Grizzly Pixel

Interview: James Daniello and Zach Zebrowski

2011-11-25T19:00:00.000-08:00

Last week, I stumbled across a lovely-looking project called Moldering, an exploration platformer that promises a unique mouse-based ability system and a rich, organic atmosphere. The videos and demo have swayed me, and the determination of the developers to complete the game has won me over. This week, I got a chance to talk a little bit about this little gem with James Daniello and Zach Zebrowski, the two guys behind Moldering.

Is Moldering your first games project?
James: Actually, no. I made some small games when I was a teenager using The Games Factory and Multimedia Fusion, but they never really took off. Fair enough, since they weren’t very good. Haha.
Zack: I’ve made a couple growing up with RPG maker and later Game Maker as well, this is the first one that stuck as a long term project. Since we started it, I’ve also taken up a job in the games industry and have one full title under my belt.

How long has Moldering currently been in development?
James: It’s interesting that you would ask that. I think last week I went back and looked at my development log and the earliest entry was March, 2008. So, at least, what, three and a half years?
Zack: That is probably accurate. We have gone in and out of development periods as we were and still are developing in our free time. It used to be school bothering us, now sometimes it is work as well.
James: Yeah, we’ve taken many breaks from development from time to time.
Zack: Unfortunately, life gets in the way sometimes…

The current demo and gameplay videos give off a “Knytt” sort of vibe. Was that one of your inspirations for the project?
James: Haha, it was. I think it’s most apparent in the size of the character and the way the player moves from screen to screen. I think it’s grown to be a bit more in depth since the original inspiration. The biggest thing I want to take from Knytt is the immersion and charm.

Zack: It was definitely something that James had always mentioned from the beginning, and that's when I first discovered Knytt as well. We like the overall relaxed feel of it and think it should be a focus in the main gameplay.


Combining a fireball with a rolling boulder will light the path ahead.

A couple areas in which Moldering strays from the typical indie exploration platformer are displayed in the most recent video showcase of the game. The first big difference is the weather system. Are you planning on making dynamic weather a big part of the game, or is it simply there to help boost the atmosphere?
James: That’s an idea I’ve been toying with in my head. One idea I had was to call a blizzard to ice over the world and affect the gameplay mechanics. Or, we might simply just have the weather come and go to add atmosphere. Some of my favorite video game moments were simple exploring in games while the game was going though rain storms and such. Not sure why, but I feel it added to the experience and I’d like to give that to players.
Zack: It’s something we are going to keep in the back of our heads while we are crafting the overall experience for the levels. It is always nice to have a new experience with the game on every play through, and this has potential to add to it. If we can work it into the core mechanics somehow, that would be what would sell us on the idea. Time will tell with that.
James: Good point, Zach, haha.

The second addition seems to be a bit more vital to the core gameplay mechanics. Could you talk a little bit about what role the ability ring will play in the final game?

James: Yeah, we spent a lot of time trying to come up with something that would make Moldering unique, and the more we toyed with the idea of using the mouse to control gameplay, the more we liked it. The “ability ring,” as we like to call it, will let you call up all sorts of abilities that the player can control with the mouse. Each one has its own unique mouse motions. Shaking the mouse will let the player control earthquakes, or pulling back like a slingshot will allow the player to fire off certain other abilities, like fireballs and such. It gives us a lot of opportunity to do all sorts of new and interesting things that conventional controls wouldn’t allow, each with it’s own feel and mechanics.
Zack: The original idea was gestures but that soon proved to be problematic for us and for potential players. It eventually evolved into what James spoke about. Overall, we want to try and bring a sandbox like experience into the game with the abilities we implement and allow players to get through the game in their own way, the way that is fun for them.

Are there any big features that you’ve been planning to put into the game, but haven’t yet?
James: Mold plays a big part in the game. The name is a sort of play on words with the idea that mold will be a central theme. It comes down on meteors and infects the world. What’s interesting about the mold - and we haven’t really shown this yet in the videos or on the blog - is that it will spread over time. So, the player may be easily able to trek across a certain area, but when they come back, depending on how long they’ve taken, the mold will have spread and may prevent travel. Only until later, when the player has a new ability, might they be able to make their way back across. It’ll be interesting to have a dynamic environmental hazard, something I don’t feel I’ve seen too often in many games.
Zack: Well spoken, hahaha! It is yet another thing we can use to have a unique experience, but still be able to tell a story without the player getting too far away.

A boulder rolling on a segment of ground drawn out by the player.

“The mold will spread over time.” Does this mean the game world will have its own sort of clock?
James: Yeah, the way we plan to implement it, we’ll map out the mold across the entire world and set certain “originator” mold. Each area will have it’s own clock and any time spent in that world will determine how much the mold has spread from the in that area, starting with the originator molds. Mold, or course, will be lethal and interactable, so the world will change as the player spends more time in it, giving a feeling that the world is, um, alive.
Zack: Or at least something else is alive on it ;) It is something that we will have to play with as the game develops.
James: Haha.

In the current demo and videos, there don’t seem to be any enemy characters. Are you planning on adding any, or is the central focus going to be on puzzle-solving and platforming?
James: Ah, good point. We want to get the core abilities down before we design any enemies. There will be plenty, and each will require a unique use, or combination, of the abilities to defeat. That, and some thought.
Zack: James is spot on. I am doing concept work for enemies though; what they will look like, at least. I’m trying to fit their overall look into the game's style right now, until we get all the abilities worked out. Then, as many know, form follows function (at least on earth) so there will most likely be adjustments in the long run.
James: An example that we may or may not implement would be a spiked wheel that attempts to ram you. By drawing a path with the earth equipped from the ground up (an ability we’ve already implemented), the player will be able to block the wheel, or divert them into a pit, providing safe passage to the next area. We’ll see though. We still have a lot of toying with ideas to do.

The ambition in this project is pretty evident. The game world in the videos and in the demo seems like a small taste of something much larger. How big are you planning to go with the world?
James: We’d like to stick to the classic “8 worlds,” that seemed to be a big theme in the 16-bit era, an era that I consider to be the golden age of video games. There will be a bit of smaller unique ares too that connect or break up the other areas. There’s a joke that goes around in software development: “Software can be three things: cheap, fast, or good. Pick two.” We’re going for cheap and good, so it’s going to take some time. ;)
Zack: Unless we both end up without jobs and have nothing else to focus on hahaha. The planned world is stuff that we are focusing on tieing together at the moment as well. What you see in the videos is just a taste of what we have in our minds, and that doesn’t include any transitions we are going to have to make from world to world.
James: Hahaha, good point. At this moment we have five of the worlds really solidified. I think there’s images of three of these areas floating around on the internet.

Are you planning on releasing this as freeware, or are you going to look for digital distribution options once the game reaches completion?
James: Ahhh, something we really haven’t settled on yet. Originally we intended the game as freeware, but it’s taken a looong time, and we’ve really put a lot of work into it. If the game turns out as well as we plan, we may end up on charging a small fee for the game. And, of course, having sales and maybe a few “free weekends,” where people will be able to pick up a copy for free. We haven’t really determined this yet. Personally, we’ve invested a bit of money on certain assets, so it would be nice to see a return for all of our labor and investments.
Zack: Definitely something we are up in the air about at the moment. Like James has said, we put a lot of our time into this so far and we both love what we are doing. If the indie scene keeps up as it is now, it opens up a lot of potential for us to continue making more games, if sales permit.
James: I guess in answer to your question, we are leaning towards a nominal fee for the game, with plenty of opportunities to pick it up for cheap, or even for free.

What’s been the biggest roadblock in development so far?
James: Hmm, good question. I guess life is the biggest thing that gets in the way. We all have our own lives to attend to and sometimes it just doesn’t permit development on a hobby project. This isn’t a paid gig, and we’re spending a lot of our free time on development, something our girlfriends aren’t always too happy about, haha.
Zack: Yea, sometimes that answer is personal and sometimes its just work (school or job oriented). Other than what James has mentioned, it doesn’t help that I’ve moved to Hungary last year.
James: Yeah, another thing is that we both live in different time zones at the moment. It sorta gets in the way of communication at times.
Zack: Developing 24/7, baby!

What have you learned during development of Moldering that you’ve been able to apply to the current build?

James: Wow, that’s a big question. I’ve learned a lot about programming in general. It’s one of the reasons I started making Moldering, was to beef up my programmings skills. I think what I’ve learned recently is that there’s two ways you can divide tackling a programming problem. Experimentation, or thinking it through first. The latter which always turns out much better results.
Zack: Oi, too many things for the time permitted in this interview. Never underestimate the amount of layers you might need in a 2D project, communication, the general way a game is put together in a team environment as opposed to yourself, team management (when we have volunteers helping us from time to time), level design, overall game design, how to market your game, this could go on for days maybe….
James: Yeah, marketing is a big deal. I think it’s important to keep people who are watching the game properly satiated.

Who is/are your biggest influence(s) in game making?
James: Personally, I like Nintendo as a whole. Their games are always particularly solid and their gameplay is always spot on. Some games they’ve released have taken turns that I haven’t agreed with, but as a whole they’re quality is something I strive to repeat. Remember the “Official Nintendo Seal of Quality?” I’ll never forget that.
Zack: It’s hard for me to pinpoint who are my biggest influences as far as making a game is concerned, as I’ve played so many spanning every genre. But I can say that there are a lot of Indie developers that influence me as a person and keep me going on day to day basis (regarding development that is). Ed McMullen, Andy Schatz, Notch (who knew?), etc. The guys whose stories give you a boost whenever you think about a bad bend in your development stage. I think, these guys came from nothing and kept at it. I should keep going too!
James: Yeah, the current indie game scene definitely boosts my moral as a developer, as well.

You’re stranded on a desert island, and you’re only allowed to take one thing. What do you take?
James: Besides my girlfriend? Haha. Probably my SNES with a small collection of my favorite games. Super Metriod, Link to the Past, Earthbound, and Yoshi’s Island. I’m assuming I don’t need to worry about food, haha.
Zack: Reddit.

Hahahaha.

James: Hahaha.

Alright guys, thanks a lot for taking the time out of your day to do this interview! It’s been great!
James: Thanks for having us. You really asked some good questions. I look forward to bookmarking and following your blog more closely. Thanks again.
Zack: Yeah, thanks a bunch for talking to us as well. We love talking about what we are doing and we hope to keep in touch throughout our development process.

You can find more about Moldering on James and Zack's blog, or on the project's devlog page on The Independent Gaming Source.

Microreview: Psychosomnium

2011-06-02T20:29:00.000-07:00

Cactus is not an orthodox developer in any sense of the word. His games are weird, surreal, and oftentimes contain not even the slightest bit of logic. In 2008, he released a little-known game called Psychosomnium, a title about the strange, strange world of dreams. This year, developer-producer MiroSurabu released a flash port, revamping some of the graphical aspects and slapping a big ol' Newgrounds logo in the bottom left-hand corner.

You start out as Jimmy, an odd looking block-headed character. You use the arrow keys to run and jump and make your way across a strange, brickcovered dreamscape until you find your blockheaded comerade Jimmy on the other end of a spiked wall. It's hard to describe the main gameplay element without spoiling a little bit of story, but it involves a lot of switching between characters. The dialogue is oftentimes surreal, but it has an inescapable charm to it that I've only seen in prior titles from Cactus. I have to say, though, this game is extremely short. You'll likely finish in about 6-7 minutes at the most, but it's a game worth experiencing.

VERDICT: There isn't really much more I can say, as I've pretty much covered all the bases, but Psychosomnium is a strange, almost entrancing experience that will leave you baffled, dazed, and longing for more. It's not perfect; it won't win any awards or garner that much critical praise, but it's an enjoyable little game nonetheless.

Review: 0Space

2011-05-30T19:01:00.000-07:00

I don't think it's even remotely possible for developer Beau Blyth to make a bad game. Now, you might not have heard about him if you aren't following the indie gaming scene, but with such excellent titles as Action Fist! and Shoot First under his belt, I expected nothing less than sheer wonder from 0Space, his inventive new hotseat multiplayer shooter. And it's sheer wonder that I recieved. Sheer gut-coated, zero-gravity wonder.

