Quick Fix: Screenshot Satuday 5/16

Title: Typoman
Developer: Brainseed Factory
Trapped in a world built from words and towers of letters, you reach to the dark and reeky sky. Direful creatures march across the devastated land. You are small, you are weak, you don't have any means to survive. But... the letters that seemed to be so threatening at first hold powers you yet cannot imagine. But you try. You know your destiny because you have been there a long time before. You struggle to remember. The future has yet to be written.

Title: Nantucket
Developer: Picaresque Studio
Nantucket is a strategy seafaring game set into the golden age of American whaling, during the first half of the 19th century. The story is set a few years after the disaster of the Pequod where Captain Ahab and his crew lost their lives to Moby Dick. In the role of Ishmael, the only survivor of the Pequod, you will have to chase again after the White Whale for redemption

Galaxy Heist

Developer: Space Bear Development

Galaxy Heist is an open world online game that takes place in space. It aims to bring the world of skilled FPS matches and open world space simulation together so that players can fly in space and run around on each others ships in the most seamless way possible. Not only that but players are able to board other players ships as well, for fun, or by force if the other players ship has been disabled. Once on board players can take what they want, steal data from the computers, or just kill the opposing crew members for a bit of extra cash.

Title: Phoenix Dawn

Developer: Apixal

You play the character of Phoenix - a young girl with extraordinary abilities. Her story will take you on a emotional journey about an unspeakable evil tearing her world a part. Armed with only a wand and a limited knowledge of how to use her powers - she sets off on a journey that will take her far from home. An adventure that will forever change the young sorceress and her companions.

The Watchlist: Elsinore

Title: Elsinore
Developer: Golden Glitch
Platforms: PC, Mac, Linux
Release: 2016
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Elsinore is a time-looping narrative adventure game set in the world of Shakespeare's Hamlet.

Consider, for a moment, the Shakespearean tragedy. Tales of betrayal, death, love, prophecies, mystery, ruin. These stories have influenced literature and other mediums for centuries, and now Elsinore promises to combine Hamlet's story of revenge and murder with the adventure game genre, as you attempt to prevent a massacre witnessed in a prophetic dream.

As noblewoman Ophelia, you find yourself caught in a four-day time loop during a period of political tension in Elsinore Castle. Using knowledge gained over multiple loops, you can influence and manipulate events and individuals. However, this interactions are more than simple branching dialogue parts, as each character has their own schedules, desires, plans; thus your actions can have ripple effects that influence other character's behaviors and fates. Perhaps you'll learn more about the Denmark-Norway conflict in the Great Hall or end up locked in the dungeon. Perhaps you'll betray and assassinate or be killed yourself. Discover secrets, witness new events unfold, and experiment across loops to prevent the foreseen tragedy.

Elsinore is planned for a 2016 release, and is currently seeking support on Kickstarter and Steam Greenlight; stretch goals include voice acting, additional animations, an iPad version, and new areas and characters such as Fortinbras' War Camp. You can learn more about Elsinore on the developer's Tumblr page.

Update on IGE

Hello, readers and devs. I wanted to give a quick update and apologize for the lack of articles this month. I've been occupied with preparing for finals and finishing up a comprehensive research paper, so I've been kind of busy to say the least. I've keeping up with interesting releases and other indie news, but haven't had the time to work on article drafts or play much besides iPad games.

My semester is almost over, so by mid-May, I should be able to post articles at a regular pace again

Quick Fix: Screenshot Satuday 4/4

Title: Intersection
Developer: miziziziz
Your world is dying. Your predecessor gave his life to link you to a young world; now you must use this link to save your people.
This is InterSection

Title: XO
Developer: Jumpdrive Studios
The war is over. We lost. The survival of the human race now rests on the shoulders of a single battleship. In XO you command a rag-tag fleet of starships against an unbeatable enemy. You'll be evacuating refugees, scrounging for resources, and assembling your flock from one jump-point to the next. Your goal is to lead what's left of humanity out of reach from the unknown threat that pursues.

Title: Wizard of Legend
Developer: Contingent 99
A rogue-like 2D action adventure game where your goal is to become that greatest wizard in history. Our focus is on the ability to explore a large variety of skills and the option to build your own class based on the wide range of spell that will be available. The game will have couch co-op (up to 2 players) and will feature a local PvP arena where players can test their spell builds against one another.

Title: Bunker Punks
Developer: Ninja Robot Dinosaur Entertainment
Bunker Punks is a retro-inspired shoot-and-loot where each level is new and unique and you only get one life per game, so you have to make it count.  You play a Bunker Punk, a revolutionary fighting to bring down the elitist corporate government.

