IndieGames.com - The Weblog

Freeware Game Pick: Fallen City(Big Robot)

2012-05-16T22:00:01Z

Big Robot Games' newly released Fallen City is an educational game centered around the titular settlement. A cutesy-looking offering that was the result of a comission from Channel 4, Fallen City will have you taking command of a troop of Angries, a blocky cadre of characters, even as you attempt to turn their run-down home into something that their hypothetical children will be proud of.

It's an almost wistful endeavor. People in real life seldom seem this willing to fling themselves into the community service. Nonetheless, it's still a nice thought and more than a decent game to share with your possible brood.

Download the game here.

Demo: McPixel (Sos Sosowski)

2012-05-16T20:00:48Z

What would you do if you had twenty seconds to save the world? If you're one Mr. McPixel, you would kick things. Between the legs. Repeatedly. McPixel first began life as a Ludum Dare entry 21. An odd little point & click game, it asked players to make strange decisions within the span of twenty seconds so as to be able to save the day. Vaguely reminiscent of those Warioware, the original was an absolute riot.

However, not content with the adoration of the Ludum Dare crowd, its creator went ahead and made a full version of the game, which will, barring unfortunate circumstances, be released on June 6th. In celebration of its upcoming release, the developer has unveiled a new demo as well!

You can find the game here.

NES Homebrew Release - Nomolos: Storming the Catsle (Gradual Games)

2012-05-16T16:00:57Z

Nintendo Entertainment System homebrew development studio Gradual Games has released its side-scrolling platformer Nomolos: Storming the Catsle via a production run of NES cartridges at RetroZone.

From its soundtrack to the background graphics, Nomolos exudes a strong Castlevania vibe -- it's a lot of fun to play, too! It's briskly paced, and there's a decent amount of variety in the level design and the boss encounters. It's definitely one of the best homebrew games I've played for the NES.

Nomolos is priced at $32 (plus shipping), while a boxed edition costs $41. A two-level demo is available at Gradual Games' website.

Indie Royale Debuts its First All-Charity Pack

2012-05-16T14:10:46Z

The IndieGames.com and Desura co-created Indie Royale is proud to present a very special game bundle - All-Charity Pack, featuring four awesome indie games and three outstanding chiptune albums/EPs, with 100% of the proceeds going to four extremely worthy charities.

The bundle's generous developers have each hand-picked a charity for their game, including UNICEF's Haiti aid, vital human rights work from Amnesty International, free speech and privacy advocacy from the EFF, and the global poverty programs of ActionAid.

Headlining the bundle is Hemisphere Games' dreamlike physics puzzle game Osmos, available for Windows and Mac on Steam, Windows and Linux on Desura, and DRM-free on Windows, Mac and Linux. The game puts the player in the role of a single-celled organism, tasked with growing larger by absorbing all the other organisms around it. A.V. Club called it, "Moving in every sense of the word" and Indiegames.com says, "Osmos mixes puzzle, action and strategy remarkably and all the while does it with great finesse and style." Blessed with an elegant minimalist electronic soundtrack, you'll progress from serenely ambient levels to varied and challenging worlds in this peaceful and engaging puzzler.

Next up is Erik Svedang's interactive fairytale Blueberry Garden, available for Windows on Steam, Desura, and DRM-free. An Independent Games Festival Grand Prize-winning experimental game about curiosity and exploration, you take on the role of a creature investigating a mysterious world. Try various fruits and use their effects to navigate the landscape more easily, and explore this playground of oddities in a living world with a marvelously offbeat soundtrack and multiple endings.

]]> Making its bundle debut is Wadjet Eye Games' rabbinical 2D adventure game The Shivah, available for Windows on Desura and DRM-Free. In the first title from the creator of The Blackwell Legacy you play as Russell Stone, a Jewish Rabbi at a poor synagogue in New York City. After a former member of his congregation dies and leaves him a significant amount of money, Rabbi Stone is led on an adventure through New York City that will test his faith and uncover unsettling truths. PC Gamer says, "It's in games like this that gaming really starts to measure up to conventional literature for emotional and intellectual integrity."

Finally featured is Copenhagen Game Collective's offbeat local multiplayer party game B.U.T.T.O.N., available for Windows on Steam, Desura and DRM-free. After taking a few steps away from your controller, race back to your controller through physical space, and do whatever it takes to win (or to avoid losing). While the game will display various rules for each round, there is no way to keep track of whether the players obey the rules or not - and unfair tactics are majorly encouraged here in this crazed improvisational party game.

