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September 2, 2007 - September 8, 2007 Archives

September 8, 2007



Iwanaga is an action game that is reminiscent of arcade classics like Cabal and Blood Bros., in which the player has to dodge swarms of bullets while shooting back at enemies at the same time.

Hold the Z key to shoot, and use the X key for special moves such as double jumps or dash. The default control scheme can be switched easily during combat.

Items are collected automatically when your character isn't shooting at enemies. Orange items restore health, while blue ones increase your secondary weapon charge and time limit. Swap between both weapons by pressing the X and down cursor key.

Bullets can be slashed by tapping the Z key rapidly, This only works on projectiles with a purplish tinge and not the ones which are blue in color.

There's a certain balance to maintain as shots weaken after prolonged use, so switching weapons regularly can be vital to maintain health and increase the time limit. A small hit point will appear when the Z key is held down.

The final boss requires a certain strategy to beat, and much like Buster's Vacant Ark multiple endings are included for each difficulty setting. Use 7-Zip to unpack the files, and JoyToKey for joypad support.

Name: Iwanaga
Developer: Buster
Category: Action
Type: Freeware
Size: 10MB
Direct download link: Click here


Just a little teaser of what's to come from Cryptic Sea.

A gameplay video from 2D Boy's World of Goo will be posted this coming Monday.

Interview with Nifflas at Klik-Union.

New-ish trailer of Tormishire. Work has started on Chapter 2.

September 7, 2007



thatgamecompany (TGC) is a game studio headed by Kellee Santiago and Jenova Chen, a name tied closely to two of the most memorable indie games in recent times - Cloud and flOw.

As pointed out on their games page, a new PS3 downloadable game is currently under development. It was revealed in a forum thread that limited info about the untitled project will be announced at the Montreal International Game Summit this coming November 2007.

Kellee had also stated that their next release is not a sequel to Cloud but an entirely different creation.



Bernie is working on two platformers concurrently (pictured above).

Updates

Kenta Cho's Least Best Room upgraded to version 0.2. This experimental shooter now comes with indestructible bubbles and updated graphical effects.

A new patch for Fate by Numbers (1GB noir adventure game) is now available. This update fixes Vista compatibility issues.

According to Paul, Fate by Numbers was originally conceived as a trilogy. [more info]

Competitions/Articles

PyWeek Number 5 (a game programming challenge) is currently in progress, and will end this Sunday.

bit-tech.net had recently published up a four-page article about The World of Indie Games.

Upcoming Releases

Graham Goring's Wizball remake is nearly done. [podcast show]

Cryptic Sea plans to release Gish 2 by early 2008.



Combat Heaven Next is GamePure's newly released sequel to their popular action game involving mechs and tanks, though this particular edition introduces some platforming elements as well.

Use the W, A and D keys to move your soldier around. Press the space or left control key to switch weapons, and hold the left mouse button to shoot. Double jumps and dash are possible by tapping a directional movement key repeatedly.

Five stages only, with a bonus level to be found for the diligent.

Name: Combat Heaven Next
Developer: GamePure
Category: Action
Type: Browser



Binary Zoo's arena shooter, Mono was recently updated to include joypad support. The development team is currently working on a new project, tentatively titled Tension.

Mono download page
All games



A new gameplay video from the third stage of Valdis Story was recently posted. The original two level demo is still available from Endless Fluff's web site. [direct download link]



Think Sokoban.

Name: NIX
Developer: Karl-Heinz Jahns
Category: Puzzle
Type: Freeware
Size: 2MB
Direct download link: Click here



Wielding a pistol in each hand? Outdated. How about a hero with two additional limbs and the capacity to carry four different weapons at the same time? Let's add cowboy zombies, skeletal robots, and naked people for good measure. A dash of telekinesis power wouldn't be out of place either, because Half-Life made it cool.

Mutant is overhead third person 3D shooter featuring a protagonist with four arms, and the gameplay does seem to resemble a mix of Crimsonland plus Alien Shooter. No demo yet, but a trailer has been made available for download from Napoleon Games' web site.

Watch trailer on Youtube
download 50MB trailer
Mutant information page

September 6, 2007



A screenshot from Pug Fugly's latest project, tentatively titled Glum. Chris (creator of Return to Sector 9) hints that the new platformer will have puzzle elements. And flowers.

Glum announcement
Pug Fugly Games



Spout is a Thrust-like game, but with a small twist. Fumes from your ship can be used to destroy your surroundings, though the resulting effect does cause the craft to move in the opposite direction.

The aim of the game is to head towards the top of the screen continously and gain precious seconds by breaking through the line indicators. The executable is located inside the SDL folder. [thanks to raigan]

Name: Spout
Developer: kuni
Category: Action
Type: Freeware
Size: 1MB
Direct download link: Click here

September 5, 2007



Play This Thing (formerly Games Rule OK) is a new web site from Manifesto Games, created with the objective of featuring a special game each day - freeware, IF, mods and especially independent games.

All reviews come with meaty descriptions, and most of the articles are written by the head honcho himself Greg Costikyan (latest entry from Emily Short). If the promise of daily updates is kept, then this site is definitely one to bookmark.

visit Play This Thing
Manifesto Games

In conjunction with TIGSource's B-Game Competition, here are a couple of promising games with decent gameplay but intentionally features bland textures or blocky sprites.




"Rhapsody (pictured above) is an upcoming indie RPG similar to the Japanese style RPGs for the SNES and early Playstation titles." - Blake, programmer [source: Jimbob and Total Klik]

Updates

Knytt Stories version 1.0.2 released. [change list]

Fraxy gets a new update plus English translation.