Q&A: Chris Olsen on Somerville

Last week, I wrote about the in-development game Somerville. Developer Chris Olsen was kind enough to answer a few questions about his episodic sci-fi cinematic platformer and reveal more about its gameplay and story.

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1. What inspired you to get into game development?

I've been a gamer since before I can remember and was always in-love with game development.  Although I've spent the greater part of a decade working in the Film and TV industry I did dabble in the games industry early on at Ninja Theory, in Cambridge as an Animator.  There haven't been many working experiences as positive as that in my time and only due to momentum did I go down a different path.  It was always in the back of my mind to make a game but programming proved a daunting hurdle.  It wasn't until I was introduced to Unity a few years back and it's artist friendly approach that I went full hog on making a game.  At first I was intending to return to games production as a day job to absorb all the facets I wasn't experienced in but there were so many case studies in the Indie scene of lone developers diving in head first and coming out with a positive experience.  So I decided to brave the early mornings and late nights of part time game development.

2. Between The Last Night, Orphan, Hunger, and several others, classic cinematic platformers appear to be making a comeback. What makes the genre so appealing and why did you choose to go that route with Somerville?

There's quite a few factors for these games coming back, I imagine.  One being that the generation that grew up with the classic early 90's Chahi titles are getting older and the tools have become so accessible that instead of wishing someone would bring them back they're just taking the initiative themselves.  I think what we're seeing in the resurgence of all the classic gaming genres from Point and Click adventures, Isometric RPG's and Space Sims are developers freeing themselves from publisher agenda and with the help of platforms like Kickstarter delivering experiences they feel have an audience and were unjustly left by the way side.  

For me, besides Another World being such a core pillar of my childhood gaming life and all the reasons above.  The genre lends itself to all my tastes and capabilities.  I come from a film background and I get a lot of satisfaction from playing with camera framing.  Having the player on a fixed plane grants me the camera flexibility without sacrificing readability (if I do it right).  Animation wise it's a hell of a lot more forgiving and I can smash out character animation without worrying about the player throwing the camera into an area of ugliness.  I can think in terms of storyboard panels rather than 3D space, locking down color scripts or lifting concept art and dropping that exact framing into the game.  

This control over what the player can see allows me to go bolder with my ambition.  I can have spectacular dramatic set pieces and not have to worry too much about what happens outside of the frame.  Condensing the world into such a narrow view sounds limiting but I believe it gives me the opportunity to really finesse and paint the important subtleties into the periphery of the viewer rather than make them look at everything I deem important. 

From a gameplay standpoint a 2.5D platformer speaks for itself in terms of accessibility for me.  Being my first game I can attempt to nail tight mechanics, again, within restricted dimensions.

3. Perhaps the most interesting aspect of Somerville is its narrative framework: a teacher telling her class about the hero of man's war against aliens, as you play during the invasion. What inspired this story structure?

As it stands the narrative structure is still being worked on and subject to change but I can tell you that it will revolve around a story being told by a future generation and it will involve children.  The story structure came from a lot of places.  The game is episodic and with the fleeting attention of children it shall be delivered almost like a "story-time" structure that you used to get in Primary School or a weekly assembly school play.  I'm toying with the idea of zero character dialogue, either written or voiced. I want to use a combination of emotive sound and animation - a narrator will help facilitate this.I've always been a sucker for tales of folk heroes and these days they seem few and far between, mainly due to the information age we function under now.  Children are also a central focus of the story so I thought why not give them one last figure to sing songs and jot notes about in history lessons.

4. One feature you stress in the game's description is its "responsive shooter mechanics." Do you feel these mechanics evolve the core cinematic platformer gameplay? And how expansive will the player's arsenal be in Somerville?

Again, still in-development but yes. My goal is to have engaging, responsive combat mechanics.  I'll probably play down the "shooter" aspect as it gives the impression you'll be blowing aliens away left right and center which would betray the path our protagonist takes (in the beginning at least).  He's fragile and the mechanics reflect a defensive approach but that's not to say he gets his moments to level the playing field.  Whilst the bulk of the game will rest in the the realm of a solitary adventure when the shit does hit the fan I intend to ratchet up the action to a level that borrows more from Treasure shooters than it does of traditional cinematic platformers.  I don't think it's an evolution, just me being a fan of enticing shooter mechanics. The offensive arsenal won't be extensive but I do intend to get as much utility out of the defensive systems as possible.

