More_Badass
Member
The r/gamedev Showcase is live!
http://www.reddit.com/r/gamedev/comments/2clis0/the_rgamedev_quarterly_showcase_1_8414/
http://www.reddit.com/r/gamedev/comments/2clis0/the_rgamedev_quarterly_showcase_1_8414/
Indie Games 2014 [August] Now Voting - Post 353!
- Thread starter Toma
- Start date
Cool! Some really cool games here.
Ryo Hazuki
Member
Lifeless Planet 50% off this week on the Steam weekly deals. If you want an atmospheric, narrative driven sci-fi adventure game with platforming elements and light puzzles, then I'd recommend it. I've been enjoying it for a couple of weeks or so now and I really like the environments and even though it's nothing mind blowing graphically, it holds up well with the help of a great soundtrack. It's also in the OP so check it out if you like that sort of thing!
More_Badass
Member
Where is everyone today? Thread is pretty quiet
More_Badass
Member
The Nightmare Cooperative
If you've familiar with Michael Brough's 868-HACK, you'll feel right at home among Nightmare's enemy-filled rooms. Similar to that game, your goal here is to amass a high score, the amount of gold you collect equaling your final score. Opening chests rewards you with gold and spawns enemy so choosing whether to rush for the exit or increase your score is a crucial choice. You don't control a single hero in Nightmare, but rather an entire group at once, each hero moving and using their special abilities simultaneously. Each hero is unique and positioning and formation is important since their abilities are only effective under certain conditions. Enemies move when you move so each step forward is a strategic decision that, when combined with the game's mechanics and varied foes, gives The Nightmare Cooperative a methodical, puzzle-esque vibe.
Managing four heroes at once, while timing and syncing your movements to evade enemies or get into formation to attack a desired enemy with a specific ability, is a satisfying challenge. It's best to approach each move in The Nightmare Cooperative slowly and carefully, taking the time to plan out your next steps, thinking about where you are and will be in relation to enemies and hazards.
Wings of Saint Nazaire
The most impressive element of Wings is its presentation. You cockpit flickers to life, meters and screens changing in real time. Your ship blasts out into an expanse of stars and planets and suns, massive vessels and enemy fighters. Laser fire streak across the blackness, missiles hone in on targets leaving smoke trails in their wake, explosions erupt in vivid colors and flying debris. It's pure visual spectacle, bolstered by the smooth controls as you weave between projectiles and lock in on enemies.
I can't wait to see more of Wings of Saint Nazaire. It's definitely a game to watch
Claire
This isn't Resident Evil; fleeing and hiding is always your best option, and your meager arsenal of lighter and flashlight can only keep the things that lurk in the darkness at bay. As you explore the labyrinth-like halls of the hospital, the game provides an overwhelming sense of tension, the darkness barely illuminated by your light, distorted whispers and the sounds of movement all around you. Claire focuses on establishing lingering dread, a feeling on vulnerability, rather than jump scares; fans of Silent Hill will feel at home at among the dilapidated halls and twitching organic...things that haunt your visions. The story is revealed piecemeal, slowly coming together as you learn more about your past; Claire is designed for multiple playthroughs, offering a New Game Plus mode and multiple endings to discover.
Claire absolutely succeeds in providing an atmospheric unsettling experience, a compelling story, and fantastic sound design and soundtrack, that all work in tandem to make this a must-play for survival horror fans.
Pivvot
ShadowCrypt
The game is hard. You only have a limited amount of heath points and only three lives. Shadowcrypt certainly doesn't compare or come close to Volgarr or Dark Souls in terms of visuals; the lighting is nice and atmospheric, but the catacombs and enemies can feel repetitive after a while. But the core of Shadowcrypt is its combat. You have everything from lurching undead to archers to shield wielding foes and magicial enemies. You can jump, strike high, strike low, shield bash, or switch to your limited spears for a long range attack. A simple moveset, from which a hard-as-nails games is crafted. This is no hack and slash. If you don't pay attention, you will die. If you rush, you will die. If you're not observing your enemy's movements, not focusing on whether to duck or step back or block or bash, you will die quickly. You'll find better weapons and shields along the way, as well as elemental magic that imbues your spears and sword with special abilities. But even with the best equipment, precision, timing, and focus are always your greatest allies
Shadowcrypt is unabashedly old school. There is no map. There is no handholding. The manual explains how weapons, magic, and loot, but you won't find these tips or even a tutorial in game. The combat is satisfyingly tough; it's the kind of game that expects you to learn on the go, in the midst of life-or-death struggle. If you're looking a challenge, a real challenge, Shadowcrypt delivers. Just don't expect an easy mode.