Though it might not be apparent at first, the "0" in 0Space refers to the fact that the entire concept of gravity is absent. Gone. Thrown out the window. And that's exactly the way I like it. You can still stick onto/walk on walls, but most of the game is, quite simply, a sort of space-ballet. At any given time, you can charge up a jump and push yourself into the zero-gravity emptiness of space. While in zero-gravity, you have just about no control over your character. In closed-off stages, this sort of thing doesn't prove to be a problem, but in open areas, it pays to think out your jumps before you make them, lest you drift off and become space toast. Your gun is your most valuable asset in these frightening scenarios. Shooting it while drifting between surfaces gives you a small boost in the opposite direction. In some cases, this tactic can save you the match by propelling you back into the play area before you meet your doom.

The game is split into a series of single-kill rounds (the number of which you can determine in the options menu), allowing you at the beginning to select which stage you want to play on for each. Pretty much standard fare for those familiar with just about any competitive multiplayer game. The pure creativity put into designing the stages is great. Never once does it seem like a stage recycles content from another one. My friend replayed a bunch of stages, and were shocked by how many different ways there were to experience them. The one thing that was a little bit of a letdown was the small number of stages. I feel like 0Space would greatly benefit from support for user-created maps, or at least some regularly released map-packs, but for a free game, the selection as it stands is substantial.

If there's anything that stands out in particular about 0Space, it's the extremely sexy style it has going for it. Blyth makes everything work in tandem to create an action game to trump all others. While the graphics are pixelated, something I've been getting tired of in indie games, they exhibit a new-age art style that really sets them apart from most "retro" freeware titles I've played. The sense of impact is another thing I really admire. The gory explosions, recoil, sword slashes, sound effects and particle effects all go hand in hand to make you feel like you really are an intergalactic badass. The rounds may only be one kill long, but there's an enormous bit of accomplishment you receive when you shoot or slice your opponent into a million little bloody bits.

For all 0Space has going for it, it isn't without its flaws. One big gripe I've had is the inability to set parameters for each round. Limiting the players to one-kill rounds doesn't seem like the smartest design choice. Giving some sort of option to determine the number of kills beforehand is something I feel 0Space desperately needs. The replays tend to be a little shaky, too. Sometimes, you'll play a replay for one level, and it shows you the video but plays the audio from another replay. Sometimes vice-versa. Blyth says that it's a known bug, so hopefully it'll get fixed soon.

VERDICT: 0Space is more than worth your time if you have a couple of friends and some time to kill. It's not the hotseat multiplayer game to end all hotseat multiplayer games, but it's certainly the most fun one I've come across this year. Eat your heart out, Call of Duty.

Review: AaaaaAAaaaAAAaaAAAAaAAAAA!!!

2011-05-02T15:44:00.000-07:00

In the year of our Lord 1982, Polystructures fell from space. Massive yet light, they touched the atmosphere, and stuck.
Scientists made new materials. Builders made new cities. Families made their homes thousands of feet above ground level.
Art made the floating super-sculptures, and culture made the floating caviar socials to regard them.
In the year of our Lord 2011, you cannot look up from beneath a city and see the stars.
But you can look down from above it.
And you can jump.
The jumps you make are not about art. They are about a reckless disregard for safety.
The jumps you make are not about culture. They are about a reckless disregard for regulation.
The jumps you make are not about science.
They are about a reckless disregard for gravity.

BASE jumping. Most people think it's just stupid and risky, but there are those people who still want to feel the thrill and want to go for a BASE number.

AaaaaAAaaaAAAaaAAAAaAAAAA!!! - A Reckless Disregard for Gravity (that's the full name along with correct capitalization!) plays in a fictional world where cities are built floating above the ground. You play as BASE jumper Alex Bruce and do the thing you do best - jump. Dodge buildings. Keep bones inside your body.

The skills you'll be using most are "kissing" and "hugging" the building around you. Fly close to a building to kiss it, and fly even closer to hug it. The longer you stay there, the more points you get.

With every good rating, you will gain teeth, which serve as the game's form of currency. Using them, you can unlock new level cubes and new skills, such as the grafitti can or the ability to flip people off who don't like what you are doing and give a thumbs up to your fans. Before, of course you land with a splat on the platform they're standing on.

Apart from the regular levels, you can unlock pinball levels (which are extremly fun because you get to bump into everything at high speeds) and videos which... uh... let's say they're normal for Dejobaan, but not everyone expects a video on how to debristle pigs in a BASE jumping game.

Also good for a laugh: the various adverisements you see while falling. Spoofing gene manipulation, "sex sells" and various other topics in real life, these ads will surely distract you long enough to slam you into the next building. But hey, your insurance pays for the accident, so you can try again right afterwards.
You see, this game hardly makes sense - especially that last statement.
And I love that. They are joking about themselves and the whole city looks so surreal it's just awesome.

AaaaaAAaaaAAAaaAAAAaAAAAA!!! is a game for those of you who like interesting ideas and a nice visual style, along with good music. The only problem with it is that it quickly gets repetitive as you have to go back into older levels to earn teeth for newer ones, so it might get boring for some people after that time. But I don't care - this game is definely one of those games which will test your reflexes and twitching skills. And for 9€/10$, it's a steal.

4/5

Okay, let's see what's next on my alphabetical list ...
... oh god no. No way I'm reviewing this.
But it seems I have to... well, let's make a deal.
Next time, prepare for a review of Amnesia - Justine. I'll never play the main game because I nearly crapped my pants trying to go for the potato in Justine. So I will just review the DLC and then go away from that game again. It's scary ;_;

Also I hope to get to mabelma again soon... I still can't login into MSN again. Password reset, support contacted, no answer. Go Microsoft.

Review: BIT.TRIP FATE and FLUX

2011-04-22T21:54:00.000-07:00

There is an area

the path of fate can move around on.
But if emotion takes over
the path is set in stone.
Anger controls our actions.
Fate is decided.
This is the hardest part of our BIT.TRIP.

First off guys, sorry for no screenies in this review. Somehow my USB grabber is raging - it displays a BSOD as soon I plug it in. I hate technology. As soon it starts working again, I'll deliver some, but until then ask Google or try the demo on the Wii Shop.
But what I don't hate is BIT.TRIP, obviously. Here are the final two games of the series - BIT.TRIP FATE and BIT.TRIP FLUX. Both are currently available on WiiWare for 800 points each.

FATE picks up right where RUNNER left off - CommanderVideo's Five Man Band chasing Mingrawn Timbletot, who's fleeing into space. This game is a rail shooter - literally. CV is moving on a line called the vibe, and you can only tell him to move forward or backwards, but as the screen autoscrolls forward you are forced to go forward. (note to myself: write a story analysis on BIT.TRIP - there are so many hidden meanings which could be explained and stuff)

All the while, blocky enemies are launched at you, which you have to dispose of before they hit you. Especially later in the game, when the concept of "beat aiming" is introduced, FATE becomes pure bullet hell.
On a rail. Have fun dodging.
The game's tempo is a lot slower than in the other games, and that slower tempo shows in the music music. The soundtrack is chiefly influenced by the genre of dubstep, creating a slow, bass-heavy selection of chiptunes. The music is awesome, but the slower tempo of the game might not please everyone. Personally, I didn't really like it.

This time the game has 6 levels instead of three. Each one is named after a feeling the Commander has at this stage. Starting from DETERMINATION, it goes to FRUSTRATION and so on. Slowly his anger takes over, as he comes closer and closer to his arch enemy in his final battle.

And then IT happens.

A warning here, FLUX will spoil the plot twist at the end of FATE. It's basically impossible to review this game without telling it. So you better play through FATE first, then read below if you want to buy FLUX. Hint: yes, you want to.

After the battle against his arch rival, CV does a suicide attack on Mingrawn Timbletot to defeat him for good. Sadly, he fails and dies. BIT.TRIP FLUX tells the story of the end of CommanderVideo's journey - his death, afterlife and reincarnation.

FLUX takes the basic gameplay of BEAT - the biggest difference being that the paddle is now on the right and the beats come from the left - but mixes in various elements from the other games, like beats you have to avoid from VOID.
The difficulty went down a lot thanks to 7 checkpoints per stage which you can use unlimited times. Makes sense, since when you are dead, you can't die again. That makes it much more accessible for those alienated by the sparse checkpoints in the previous games

And that's what the developers wanted. Gaijin wanted everyone to be able to enjoy the visual and musical experience mixed with familiar gameplay. The soundtrack is truly awesome - the anonymous composer at Petrified Productions made calm, relaxing chiptunes, mixing in various themes from the other BIT.TRIP games. The bosses are throwbacks to the older games too.

VERDICT: Basically, FLUX is a celebration of the conclusion of the BIT.TRIP saga while still managing to feel fresh thanks to various new kinds of beats. The ending is truly a great ending to the series - especially when you know it's secret, you will have a sudden epiphany about the entire saga as a whole.
Also, it's fucking perfect.
I hate giving out a full score, but this game deserves it so much. You won't find a better game on WiiWare.

Memories are purged.

Knowledge is replace by instinct again.
Our game is over,
but we are still there.
Life begins anew,
born of the old.
Our journey is complete.
We all are on our BIT.TRIP.

Aaaand here's a note on what's coming.
You may have noticed my post about The Potato Sack. I will review every game in it (except BIT.TRIP BEAT, obviously), and while most are awesome, there are some that aren't that great. The series starts next time with AaaaaAAaaaAAAaaAAAAaAAAAA!!! -- A reckless Disregard for Gravity. I might put in a preview of 1... 2... 3... KICK IT! -- Drop that Beat like an ugly Baby too, since it's by the same developer, but it's still in alpha. Just stating what's awesome and what suggestions I have. I'll also try to get back into MSN soon so I can poke Mabelma until he makes images better then mine :D So, stay tuned!

Oh, and even though I already wrote this twice on Facebook, twice on YouTube, on three forums and on Twitter, here's another shoutout for Valve: YOU ARE AWESOME FOR GIVING THE COMPLETE VALVE PACK AND PORTAL 2 FOR FREE TO EVERYONE WHO COLLECTED ALL THE POTATOES IN YOUR PORTAL 2 ARG. Thank you for reading.

Review: Don't Take it Personally, Babe, It Just Ain't Your Story

2011-04-18T23:19:00.000-07:00

The field of electronic entertainment didn't use to have nearly as many of the lush, well-developed stories that it does today. You couldn't really tell much of a story when the highest graphic capabilities of your machines were little more than blocky lines on a screen. In the late 1980s, Western developers like Sierra and Telltale began to discover ways to actually put the player into a story that made them an active part of it. Monkey Island, Out of This World and others pioneered the "baby boom" of PC adventure games in the '80s and '90s. Meanwhile, in Japan, some smaller developers were coming up with ideas on how to further develop the realm of interactive storytelling. And, in the late '90s, the visual novel was born. Visual novels gave sort of a middle ground between adventure games and books. For the most part, the player is merely a spectator, but the story might occasionally provide you with a branch of choices that can ultimately have a large impact on the way it plays out. In 2010, an independent developer named Christine Love took elements from both Eastern and Western adventure games when she made Digital: A Love Story, a tale of romance told through a 1980s bulletin board system. About a month ago, she released don't take it personally, babe, it just ain't your story, taking the themes of sexuality and technology's role in our lives and giving them a whole new spin.

Rook on being a gentleman.

don't take it personally (Or DTIP, as I've now decided to call it) puts you in the role of John Rook, a twice-divorced, down-on-his-luck English teacher who happens to land a job at a prestigious Canadian private school in 2027. School in the 2020's isn't quite the same as it is today. Each student in your class is given a tablet for their schoolwork. They all come with standard textbooks and e-paper for assignments, but they're also all connected to a program called "AmieConnect," a Facebook-like social networking system that the students can use to connect with each other. But there's still one thing that hasn't changed 16 years into the future: annoying students. Your class is small. Very small. In fact, you really only have 7 students you interact with throughout the course of the story. Each has his/her own agenda, none of which John seems to be even remotely aware of. However, on the first day of school, he unintentionally walks into an enormous, complex web of love and drama that he could never have imagined.

That's a lie.