Those who pay $7 USD or their country's currency equivalent during the All-Charity Pack get three incredible music albums/EPs from leading composers. These include Jake Kaufman's 'FX4', a virtuoso NES-style jam from the Shantae and Retro City Rampage composer, as well as Fez soundtrack creator Disasterpeace's acclaimed 2008 concept album 'Level', and a brand new EP from Super Time Force composer 6955, 'IN1ep'.

You can decide exactly how much money goes to each of the four charities when you donate to this bundle, and your entire donation amount (after third-party credit card/Paypal fees) will be received by the worthy causes picked by these charitable indies. Please give generously!

More information on the limited-time All-Charity Pack, including real-time statistics, its current minimum donation price, and the total amount raised so far for charity, is available at its official website or via its Facebook and Twitter pages.

Kickstarter Update: Dreamcast Shooter Redux Hits Funding Goal

2012-05-16T14:00:45Z

While many recent Kickstarter projects struggle to drum up support, NG:DEV.TEAM's René Hellwig successfully raised $25,000 for his horizontally scrolling shoot-'em-up Redux in just over a week, becoming what one backer describes as "the first physical console release to succeed on Kickstarter."

A majority of backers opted for the $65 pledge tier, which offers a Sega Dreamcast-compatible two-disc set featuring Redux and DUX 1.5. While copies of the game itself are still available, the project's highest reward tier -- a $1,000 package that includes a custom-made arcade stick and other bonuses -- has completely sold out since the project's launch.

Pledges from the project will fund the development of an updated version of Redux for Steam, Xbox Live Arcade, and the PlayStation Network. The Dreamcast edition is expected to ship to backers in December.

Browser Game Pick: Save Your Folks! (ilikescifi)

2012-05-16T11:30:00Z

Save Your Folks! is a short, physics-based, tower-toppling puzzler, where you have to set off the bombs in order to manipulate the tower to fall down without letting any of the debris hit the tiny people, running around at the bottom of the screen.

There are only 8 levels and it shouldn't take long to figure out which bombs to explode first to make the towers collapse in the direction that you need them to. Watching the towers fall is the highlight of the game. The last level deviates from the 'save people' formula.

Save Your Folks! is a Ludum Dare 23 entry and can be played here.

Freeware Game Pick: Endless, Nameless (Adam Cadre)

2012-05-16T09:00:00Z

Adam Cadre's first new game in years, the excellent Endless, Nameless, is a vast, demanding, fantasy text-adventure that will indeed remind you of the earliest attempts at interactive fiction. It does, after all, emulate the style of the venerable text-based dungeon crawlers of yore and even starts-off by exposing players to an 80s BBS welcome screen.

Endless, Nameless, besides being brilliantly written, does sport more than a few of the modern amenities text-adventurers have been used to and, interestingly, some simple CRPG mechanics too. You can play it online here or, better yet, download your very own copy here. Endless, Nameless runs on Windows, Linux, Mac OS, iOS and Android.

Free Indie Fighter: Rumble Pack (StudioEgg)

2012-05-16T07:00:00Z

Three years in the making, StudioEgg's 2D fighter Rumble Pack recently caught my attention on Shoryuken. The game contains a lot of the typical 2D fighting tastiness: QCF-type moves, parrying, air combos, and links. The "Radix" system attempts to offer its own "groove" with three different styles: hex (defensive), decimal (offensive), and binary (tech). In addition to having unique properties, special moves will behave differently in each style. Skip to the 5:45 mark to watch this in action.

]]> The art isn't Bengus or Akiman, but a few characters like Zppr have some charm to them. The current, free build of Rumble Pack uses the MUGEN engine, but the developers have stated that they plan to move to Unity to truly express their vision post-beta.

While I wait for a new 2D Darkstalkers and Samurai Shodown, a 3D Tobal, or 2.5D Slap Happy Rhythm Busters (what a name!), I'll look to indies like StudioEgg to invigorate the fighting genre. I imagine indie audio geniuses can also recreate or iterate on the magical sounds of Takayuki Iwai (Anarchy Takapon) and those of the same era. I rarely get to post about fighting games here, so feel free to talk about Rumble Pack or air out your fighting game nostalgia in the comments!

Serious Sam's Latest Indie Outing Grew Into More Than Marketing

2012-05-16T05:00:00Z

For the launch of the PC version of Serious Sam 3: Before First Encounter in 2011, publisher Devolver Digital took an unusual approach. The company hired three indies to create three smaller games that would release before the full Serious Sam game, to essentially build hype for the series. One of those games is Serious Sam Double D, from Weapon of Choice and Shoot 1up creator Nathan Fouts, and his team at Mommy's Best Games.

