Distractionware’s Terry Cavanagh has released this trailer for his upcoming gravity-shifting platformer/exploration game VVVVVV. (Yes, VVVVVV.) Initially a small “design exercise,” VVVVVV has evolved into Terry’s biggest game yet. A few months and nearly 200 screens later, it’s looking great.
Head over to Terry’s dev log for more details and screens. And look for VVVVVV to be released “in the next few weeks.” (Hopefully!)
Posted by Brandon "BMcC" McCartin
Mon, 31 Aug 2009 18:11:00 GMT
More hot trailer action! In Another Brothel, the film noir-style, box-spawning, hooker-saving platformer from Miroslav and Sereneworx (originally by Hideous) is coming out this year, to a browser near you. I wish I had more to link to, but I guess for now you can pester them here.
Trine’s been out for awhile, but you’ll forgive me for being late to the party since I only just now took the demo for a spin. Developed by the Finnish studio Frozenbytes (Shadowgrounds), the first thing you’ll notice about this game is that the production values are very high. The graphics are fantastic, and I enjoyed the spot-on high fantasy voice narration that accompanies you during the game.
The gameplay video above should give you a good idea of what Trine is about – it’s a physics-based puzzle-platformer where you control three heroes with different abilities. In the single-player mode you can switch between the characters at any time. There’s also an offline co-op mode available from the options that lets you play with two or three people.
The game seems really polished all around, although I’ll probably pass on the full version, since neither the narrative nor the level design in the demo really hooked me. Everything, from the character’s personalities to the overall pacing and challenge, felt languid (maybe “casual” is the right word). Still, I think Trine does as advertised – if the video looks good, give the demo a spin.
The full version, which is usually $30, is available for $23 right now on Steam. It’s also coming soon to PSN.
Posted by Brandon "BMcC" McCartin
Mon, 10 Aug 2009 20:30:00 GMT
Sophie “GirlFlash” Houlden has released a neat 3D, physics-bending platformer called BOXGAME. Each stage wraps around the sides of a cube, and as you jump between planes the direction of gravity changes, making for some interesting puzzle-platforming action. To be honest, the mechanics are still a little unclear to me. As I played I was often unsure as to why I landed on one platform and not another. But I may just be easily disoriented. Either way, it’s good fun!
Play BOXGAMEhere. (Requires Unity plugin.)
Forum thread is here.
Hammerfall, which was one of my favorites for IGF 2008, has re-emerged as Hammerfight, now with new trailer and website. In the game you fly around in vehicles that can be armed with swords, flails, guns, and other weapons. It’s a gorgeous production, and the physics-based game mechanics are genuinely very inventive and fun.
No release date yet. Thanks to Matthew Wegner and Fun-Motion for the news!
Posted by Brandon "BMcC" McCartin
Tue, 16 Jun 2009 16:32:00 GMT
Crane Wars, the eighth and latest web game from Phoenix-based Flashbang Studios, is now playable on Blurst, continuing their proud lineage of fun, funky, free, and (often) physics-based games. Crane Wars is a game of dueling construction sites, and the classic battle of Union vs. Scab. Using the crane, stack your buildings high before funding runs out, but beware of sabotage (or should I say scabotage, ho ho). As with other Flashbang games, it starts with this simple, clever mechanic, but quickly turns to madness, with burning rubble covering the ground, trucks flying through the air, and so on.
This post took hours to write cuz I couldn’t stop playing it. You too may play it right here.
Oh yeah! Excellent music by the similarly excellent Alec Holowka. It quite reminds me of Rare’s games on the N64… must be the tuba?
Posted by Brandon "BMcC" McCartin
Tue, 19 May 2009 04:33:00 GMT
Look: In-game beta footage of Hitlers Must Die!, the first track off Cryptic Sea's upcoming game album, No Quarter. Seems to be coming together rather well! (Those shadows... *swoons*)
Posted by Brandon "BMcC" McCartin
Wed, 13 May 2009 18:26:00 GMT
Oh. My. Goodness.
Blaster Master meets Bionic Commando, with sexier physics and disturbing visuals? Yes, please. Not only is this the best XNA Community game I think I’ve ever seen (though, I’ll admit, my experience with XNA games is limited), it may be the best game ever? (Sure, I’m exaggerating here. But only slightly.)
My very first thought when I saw this was, “Hey, that looks like one of Arne’s concepts!” Could this be the dream game he’s been waiting for? I mean, supposedly it “features dynamic decision branching, and multiple, story-driven endings.” Does that mean free-roaming exploration? I sure hope so.
Find more at creator Nathan Fouts’ website, Mommy’s Best Games.
Also, his dev log can be found here, and is now added to the DevRoll, natch.
Posted by Brandon "BMcC" McCartin
Tue, 12 May 2009 16:30:00 GMT
Moving on, then! Here is a trailer of the latest in the PS3 PixelJunk series from Q-Games, tentatively titled 1-4. It looks floaty and physicsy and fun! Think Solar Jetman (one of my favourites), or Oids or something, but with impressive liquid physics, destroyable terrain, and slick, modern visuals. I dunno if the music in the trailer is from the game, but it seems cool too!
There was a contest going on to pick the name of 1-4, but it looks like the entry period is now over. (Sorry, folks!) Anyway, you can still find more about the game here.
Posted by Brandon "BMcC" McCartin
Thu, 19 Mar 2009 03:50:00 GMT
Cactus has released his first ever (?) sports game, suitably titled Ping Pong. Battle Dino, Bunk, Pasztor, Hoff, and Noir by pressing Z and sometimes the arrow keys!