The kids you meet in DTIP are almost as eccentric as their tangled love lives. From Akira - the shy, gay kid from Japan - to Kendall - an annoying but caring student who spurts memes more often than she breathes - the personalities of the students are refreshingly varied, surprisingly human. The story is set up in such a way where each character has their own chapter, something that I've always loved to see in literary works. I do feel that John himself could have used a little more development, though. There are little bits and scraps talking about his past, but I never felt like he evolved much over the course of the story. I feel like he needed far more bits in the main plot than he was given to make up for the fact that he didn't have any sort of interaction in the AmieConnect side story to further develop his character.

As a teacher at the private school, John has access to a special version of AmieConnect that allows him to monitor every students actions on the system, from their public statuses to their private messages between each other. If you want, you can let your notifications build up while advancing through the main story, but much like their tempting Facebook counterparts, they're pretty hard to ignore. In a sense, DTIP has two separate storylines: An apparent one and a not-so-apparent one. It's through the AmieConnect system that most of the bitter drama occurs. It's John's job to act as a sort of neutral party, giving advice to others, but never taking sides (publicly, at least; some of his inner monologues tend to be far less sugar-coated than his external personality might suggest). The idea of using this sort of social networking aspect as a way of developing the story - and character's personalities - is an interesting one, to be sure, but occasionally it feels more like it's preventing the flow of the story than anything. I would like to be able to get through at least a full section of text without a surge of "dings" and notifications.

Something I felt a strange absence of in DTIP was the lack of choice. I mean, sure, there were certainly instances where you could choose between a couple different ways to go about shaping a certain part of the story, but none of my choices really felt like they carried much bearing on the overall plot (save one regarding a relationship). The other ones were mainly just small things, like changing a bit of dialogue here or there, but nothing truly significant. Of course, according to Christine Love, this game was her first attempt at using choice as an element in the story. I have to say, I did expect a little more out of the choice element, but I do hope Love decides to continue using it in her future endeavors.

All in all, I really enjoyed DTIP. It's a powerful, intriguing, sometimes poignant story of teenage drama that manages to steer itself clear of many of the awful cliches associated with the subgenre. There are certain elements that it could've certainly done without, such as some particularly... over descriptive... portions (which Love herself has claimed were "painful to write" on her blog), the required "12chan" checking at the end of each day, and an ending that felt rushed and forced, but I can most certainly look past those, as Love has done an incredible job at exploring the controversial topics of sexuality and privacy in a way that will leave many players questioning DTIP's themes long after they've finished reading.

VERDICT: While I wouldn't say don't take it personally, babe is quite as innovative or interesting as Digital: A Love Story, it's still a well-written, powerful teen drama that deserves to be read through at least once. There are some parts that are a bit awkwardly written, but overall, it's more than worth your time to download.

Retrofitting (a.k.a. Reviewing Games That Aren't Completely Ancient)

2011-04-17T22:21:00.000-07:00

In case you haven't been reading this blog lately, allow me to give you a brief rundown of all the games we've reviewed and their scores:

Runman: Race Around the World - 5/5

Super Mario Bros. X - 4.5/5

Knytt Stories - 5/5

Yume Nikki - 4/5

Super Mario 63 (Guest Review) - 4/5

Iji - 5/5

BIT.TRIP BEAT - 4.5/5

BIT.TRIP CORE - 4/5

Super Meat Boy - 4.9/5

BIT.TRIP VOID - 4.8/5

BIT.TRIP RUNNER - 4.9/5

Etc, etc, etc...

Yeah. Nothing below a 4/5 up there. I've figured out that the reason for all of these ludicrously high scores is because Suyo and I have just been picking out of a list of the best of the best, instead of reviewing some more current, relevant titles. So, expect some reviews of some newer games up soon. Here's just a taste of what games you can expect in the coming weeks:

If you've never heard of any of these titles, great! All the more reason for you to come check out the reviews of them when they go up. See you all tomorrow for the first of 'em!

If there are any games you'd like to see reviewed, or anything you think we could do better on, please leave us a tip in the comments section!

Attention: The Potato Sack

2011-04-13T04:20:00.000-07:00

You are here because of indie games, right?
Well, here's something for you.

On April 1st, Valve released the Potato Sack, a pack of 13 awesome indie games, including AaaaaAAaaaAAAaaAAAAaAAAAA!!!, BIT.TRIP BEAT, The Ball, Super Meat Boy and many more.

But... it seems something is not quite right...

Go grab the Potato Sack now and help us solve the mystery.

Review: Hero Core

2011-04-12T22:43:00.000-07:00

The need to innovate is something that is something that has been a persistent theme among developers now more than ever. Big name studios like Valve, Rockstar, and Bioware are constantly working on ways to mix up the way their games are played, and driving the industry forward as a result of it. Likewise, the independent scene is an oasis for innovation, with Jason Rohrer's Inside a Star-filled Sky and Frictional Games' Amnesia: The Dark Descent paving the way for an interesting new breed of electronic entertainment. Now, while I do love all of these brilliant new ideas flowing out into the market (I absolutely adore Amnesia), there's always a part of me that yearns for a simpler kind of game. In the early 90s, a period of time that many still call the "Golden Age of Gaming," innovation took a back seat to another important factor: fun. Earthworm Jim, Sonic the Hedgehog, Toejam and Earl, Banjo Kazooie, Mortal Kombat, Street Fighter, Perfect Dark; all of these titles weren't terribly innovative, but damn did they ever do a good job of entertaining. It's this sort of "fun" factor that so personified the games of yesteryear that seems absent from most of today's games. Iji creator Daniel Remar was not content with this, and with Hero Core, he set out on a mission to kick boredom's ass all over the place. And succeeded.

"On a distant asteroid, I last fought the machine warlord, Cruiser Tetron, who threatened to invade the Earth with his mechanical minions... Can I now defeat him once more - and can I find a way to forever stop his return?" From the moment you read this opening monologue, Hero Core already oozes retro. In fact, everything - from the 2-color palette to the pixelated aesthetic to the chiptune soundtrack to the Metroid-y atmosphere - is a wonderful homage to previous eras in gaming history. The pure amount of charm in the general aesthetic is lovely, and the simplicity of the style never once detracts from the overall experience. Hero Core is by no means a graphical powerhouse, but it's quite easy on the eyes, and the level of detail and readability in the environment - especially given the start black and white color scheme - is astonishing. But downloading Hero Core for its art is like buying a hot dog for its bun; it's merely a cover for the real substance: the gameplay.

At first, the controls might take a little bit of getting used to. Moving is pretty standard, but shooting is done with two keys; "Z" for left firing, "X" for right. After a while, though, it just becomes second nature. As with any Remar game, however, Hero Core takes these simple mechanics and tests your skills considerably during the playthrough. Reflex is the name of the game here, as hardly ever are you given a moment to breathe in the midst of dancing around a flurry of enemy fire. It's no bullet hell shooter, per say, but you'll certainly have to have some fast fingers to avoid them, especially during some of the many challenging boss encounters. Remar most certainly compensates for this frantic demand of the player through filling the levels with a large variety of incredibly clever enemies. The cast of goons you face is wonderfully mixed with things that will test every bit of your skill. From the harmless, wandering drones to the "oh crap gotta get away from those" laser cannons, each individual enemy has a different distinct pattern that, with practice, can be figured out and thought around. In comparison to the gargantuan boss fights, however, the other bad guys are little more than an appetizer to a marvelous main course.

You know, even if Hero Core were nothing more than its series of bosses, I'd still have a goddamn blast. Every single boss in the game just oozes with creativity, and their patterns are both well thought out and challenging to overcome. During one encounter (pictured above), I spent the entire fight inside of its mechanical shell, firing away at its weak points while dodging both its deadly interior lining and the spiral of bullets it was sending in to destroy me. At first, it was damn near impossible. I must've spent a good 10 or so attempts figuring out its pattern. It was challenging, sure, but the feeling after defeating it was intensely gratifying. There's this incredible feeling of grandeur that I experience every time I come upon a new boss in Hero Core, which is spectacular, as I never would have suspected that such a primitive-looking game could have ever given that to me. What I really loved best is the fact that every single boss in the game was equally as satisfying to defeat as the one I described.

Hero Core plays on its reward system beautifully, awarding you for exploring, but never punishing you for failure, something I feel that more and more indie games are forgetting to do these days. Every boss fight awards you with an upgrade or a new item, which in turn allows you to explore more of the map and find more bosses to defeat. Death has almost no real punishment other than sending you back to one of the generously placed save zones (which, conveniently, also serve as teleporters to other save zones). The lack of punishment for failure and insatiable urge to explore egged me on to finish the whole thing in one sitting, which I have found few things in my life (including movies and books) to be capable of doing.

Daniel Remar is one of those rare developers that come around every now and again and consistently churn out titles that put most others in their category to shame. In 2008, he did just that with indie legend Iji, and by god, he's done it again with Hero Core. This game is the pinnacle of polish in freeware titles, and it's really breathed life into the previously worn genre of 2D exploration games. How it manages to bring out my childlike passion for discovery and retain a memorable atmosphere (made possible by a gorgeous, gritty chiptune soundtrack by Brother Android) at the same time has made it a true downloadable gem that will more than likely live on in my memory for years to come. If you don't go out and get it right now, I may very well lose whatever faith I had left in humanity.

Review: Minecraft

2011-03-03T20:40:00.000-08:00

What time is it, when I show you my house out of sand and dirt, this guy over there punches trees with a feather, my friend is crying because he ran out of minecart rails and someone just found 7 diamonds?

That's right, it's time to talk about the indie smash-hit of 2010: Minecraft!

Minecraft can't really be described using words. You have to experience it. Thus, I will start a new game, and show you what it means to play Minecraft.

You wake up on a lonely island. There are no other people around.
First thing you notice is the landscape. Everything consists out of blocks. The hills are blocks, the water is blocks, and even your arm is a block. I took some time to explore my map, and found various interesting places. Even though Minecraft just uses blocks, the map generator can make some really nice places. The world is never ending, you can travel in any direction and the generator produces new islands, mountains and caves in your map.

If you played Minecraft before, you know what to do. But I'll just pretend I'm new, and I leave you with these pictures from the night.

Seems like you're not THAT alone. Now that you've learned that there are indeed dangers, it's time to get to work. Your base material is wood. You can gather materials by simply punching them, which - in this author's honest opinion - is pretty badass. So, we grab few logs and craft ourselves something. This is where the Minecraft Cycle starts - you craft a tool, use it to get better materials, and make a tool out of these, until you finally have a pickaxe out of pure diamond in your hands and mine the fuck out of the entire continent. This is how Minecraft works.

This is my cozy little shack as of night #2.
But if I had a lot of time on my hands, it could look more like this.
Anything is possible when you play Minecraft.

Minecraft gives you the world; you do whatever the hell you want to in it. There is no set goal. You can set your own. Want to survive 10 days? What about building a castle? Or visiting an alternate dimension?
Just let your creativity flow into this game and see what you can do. There are some really awesome projects on the internet, like a 1 to 1 replica of the Starship Enterprise, or the city of Rapture from Bioshock. The possibilites are endless. This game definely deserves IGF's Grand Prize.

5/5

You might also want to check out PC Gamers Minecraft Diary. It's a really good read and shows you what Minecraft is about - building, exploring, mining and adventure in general.

Review: BIT.TRIP VOID and RUNNER

2011-02-25T17:59:00.000-08:00

You.

Your goal.
Nothing can stop you.
Believe in yourself
and you can do anything.
Take up the challenge
and continue your BIT.TRIP.

It's time for more BIT.TRIP madness! As a part of our review series, this time we will play BIT.TRIP VOID and BIT.TRIP RUNNER. You can grab both on the Wii Shop Channel for 600/800 Wii Points. And it seems RUNNER for your computer at home is not far away.

Hey guys. What's up.

So, we've been following CommanderVideo for quite some time now, and now it's about time he gets social. Meeting others, finding friends, etc. Sadly, the Commander is doing it completely wrong at first.
The story is being told mainly in the cutscenes this time, and the occassional text appearing shortly in a stage. The background doesn't become less awesome, though.

Popping the void is a good idea
in this situation.