---
1. The Nightmare Cooperative
2. Wings of Saint Nazaire
3. Claire
4. Pivvot
5. ShadowCrypt
The Nightmare Cooperative is a compact game, a roguelike distilled to its base elements. You won't find complex skill trees, or a multitude of loot to collect and equip, or expansive environments for you to explore and perish in. That's not a bad thing; if you're looking for something simple but challenging, simplified yet also strategic and tactical, The Nightmare Cooperative excels.
If you've familiar with Michael Brough's 868-HACK, you'll feel right at home among Nightmare's enemy-filled rooms. Similar to that game, your goal here is to amass a high score, the amount of gold you collect equaling your final score. Opening chests rewards you with gold and spawns enemy so choosing whether to rush for the exit or increase your score is a crucial choice. You don't control a single hero in Nightmare, but rather an entire group at once, each hero moving and using their special abilities simultaneously. Each hero is unique and positioning and formation is important since their abilities are only effective under certain conditions. Enemies move when you move so each step forward is a strategic decision that, when combined with the game's mechanics and varied foes, gives The Nightmare Cooperative a methodical, puzzle-esque vibe.
Managing four heroes at once, while timing and syncing your movements to evade enemies or get into formation to attack a desired enemy with a specific ability, is a satisfying challenge. It's best to approach each move in The Nightmare Cooperative slowly and carefully, taking the time to plan out your next steps, thinking about where you are and will be in relation to enemies and hazards.
Wings of Saint Nazaire
Context-wise, Wings of Saint Nazaire is bare bones. But what's there has so much potential and impresses with its fluid gameplay and visuals.
The most impressive element of Wings is its presentation. You cockpit flickers to life, meters and screens changing in real time. Your ship blasts out into an expanse of stars and planets and suns, massive vessels and enemy fighters. Laser fire streak across the blackness, missiles hone in on targets leaving smoke trails in their wake, explosions erupt in vivid colors and flying debris. It's pure visual spectacle, bolstered by the smooth controls as you weave between projectiles and lock in on enemies.
I can't wait to see more of Wings of Saint Nazaire. It's definitely a game to watch
Claire
From the opening minutes, Claire crafts an eerie unsettling tone. The game is one best experienced without much knowledge of what happens, so I'll keep the story details vague. Just know you are Claire, a trouble haunted girl, with a sick mother and a loyal canine companion, as you explore and survive a dark twisted environment filled with nightmarish creatures.
This isn't Resident Evil; fleeing and hiding is always your best option, and your meager arsenal of lighter and flashlight can only keep the things that lurk in the darkness at bay. As you explore the labyrinth-like halls of the hospital, the game provides an overwhelming sense of tension, the darkness barely illuminated by your light, distorted whispers and the sounds of movement all around you. Claire focuses on establishing lingering dread, a feeling on vulnerability, rather than jump scares; fans of Silent Hill will feel at home at among the dilapidated halls and twitching organic...things that haunt your visions. The story is revealed piecemeal, slowly coming together as you learn more about your past; Claire is designed for multiple playthroughs, offering a New Game Plus mode and multiple endings to discover.
Claire absolutely succeeds in providing an atmospheric unsettling experience, a compelling story, and fantastic sound design and soundtrack, that all work in tandem to make this a must-play for survival horror fans.
