Posts from ‘Unique / Bizarre’ Category

Preview: Hiversaires

By: Paul Eres

On: April 4th, 2013

This is a guest post by offal.

After years of releasing engaging short-form games, prolific digital artist Aliceffekt is nearing completion of his first independent commercial project, Hiversaires, for iOS. Committing himself to full time development at the beginning of February, Aliceffekt has worked solo on the game, handling design, code, art, and music.

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Frog Fractions

By: Andy Hull

On: December 3rd, 2012

Frog Fractions

When Twinbeard Studios’ Frog Fractions was released in October, I played it for only a few minutes before dismissing it as a cute parody—a humorous dig at the multitude of terrible edutainment games. Luckily, I was recently persuaded to check it out again and was rewarded with an extremely unique and surprising experience. I don’t want to say too much about the game for fear of spoiling it, but I will say this: It’s worth finishing.

Frog Fractions is free to play on the game’s site, so hop on over and try it out for yourself.

Desperate Gods

By: Derek Yu

On: November 29th, 2012

Desperate Gods is an open source “digital board game” developed by Wolfire Games for Fuck This Jam, a week-and-a-half-long game jam based around making games in genres you generally dislike. In his design overview, Wolfire’s David Rosen describes how he enjoys board games but feels that their video game counterparts lack a lot of what makes them fun. Check out the video above to see how he and artist Aubrey Serr tried to overcome these problems while developing a unique board game from the ground up.

What’s in the Box?

By: Derek Yu

On: November 14th, 2012

What's in the Box?, by finc

What’s in the Box? is a clever puzzler from Finlay Costello, aka “finc”. The goal of the game is to carry a red box out of each level using your snake-like arm, a task complicated by the fact that the box is stopped by the red X’s and your hand is stopped by blue ones. Winning involves timing as well as puzzle-solving, and you’ll have to play perfectly (zero errors) to find out what’s in the box.

It should be mentioned that this is the first video game finc has ever made, using Game Maker 8. Congratulations!

Incredipede

By: Derek Yu

On: October 31st, 2012

Incredipede, by Colin Northway

Colin Northway’s physics puzzler Incredipede came out last week. In this unique game you guide a little cyclopean creature named Quozzle to the sunbeam at the end of 60 pre-made levels or a potentially infinite number of user-made levels (currently there are over a hundred in the in-game level browser). The challenge arises from controlling Quozzle’s legs, which are built out of long bones and squishy muscles. Some levels will give you a pre-made body and task you with the movement only, whereas others will let you place musculature or even bones. Needless to say, solutions to Incredipede’s levels can be quite varied and the free-form nature of the puzzles are a big part of the game’s appeal.

Overall, the production values are quite good, with attractive woodblock-style visuals by Thomas Shahan and sound effects by Super Meat Boy’s Jordan Fehr. Perhaps most impressive, however, is the game’s interface, which is quite intuitive, whether you’re adding legs to Quozzle or developing your own level to share with other players online. This is especially important given how often you’ll be tweaking your creations, which, if you’re anything like me, will veer toward the break-dancing, as-many-legs-as-possible variety.

Fans of Colin’s first title, Fantastic Contraption, will feel at home with Incredipede, as they are similar games at heart. Incredipede is available for $15 direct or from GOG.com. An 11-level demo is playable on the game’s website but does not include any of levels where you get to design your own Quozzle.

Steam Greenlight: Incredipede

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Preview: Incredipede

By: Derek Yu

On: September 3rd, 2012

This is a new trailer for Colin and Sarah Northway’s Incredipede, which features artwork by Thomas Shahan. Slated for a late October release, Incredipede is a physics-based platformer where you control Quozzle, a little creature that can be built and rebuilt using jointed limbs and muscles. According to the game’s website, it will come with 60 levels and a level editor.

Zineth

By: Derek Yu

On: August 19th, 2012

Zineth, by Arcane Kids

Developed by a group of students at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute during their Spring semester, Zineth is a non-linear action game that mostly lets you skate around, but also gives you the option to fiddle around with fetch quests, races, Twitter, and a strange Pokémon-esque minigame that’s accessible through the player’s mobile device. The main draw, however, is the skating, and it feels fast and fun. It’s complemented by a cool aesthetic and an expansive world that offers plenty of opportunities to grind, glide, and wall jump across huge distances.

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The Real Texas

By: Paul Eres

On: June 16th, 2012

[This is a guest post from Offal]

Developer Calvin French has released long awaited action-adventure game The Real Texas,
presently purchasable at a discounted early-release price. In the game, you follow the story of a vacationing cowboy who finds himself on an unexpected journey in a land full of strange happenings and peculiar personalities. You solve puzzles and explore the boundaries of a well developed overworld, and the deep challenging dungeons that lie beneath.

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Teaser: Among the Sleep

By: Derek Yu

On: May 31st, 2012

This is a gameplay teaser for Among the Sleep, an upcoming horror game where you play a 2-year-old child. According to developer krillbite, the game is slated for a 2013 release.

Bloodlands

By: Derek Yu

On: April 18th, 2012

Bloodlands, by Maxim
Screenshot taken from Free Indie Games.

Booting up Bloodlands, you’re met with a warning screen that indicates the level of action the title is aiming for – the screen that greets you is a tribute to Cave’s famous shoot ’em up DonPachi. It’s a tall order for any game, but especially one that’s made in the ANSI-based game creation tool Megazeux! But Maxim, who developed Bloodlands over the course of two years, has managed to squeeze a lot out of the aging engine, offering some pretty intense “dual stick” arena shooting with a full complement of cutscenes and special effects.

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