VOID doesn't limit you to the Wiimote this time. You can choose beetween using your Nunchuck or a Classic Controller, both of which work equally well. You can move your void around using the stick, and pop your void using a button.
The game goes after the classic R/R system. In case you are not familar with this, here's a quick explantation. R/R means risk/reward - there is a special goal you can only reach by taking a risk. Let's take Super Mario as example. There's a 1UP hanging right above a pit. The risk is losing your life, the reward getting a life.
The blog of Super Meat Boy has a quite nice analysis, go check it out.

How much will you risk to get
a good score here?

Now how is R/R implemented in BIT.TRIP VOID? Easy - you move around with your void, collecting black beats. For chaining black beats the value for each best increases, the multiplier grows and you get more points stored in your void. The catch is: with every beat your void grows, which makes it slower and thus it's harder to avoid white beats, which reset the beat value. Thus you have to pop your void after some time, and that's when the points in your void are added to your real score.

The R/R system brings a whole new dimension to the game, as you now can't get a highest possible score anymore. That keeps the competition up - sadly, due to the lack of online leaderboards it's hard to compare all scores.
note to myself: make an online portal to post your scores to. Would be awesome, I guess
The new checkpoints sure make the game easier than BEAT and CORE (that may be a good or bad point depending on your skill). The soundtrack is one of the best in the series, and the new backgrounds are awesome. While not being the best game, it comes pretty damn close to it. A great start for new BIT.TRIPpers who are not too sure if they have enough skills.

4.8/5

Now that the Commander has gotten some social skills and new-found friends, it's time to go on. He is living life to it's fullest. Nothing can stop him now. It's time for the TRIP in BIT.TRIP. It's time for BIT.TRIP RUNNER.

RUNNER features 3 zones with 11 levels,
11 retro challenges and a boss.

First thing you notice, the game title has 6 letters as opposed to the 4 letters of any other game. Why? I don't know, but it's worth noting.
Second thing you notice, the gameplay can be compared to the free flash game Canabalt. Holding the Wiimore horizontally, press 2 to jump over pits, rocks and other stuff. But as opposed to the flash game, you can do various other moves you learn while running through the 3 zones, which include sliding, using springs, kicking and getting your paddle from BIT.TRIP BEAT to block beats aiming for your head.

If you reach the highest mode, you
leave a rainbow trail. Double
Rainbow all the way!

As you jump, slide and kick your way through 69 (!) 2-minute-long levels, you must not fail. The NETHER meter from the older games is absent. One hit, and you're out. Back to the start, score set to 0 and mode reset to HYPER. RUNNER takes an idea from Super Meat Boy here - CommanderVideo will start running again just 3 seconds after your death.
But even though you just take one hit, RUNNER is by far the easiest of the pack right now.

And this is just the first part
of the level.

Why, you ask? Well, let's take a look at BEAT and CORE, where a death in one of the three levels would result in a restart of the entire level. In VOID there were 3 checkpoints per level, but you had to have a credit left, thus keeping the difficulty up.
Now let's imagine RUNNER's three zones were levels. You would have 11 checkpoints per level, free to use, and 11 challenges in front of each checkpoint as the only thing you can truly fail at. Also the bit-sized levels make it way easier to get a PERFECT.

That doesn't mean it's bad, though. In fact, this is - right now - the best BIT.TRIP game. Due to the short levels you can play this game for a short time while you wait for another game to finish loading, and it feels way more likely to get a perfect score, thus motivatnig many players to try what they haven't in the other BIT.TRIP games. And since it's the easiest game right now, other players with less skill can also quickly success. This is a must-buy, if you have a Wii.

4.9/5

You may ask why I didn't give a full 5 of 5. Well, it's because there's still room for improvement, since the final game is coming tomorrow. BIT.TRIP FLUX, the 6th part, will was released in Europe today and the USA get it on Monday! Get your Wii Points ready to complete the final chapter of your BIT.TRIP.
But before we review the final duo BIT.TRIP FATE and FLUX, we will take a look at what is most likely one of the most successful indie games of all time, being still in beta and has sold one million copies, though. If you still don't know what we're talking about, here's a final hint:
It's about working in mines and crafting.

Interview: John Sandoval

2011-02-21T19:30:00.000-08:00

If you aren't already familiar with the name "John Sandoval," you damn well should be. John is an independent developer who, while having yet to release any of his big projects, shows an immense amount of promise and dedication to his work. If you haven't heard of this guy or any of his current stuff, you've come to right place.

When did you first become interested in making games?
JOHN: When did I first become interested in game development? Well, since the moment I picked up a controller, really.

What was your first programming language?
JOHN: Well, I started learning how to program about two to three years ago, when I was 15. Up to that point, I'd been spending a lot of time coming up with ideas and design documents, in the margins of homework and notes and whatever little scraps of paper were lying about, but nothing substantial had ever really come of it. With the intent to change that, I started off learning C++. It was tricky, but immensely satisfying.

Are you still continuing to learn more C++, or have you stopped learning for now?
JOHN: On occasion, I'll still fire up DevC++ and just muck around in it a bit, but for now, I don't actually use C++ to program games. Instead, I use GM8 (Game Maker 8). It's just a lot easier to get a prototype up and running. In the future, I'd like to see if I can build something from the ground up, but for now, it's GM.

Has your prior experience in other programming languages made GML (Game Maker Language) easier to get into?
JOHN: Well, the syntax of GML's not exactly a tough nut to crack, but the general thinking process behind it, the identification of a problem and the discerning of solutions, that's something that's been pretty helpful. I don't know if I picked it up while learning more 'difficult' languages, but it's definitely been my most useful tool.

Biochrome; Sandoval's first game.

You definitely show a liking for Game Maker, as Erhardt and Vergessen, your two current projects, are being actively developed with it. What made Game Maker the program of choice for development?
JOHN: It's cheap. It's easy. And there's a lot of tutorials for it on TIGSource (The Independent Gaming Source).

Speaking of TIGSource, that's probably the one community you're most active in. What drew you to TIGS - and the independent gaming scene moreover - in the first place?
JOHN: Well, I can track my very first encounter with indie games back to the Freeloader blog, which was written by Scott Sharkey of 1UP. Anyway, he did a little video podcast on independent gaming, covering stuff like Crayon Physics and Darwinia, and a few of Cactus' games. And as for TIGSource, I got involved with the Indie Brawl Community project (it's been going on for a while now) as a spriter. I liked the people there, so I've stuck with it ever since.

And you've started up a few projects of your own, too! I'm already familiar with Erhardt and Vergessen, the two you're working on now, but I don't believe I've heard anything about Biochrome, your mysterious other project. For those who don't know about any of these games, would you mind giving a brief summary of each?
JOHN: Right. Well, Biochrome was the first real project I made (using GM). It started off as a school project for Biology class. The idea was that you were a virus, and you had to infect as many cells as possible. Avoid T-Cells, multiply, evolve, repeat. Aesthetically speaking, the game looked like a microscope slide. Gameplay was a bit derivative, but hey. You've gotta start somewhere.

Erhardt, a "little puzzle platformer" about a girl with mind powers

As for Erhardt, it's a little puzzle platformer I started in the summer of 2010 where you control a young woman with the ability to move objects with her mind. She's trapped in this sort of hellish dimension, and the objective of the game is simply to utilize your abilities to get to the exit. Hopefully that'll be finished before summer of this year, but for now, it's been put on the backburner while I work on my latest project, Vergessen.

Vergessen's currently entered in the TIGSource Versus Competition, and it's a 2 player game built around the theme of "survival of the fittest". In the game, you must work with your partner in order to survive this frozen wasteland, but it becomes clear that the two of you are in direct competition for food and water. So the whole game is sort of this passive aggressive mind game that ultimately results in murder and/or cannibalism.

Judging from what you've released about it so far, Vergessen is probably the most intriguing Versus entry I have yet to see. Another game that I was reminded of when I saw your thread was Under the Garden, which was submitted last year for the "Game By Its Cover" competition. While you might not have drawn inspiration from that one specifically, where did you get the idea for that "survival of the fittest" type game?
JOHN: Econ 201. There was a lecture on economic scarcity, and I sort of took that information and tried to bring it to life as a game. We'll see how successful my attempt is in a few days.....

It's a dog eat dog world out there, or man eat man, in this case.

Even from the current screenshots, there's already a sort of bitterness and isolation present. The idea of cooperating with your partner to survive at the beginning, only to have to stab him in the back later on for your own well being is a pretty brilliant one. Were you planning to give the player some sort of emotional attatchment to his/her partner to make the act of killing them at the end a morally challenging one?
JOHN: Well, yes. Through the course of the game, there are quite a few instances where players will have to save each others' asses, and inevitably they'll build up some sort of comradeship. However, as to whether or not it'll factor into making them question the act of killing one another, I'm a bit of a skeptic. Murder is just much too fun. In games, at least.

Since you are making this for the "Versus" competition, you have to finish the game by a set deadline. Have there been many difficulties in trying to conform to that deadline?
JOHN: I've been managing to keep up fairly well, but a lot of things have had to be cut. Online play was pretty much ruled out in the first week. But some of the cuts have been for the best. Originally, the game focused on exploration, with new areas being unlocked as players delved beneath the surface. Naturally, time constraints have forced me to cut that down quite a bit, reshaping the game's focus into holing down in one area and building up a sort of a base, though exploration still plays a decent part. Still, I feel it provides for a much tighter gameplay experience. An added plus is that I don't have to make nearly as many art assets as I did before.

Vergessen: a game about dots and larger dots.

What has been the most challenging part of development so far?
JOHN: Am I allowed to swear?

Sure, I don't see why not.
JOHN: Right, well then, all I can say is: fuck inventory systems, fuck data structures, and most of all, a very special 'fuck you' to user interfaces. Getting these little bastards up and running has been a long arduous process that's still not 100% complete. In comparison, terrain generation/destruction took me two days, and the damage/death system only took me a few hours. Yeah, my first version of the inventory system was done with a huge set of variables that was completely hack-ish and ass backwards. It took me a week before I realized I had to redo it.

Is there any confirmed date for release, or is this going to be a "barely make the deadline" ordeal?
JOHN: One way or another, the game will end up being released on the 27th of February. Percentage wise, right now I'd say I'm currently 85% complete, so I feel I've got a pretty solid chance of finishing it to my satisfaction.

Silly questions

"While you were busy fucking off on TIGSource, this guy built 7 games"

Nuclear Holocaust imminent. You're only allowed to take 3 games into the shelter. Which three do you choose?
JOHN: Minecraft, Minecraft, and a pack of cards for when the power inevitably dies out.

Inspirational figures?
JOHN: Petri Purho and Jonatan Soderstrom, also known as Cactus. Both are indie developers, and both are known for their ridiculously high output of interesting games. I've actually got each of their faces posted up on my corkboard as sort of motivational posters... (one of the posters says "WWPD: What Would Petri Do?" and the other says "While you were busy fucking off on TIGSource, this guy [Soderstrom] built 7 games")

You can find out more about John's projects on their respective threads on TIGSource: Vergessen, Erhardt

You should also check out the works of Artem Bank, the man responsible for Vergessen's incredible soundtrack.

A humble goodbye: Babbity

2011-02-20T22:07:00.000-08:00

Well, all good things must come to an end at some point. As of this morning, Babbity, the artist for Monday's reviews, has left the team. Until I can get a new illustrator, the only posts with illustrations will be those by Mabelma and Suyo on Thursdays. The resignation message came to me unexpectedly this morning. While I'm a bit saddened by this, I'm sure there was a reason for it. He did a wonderful job with the illustrations for the time he was with Grizzly Pixel, and he's no doubt out there making some great-looking comics and drawings somewhere. Goodbye, Babbit. You'll be missed.

Review: Super Meat Boy

2011-02-17T21:42:00.000-08:00

In 2008, Edmund McMillen and Jonathan McEntee put a flash game called Meat Boy on Newgrounds. It became an instant hit, and even had a map pack added not long after its release. In January 2009, McMillen, now teamed up with programmer Tommy Refenes, announced Super Meat Boy, a sequel for WiiWare and PC. Read on to see why this is the third best game of 2010 according to Metacritic, on which systems it ended up, and what's soon to come.

