Posted by Derek Yu
Wed, 13 Jun 2007 14:16:00 GMT
A bit slow on the uptake with this one, but Kloonigames (aka Petri Purho) has released a wonderful game: Crayon Physics. Hot on the heels of Joakim Sandberg’s drawing shmup, Chalk, Crayon Physics lets you draw physical objects to help a little red ball collect stars.
Think Armadillo Run with drawing, and you kinda got it. Crayon Physics is must more simple, though, which is something that works to the game’s credit, I think. The idea is great, and it’s so well put together… it’s really like magic how easily the game pulls you in from the opening tutorial level.
The only problems with this game are a) the ugly black font on the title screen, and b) the lack of levels (only seven at the time of writing). But good news! A level editor is on its way (possibly). Go, Petri, go!
Posted in Unique / Bizarre, Highly Recommended, Windows, Physics | Tags PetriPurho | 11 comments
Posted by Derek Yu
Tue, 12 Jun 2007 15:47:00 GMT
Data, who it must be said is a god amongst men, both in physical stature and programming prowess, has finally released a new build of Cortex Command, and it’s a doozy. New to this build are improved AI, collision detection, physics, and control over your teammates (among other things). The game is really starting to come of age, and I think in 15 minutes of playtime I had about as many “holy shit” type moments.
There’s still a bit of stickiness to the walking / general movement, but it feels vastly improved from the last time I played (which was a couple builds ago).
Damn it feels good to (be a gangster) shoot a skeleton with a long rifle in midair as it’s falling from a dropship…
Posted in Platformers, Multiplayer, Windows, Physics, Freeware | Tags DataRealms | 15 comments
Posted by Derek Yu
Wed, 06 Jun 2007 17:25:00 GMT
Dessgeega (via the Gamer’s Quarter forums) describes Powder Game as World of Sand plus fluid dynamics, and you know what, she’s totally right! It’s fun.
And holy shit, I’ve got a lot of vertical space left, so I just want to say that the forums have been up for a couple months now, and it’s exactly how I envisioned it: people making games together, sharing information, giving feedback, starting up friendly competitions… it’s been really proactive and the discussions have been fruitful. So yeah, you guys frickin’ rule! Let’s keep showin’ ‘em how it’s done!
Posted in Unique / Bizarre, Browser Games, Physics | 6 comments
Posted by Derek Yu
Mon, 21 May 2007 05:48:00 GMT
This is also not really a game, it’s a screensaver. But it becomes a game if you try to see how long you can go without peeing your pants from laughing!
Posted in Unique / Bizarre, Windows, Physics | 14 comments
Posted by Derek Yu
Thu, 26 Apr 2007 15:56:00 GMT
Toribash, the amazing 3D, turn-based ragdoll fighting game just keeps getting bigger and better! We covered this game almost a year ago, and its great to see it thriving.
GameSetWatch reports that the game has introduced virtual credits into their online community, creating a virtual economy based on buying and selling everything from custom body parts to forum sig graphics to stories written about the various clans that have arisen around the game. Man, I love this kind of stuff… the idea of clans, histories, and economies emerging from these little game worlds drives me nuts.
I met Hampa, one of the creators, at GDC this year, and he’s also a really nice guy. Good game, good people. If you haven’t tried it yet, you should.
Posted in Unique / Bizarre, Fighters, Community, Videos, Physics | Tags Hampa | 17 comments
Posted by Derek Yu
Wed, 25 Apr 2007 04:50:00 GMT
And Yet It Moves is a 2-level experimental platformer that lets you rotate the game world around while you play. The concept itself is interesting, but in practice it’s rather frustrating, due to the extremely linear level design that requires a lot of trial and error. The fact that the main character (who looks a lot like Fido Dido, don’t you think?) dies after falling a few feet doesn’t make it any nicer.
The graphical style is pretty novel, though.
AYIM was a student finalist at this year’s IGF!
Posted in Platformers, Unique / Bizarre, Windows, Physics, Freeware | 5 comments
Posted by Derek Yu
Tue, 24 Apr 2007 07:01:00 GMT
I don’t think I’ve laughed so much playing any other game, to be quite honest. Well, maybe Pillar Killer.
Sumotori Dreams is a sumo wrestling simulation that incorporates some sort of self-balancing algorithm. What that really means is that the wrestlers stumble around like a couple of drunken clowns. Add to that an easy jazz soundtrack and you basically have the funniest 88kb of fun you’ve ever had.
(Source: Sensible Erection NSFW)
Posted in Unique / Bizarre, Multiplayer, Highly Recommended, Fighters, Windows, Physics, Freeware | 14 comments
Posted by BMcC
Wed, 11 Apr 2007 14:10:00 GMT
I meant to post this ages ago, but then… things. So here it is NOW!
Penumbra: Overture is the first in a trilogy of full, commercial followups to the 3D horror game/demo Penumbra.
I’d probably have a bit more to say about the game if it would run on my (shoddy) laptop. But it doesn’t. The screenshots and trailers look sweet, though!
Discover a demo here.
Posted in FPS, Highly Recommended, Adventure, Windows, Physics | 13 comments
Posted by Derek Yu
Fri, 23 Mar 2007 11:25:00 GMT
I had the privilege of getting a personal demo of Tri-achnid from one of its creators, Edmund McMillen (the other being the programmer, Florian Himsl). In this game, you control a tri-achnid, as he searches for his brothers.
The atmosphere in this game is phenomenal. The graphics, music, and sound work together wonderfully to bring the three-legged protagonist and his world to life. You start caring for this critter almost immediately. It’s hard to forget when he first grabs his egg sac and lets out a little cooing sound. And when he slams into a rock too hard, you feel palpably hurt for him.
The thing that makes this game difficult to get into (and probably the reason why it didn’t qualify for IGF this year) is that it is hard to control. Watching Edmund play is great, because he can really get around and do some cool stuff, but for me it can be frustrating to even get from point A to point B. There are moments where the legs just don’t move as quickly as you’d like and it’s easy to get stuck… darn.
But regardless, I find Tri-achnid to be a real wumpus of a game that should definitely have made it into IGF this year.
Speaking of which, check the extended for some totally (not) poignant IGF reflections:
Read more...
Posted in Platformers, Unique / Bizarre, Browser Games, Community, Physics, IGF / GDC | 10 comments
Posted by BMcC
Wed, 14 Feb 2007 11:15:00 GMT
Right on the heels of build twelve, Data Realms releases build thirteen of their upcoming team-based shooter Cortex Command. Why do I even bother anymore? :P
This new build should fix a bunch of the issues with the previous version.
Download here, alright?
Hey Data! It seems that walking is much more clunky on my laptop than on my PC. How could this be? Also, I just noticed… CC is all “true” 2D, isn’t it? (I.e., blitting, sprite rotation, etc. versus hardware acceleration?) It looks fantastic. The gunfights are remarkably tangible.
Posted in Platformers, Multiplayer, Windows, Physics, Freeware | Tags DataRealms | 17 comments
