MUA

Posted by Derek Yu Sun, 28 Sep 2008 01:03:00 GMT

(Courtesy of Paul Eres, Unicorn Lover)

Posted in Platformers, Unicorns, Videos, Physics | 34 comments

Minotaur China Shop

Posted by Brandon "BMcC" McCartin Thu, 25 Sep 2008 11:43:00 GMT

Suddenly, a transmission from Flashbang’s hidden underground base…

TIGSOURCE
YOUR NEW ORDERS FOLLOW:
POST ABOUT PROJECT MCS-A, CODENAME ‘MINOTAUR CHINA SHOP’
BUT DO NOT REVEAL ITS SINISTER PURPOSE
YOUR COMPENSATION SHALL BE LEFT IN THE AGREED LOCATION
FLASHBANG OUT

Posted in Games and Art?, Physics, Action / Arcade | Tags Blurst, FlashbangStudios | 31 comments

iSplume Out Now (w/ Video Proof!)

Posted by Brandon "BMcC" McCartin Thu, 11 Sep 2008 00:47:00 GMT

WARNING: Reading this post frightens me—and I just wrote it. Focus on the iSplume part, OK?

iSplume (that’s Splume for iPhone/iPod touch, kids) is now available for purchasing in the iTunes App Store... for, like, three bucks. (What’s that, a pack of gum nowadays?) And it incorporates all that touch screen and tilting wizardry I’ve been hearing so much about. It’s even getting mentioned alongside the likes of Spore: Origins in press releases and such. (Which means something, I think?) Quick tangent: What the heck could Spore: Origins be about, anyway? Doesn’t Spore have you starting out as a single-celled organism? We developed the theory on Skype the other night that this “Origins” installment will have you starting out playing as God or The Big Bang or the primordial ooze itself or something. Of course, going from God to microorganism would be a bit of a letdown, wouldn’t it? I’m just saying… I’m glad I’m not the one to have to answer these questions!

Splume (which you can play here) was the first release in a series of games started as an experiment in rapid development by the gentlemanly and modern gentlemen at Flashbang Studios, who went on to craft such indie touchstones as Off-Road Velociraptor Safari and Jetpack Brontosaurus, as well as host the first annual TIGJam. (For future reference, you can find their weirder, mostly dinosaur-themed games over at their new site, called Blurst—I guess maybe to create some distance from Flashbang’s more “casual” reputation?)

Dang, this might be the best TIGS post I’ve ever written. I mean, look at all the formatting. And the video! I’m going to take this moment to point out that my first article on TIGS was also the first (yes, in the world) to break the news of gaming on the iPod, and now it’s like the gosh-darned Golden City of Milk & Opportunity over there! I humbly accept all credit for this and wait patiently for the numerous parades in my honor.*

Hrm, I just noticed we haven’t yet posted the first gameplay video from Jetpack Brontosaurus. Shameful! Dare I create a new article? No, that’d make for one-too-many videos on the front page… Okay. I’ll stash it after the jump. With a secret TIGJam-related note!

*Also, I’m a huge narcissist now?

Read more...

Posted in Mobile / Handheld, Nerd Love, Puzzle, Physics | Tags FlashbangStudios | 28 comments

World of Goo Goes Gold

Posted by Brandon "BMcC" McCartin Wed, 10 Sep 2008 01:30:00 GMT

Good news, fans of good games (and alliteration)—World of Goo has gone gold!

World of Goo is a funky, very well put together structural puzzle platformer thing from two-man dev team 2D Boy in which you must direct a bunch of balls of goo safely through a world of hazards by forming them into—wait, I’m tired and rusty and not doing a great job of this description. Observe some trailers here and here.

If you recall, World of Goo won the Design Innovation and Technical Excellence awards at the 2008 IGF, in addition to being nominated for the Grand Prize. That’s nothing to sneeze at!

So, yeah, it’s gone gold and it should be out in boxed form for the PC in early November and for digital download/WiiWare even earlier than that. You can also preorder it now (with bonuses) for a scant $20 USD through 2D Boy’s site. Goodness.

Posted in Platformers, Puzzle, Windows, Wii, Physics | Tags 2DBoy | 12 comments

Drink Responsibly

Posted by Derek Yu Thu, 04 Sep 2008 13:14:00 GMT

I lol’ed!

(Thanks, Golds!)

Posted in Community, Casual, Videos, Physics | 35 comments

Top Spinner

Posted by Derek Yu Fri, 08 Aug 2008 13:15:00 GMT

Top Spinner is an addictive new game from the creator of Too Many Ninjas, Mr. Benzido. TS is a batting game based on cricket, which is known in the U.S. as “What in God’s name have they done to baseball?!” In reality, however, cricket was probably invented sometime in the 16th century, making it an ancient sport of kings, or some such. Silly Americans.

The goal of the game is to keep swatting balls away from the stump behind you. If the stump falls over or if you hit a ball into one of the “out” zones, it’s over.