The regular Super Meat Boy level:
Saws everywhere.

The story tells the classic tale of "my girlfriend was kidnapped, go save her." This may seem like standard platforming fare, but the pure creativity and hilarious manner in which it is told really makes it stand out against the sea the other video game stories. First off, the game's hero, Meat Boy, is a boy without skin. Then there's his girlfriend, Bandage Girl. A girl out of - well - bandages. Their life would be perfect if there wasn't a certain diabolical fetus. That fetus, titled appropriately "Dr. Fetus", lives in a jar, and wears a tuxedo, a monocle and a top hat. He hates Meat Boy (actually, he hates everything, including you) and thus runs away with Bandage Girl. What follows is a chase through 6 worlds, each with 20 levels (not counting bonus levels, worlds, DLC and the Dark World levels, which are harder versions of the normal levels) In total, there are over 300 levels to beat.

Guess which game this level references to!
Click for solution: *

This game is brimming with references to other games.. You want some examples? World 5 Intro. A destroyed city in the background, a skyscraper in the foreground. The camera slowly scrolls up, and low and behold, Meat Boy is standing atop it. Get the reference?

Next example. After entering a Warp Zone (another reference!) in World 3, you are greeted with Ogmo from Matt Thorson's Jumper, who can be unlocked by clearing his three stages. Also, at the end of the level the guy from Karoshi: Suicide Salaryman tells you "Bandage Girl is in another Warp Zone" (a nice little nod to "Super Mario Brothers"). Aside from Ogmo, there are 9 other Indie Characters from other games, like CommanderVideo from BIT.TRIP, Runman from Runman: Race Around the World, Steve from Minecraft and The Kid from I Wanna Be the Guy. Everyone has a special ability, like double jumps, warping, floating or just running really damn fast.

These spikes have a point.

For the controls, you better get yourself a gamepad. While the keyboard controls work, the gamepad controls make Meat Boy way easier to control. To quote Team Meat, "[A gamepad] is not required, but neither is bathing. Think about it."

The level design is great - there is a fine line beetween hard and unfair, and Super Meat Boy is balancing on that line. There are traps everywhere, but it's always your fault - there are no unfair jumps or traps like in I Wanna Be the Guy.

Not only does this picture sum up Tofu
Boy, but the speech bubble also
represents the gameplay. Nice.

Also worth a mention: Edmund McMillen has been trolling PETA. Yeah, a indie developer team consisting out of 2 people has been posting the game on the forums of those guys. Then the vegans striked back - releasing a parody of Super Meat Boy, appropriatly titled Super Tofu Boy. Not only has this given a lot of publicity to Team Meat, they weren't done yet and added Tofu Boy as a playable character.
And yes, he plays as well as a wet sack full of snails.

Super Meat Boy is a platformer, but stands out because of its difficulty, which ranges from "this isn't too hard" hard to "try to stop aliens from destroying the world using chewing gum" hard; the retro references, and the indie all-star cast. It's on Steam and XBox Live Arcade, and there will be an annoucement releating to the Wii Retail version during the Game Developer's Conference. The upcoming Level Editor for the PC will bring tons of new content; for the Xbox players too, since Team Meat will upload user-made chapters they deem awesome to the DLC chapter of the console. (Oh, there's a reference in there too. The DLC chapter is called "Teh Internets" and the planet has an imprinted troll face.)

This game totally deserves being the third best game of 2010 after Starcraft 2 and Mass Effect 2. It's a fantastic title, but it's not a game for people who don't like getting frustrated at games. Life has enough of those moments already. If you do like your difficulty hard-as-nails, though, this game is a must-buy.

4.9/5

Review: BIT.TRIP BEAT and BIT.TRIP CORE

2011-02-10T20:07:00.000-08:00

Everything comes from nothing.
Nothing comes from something.
Life is rhythm.
Rhythm is life.
It will all make sense
once we return to nothing.
Our BIT.TRIP has started.

In celebration of the upcoming final part, we will review the BIT.TRIP series by Gaijin Games. BIT.TRIP consists out of 6 parts. Today, we will review the first both games of the series, BIT.TRIP BEAT and BIT.TRIP CORE. In case you want to check them out, they are available on the WiiWare store for the small fee of 600 Wii Points. If you want BEAT but don't own a Wii, it was also released on the iOSes, but since the controls were criticized I suggest grabbing for PC/Mac on Steam.

The hero of the BIT.TRIP
series: CommanderVideo.

Space... the final frontier. These are the voyages of CommanderVideo. His continuing mission: To make people rage. Hard. The story of the BIT.TRIP games is told in short cutscenes and the animated backgrounds of the stages. It's hard to look at those while there are 10 beats per second flying on your paddle, though. You probably won't even be able to make sense of the story on your first playthrough. And even after a couple more, it still won't be easy.

Let's play "Keep track of all the flying stuff
on the screen"! ... You lost!

The gameplay can be best described as “Pong versus a machine gun”. By tilting the Wiimote, you can move your paddle up and down, reflecting “beats” which are being launched at you from the right. There are multiple kinds – the ones going straight, the wall-bouncers, the juggling beats, the stuttering beats, the wave beats, the trail beats, and the paddle-stopping beats – luckily you can differ every beat, as they all have a unique color. It starts off easy with slow beats, but later in the 3 stages – TRANSITION, DESCENT and GROWTH - you won't get a break from the massive onslaught.

“3 stages” makes the game sound pretty short, but considering every stage is 15 minutes long and if you fail, you have to replay the entire stage, it sounds a lot longer. This game is unforgiving. If you always fail at the part which appears 7 minutes in, you have to replay these 7 minutes every time. It can be frustrating as hell if you aren't a person who likes really hard games like this.

By leveling up into MEGA, your multiplier
will increase as long as you hit beats
– but miss 5 beats and it gets reset.

As this is a rhythm game, the music is a big part of the experience. And this game does not let you down. Oh no. On a scale of 0 to 5, this soundtrack gets a solid 10. Chiptune beats play in the background, and every beat hit plays a note. Every transition you pass adds a new layer to the background music. If you miss enough beats, you get leveled down into NETHER mode, where the music is off and beeps are just played through the Wiimote. If you manage to avoid a game over, the music instantly kicks in again. On the contrary, if you hit enough beats you get into MEGA mode, which makes your score skyrocket and makes music and graphics even BIT.TRIP-pier.

As soon you finally beat the (incredibly hard) boss of the final level, you are done here. The odd story is concluded in the ending – and suddenly, it all makes sense. The meteor in TRANSITION, the beats, the cutscenes. Relieved because you finally beat those levels, you keep coming back for more; new highscores, and even trying to get the elusive PERFECTs, by hitting every beat. You are competing with your friends who can beat the boss of TRANSITION without missing a beat; who can get a higher score on DESCENT and who can play GROWTH while holding the Wiimote the wrong way. Or, you could just do it to hear the great music again. The only downside is that it's a game for experienced players – other players will get frustrated easily because of the massive difficulty.

4.5/5

But wait, stop! Move your mouse away from that X button. There's more.
BEAT was just the first step on the Commander's journey. Now, it's time to meet his surroundings. The saga continues with BIT.TRIP CORE - it's 600 Wii Points on the Wii Shop Channel, and will be released soon on Steam.

The menu serves, like in BEAT, as a
tutorial - it will show you the basic
controls and gameplay.

CORE uses a completely different gameplay mechanic than BEAT, removing motion controls and the paddle. Instead, you have a Core in the screen center. By holding the D-Pad in a direction, a beam is sent out. As soon a beat passes by your core, press 2 to turn the beam into a laser, destroying the beat, giving you points and increasing your mode. But still, many elements from the first game were carried over, like the 3 old modes, and a new mode higher than MEGA, called SUPER. And I tell you, this is just for the pros. Your score is increasing rapidly, your multiplier skyrocketing and the music is being continually awesome - until you miss a beat, that is. Because one mistake will send you right back to MEGA again.

You will be in NETHER a lot.
And I mean a LOT.

Again, having a load of different beats you have to return, CORE is a bit harder than BEAT, making it the hardest BIT.TRIP game yet. The game still spans three levels, still 15 minutes each and still as unforgiving as before. If you continue to miss beats and end up in the NETHER and don't manage to get back into HYPER, you're out. Score back to 0, progress back to 0, all effort gone. And then, rage. Luckily, BIT.TRIP CORE is motivating enough to keep you going, even through all of your constant failures. Everytime you fail at the boss, you get more and more tries until you can finally nail the pattern, and subsequently, the boss. Then, you're just so damn happy, you jump right into the next stage. And fail. Again.

Though it got some of the best reviews in the entire series, the developers say CORE is the worst BIT.TRIP game. But that doesn't mean it's bad; it's a really great game, and can easily be counted as one of the best WiiWare exclusives. It's addictive as hell, the bosses are great references to old games like Asteroid, and the music is pretty damn awesome. Especially the soundtrack of the final level, CONTROL. The story is less complex (if you got the story of BEAT it will be way easier), but the music works well with the backgrounds and cutscenes to weave an interesting tale. CORE is a wonderful symbiosis, and despite being - as stated before - the weakest game of the pack, it's definitely worth checking out.

4/5

And that's it for today! Check back next Thursday when we review Super Meat Boy, and stay tuned for future reviews of BIT.TRIP VOID and BIT.TRIP RUNNER!

Newcomer: Mabelma!

2011-02-09T15:30:00.000-08:00

Who am I?

- I am an artist hired by the FBI to create art from important cases like the HellBoy finding or the Pandora riot, you might remember some of my work at the Death Star incident.

- I was the cavemen that came up with the RockTrek saga.

- The Force guides my life.

- I have Na'vi hair and ears.

- Mario and Luigi are my only friends

You've probably guessed it by now, but none of those things are true (though maybe the last one is)... This is who I am. My name is Mabelma, and I'm an artist. I will be accompanying Superyoshi through his journey into the indie world by making all the illustrations for his articles. Hope you like my work, and remember, stay indie.

Mabelma will now be doing all of the illustrations for Thursday reviews! Be sure to look out for his debut review with Superyoshi next Thursday!

Review: Iji

2011-02-07T19:30:00.000-08:00

The amount of alien shooters available in today's market is undeniably huge. In Halo, Gears of War, Mass Effect, Dead Space and countless other blockbuster franchises, shooting space grunts in the face seems to be a recurring theme. Now, I love games like Mass Effect that try to put a new spin on a weary formula, but those type of titles are few and far between. The main problem with the "space marine action game" genre isn't so much that it's overdone, but rather that no one's willing to take any risks in it. But if the mainstream media isn't up to the task of mixing it up a little, who is? I'm sure that was the question consistently going through independent developer Daniel Remar's mind when he created Iji, which does everything and a half to stand out amongst the crowd.

From the moment you start playing, Iji's influences are easy to spot. The character graphics are very reminiscent of games like Another World or Flashback, and the atmosphere gives off a huge Super Metroid vibe. The art is simple yet effective, and I was surprised at how well Remar utilized his resources to create an immersive, memorable atmosphere that gives a unique flavor to each level. Each aesthetic element complements each other, and the blending together of all of them makes for some wonderful eye-candy. Add to that some amazing attention to detail (such as the ship fights happening in the background of some levels), and you have yourself one great-looking game.

Of course, graphics alone don't carry Iji. Far from it. The gameplay system Remar has put in place works wonderfully, and you'll never feel like anything less than a nanoteched-out badass. The basics are actually incredibly simple: Arrow keys for movement, 'Z' to kick, 'X' to shoot, and 'C' to interact. But the core gameplay goes far deeper than that. You begin the game with your standard shotgun, which deals reasonable damage, has infinite ammo, and a relatively short reload rate. As you progress further and kill more enemies, though, you'll begin to acquire a substance called "Nano." There's a little bar in the lower right hand corner of your screen that tracks the amount of nano you have left until the next level. Level up, and you'll be given a point to spend at any of a series of modules for upgrading various stats. Want to get better weapons? Upgrade your "Tasen" or "Komato" stats. Can't break down that door? Upgrade your strength. Want your weapons to deal more damage? Getting some more attack power should solve that problem. If you could level up as much as you want, this could make for one pretty overpowered character, but there's a limit of 5 levels per sector, so you'll have to distribute your stats sparingly. This type of upgrade system really allows for a lot of experimenting, and encourages you to play through a certain sector multiple times to try out all sorts of different combinations.