SSDD was released for Steam in late 2011, but now Devolver has commissioned an Xbox Live Arcade version from Fouts and company, called Serious Sam Double D: XXL (as though the game needed a longer acronym), ahead of Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 launches of Serious Sam 3: BFE.

The updated version of Fouts' game will feature additional levels, two-player co-op, and additional weapons for the game's "gunstacker" mechanic, which allows players to stack up their guns and use them all simultaneously. We spoke with Fouts to find out why the company took the "reverse path" from PC to console.

]]> Why bring the game to Xbox Live Arcade? Most developers these days seem to make the game for XBLA, then sell several times more on Steam later.

Serious Sam Double D was initially conceived as a marketing game for Serious Sam 3: Before First Encounter. Delightfully, it ended up getting a lot more fun and bigger than either publisher Devolver Digital or I thought it would be. The initial budget and timeline wasn't huge and we had to pick a target platform. Serious Sam initially launched back in 2001 on PC only. I think it was the best fit still, especially for the fans.

After the game launched on Steam and was well received, XBLA talk began. The Steam price is $8, and to reasonably charge $10 (for XBLA) we've been adding a lot more to the game to expand it. I realize the order of platforms we've released it for seems a little backwards, but I think Double D makes perfect sense on console (playing similar to Contra).

Is it a significant effort to port from the original, or was this planned all along?

It's kind of a lot of work. The big difference is this much more than a straight port, but still less than a full-blown sequel. We had a lot more we wanted to get into the PC version originally but didn't have time. Hopefully we can squeeze it all in here.

The crazy thing is this was not planned from the start. It was going to be simple and short, but got out of control, which was mostly fun to create, but definitely stressful. We'll be using all the assets from the original release, but we've been drawing, animating, coding, and building a ton more.

For example, all the original eight gun-types are still there, but now there are four upgrades for each gun class (making 32 upgraded guns plus the original 8 guns). I'm doing all-new gun art for a lot of the upgrades, in order to make it satisfying when the player gets those new upgrades. With the addition of all this new player firepower, I've had to go back and retune every level to match the new player abilities.

How do you feel working with publishers again, after quitting because you didn't like losing creative control?

Devolver Digital has been good-weird. They've only supported us financially and with marketing, and almost never messed with our creative direction. So... it's been great! We're definitely still independent, as we control nearly every single thing about the game itself. But we do get help from Devolver on occasion, such as wrangling the XBLA deal itself.

How do you deal with working on a license, marrying that with your unique style and keeping your freedom?

It was fairly difficult to do. You have to know yourself -- and studio -- really well. And you have to know the license. Once we sorted out what worked in both cases we were able to add them together pretty well.

For instance, how do you get a first-person shooter feel into a 2D run'n'gun? Sam has tons of circle-strafing and running backward while firing (in the original). To mirror this play-style in Double D we introduced a jump-pad powerup. You throw it down anytime and it launches you high into the air. The player-jump is also very maneuverable in mid-air. This was to mimic the circle-strafing. It gets more vertical movement out of the side-scrolling, and lets you dodge much more than a typical run-n-gun game.

Even the Gunstacker itself was a response to integrating the original "plain" Serious Sam guns. I knew I couldn't get wacky with the guns right off the bat or fans wouldn't recognize enough of the game, so I created with this method to combine guns.

Are you going to keep working on XBLIG and smaller titles, or are we only going to see Mommy's Best Games in larger arenas now?

I'd definitely like to stick with both areas. Steam and the PC scene are thriving and it's smooth to develop for. Big projects like XXL for XBLA are really satisfying to create. Smaller-scope projects on XBLIG are fun to make though -- they go faster, and there's often less risk. We've made some good money on XBLIG and now we've done well on Steam.

It's been well established there is plenty of money to make on XBLIG given the right game. While we've had good success on XBLIG, our games sometimes get lost in the shuffle (Explosionade, we hardly knew ye). But I continue to plan and design for games on XBLIG in the future. I love the platform and the community there. It's wonderful to develop games for, but it can be tough to make money.

[This article appeared originally on Gamasutra, written by Brandon Sheffield.]

Radiangames Celebrates Second Anniversary With Catalog Sale

2012-05-16T03:00:14Z

It's been two years since Radiangames released its debut title JoyJoy for the Xbox Live Indie Games service, and the developer celebrates the occasion this week with a catalog-wide sale.

