCartin (BMcC)

On: September 19th, 2007

Fall 2007, baby! That’s pretty soon.

NekoFight

By: Derek Yu

On: September 10th, 2007

nekofight

If Sumotori Dreams is a drunken sumo wrestling simulation, then NekoFight is a capoeira simulation going through meth withdrawal. It is not a pretty sight, oh no.

Arrow keys move. Press X and C to kick and Z to “grab,” although I’ve never managed to grab anything in this game! Hell, it’s tough just to enjoy any physical contact with my opponent before I flip myself off the screen!

(Source: dessgeega, via The Gamer’s Quarter forums)

Indie Movie: We are the Strange

By: Derek Yu

On: September 10th, 2007

Wow, I’ve watched the trailer for “We are the Strange” a few times now, and it’s more bizarre with each new viewing. A blend of claymation and 3d and 2d computer graphics, We are the Strange is heavily inspired by retro gaming and probably a good amount of psychotropic substances. It also features the voice of Korean American artist David Choe and a soundtrack by a number of notable chiptunes artists.

Reminds me of The Desolate Room and the whole “B-Gaming” phenomenon! Buy the DVD, if you wish! I might!

(Source: Insert Credit)

Shadow Monsters

By: Xander

On: September 8th, 2007

shadow monsters

Kotaku have an awesome piece of footage up at the moment from GC07 which was really quite impossible to pass up posting here too. Not strictly an Indie Game, but then not exactly a game at all.

Phillip Worthington’s Shadow Monsters is essentially the greatest peripheral in the world. You simply make shadow puppets in front of a projector, and then the projector itself adds sound effects and animations to your actions. Something that in writing sounds a little underwhelming, but in action is so ridiculously cool I may actually quit my efforts for a film degree and become an official Phillip Worthington Stalker here and now. It’s pretty damn amazing, and with all the Wii’s efforts to innovate with a remote control so well chronicled, it’s pretty unbelievable that this is the first time I’ve actually heard of this. Impressive stuff.

(Thanks Kotaku for your continued greatness! Also the video is their own footage so it really didn’t feel right to just embed it here. Also I have no idea how to do that. So I guess you have one more click to make, but it’s probably the greatest click you’ve ever cluck. For True.)

Polybius

By: Derek Yu

On: September 7th, 2007

Polybius Polybius is an urban legend – a mythical arcade game that supposedly appeared briefly in Portland, Oregon in 1981. According to the legend, the game was developed by a pseudo-company called Sinneslöschen (German for “sense-delete”), which was actually a front for the United States government. It’s said that men in black suits would come to collect “marketing data” while people played the game!

Players of Polybius purportedly experienced a variety of negative effects as a result of interacting with the game, including amnesia, insomnia, nightmares, and night terrors. Some went so nuts that they killed themselves… OOOooohhhhhh, scary!

Well, whether Polybius existed or not, it’s still pretty neat that some intrepid indie developers have created a fake version of it for the PC, based on internet descriptions of how the game played. And what is it like? Well, it’s basically a slow raping of your rods and cones disguised as a shoot ‘em up. Which isn’t really a condemnation of the game, since I find it to be fairly entertaining and plenty intriguing. Just don’t show this to any Japanese schoolchildren…

The gameplay involves rotating around a hexagonal base and shooting shapes that are launched from the base. On each of the outside “arms” is a circle with a number in it. In order to destroy the base and move on to the next level, you must reduce that number to zero by shooting certain special shapes that have numbers beside them… I dunno, read the readme for a full explanation!

This game really did kind of screw up my vision after a few playthroughs, so I would strongly suggest playing in moderation. Drugs may enhance your experience, or they may just cause you to freak out. Play at your own risk.

(Source: selectbutton.net)

Super Human Cannonball

By: Derek Yu

On: September 6th, 2007

Super Human Cannonball

Some games you play, and you’re like “hey, this is pretty great!” But you’re also like “argh, it could be so much cooler!” Super Human Cannonball is one of those games, damn it.

Being shot from a cannon in order to complete a variety of tasks (popping balloons, going through hoops, bouncing off of trampolines, etc.) and attempting to land safely is great! Missing your targets and splattering against the side of a building in an explosion of cute blood particles is even greater. But ARGH, I’d give anything to see some more variety, and more options. And this game is begging for a level editor.

The other thing I’d like to see is a crowd! I love the little cannonball character. It’d be great to see other little people, watching from the rooftops… and running in panic when your gory little bits and bobs come raining down on them. Maybe in one level a visiting dignitary is catching your act, and you can splatter him for some extra points. You see what I mean? The potential is endless for this game.