One of the stats you'll want to focus on in particular, though, is the "Crack" stat. This particular upgrade improves your ability to hack, something you'll be doing a lot of. Hacking is done by interacting with hackable objects. Once you begin the hack, you'll start a hacking minigame where you have to navigate a white square to a red one, while avoiding all of the black squares. Lower level hacks are typically simpler, but the higher level ones tend to have much more difficult and complex puzzles to figure out. You can use hacking to open doors and chests and sabotage enemies, but its most important purpose is in the fusion of weapons. Each and every weapon you find in the game can be combined with another to form a new, more powerful one. For instance, the machine gun can be combined with the shotgun to create the Buster Gun, a rapid fire variation of the shotgun. This weapon creation aspect really adds an entirely new element of strategy and experimentation to Iji, and definitely stands out as one of the bigger highlights in the game.

But the thing that kept me going, the thing that drove me to complete every sector, was the story. Now, that might sound a bit weird at first. An alien shooting game with a compelling story does sound like a bit of a stretch, but this is far from it. The game starts out relatively simple. You and your family are taking a walk through your father's lab, and you look out a window to admire the view, when a couple of oddly glowing clouds suddenly fire massive laser beams from their interiors and completely fry most life on earth. Luckily, you make it out alive, but you find out from your brother Dan (via a disembodied voice on an intercom) that everyone you know has been killed by an alien race known as the Tasen. And it is at this point that you are given a gun and reluctantly make your way to the first sector. There are two potential paths you can take from here: Do you blast apart these invaders who have wiped out your planet, or do you spare them out of mercy?

The little choices you make in the game have a large bearing on the way the story unfolds. During your first kills, Iji seems apprehensive about shooting down the Tasen. You'll hear her apologize, sniff and whimper when she delivers the killing blow. Little details like these bring a sense of humanity to Iji's personality, making every shot a difficult decision. Start to kill more, however, and Iji loses that initial sympathy, with phrases like "Sorry!" being replaced by cries of "DIE!" Iji's emotions aren't the only thing affected by her actions, though. Throughout the sectors, logbooks of the Tasen and Komato (the alien force fighting the Tasen) are scattered about. At the beginning of the game, the content of them is pretty much set in stone, but as you are presented with more and more choices, the text within the logbooks changes to conform with the outcomes of those choices. There are many intriguing elements to be found in these little electronic diaries, ranging from historical facts about the Tasen and Komato to first-hand accounts of war from each side. They really do a great job of adding on to a game already strong on story.

As you begin to unwrap this mystery of the outside world, you are constantly reminded of the fact that nearly every living thing on the planet has been eliminated, which leads you to question what you're doing. Is there really much of an Earth left to save? If you do manage to kill every alien on the planet, what is there left to do? In many other "space marine" games, the whole point is to stop aliens from destroying Earth. In Iji, they already have. It's an interest twist that I can honestly say was very welcome during my time playing. It makes you focus less on the well-being of humans, and more on the beings that destroyed them. While Iji's methods of advancing its narrative aren't necessarily completely original, they're done with an air of finesse that few games I've played can match.

Before I wrap this review up, I'd like to talk a little bit about the sheer level of content this game provides. The lab is split up into 10 different sectors, each an adventure in of its own. It should take you somewhere in the range of 20 minutes to complete each level, and that's not counting any of the boss fights in between. A straightforward playthrough should be around 2-3 hours long, which is still an amazing feat for a free game, but chances are, you won't just play through it once. There are secrets - loads upon loads of them - to be had. Each sector has a poster and a ribbon in it. Ribbons will advance a side story about Iji's little sister, while the posters serve a greater purpose. Collecting all ten of them will unlock something. Something incredibly, incredibly secret. I'm not going to tell you what, but it's certainly worth the effort it takes to get there.

Of course, as with every great game, there are bound to be a couple flaws. The limiting of shooting to only when you're standing makes killing enemies harder than it needs to be, and the knockback you get from some of your enemies' weapons tends to send you flying back further than necessary. Also, if you want to go for a Pacifist run, you'll have to deal with hardly firing a single shot, which can be rather difficult when you're taking fire from everyone around you. And the ability to save more frequently - instead of having to start the whole sector over when you die - would be nice.

But, all gripes aside, Iji is an utterly amazing game. The amount of content and absurd level of polish will have you dropping your jaw every minute. Between the excellent level design, inventive leveling-up system, challenging enemies and bosses, intriguing story and stellar soundtrack, this is a title that won't soon be forgotten. So take a look at your calender, save a date, and download Iji. I assure you, you won't be doing anything else that day.

Guest Review: Super Mario 63

2011-02-05T12:15:00.000-08:00

This a guest review by MessengerOfDreams. Guest reviews will be put up the first Thursday of every month. Granted, this one's a little late, but all future ones will be posted then.

Now, at first glance, this might look like a 2-D remake of Super Mario 64. As SMBX is to Super Mario World and 3, and Super Mario Flash is to Lost Levels, this is the rough equivalent of a "Super Mario 64" for your browser. To an extent, it is; Runouw did use SM64 as a base during development. But this isn't any normal fangame; this is a gem unlike any others.

For those of you who want a list of the games he brought material from, here we go. Like I mentioned, SMBX borrowed some elements from the earlier Mario games, although it primarily focuses on SMB3, and to an extent, World. Runouw emulates this in the respect that he takes materials from the more modern Mario games. The gameplay is heavily based on Super Mario 64, with most of the game taking place in paintings inside the castle and the three "Bowser's castles". Super Mario Sunshine, an underrated token of Super Mario history, is another major influence on the game. Shine Sprites replace the typical stars in Super Mario 63, and the FLUDD, which is a massive part of gameplay, almost in the way that Yoshi was in Super Mario World. FLUDD serves as a helping hand in some otherwise difficult situations. New Super Mario Bros has its niche with the addition of Star Coins, the collect-to-get-prizes objects in the game. Runouw even adds some nods to Super Mario Galaxy, with several songs and levels that draw inspiration from it. The most apparent influence on the game is that of Yoshi's Island. Runouw has also added some remix music from Newgrounds and other sources to really jazz it up, as well as music from the original Super Mario 64.

With all the odds and ends from the games, you'd expect a mishmash of jumbled up Mario, right? Wrong. Runouw pulls off the construction of this game with finesse, creating not only a Flash fangame, but a Mario experience in of its own. What would normally be recycled Mario elements turn into a thrilling platform game that will have you hooked. There's an attention to detail that really is undeniably brilliant. Every level is amazingly crafted and full of adventure. Another great bonus is that the game's not just a way to kill one afternoon and forget it. Super Mario 63 has a full-blown story mode game that will last you as long as a normal game, give or take. First time through took me 2-3 weeks and then getting 100 percent took me another 2 weeks.

Hands down, though, the best moment of the game is in Bowser's Castle. This is, without a doubt, one of the best levels of any Mario game, ever. The castle alone will take you an hour to finish. It's truly a masterpiece. It's challenging, thought-provoking and a ton of fun, even if frustrating. It could be a flash game all on its own.

That's not to say it doesn't have its flaws, there are a few, that while not major, take away from the experience. Notably, the story isn't really solid. The idea of Bowser trying to destroy the world instead of just taking it over isn't true to character at all, and the plot device (Orb of Power) that serves as a plot-hole-cover for all, is just... a bad idea. I admire that he tried to break away from the "abduct Peach" thing, but it wasn't terribly successful. Also, he got other characters way off, notably Kamek. With the great plot filler having driven Bowser insane, he fires Kamek, but Kamek acts like he got fired instead of his son rebelling against him. Because when it comes down to it, Kamek raised Bowser, and if Bowser went so crazy that he "fired" Kamek, Kamek would be, to some extent, heartbroken. Because if you notice it, Bowser's the one thing Kamek truly cares about from start to finish. That really bewildered me.

Plus, some levels, as well as they're crafted, can be a real drag. For example, Tidal Isles, a level that mostly consisted of swim to stars with the twist of a tidal wave that hits you above water, which is a good twist, but the level just dragged on for the most part. Some of the other levels become a pain really fast too, such as Turbo Fludd stage, and the tutorials, which you do not have the option to skip. The Edge of the Mushroom Kingdom, a bonus level that is the ultimate 63-star unlockable level, is just borderline impossible that it takes all the fun out of it and makes me scream like a harpy at my computer. Even after nearly 50 hours of playing it I had lacked the skill to get past the first part of it.

And to top it off, the most sadistic glitch I've ever seen. After the second Bowser level in the fight against Bowser (which is really freaking hard) sometimes when you throw Bowser into a bomb, he'll spin around in limbo forever, causing you to close the game and lose all you built up in the level. Really bad

Now let's move on to the level designer. I'll just get it out of the way: this isn't the strong point of the game. Granted, it's really good, but not as good as it could be. The most glaring issue is that unlike most level designers, this does not have everything that the game has, and you come to miss it. The reason for this is because Runouw went game first, level designer second, making all the levels on Flash. He learned his lesson, making the level designer first and making levels off of it for Last Legacy, his new title, but here it really makes the level designer lacking in some ways. Another problem is that it doesn't take much to make the levels lag, you have to often put transitions all over the place to make sure it's not snail speed, and if the level is too big it won't load, it'll freeze your browser and occasionally shut your computer down.

That's not to say it's a bad level designer. You can get it literally right off the bat, and you can create beautiful, intricate levels with it. It's a shame that people can't figure it put for crap, cause it's seriously easy and with a little bit of effort, you've got amazing work, and you can make anything from simple platformers to beautiful worlds to complex masterpieces.

OVERALL: The story mode is the main attraction, with an eclectic mix of modern Mario games that create a crazy good 2-D platformer that for the most part can easily cement itself as a classic Mario masterpiece. However, the story is lacking and character development is way off, and the level designer, while easy to learn and good as it is, isn't all it can be.

4/5

You can play the game over on Newgrounds here. If you would like to have your review posted, please send it to grizzlypixel@yahoo.com.

Newcomer: Superyoshi

2011-02-02T04:58:00.000-08:00

Hey there, I'm the new guy. My name's Chris - known on the internet as Superyoshi, Suyo, TheSuperyoshi or bestyoshi - and I'm living in Germany.
I will (try to) write a review every Thursday, starting off with the BIT.TRIP series, since the final part will be released soon. I also plan to review the internet phenomenon Minecraft and the winner of IGN's "Most challenging game of the year" award Super Meat Boy.
So check in Thursday next week for the reviews of BIT.TRIP BEAT and BIT.TRIP CORE!

Interview: Donny (Codestar Games)

2011-01-31T15:14:00.000-08:00

"Hello, I'm Donny, also known as Kaikimi , head developer at Codestar Games. We're a small independent game studio with an assortment of games we are currently working on, one of which is my long time project: FrostFire."

Today, I had the pleasure of sitting down (so to speak) with Donny and talking about his current projects, his inspirations, and various other things I've probably forgotten about that you can find below.

What got you interested in pursuing game-making?
KAIKIMI: Well, I love the idea of building a world from scratch. Just the feeling of creation is what makes me pursue making games. I've played games ever since I was 2 years old and got my first SNES, but it wasn't until some time around middle school that I started making characters for games, which led me to learning how to do pixel art and finally jumping into programming to do things with my pixel art.

Yeah, you do have quite the talent when it comes to pixel art. Any reasons as to why you chose pixel art over other forms as your style of choice?
KAIKIMI: I've been rooted in doing pixel art for around 6-7 years now. It's what feels natural to me for a game. CG art is nice and all in its own sense, but a good number of the games made with it feel too stiff to me. Pixel art has a greater ability to convey dynamic motion to me. I've played around with doing 3D as well from time to time, but it just seems too time consuming for me to work with.