5. Can you shed some light on the kinds of challenges and dangers players will face?

Sure.  Earlier on the game is focused on survival and avoidance in hostile territory with gameplay hints toward the base combat framework.  Through the hazardous environmental challenges you will learn the fundamentals and hopefully when backed into a corner be able to apply this to fight or escape hostile encounters.  This will be the crux of the prologue, you're a weak fleshy human with an ability that keeps him alive. 

The first full episode will be about empowerment.  Gathering your strength and knowledge to take on greater foes with more intricate offensive strategies.  I won't go into detail on the variations on enemy types and exact hazards as to not spoil anything but they will all be built around the core combat mechanics. 

Overall I want it to be a nice split of puzzle solving, adventuring, topped off with frenetic action and set piece moments.  I recognize it will be a challenge to get the player well versed in the combat mechanics through means other than fighting but I believe the system I have in place will bring it together.

6. How far along is Somerville's development?

Very early.  I've set a deadline for October 2015 to deliver a prologue and proof of concept trailer.  The prologue I intend to be a couple of hours gameplay that scratches the surface of the systems, introduces you to the world and see if people like it.  About 70% of all the features I intend to put into that have been prototyped to the extent that I have faith they won't fall apart when implemented.  I've just started blocking out the levels in Unity from 2D mockups for the actual game and intend to have the prologue playable from start to finish by July.  I still need to wrap up the story treatment before I can 100% commit to churning out levels but that should be done within the next two weeks.  Most of my time right now is split between writing and finessing character control and feel.

You can learn more about Somerville on Olsen's Tumblr blog and Twitter page and follow its development on TIGSource.

The Watchlist: Somerville

Title: Somerville

Developer: Chris Olsen

Platforms: N/A

Still in early development

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An episodic sci-fi adventure...a cinematic platformer with responsive shooter mechanics

 
Alien invasions are nothing new in video games. We've faced extraterrestrials foes in wartime Europe, in the jungles of Ling Shan, in the streets of City 17. Somerville takes a different approach; we've already won the war and a teacher is reading to her elementary class the story of the great war hero John E. Somerville. This narrative framework is the foundation for an atmospheric cinematic platformer, as Somerville becomes a revered figure in humanity's fight against a devastating alien incursion.

Somerville promises to combine the classic mainstays of the genre with more modern mechanics, such as refined shooting and advanced physics. The core of the shooting gameplay as well as avoiding many of the game's hazards revolves around color; match your shield and weapon with the color of an enemy or incoming energy burst and you'll be unharmed. Learning color cycles and shifting hues on the fly will play a key role in Somerville's challenges, as you acquire poweful gear, avoid sentry drones, engage in shootouts, and more. The visuals bring this world to life through smooth animations and an atmospheric aesthetic reminiscent of Kentucky Route Zero.

Somerville is still relatively early in development; the developer is currently working on the game's prologue area. You can follow Somerville's progress through its TIGSource Devlog and on Tumblr.

Quick Fix: Screenshot Saturday 3/21

Organizam
Developer: Vakey Rujevic
The game is an interactive story driven experience where the following gameplay elements are combined with story telling to have the player feel and experience the life of an Organism.
Born as a foreign organism in a habitat that is slowly diminishing due to the extraction of vital resources by artificial organisms, you will fight to keep the habitat alive.

My Last Friday
Developer: Gadan Games
In My Last Friday, you play as Howard Goodson who finds himself locked inside an old house. He has no idea why and how he got there.
He falls deeper into a surreal world filled with dark secrets and gruesome creatures. While he's trying to find the way out it slowly becomes clear, why he is in this strange place and what forces are behind his torment. But he must fight and solve puzzles to see the connection between him and all these horror.
It's Friday and somehow he feels that it could be his last one. Whatever happens, he still can make a difference.

Viridi
Developer: Ice Water Games
Viridi is a meditative potted plant app currently in development for PC/Mac and mobile. Nurture a small pot of succulents that grow in real time.
Our goal is to provide a moment of peace and quiet that you can pull out of your pocket whenever you want and/or need it.

Regret
Developer: Revenge Games
Regret is a 2D, psychological, survival horror game about a teenage boy, named Keenan and his pet fox, Curo.
After mother’s death, the boy is forced to move in with his father, out in the rural town of Silver Pines. Upon arrival, Keenan finds Silver Pines to be a ghost town, taken over by a living darkness, and the boy’s father is nowhere to be found. While struggling with a loss, Keenan must fight for his sanity, for his life and for his missing father, that is a stranger to the boy.