Notably, the sale reduces the price of all Radiangames-published XBLIG titles to 80 Microsoft points ($1) each -- the first price drop these games have seen since Radiangames chose to price them at $5 each more than ten months ago.

All of Radiangames iOS apps are 99 cents this week, except for Super Crossfire, which is available for free. The developers Windows and Mac games are $1.99 each, and all soundtracks are also reduced in price.

The sale lasts through May 22nd. I'm thinking about picking up a couple of the XBLIG releases -- anyone have any recommendations?

Kickstarter Projects: Tex Murphy - Project Fedora (Chris Jones & Aaron Conners)

2012-05-16T01:00:53Z

Fans of classic adventure games must be pleased with the recent Kickstarter boom, what with the success of a Leisure Suit Larry remake and the launch of new projects from Jane Jensen and Space Quest's creators. Yet another classic franchise could soon see a revival, pending financial support from fans, with Tex Murphy: Project Fedora.

The Tex Murphy games -- which include well-known titles like Under a Killing Moon and The Pandora Directive -- are a series of interactive detective stories starring a downtrodden private investigator in a post-apocalyptic Los Angeles. Project Fedora is a new entry that boasts a branching narrative and multiple endings, along with the live-action FMV sequences the series is known for.

Project Fedora is already well on its way to its goal of $450,000, earning more than $100,000 in its first 24 hours. A downloadable copy of the finished product for Windows or Mac will be given to backers who pledge $15 or more. Higher pledge tiers add downloadable copies of previous Tex Murphy games ($50), t-shirts ($75), and boxed Collector's Editions of Project Fedora ($100).

Browser Game Pick: Super Strict Farmer (Benjamin)

2012-05-15T22:03:15Z

Made for the most recent Ludum Dare, Super Strict Farmer did rather well in the polls for a reason: it's hyper-addictive. At first glance, it looks like your average turn-based hardcore farming simulator. You and your opponent are required to take turns in your attempt to accumulate as many victory points as possible. To do so, you're going to have to do things like harvesting them from churches, maintaining a large herd of cattle, hoarding grain and ensuring your farmers stay alive and healthy in the process.

The mechanics are deceptively simple but the A.I is almost viciously good at this polished little delivery. Those curious as to how it all plays out should check out the game here.

iPizza Nostra! Brings Old-School Gangsters And Adventure Games Together

2012-05-15T20:00:36Z

Diablo 3 too much for you? Need a retro-infused change to your day? If so, well, you're still going to have to wait for a bit. iPizza Nostra! is currently still a work in progress. Set in Chicago during the Great Depression, iPizza Nostra! will eventually have players taking on the role of one Joe Matone. Driven to a life of crime by his lack of income, Matone soon finds himself on a search for a cop's missing daughter. Judging from the screenshots (and the sparse description), it looks like players will eventually find themselves facing hard decisions and hardened criminals.

Those curious about the progress of the game can check out the forum thread here.

More screenshots below the cut.]]>

Browser Game Pick: Break Entry (Alexander Martin)

2012-05-15T17:00:00Z

Typing a few, short words has seldom been as stressful as in Alexander Martin's Break Entry, made for this year's Toronto Independent Game Jam (TOJam). Martin joined 400 others for this past weekend's event, creating games based on the theme "The world's NOT ending".

Players must use text-specific commands to break and dive further into the center of the circle, avoiding the shrinking blue balls and the one-hit killing red balls. Ready to "DIVE" in? Load up Break Entry and type "HELP" to get familiar.

If you have stumbled upon or created any other neat TOJam games, feel free to post them here!

[ Source: Twitter ]

Dejobaan Games Formally Announces Jetpack FPS Drunken Robot Pornography

2012-05-15T16:00:12Z

AaaaaAAaaaAAAaaAAAAaAAAAA!!! creator Dejobaan Games quietly showed off its latest creation at PAX East last month, but laments that few sources picked up on the game's existence after the fact. This week, it issued a press release in the hopes of spreading the word that yes, the game is real, and it's currently under development.

Drunken Robot Pornography, originally revealed in 2010 as an April Fool's joke, has entered development as "a first-person shooter about demolishing titanic, flying robots, piece-by-piece." The game promises a series of jetpack-powered battles with gigantic robot creatures, though Dejobaan notes that it hasn't decided what platforms the game will appear on or whether it will feature hardcore robot nudity.

A selection of non-erotic screenshots is available at Dejobaan's website.