And yes, it’s an old game. Old enough that the online scoreboards don’t work, so don’t even try!

Van Damnation

By: Derek Yu

On: August 26th, 2007

van damnation

In issue #192 of Electronic Gaming Monthly, web funnyman Seanbaby penned a feature titled “”http://www.1up.com/do/feature?cId=3141721">The Worst T.V. Games of All Time." In the intro to this feature, he made this statement:

I rated the 10 worst ones of all time. Each game got an Accuracy rating. This score is out of 10; a score of 1 would be the equivalent of a game about Frasier that isn’t about making out with your own brother, and a score of 10 would be for a game based on Jean-Claude Van Damme which uses only two buttons—one to do the splits and another to punch someone in the dong.

I’m here to tell you, in the spirit of The B-game Competition, that the Van Damme game WAS MADE, and it is called Van Damnation. It was put out two years ago as a limited release, but, with Oddbob’s help, it is now being made available to the public once again. Rocky, the creator of the game, is also the mastermind behind another classic B-game – Pillar Killer.

(Now if only someone would make a game based off of either 1. Bloodsport, 2. Hard Target, or 3. both.)

ProTip: Read the readme or you will not get anywhere in this difficult game of timing and dong punches!

Download here (from Oddbob) or here (from me). The game is 2 megabytes large.

Indie Gaming Cosplay (LOL)

By: Derek Yu

On: August 22nd, 2007

castle crashers cosplay

Now that is some sweet cosplay right there. Mm-mm! That is like cosplay with gravy all over it. The kind of gravy that has chunks of meat in it because it’s too good to be regular gravy!

I’m completely serious. That is an awesome Castle Crashers costume. See the whole set here.

(Source: insert credit)

Got me wondering, though. Is there any more indie game cosplay out there? Where are those jubilant court jesters willing to uplift the spirits of us independent gaming enthusiasts with their unique brand of fan service? Send me some links to pictures, and I’ll collect them here. Because I promised myself one post on cosplay and that was IT. So it has to be good.

The Doctor

“”http://images.cosplay.com/gallery.php?cat=53052&member=11243">The Doctor" (Cave Story) – That is one sweet ass likeness! He’s even got the attitude down.

Curly Quote

“”http://www.flickr.com/photos/40769891@N00/sets/72157594187392639/“>Curly Brace and Quote” (Cave Story) – Whoa. Yeah. <3

Contributed by soilworker.

Punishment 1 and 2

By: Derek Yu

On: August 15th, 2007

punishment 1

Punishment 1 was one of the 50 Really Good Games in the Indie Game Guide, and of it I wrote:

“Punishment is an assault to the senses, a punishingly difficult platform game that continually alters the player’s perception. It’s the gaming equivalent of spinning around until you’re dizzy and then trying to walk in a straight line… and as a bonus, there’s a level that features a giant, smiling portrait of Shigeru Miyamoto in the background.”

Now there’s a sequel, of which cactus writes:

punishment 2

“Without spoiling too much, I can say that this game is down right evil. The gameplay revolves around tricky platforming, and flipping switches to open the door to the next level. Except there’s one big twist that will make your mother cry. Everytime you get to a new level you have to flip all the switches in each and everyone of the earlier levels again. So you have to make it all the way down to the bottom level, and start flipping the switches over and over. And over.”

And it’s true, my mother did cry. You can find both games here!

A Tribute to the Rolling Boulder

By: Derek Yu

On: August 14th, 2007

A Tribute to the Rolling Boulder

I love games that put you in control of unlikely protagonists. Games are so perfect for that. Take Death Worm, for instance. In no other medium could you so effectively capture what it’s like to be a giant sand worm!

Petri Purho, best known for his great, “under a week” experimental games like Crayon Physics, has made a game that puts you in the shoes (er, dirt?) of a giant rolling boulder trap, ala Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark. In the game you are charged with defending two golden idols from the hoards of filthy archaeologists trying to defile them.

But they’ll run from you. Oh, how they’ll run. These are some of the fastest fucking archaeologists I’ve ever seen. Screw gold idols… these guys could be winning gold medals. (Zing!)

Fortunately, you can do one thing that the original rolling boulder couldn’t – namely, jump. This will let you get to the upper parts of the temple, which is still not an easy task, due to how small and unwieldy the platforms are at the higher levels. In fact, getting to the platform in the upper right corner can be downright infuriating!

But man, is it fun to slam a group of brownhats and send them flying and screaming. Ragdoll physics for the win! This is a highly inventive and entertaining game.

And, of course, here’s the obligatory video of someone completely and utterly destroying the game.