Posts from ‘Macintosh’ Category
Brogue
By: Derek Yu
On: January 15th, 2012
Brogue is a roguelike that’s been in active development since 2009. It’s unique in that it eschews all other attributes – dexterity, intelligence, charisma, wisdom, etc. – in favor of strength, which can only be gained through potions. Likewise, this single stat only determines one thing: whether or not you can wield better weapons and armor without incurring a penalty. Potions of strength are obviously important in Brogue, but so are scrolls of enchantment: enchanting items not only increases their power, but also reduces their strength requirements.
In a game like Nethack, for example, you’ll often encounter monsters and items that are similar to one another, like the four different types of short swords that only deal slight differences in damage. In Brogue, however, everything is much more distinct. Many monsters have unique attacks, like thieving monkeys or goblin conjurers that summon spectral blades to chase you. And it’s easy to tell whether a weapon or armor is better by simply looking at the strength requirement (although some types of equipment have special abilities, too, like hammers and spears which deal damage across multiple spaces).
Brogue is streamlined, and even though it sports ASCII graphics it reminds me of console roguelikes like Shiren the Wanderer, due to its intuitive interface (fully mouse-accessible) and simplified mechanics. It still manages to be challenging, but the challenge lies less in knowing trivia about the game than simply making smart decisions. The graphics are actually very pretty, too – Brogue’s dungeons are quite naturalistic and sport all kinds of colorful areas, from green-and-brown fungus forests to blue-and-purple sun-lit grottos. Even caustic gases and deadly wildfires look great as they spread slowly across the floor… just make sure you don’t get backed into a corner while you’re admiring them!
TIGdb: Entry for Brogue
Swift Stitch
By: Paul Eres
On: January 11th, 2012
[This is a guest article by Offal, a review/analysis of Sophie Houlden’s Swift Stitch. She’s also the developer of The Linear RPG, BOXGAME, and many others.]
Dissecting Swift☆Stitch
You might be forgiven if at first glance you were to confuse Sophie Houlden’s recently released Swift Stitch for a video game out of another decade. Utilizing the Unity3D game engine, Sophie has created an ostensibly 2D game, though one that hews closer artistically to the legacy of early vector displays than the more prolific blocky bitmap art that followed. The slick mathematical aesthetic, the palette of black, white, and bright flickering neons, and the bare-minimum control method may seem otherworldly amongst today’s fare. On deeper examination however, you may discover that Swift Stitch is a game firmly rooted in the present, taking a unique approach in addressing several modern game design paradigms.
In play, Swift Stitch bears significant resemblance to the bit Generations (or more recently, ArtStyle) games. Roughly similar to various entries in the arty Skip Ltd. developed series, Swift Stitch presents the player with minimal visual and aural feedback, tightening the gap between stimulus and player reaction. When successful, this kind of game induces a unique head-space that makes every lesson learned by failure and every small triumph feel sublime.
Read the rest of this entry »
Windosill
By: Derek Yu
On: December 31st, 2011
The iPad version of Windosill was released earlier this month and adds a sketchbook gallery, level select, and “translucent mode” that lets you see how each level is put together (although you can’t tell from a screenshot, many of the objects in the game are 3d polygons). The original game, which can be played in your browser or as a download from Steam, came out in ’09.
The brainchild of Patrick Walker, Windosill takes you through 11 simple puzzle rooms. The game is criminally short, but nonetheless quite enjoyable. The toy truck that leads the way is perhaps a hint about how to best play it – by not only solving the puzzles but also goofing around with the fanciful, abstract dioramas that make up each room.
The browser version is free up until the halfway point. It’s currently on sale for about $1 on Steam.
TIGdb: Entry for Windosill
English Country Tune
By: Derek Yu
On: December 2nd, 2011
Stephen “increpare” Lavelle has released English Country Tune, the latest of his many mind-expanding video game projects, but also his first commercial release. In ECT, the player controls a flat panel that can flip itself onto adjacent tiles in 3d space. The goal of the early levels is to flip “larva” into glowing cubes. The larva will “fall” according to the direction that they were flipped, introducing you to the spatial nature of ECT’s puzzles. As you advance to later levels, you’ll encounter new goals and obstacles (watch the trailer below for a sneak peak at some of those).