TIGdb: Entry for Top Spinner (the 400th game in our database!)

Posted in Browser Games, Physics, Action / Arcade | Tags Benzido | 18 comments

Fantastic Contraption

Posted by Derek Yu Mon, 21 Jul 2008 08:58:00 GMT

Colin Northway’s Fantastic Contraption is a super-nifty Flash-based physics toy that follows in the steps of games like Armadillo Run and Crayon Physics. The goal in FC is to get a red polygon into a goal area by attaching to it various wheels and rods. It’s an elegant concept, it’s executed very well, and it’s tons o’ fun! Some of the later levels are just devious, too…

A paltry $10 lets you create your own levels and share them with other registered players.

(Thanks, reetva!)

P.S. Does anyone else see something a little, ah, Freudian about that screenshot up there?

TIGdb: Entry for Fantastic Contraption

Posted in Highly Recommended, Browser Games, Physics | Tags ColinNorthway | 12 comments

Jimmy's Lost His Toilet Paper

Posted by Derek Yu Fri, 04 Jul 2008 17:29:00 GMT

Jimmy’s Lost His Toilet Paper, and you’ve got to go find it! This is a new 7-day game from Petri “Fuck Yeah!” Purho. In each level you’ve got to roll up the loose toilet paper and head toward the exit, a task which is made much more difficult by platforms, crates, and other obstacles. The concept is not only incredibly cute, but it works great in practice, and creates some interesting (and challenging) physical puzzles. I’d love to see Petri polish it up a bit more (à la Crayon Physics)... for one thing, it could definitely benefit from some kind of save feature/level select screen.

TIGdb: Entry for Jimmy’s Lost His Toilet Paper

Posted in Platformers, Windows, Physics, Freeware | Tags PetriPurho | 26 comments

Teeworlds

Posted by Alehkhs Fri, 27 Jun 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Take the weapons from the Quake and Unreal Series (the shotguns, the grenade-launchers, the laser-cannons), throw in swords, over-sized wooden mallets, and grapple-hooks for good measure and give the whole arsenal to a tiny, round, and colorful race of giggling cuteness that one might come across if say… Tribbles got into a large stash of food. Now force these creatures to fight each other in battles ranging from death matches to rounds of capture-the-flag.

Well, actually, don’t do that – it’s already been done, and turned into an surprisingly polished and addictive experience.

Officially, Teeworlds (originally titled “Teewars“) is a 2d multiplayer-only platform shooter available on Windows, Mac, and Linux, and with its gunning and grappling cuteness it recalls memories of games like Soldat, Liero, and the cute-but-brutal landscapes of the Worms Series. Although it’s only in version 0.4.2, Teeworlds has already shown amazing progress and is perfectly playable right now.

The controls of Teeworlds are standard controls for and big-title FPS (WASD for movement, number keys for weapons, click to fire, etc) and fit the gameplay very well. Of course, the player can remap any of these keys if need be. The customization doesn’t stop there though; each player can customize the shape and color of their individual character or even make their own maps via the map maker. Another aspect of the controls I really thought was innovative for a game of this type was the emoticon system: just push leftShift, and a circular menu will appear with several choices. Simply move the mouse over the emoticon you want to appear over your character, and release shift. Simple as that.

You can even go one step further if that level of freedom isn’t enough: Teeworlds is an open-source project, which has led to many, many, custom skins and mods on the part of the community.

Game play is easy to learn, and soon you’ll be a double-jumpin’ grapple-swingin’ gun-wieldin’ machine, so be sure to check this game out.

Download / Game’s Site / Wiki Article

Posted in Platformers, Macintosh, Multiplayer, Highly Recommended, Fighters, Linux, Windows, Physics, Action / Arcade, Freeware | Tags MagnusAuvinen | 25 comments

Multiplayer on One Keyboard 6: Lier.... um, yeah

Posted by Jordan Magnuson Wed, 14 May 2008 20:54:00 GMT

I know, I know, we’re all mature independent gamers here, and we know The Indie Canon like the back of our collective hand; and yes, Open Liero was mentioned here a scare half year ago. Well I’m sorry, but here’s the thing: is there any one here who is really going to stand up and say that Liero doesn’t deserved to be mentioned at least every few months on any self-respecting indie site? If there is one person out there who reads this post, and has not yet played Liero, and plays Liero as a consequence, then this post was not in vain.

So many clones, but there’s only one original; and here’s dos box, for sound.

If I had a million dollars for every time I had fun playing this game, well, I would be richer than Bill Gates—and that’s a lot of millions.

Edit: despite my [snobbish?] loyalty towards the original, it’s true that OpenLieroX is perhaps the definitive version of this game. Download it here.

Posted in Macintosh, Multiplayer, Highly Recommended, Linux, Windows, Physics, Action / Arcade, Freeware | Tags JoosaRiekkinen | 20 comments