And that sense of dynamic motion is definitely apparent in the artwork of your current game, "Project FrostFire." Would you care to give a little summary of what the game's all about?
KAIKIMI: FrostFire is a dungeon crawling/adventure platformer that features the main character, Nicolas, struggling against the forces of the evil King Cold. He must travel through the world in search of magical scarves that give have power of making one's inner ambitions into reality. On the way, he meets a cast of unique characters ranging from angry bosses to music pirates. The game features an assortment of weapons and items that unlock hidden treasures and help Nicolas throughout the game. To be honest though, the development of it is being put on hold for a new project of mine.

New project, eh? Would you like to say anything regarding that?
KAIKIMI: I'm keeping it a tad hush-hush at the moment, but I can give out a couple of details. The game is short; only 5 levels. The genre is "fast paced run-and-gun beat em up platformer," and it's going to be the first game released by Codestar Games.

My interest is piqued! Any details on possible release dates, or is it an "It'll be done when it's done" affair?
KAIKIMI: I can't particularly gurantee an exact release date, but I would love to say it will be coming sometime around this summer. I've actually gotten some help on it from Codestar's newest member: Intermission. He's our new character artist/pixel artist.

Well, I have to say, I can't wait to get my hands/download bars on this. Back to a little bit about FrostFire, though. This seems to be quite an ambitious game. Have you come upon any particularly big roadblocks during the development process so far?
KAIKIMI: My biggest roadblock on the game thus far has been my solidarity. I chose to work on the game myself to have it as a testament to what I can do as a game developer. The game seemed to grow more and more over time, which is what led to me to working on my new project. I actually realize the scope of the game would impede my development for quite some time, and in that time I wouldn't have anything out from me for anyone to play. The development process is very time consuming because I have to handle all of the programming, scripting, writing, music, pixel art, CG art, music, and level design all by myself.

Fun fact: The same engine being used for FrostFire is also being used for my new project.

Are you proud of your work on the FrostFire engine?
KAIKIMI: Yes, very much so. It was the biggest part of the development process thus far. I've basically turned Game Maker on its head and made it into a very robust system. It allows me to work with pretty much everything outside of Game Maker which reduced the load time on the engine allows for great resource management. I've written an external level editor that I call FrostByte that can handle anything I dish out at it. I've also made a scripting language for myself called FFScript which handles most of the character, NPC, and cutscene code externally from Game Maker. The engine is very dynamic and has even been used in the development of TSRODIUS (more info here) to make a Gradius-like game, with all the functionality of the original.

You clearly have to have to have a thorough knowledge of the ins and outs of Game Maker to be able to create something like that. How long have you been using the program, and what made you decide to use it as a development tool?
KAIKIMI: Game Maker was what I initially started out with from the get go. It's basically what taught me the ins and outs of programming logic. I'm using it currently just for its ease of use. I've also worked with other languages ranging from C/C++, java, C#, and even Lua, but I've stuck with Game Maker just for sentimental value I suppose, heh. Although I actually did port the FrostByte level editor over to C# at one point just as an experiment. I can assure you though, with my commercial ideas I plan to release in the near future, I am likely to leave it behind.

If the Codestar Games team continues to grow in size, do you see yourself ever picking FrostFire back up and finishing it, or is it something that you think might be too big to undertake?
KAIKIMI: The future is kinda clouded with FrostFire at the moment. I'm actually hoping that Project LITL, our next project, will pick up some popularity and possibly be a good game to expand upon in the future. However, after its release I can say that FrostFire will first on my list of development priorities.

Looking forward to seeing both projects reach completion!

Some random other questions:
Inspirational figures?


"Art wise, it would have to be Konjak"

KAIKIMI: I'd have to say that notch (of Minecraft fame) has been a good inspiration for me development wise, because he's pretty much living the dream of all of us at the moment. Art wise, it would have to be Konjak (creator of Noitu Love 2), he's a very talented artist and really knows how to convey his pixel art skills in his games.

Games: Art/Not art?
KAIKIMI: Art is creation. When I'm making a game, I don't do it for just the gameplay. I want to portray an experience to the player through the worlds and stories I create. I think all art is just a means of giving someone an experience through whatever medium the artist chooses.

Game development snack(s) of choice?
KAIKIMI: I've got to say, I'm a sucker for pretzels and Mountain Dew. However, I'm trying to cut back on the Dew as of recently for my health, heh...

You can find out more about Codestar Games and their current projects at the Codestar Games Blog and on the Project FrostFire thread on The Spriters Resource.

Newcomer: BabbityRabbity

2011-01-29T12:53:00.000-08:00

In case you haven't already noticed the beautiful header illustration to the Yume Nikki review, this blog now has a new artist! BabbityRabbity is going to be the guy behind any and all illustrations in the upcoming articles, reviews, previews, and interviews until he gets bored or loses the will to do any more. So please, if you haven't already, give him a warm welcome!

Review: Yume Nikki

2011-01-24T22:37:00.000-08:00

I find many things disturbing; war, disease, famine, poverty. There's a small bit of comfort in knowing that I'm fortunate enough to not have to experience any of it. However, there are things that disturb me more than any of that; things that happen every night, even if I should choose to forget about them the morning after. Dreams. There are a vast amount of things in dreams that don't make any sense to us. Why is that dog floating? How did this hole get in my hand? Though it's the dreams that are most unknown to us - the images and thoughts that our subconscious brain hasn't prepared us for - that make up our worst nightmares. Why do you think babies are crying constantly, even weeks after they're born? They're confused; overwhelmed by how unfamiliar they are with the world around them. Scared. It's this fear of the unknown that is subconsciously present in all of us, and the way Yume Nikki utilizes it makes it one of the most disturbingly accurate recreation of the world of dreams that I have ever seen or played in any form of media.

There are a few small tutorial tips displayed at the beginning, after which you start the game The first room you find yourself in is a small, bland-looking apartment with a bed, a desk, and a television set with a Famicom plugged in. If you try to go out the front door, the girl shakes her head. Going out on the balcony won't do you much good, either. Looks like you're confined to this tiny space. No way in, no way out. You're starting to feel a little bit drowsy. Can't hurt to get in bed and just relax a little bit, so you climb snug under your covers and fall asleep...

You open your eyes. The room seems - different - somehow. The Famicom is missing, the TV static has been replaced with an eye that stares eerily at you. The dark, foreboding skyline that used to be behind your balcony has been replace by a strange desert wasteland. Something is terribly, terribly off. Your only real option at this point is to go through that door in your bedroom. And that's when things start to really get crazy.

The door room (pictured left) serves as the "hub world" in your exploration of dreams. Each door leads to a different part of your dream. They give a general idea of the theme of the world it leads to, but you generally won't know what it is for sure until you enter though one.

The primary goal, although never stated by any of the game's minimal instructions, is to wander around the dream world and collect each of the 24 "Effects" scattered about. Some are very useful and essential to progression, whereas others simply serve as cosmetic changes with no use at all. Sometimes, the areas or NPCs that give them to you have nothing to do with the effect itself.

In order to play Yume Nikki, you'll have to suspend all disbelief. Nothing makes sense in this game. There is not a moment where something won't confuse you, bewilder you, or genuinely disturb you. Dismembered legs that hop around, hands with eyes in them, bird-like creatures that follow you and send you to an inescapable area, disembodied heads that send you to a strange looping landscape; the game provides no shortage of scenery or NPCs that don't seem to serve any sort of purpose. Not only that, but the majority of the game is just spent wandering around. Much of the areas seem hauntingly empty, and some rooms are set to loop infinitely, so you'll find yourself back in the same place without even knowing it. The ambiguity of the dream world adds a chilling feeling of isolation that follows you around the whole game. And that brings me to the one area Yume Nikki excels in: making you feel uncomfortable.

Despite the harmless appearance of your character, Madotsuki, the game is about as grim as grim can get. It almost seems like the creator threw a shroud of innocence on a truly unsettling creature. You won't feel scared at any one point as much as you will be disturbed. There are many moments that will make you a little bit uncomfortable while playing. In particular, an odd rainbow creature you encounter that seems to have an odd obsession with stroking a metal pole. You can't interact with it, and it just runs through a continuous loop of moving its arm back and forth. Some areas can't even be passed without stabbing a creature first, causing it to emit a shrill scream before fading away. This game really emulates the experience of dreaming well in that the places that make the least sense are the most upsetting.

But the real creepy-factor in Yume Nikki comes from the dialogue, or rather, lack thereof. Aside from the text that comes up during the beginning of the game, and the occasional boxes that pop up when you collect an effect, not a single word is displayed on-screen. None of the NPCs have anything to say, there are no text box descriptions for various objects; the game is completely dialogue-less. Madotsuki's own mind is an alien world in of its own, as not a single thing in it seems to understand or have any interest in speaking with her. The eerie music only heightens that overall feeling of isolation brought about by the strangeness of world around you.

Through all of the bleak scenery and themes in Yume Nikki, there's an ever-present depth that has me wondering about everything around me. The ending, which I'm not going to spoil here, is dark but powerful. Like an author might use strong words to convey messages, the creator of Yume Nikki uses some strong and disturbing imagery and gameplay to convey the messages found in the game. There's an unsung sort of beauty to the way this game is presented, and the bond the player forms with Madotsuki is stronger than I've experienced with any other heroin. This is not a game for the faint-of-heart, and most certainly not one for children. Besides suffering from a couple issues like aimless wandering and lack of direction, Yume Nikki is a title I highly recommend for anyone serious about games, art, or brilliant pieces of media in general.

4/5

Review: Knytt Stories

2011-01-18T20:42:00.000-08:00

There are a select few games that impress me. There are even less that really blow me away. Today, it's easy to get lost in the sea of high-budget mainstream titles being released. So many people are playing shooters and RPGs with a massive amount of levels, stats, ranks and other crap that it's become easy to lose sight of some of the simpler games. In the '80s and '90s, there was no need to be the king of graphics or deliver a Hollywood blockbuster experience to the players. Games like Metroid, Earthworm Jim and Sonic really proved that you don't need to emulate different mediums to be a great product. One of the things I think modern mainstream developers seem to forget is that games aren't all about story and characters. What separates video games from the rest of entertainment is the involvement of the user to create the experience. It's hard to take in the atmosphere to a game when some grizzled soldier or companion is egging you down a linear storyline. Knytt Stories, by independent developer Nifflas, takes this sad mold that modern developers have created and shatters it into a million beautiful pieces, proving that simplicity comes out over complexity any day.

The story in Knytt Stories is really something you won't care much about. You play as Juni, and you've got to shut off this machine that's draining all the color from the land, blah, blah, etc, etc. And yet, there's still an awe-inspiring sense of beauty that's present throughout the whole experience. But how? What's this? A beautiful game without an emotional moving story to drive it? Yes. And it's this very absence of narrative that makes for one of the most memorable one and a half hours I've ever spent playing a game. Because, you see, Knytt Stories doesn't use story as some sort of crutch to keep the player interested. The design, ambience, and settings work in glorious harmony to produce an incredibly immersive atmosphere.

If anything stands out in this game, it's the sheer lack of any sort of pressure to complete it. No bosses, no areas that become inaccessible, no time limit to complete any one task in any given amount of time. It's really an unparalleled sense of freedom. Knytt Stories uses this freedom of movement to encourage the player to explore the world around them. And therein lies the most wondrous part of the game. Navigating every nook and cranny of the vast landscape isn't necessarily vital to the completion of the game, as there are many rooms that serve no purpose other than being part of the atmosphere. But the thing is, exploration never once feels like a chore, but rather a grand adventure. You'll start out wanting to collect all of the power ups to make moving around easier, but once you travel to another zone, that extended jump ability will be on the bottom of your agenda. Instead, you'll come up to a wonderful golden sunlit valley and stop thinking about the trinkets you have to collect. Your mind won't be filled with anything but a desire to see more of this beautiful alien world. Power ups become but tools to help you achieve that desire. The feelings of wonder that Knytt Stories evoked within me were unlike anything I've ever experienced in any medium.

