The Weekly Report #1

By: Paul Eres

On: September 6th, 2010

This is a new feature where I’ll be covering ten notable releases and newly posted games in production of the past week. A couple of people suggested I call this “The Eres Report” but it’s really just as much Ortoslon, who suggested most of the games here. These are all good games so try them all out, the numbering is just in the order of my preference. I’ll also include a weekly classic (2+ years old) game that was never covered in TIGSource.

#1 – Shoot 3. By Erik Leppen (ByteAlity). Like many of Erik’s games, this one has superb controls and particle effects, and despite lo-fi graphics like the ship sprite feels very solid and polished. One of the best shmups I’ve played this year, although, like the other games in his Shoot series, it intentionally starts off slow and builds up, with a gradual increase in frenzy. [Windows]

#2 – Hubris. A platformer by shushgame. The game doesn’t look like much from the screenshot, but it is. 30 levels, most invisible. The platforming itself is standard, this game just tests how well you can do it despite various visual impairments. It also uses the “narrator taunts the player and keep secrets from the player” motif that some other games have used, like Loved, Seven Minutes, and Portal. Also has a ‘skip level’ feature, although using it may have an effect on the ending. [Windows/Mac]

#3 – Seasons with Thomas. By Vectorpark. Graphics and style are similar to their other games (such as Feed the Head and Windosill) so if you enjoyed those you’d probably enjoy this. This game has even less of a puzzle element than those games, with nothing getting in the way of your progress through the seasons of the year at all. Very nice effects and environmental interactions. If you’ve never played a Vectorpark game before this would be a good start. [Flash]

#4 – Avoidal. Made by Hybrid Mind games for the Ludum Dare 18 (theme: Enemies as Weapons). Avoid touching anything, and pull the small red dots into the mines (they are attracted to the player). Or move in front of the spikes if they line up with a mine for x5 points. Both Ortoslon and myself are currently in the top 10 in its high score list. [Flash]

#5 – The Hive. Adventure-platform game by titusthreex for the sixth YoYo Games competition, reminiscent of Iji, Shadow Complex, and Metroid. You go through a map collecting new power-ups and upgrades, gradually opening access to new areas. Has an auto-save feature. Not available in full screen mode however, so you’ll probably need to manually reduce your screen resolution to see anything. A fairly lengthy and polished game for a freeware contest entry, will probably take at least three hours to complete. [Windows]

#6 – “pig based space game”. This game by RedProdukt is too new to even have a title yet, but basically your ship moves in orbits around other ships and has to protect it from missles; hold space to expend fuel to speed up, and press space on a circle junction to shift to a neighboring circle. [Windows]

#7 – Special Agent Bunnet vs Doctor Dishwater. By DavidN. This is a timed ‘spot the differences’ game using symbols (abstract symbols, letters, numbers). I found it pretty good as an exercise or test of one’s ability to quickly spot differences, but I wish it were a bit longer and harder; it’s a test of a skill not tested in most other games. Took me 11:20 to complete; the time it took you to complete the game goes on a high score chart. [Flash]

#8 – Cloud Control. Made by Glen Forrester of Mak Gam. A puzzle game about clouds. You start each stage as a single white cloud, and the goal is to collect all the white clouds while avoiding touching the storm clouds. But once connected, clouds form rigid shapes, making it harder to collect the remaining white clouds without touching the storm ones. Like his previous game Enough Plumbers, the latter puzzles quickly get tricky. [Flash]

#9 – Fish Fish Bang Bang (demo). By Rob Fearon (Oddbob). Press space to reverse your direction; the game “plays itself”, but to get a higher score avoid killing fish until they are close. Made for Indie Kombat in a battle against Farbs. In Indie Kombat, two indie developers make games containing elements of their opponent’s previous games; the audience voting determines the winner (the current Indie Kombat is a three-way battle between ChevyRay, MrPodunkian, and SophieH). [Windows]

#10 – The Myth of Sisyphus. By Allen. Although indie games based on this myth are not new, this one is in 3D. Like its predecessor for the OHRRPGCE, the only way to exit the game is Alt+F4. But why would you want to do that? “The struggle itself… is enough to fill a man’s heart. One must imagine Sisyphus happy.” [Windows/Mac]

Classic of the Week – Winged Gear. By ZAP. Released in 2005, this is a classic indie arena shmup. Five lengthy areas, each a series of small rooms which must be cleared of enemies before you can progress (within a time limit). There’s also a two-player mode. This is an excellent game all-around: nice music, little subtleties like alternate paths and collected point objects giving higher point values the “fresher” they are. You can play in windowed mode by adding -w to the game’s command line. [Windows]