Suffice to say, if you like unique and challenging puzzlers, you should check this one out – a demo that covers the first couple of worlds is available from the website (full version $10).
Legend of Grimrock Beta Trailer
By: Derek Yu
On: November 28th, 2011
Legend of Grimrock developer Almost Human has announced that their upcoming dungeon crawl is now in beta, meaning “that every feature, all enemies and all levels that are going to be in the final game are now in place, and we can now fully concentrate on polishing and balancing the game and fixing bugs until everything is perfect”. The release date has been pushed to some time next year, however.
Kerbal Space Program 0.12 – Now with more Mun
By: Alehkhs
On: November 25th, 2011
Kerbal Space Program‘s alpha has now reached release 0.12, which introduces a new goal for players: a moon (or “Mun,” as Kerbals spell it) now exists in the game, orbiting the Kerbal homeworld and daring players to try landing on it.
Even in its alpha state, KSP has already established a rather dedicated following, largely due to its ability to be easily modded. Fans are regularly making new parts, allowing for players to construct everything from historical rockets such as NASA’s Saturn V or Roscosmos’s Soyuz, to modern and near-future spaceplanes. Other notable fan contributions range from the game’s 2001: A Space Odyssey-inspired loading screen (done by Riess, of Our Intrepid Crew) to the amazing fan trailer seen above, by KSP fan Dippeggs.
0.12 is the second-to-last free version of the game (0.13 is planned to mostly be bug-fixes and optimization) and gives players a great taste of what’s to come. For players who purchase the game, the planned features beyond version 0.13 include more stellar bodies (such as planets and asteroids), space stations, trainable AI crew to man the missions, and even a “story mode,” which will challenge players to complete various goals on a limited budget.
If you haven’t yet played Kerbal Space Program, you can check it out here.
Humble Introversion Bundle
By: Derek Yu
On: November 23rd, 2011
I think you all know how this works by now! The latest Humble Bundle features the games of Introversion (Darwinia, Multiwinia, Defcon, and Uplink), as well as two beat-the-average games: Petri Purho’s Crayon Physics and Bit Blot’s Aquaria (Bit Blot is me and Alec Holowka). Name your price for six games and help charity at the same time!
TIGdb: Entry for Introversion
Humble Voxatron Debut
By: Derek Yu
On: November 1st, 2011
The alpha version of Joseph White’s voxel-based top-down shooter Voxatron was released today through the Humble Indie Bundle site (although, as you can see by the title, it’s a “humble indie debut”, and not a bundle). As with previous humble offers, you can pay what you want for the game and all future updates, including the awesome built-in model and level editors. Payment can be split as you see fit between the developer, two charities (Child’s Play and the EFF), and the Humble Bundle guys.
For more information on Voxatron’s release and its future development, check out Joseph’s blog.
Scoregasm
By: Derek Yu
On: October 11th, 2011
Scoregasm is the latest from Charlie, creator of Space Phallus, Irukandji, and Bullet Candy Perfect. It’s an arena shoot ’em up where the goal is to keep your combo number up by destroying enemies repeatedly. This also replenishes a Close Range Attack that earns double combo points and also turns bullets into high-value hearts. If you maintain your combo count toward the end of the level, you may qualify for an extra-intense “Scoregasm Frenzy” (cough) that offers up big scoring opportunities and opens up alternate level paths.
Presentation-wise, Scoregasm doesn’t seem to distinguish itself from the other glowy arena shoot ’em ups out there (aside from the moaning!), but the Close Range Attack is fun. Check out the demo, which features roughly a third of the game’s levels.
TIGdb: Entry for Scoregasm
Voxatron Preview #3
By: Derek Yu
On: October 5th, 2011
New teaser for Voxatron out, with the announcement that an alpha will be available soon for people who pre-order. The alpha comes with the voxel/map editor that you see in the video.
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