The music is gorgeous. When I first started the game up, I was worried that a clashing style of music would destroy the atmosphere for me. But when those sweet, gentle, ambient sounds started hitting my eardrums, the jaw of the Zen portion of my brain dropped, to put it lightly. The soundtrack fits the gameplay and atmosphere like a glove. It was almost like the game was literally rubbing silk on my ear. The music never interrupts the gameplay in the least, and each area has music that is perfectly appropriate for the setting. Combined with some subtle-but-noticeable soundwork (the patter of Juni's feet, gentle tapping while climbing, sounds of jumping and impact, etc), the results create a soundscape that I fell in love with the instant I started walking about.

There aren't enough good things in this world I could use to describe Knytt Stories. The design, the music, the sense of exploration, there is so much that has been done right here that it's nearly impossible to say anything bad about it. After you finish the main game, I'd highly recommend you check out some of the expansions Nifflas has put up on his site. Nifflas is a brilliant gamemaker, but to simply title him as that would be an injustice. No, this is art. And moreover, it's a game that doesn't try to be art. No pretentious story, no abstract messages, none of that. Just one little, beautiful playable work of art. I would go on, but then the rest of the review would just seem like rambling. I think you all know what's coming next.

5/5

GET. THIS. GAME.

Review: Super Mario Bros. X

2011-01-17T10:52:00.000-08:00

There are three things that will never stop happening in this world: Birth, death, and the creation of Mario fangames. There have been countless Mario fangames uploaded to the 'net in all of its years of existence; some good, some bad, and some abysmal. One could probably spend days upon days just sifting through the pages of downloadable/flash games about the fat red plumber. There are too many to keep track of at this point, and their numbers are growing rapidly. "So," you might be asking yourself, "where does this 'Super Mario Bros. X' thing fit in?" Hit the jump to find out.

There are literally tons of different Yoshis that you can ride around on.

Wow. Where to even begin with this one? At its core, Super Mario Bros. X is a game that really knows what it is: a Mario game. Some of the main problems I've come across with other fangames based on the Mario franchise is that they seem to have identity issues. The developers hide their crappy, buggy platformers and dress them up in a Mario skin to draw gamers towards them. And the sad thing is, it works 90% of the time. Games that bear no gameplay relation to Mario get millions of views, purely because the online gaming audience feels safe with a familiar name. Super Mario Bros X. doesn't just accept its identity, but embraces it. This clear love and devotion towards preserving the source material is evident in every aspect of the game. Players can slide down hills while pressing down, Yoshi gains the power of whatever koopa he eats, characters like Peach, Link and Toad play almost identical to how they were played in their native games... There are so many little things that the developers really nailed right on the head, from the physics, to the Yoshi riding, to the plant throwing. The attention to detail is spectacular, and it most definitely shows.

Elements from every part of the Super Mario series can be found in this game.

The gameplay here is, as expected, standard Mario fare. The physics just click right off the bat, and the pixel-perfect platforming from Super Mario Bros. 3 has been faithfully recreated in every respect. The jumping feels right, the running feels right, and I always felt like I had complete control over my character. The power-ups from all the original games are there - mushrooms, fire flowers, even the deadly poison mushroom from Lost Levels makes an appearance - but there have also been an arsenal of new items and power-ups put at the player's disposal. The Ice Flower, the Billy Gun, the Hammer Plant, the Propeller Block, and many more add unique twists to what would normally be standard Mario gameplay. Want to open a ground block, but don't have a shell to do it? Just ice that spiny and slide him into it. Impossible-looking wave of enemies? Just snatch that blue plant and start hammering away.

Enemies from nearly every 2-D Mario game imaginable populate the world of SMBX. From the Shy Guys of Subcon, to the fire-breathing piranha plants from Super Mario Bros 3, they've pulled all the stops with the NPCs in this game. With such variety in enemy patterns, and such a large number of power-ups to take 'em down with, the possibilities are near-endless. The enemies are never too hard, but some provide a fair bit of challenge (like the flying koopas/paragoombas that home in on your location in one swift swoop), much like a soup that is prepared at a perfect temperature. It burns your tongue, but only gently, and it still makes your stomach feel warm and cozy afterwards. The enemies are hard, but just hard enough to provide that satisfying sort of difficulty.

In case I haven't made it completely clear in the review so far, variety is the name of the game in Super Mario Bros. X. The levels are incredibly diverse, each one an experience in of its own. Every stage has a unique flair to it, and no two play even remotely alike. The level design, for the most part, is as brilliant and authentic as it can be. In most worlds, there are stages that are throwbacks to games of old. For instance, a level in the "Super Mario World" section of the game starts out as a perfect representation of level 1 in SMW. It later branches out into a level of its own, though, offering a whole different experience. The pure creativity of most levels is really some awe-inspiring stuff. One of my favorites, Retroville, takes graphics and design elements from the first couple Mario games and blends them together beautifully. It's this sort of stuff the really makes you admire the work that the creator dumped into this game.

Battle Mode is hilariously fun.

In addition to to the gameplay, the graphics are very well mixed together. There isn't terribly much to say here, as all the graphics are ripped, but they blend together wonderfully, and there isn't any noticeable style-clashing to be seen.

Some of the best moments come from the co-op and battle modes, though. In 2-player co-op, you and a friend can play through any worlds you have downloaded. The screen seamlessly splits depending on where your partner is, and it's tons of fun to work together to complete each level. If working in harmony isn't really your thing, Battle Mode has you covered. It's essentially a game where the objective is to use whatever means necessary to defeat your partner. Be it chucking hammers, freezing and tossing, or throwing them off the side of a cliff, there's loads of fun to be had. There are a fair amount of battle levels readily available, but the community is always expanding the selection. One gripe I have about multiplayer is the lack of an accessible online option. I'd love to be able to hook up with someone over the web if I happen not to have someone to go on a 2-player romp with. There is a method to play online using the level editor, but it's really a chore to go through the process over and over again.

Nostalgia, anyone?

What if you want to make a fancy level of your own, though? The built-in level editor comes with all of the tools you need to make a great level. The accessibility and ease in which you can create a fantastic stage of your own are spectacular, and you'll never feel overwhelmed by the properties of enemies or special "zones", as an easy-to-understand manual is included in the folder with the game. Another neat feature is the option to dynamically edit your level, while you're playing it. I personally find it satisfying to go around and erase all the enemies on my screen, create a path across an uncrossable gap, or just wreak havoc on the the place in general. This style of level editing also eliminates the need for frequent testing, as you can just add things you see fit as you make your way through the level. Add in custom music and graphics support, and you have yourself one fantastic editor.

The ability to edit levels while playing them is a major drawing point.

The music in this game is, of course, a bunch of tunes from Mario games new and old, but there are some songs from other games that also carry some flair of their own. The music is used well, and the sounds in general are very charming. The developers chose their sound options well.

Before I wrap this review up, I feel there's something worth mentioning: This game is HUGE. And by huge, I mean there's enough content to last you a lifetime. "The Invasion 2," the campaign world that comes bundled with SMBX, will take you around 5-6 hours alone. I've been playing for around 3-4 hours now, and I've gotten less than 50% through. Add in the battle modes and an ever-growing list of community-made levels, and you have yourself a game that would easily be $15-$16 if it was being sold by Nintendo, all for the price of free.

The developers managed to wrap up this beautiful package with an elegant bow. The presentation in this game is very pleasing and professionally done. The menus emit a sort of early Nintendo-esque feel, and the HUD, text and overall balance of visual/audio elements make this one finely done piece of electronic entertainment.

4.5/5

Review: Runman: Race Around the World.

2011-01-16T12:27:00.000-08:00

In 1991, SEGA introduced the world to Sonic, a furry blue hedgehog with an addiction to speed (and not just the drug variety). The world was blown away by the concept of a speedy platformer, and SEGA overwhelmingly beat out Nintendo during the fiscal year of the game's release. By 2009, however, Sonic had run clear off of everyone's radar. His games had become boring and gimicky, and it seemed speedy platformers were forever dead. No one could have predicted what would happen that Fall, though. One little star offered a glimmer of hope for the starving genre, and on the 1st of October, Runman: Race Around the World dashed into the scene to revive this dying breed of games. And, with the collaborative efforts of Matt Thorson and Tom Sennett, it truly became a wonderful piece of electronic entertainment.

This game teaches you some valuable life lessons.

Right from the moment you see the intro screen, you know you're in for a lighthearted, whimsical adventure. And whimsical it is indeed. From the vibrant colors of a smiling valley to the welcoming dark blue color of space, the Microsoft Paint aesthetic is incredibly charming, and will never let you stop smiling while you're playing. It feels like the kind of art a preschooler would draw, and the consistency gives of a wonderful playful aura that makes this game more fun to look at than many triple-A titles on the market. But the graphics alone aren't what really make this game. Oh no, far from it.

Even the timer has a mouth in Runman.

The controls in Runman are really something to marvel. Z to dash, X to jump, and arrow keys to move around. Sounds simple enough, and really, as far as control schemes go, it is. But as with any exceptional game, it's not the arrangement of controls that matters, but how you use them. Runman starts out in a very happy looking mountainous region, with some tutorial tips and standard stuff you would expect from most games. Right from the get-go, it's extremely easy to just pick it up and get right into running, and you'll be bouncing off of walls and dashing at the speed of really fast in no time. However, you'll find that through the course of the game, you'll be having many difficulties mastering and timing every keystroke correctly. But don't you worry now! There's a lot of time to get your technique perfected.

Well, that tree certainly doesn't look happy.

The game is split into around 35 levels, which are further organized into 6 "zones," each with its own unique flair. Runman does a great job with spreading out additions of new obstacles to conquer, and you'll probably find yourself encountering 1 or 2 new interesting level doo-dads in each zone. Depending on the score you get, combined with the completion time, you're given a medal for your performance in each level. Gold being the best, and bronze being the worst. If you find yourself completely bombing a zone, or not getting enough medals in an area, the game lets you revisit old areas to try to beat your best time. If you really like one of your runs, or you want to see how many times you can beat your personal best, you can save and load "ghosts" - or previous recordings of yourself - and race against them. You can also download friend's ghosts, if you want to truly see who's the better racer.

Looks like victory ain't gonna come easy for this runner.

The difficulty tends to spike erratically at some points in the game, and you might find yourself bashing your head against the keyboard when you clear an entire zone without a single medal. Indeed, Runman is a challenging game, but it's challenging in a good way. There's no consequence for death (except for on boss levels), no demotivational words or messages, and the game gives you constant praise for doing well (with words like "Awesome!" and "Great!" being displayed for pulling off impressive combos or filling up your dash meter). The developers really did a wonderful job of giving the players incentive to finish every level, and despite some insane difficulty in a couple areas, I was always inspired to keep going.

At the end of each zone, you'll face a boss that fits the theme of the area. The boss designs are wonderfully creative, but the general idea of all the boss levels is pretty much the same: Run away from them as fast as you can before they catch up to you. They're basically just regular levels, but with the added pressure of finishing the level before the boss gets you. You will die many times in these particular encounters, I assure you. But finishing the level after a slew of tries is always rewarded with a feeling of satisfaction.

Overall, Runman a wonderful game with some great level design, tight controls, and creative aesthetics. My one gripe with the game would be the erratic spikes in difficulty, but all in all, I think that can be looked past, as this truly is a fantastic free game. You'd be a fool not to pick this one up, especially when it won't even cost you a dime, but I'd highly recommend you throw some money Matt and Tom's way. Sonic better watch himself, because there's a new runner in town, and his name is Runman. Godspeed, little yellow star. Godspeed.

4.5/5

So, what is this exactly?

2011-01-15T21:08:00.000-08:00

Well, you may just be sitting on that little chair of yours, looking at this blog and wondering to yourself, "What the hell is this thing?" Well, let me fill you in on a little information from some handy online dictionaries first.

in·de·pen·dent adj.

1. Not governed by a foreign power; self-governing.

game¹ n.

1. An activity providing entertainment or amusement; a pastime

Oh, so now you might know a little bit more about the purpose of this blog, eh? Why yes, this blog is, in fact, one that reviews independent games! Mainstream games get enough coverage by all of those big media outlets, so I figure it's about damn time someone started reviewing some games from the indie market. A lot of this blog is for the purpose of showing people how many free games they're really missing out on. The first review of a little game called Runman: Race Around the World will be posted tomorrow, with a handy download link to go along with it. So please, stay tuned for more!