Incursion (freeware roguelike game) updated to version 0.6.2F.

Warsow (freeware 3D FPS) version 0.32 released.

Dicewars DS (a Nintendo DS port of GameDesign's popular dice strategy game) updated to version 0.3.6.

Upcoming Releases

Binary Zoo might work on a sequel to DUO once Tension (the latest game in development) is completed and released to the public.

Two new screenshots from Trapped posted. A work in progress. [Grid Assault, Thrust Xtreme]

Paul is hinting that a new version for Saucelifter could be released soon. [Saucelifter - latest build, Sword of Fargoal]

Information about the future Ben Jordan episodes are posted regularly on Grundislav's development diary.

A new version for Typhoon 2001 will be released later this week. [download page]

Miscellaneous

Walkthroughs for several of Daniel Remar's games were recently posted.

Results for the Wadjet Eye fanart contest announced.

New entry added to Matt Thorson's Jumper 3: Infinite Castle development journal. [Jumper series]

The latest edition of GameShark's The Indies is up. This bi-weekly feature is written by James Fudge, and focuses on a collection of complete (and incomplete) Sourceforge projects, casual games, shareware plus the occasional free stuff.

Also, free plug for them because they mentioned Independent Gaming.

There are fifteen issues worth of reading material so if the features index isn't already in your bookmarks then now is probably a good time to do a some catching up. How about a weekly schedule, James?

September 4, 2007



Blackwell Unbound is now available for purchase from Wadjet Eye Games' web site, the second in a series of paranormal investigations written by Dave Gilbert. This episode features the talent of Erin Robinson (Spooks), and introduces a new central character named Lauren Blackwell, who is the aunt of Rosangela.

No demo available yet, but one can be expected fairly soon.

Wadjet Eye Games' web site
Blackwell Unbound info page


Dare to be Digital is an annual competition in which students from different institutions are gathered, split into teams of five, then placed in a hosting centre for a period of ten weeks to create a prototype of a game. Three winners in different categories were announced during the recent award presentation ceremony at University of Abertay Dundee in Scotland. The three winners will be included the short list for this year's BAFTA Ones to Watch Award.

Pictured above is Bear Go Home, description as follows:

Players must help Bear find his way home but, without direct control over the bear, they must influence his movement by stretching and squeezing him to keep him safe.

All competition entries are available to download from the showcase page. Use the login 'indygamer' and password 'password' to access the download section without going through the hassle of registering. [source: GameSetWatch]



Recording of three sessions from the Free Play 2007 event held in Australia were recently posted on Sumea's web site, with talks centered around indie game development, prototyping and securing publishing deals.

Each video is roughly eighty minutes long. Jonathan Blow also provides some helpful hints to budding programmers about the basics of making platformers during his speech. The Torque Game Engine is criticized by Mahomed of Gridwerx halfway through the second video as well.

Video download page
GameSetWatch mention
ACMI web site

September 3, 2007



The Chronicles of Oswyn Throckmorton is an adventure game set in a time when pirates thrife from plunder and fear. A context-sensitive verb menu much like the one used in Revolution Software's Lure of the Temptress (now freeware) will be employed for object interaction purposes. Character art is supplied by Helm.

The first episode is scheduled for a release sometime in summer 2008.



A screenshot from the upcoming fan made project, Starfox: Shadows of Lylat. The game is built using the Freespace_Open engine, but a release date is still far from being announced.

screenshots forum thread
Starfox: Shadows of Lylat FAQ



Quiescence is an abstract arena shooter by Jph with gameplay elements from the classic Snake mixed with some rather odd controls. Use the arrow keys to move around, and hold the left shift key to shoot. The objective of the game is to collect all green orbs in each level while avoiding yellow objects, though it's possible to shoot at them to remove the immediate threat.

Press the end key to restart at any time. Hold the control key to remain stationary, and use the space key to start a game from the main menu.

Name: Quiescence
Developer: Jph
Category: Action
Type: Freeware
Size: 2MB
Direct download link: Click here



The Lila Experiments is another abstract shooter by Jph, in which the player's ship is constantly attracted to several black orbs on screen. Collect green orbs before they turn red, and use the Z key to shoot at red orbs to turn some of them back to their original color.

Your shots are limited to a gauge shown at the top of the screen. Collect more green orbs to increase this meter, and hold the X key to keep your ship stationary. Hold the end key to restart the game at any time or view the instructions.

Name: The Lila Experiments
Developer: Jph
Category: Action
Type: Freeware
Size: 2MB
Direct download link: Click here

September 2, 2007



Platformers

Jumper 3: Infinite Castle announced. The latest sequel will employ a completely retro look and feel.

An English translated version of Virtanen's Kaipuu (a Seiklus-like platformer) is in the works. [previous mention]

Remakes

A new version for Typhoon 2001 is in the works. [download page]

Apparently there is another Spindizzy remake currently in development.

Articles

A new edition of Weekly Freeplay is out. Categorizing Knytt Stories as a Flash browser game is erroneous though.

MarkUp issue 7 (the official GM magazine) is now available for download.

The Guardian of Paradise walkthrough is now available. [AGTP download page]

PC Gamer's Top 100 2007 is a list of the best one hundred games for the year 2007, chosen at random by ten journalists. Cave Story is nowhere in it, but here are a couple of indie games selected for prestigious mentions:

98. N
85. Uplink
75. Masq
51. Defcon
40. Peggle
35. Darwinia

Read page 1, 100 - 51
Read page 2, 50 - 1


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