Pivvot
I've only played the IOS version of Pivvot and it's one of my favorite twitch games on the platform. What makes Pivvot so enjoyable is that the gameplay and challenge is more than just the simple dodge left-dodge right of games like Super Hexagon and Avoid. Each obstacles varies in the method you need to avoid it; learning how to evade each hazard and then doing so at lighting speed keeps the action fresh and challenging. The multitude of modes provide a hefty amount of content for this kind of game and the great soundtrack and minimalist visuals only add to the experience.
ShadowCrypt
If I had to compare Shadowcrypt to something, I'd say it combines the sword/spear/shield precision combat of Volgarr with the unrelenting enemies and slower methodical pacing of Dark Souls. Yes, Shadowcrypt is that kind of game.
The game is hard. You only have a limited amount of heath points and only three lives. Shadowcrypt certainly doesn't compare or come close to Volgarr or Dark Souls in terms of visuals; the lighting is nice and atmospheric, but the catacombs and enemies can feel repetitive after a while. But the core of Shadowcrypt is its combat. You have everything from lurching undead to archers to shield wielding foes and magicial enemies. You can jump, strike high, strike low, shield bash, or switch to your limited spears for a long range attack. A simple moveset, from which a hard-as-nails games is crafted. This is no hack and slash. If you don't pay attention, you will die. If you rush, you will die. If you're not observing your enemy's movements, not focusing on whether to duck or step back or block or bash, you will die quickly. You'll find better weapons and shields along the way, as well as elemental magic that imbues your spears and sword with special abilities. But even with the best equipment, precision, timing, and focus are always your greatest allies
Shadowcrypt is unabashedly old school. There is no map. There is no handholding. The manual explains how weapons, magic, and loot, but you won't find these tips or even a tutorial in game. The combat is satisfyingly tough; it's the kind of game that expects you to learn on the go, in the midst of life-or-death struggle. If you're looking a challenge, a real challenge, Shadowcrypt delivers. Just don't expect an easy mode.
---
1. The Nightmare Cooperative
2. Wings of Saint Nazaire
3. Claire
4. Pivvot
5. ShadowCrypt
PandaPedinte
Member
I've started on a new job so don't find it strange if I post a lot less.
Shining Sunshine
Banned
Any word on Galactic Princess?
Good luck!
I finally got my promotion and first thing I do is taking care of leftover tasks from the previous guy
Hopefully, I get to play some more OP games before Gamescom next week.PandaPedinte
Member
Good luck!
I finally got my promotion and first thing I do is taking care of leftover tasks from the previous guy
It just a matter of getting used to managing my time between job, girlfriend and personal life in an effective way, better start a spreadsheet. xD
This is pretty cool! I'm reading some of the entries and there are some interesting games there like No More Probes, Lemma, Beacon etc.
thetrin
Hail, peons, for I have come as ambassador from the great and bountiful Blueberry Butt Explosion
Hey all! Rime Berta just came out yesterday, so per Toma's instructions, here's the structured post!
Rime Berta - $14.99, $11.99 with 20% launch discount (PC, Playism)
Rime Berta - $14.99, $11.99 with 20% launch discount (PC, Playism)
http://playism-games.com/games/rimeberta/
Welcome to the world of Rime Berta: a whimsical world of swords & sorcery and tactical combat. Combat an adorable but deadly army of sentient "puppets" on a quest to claim an artifact said to grant any wish.
Craft your team the way you want, draft each into a class that fits your army, and control the battlefield to attain victory.
In Rime Berta, while your fights are turn based, it doesn't mean you're defenseless when the enemy is moving into place. Using powerful "reaction" skills, you can set your units to react to specific condition changes in the battlefield.
Once set, these skills will activate during the enemy's turn, allowing you to automatically retaliate when the tide begins to turn.
More_Badass
Member
Unearthing Colossal - PC, Mac, Linux
Orphan - 2015
Satellite Rush - PC, Mac, Linux
Catharsis - Free demo
Unnamed 2D murder mystery - ????
Hazewalker - ????
Orphan - 2015
http://www.windyhillstudio.com/orphan/
It started as any other day. And then they came.
In Orphan, you are a young boy left to fend for himself as an alien race invades the earth to eradicate humankind. There's not much else to do but run, but along the way as you evade enemy forces you may discover the way to halt their attack and save humanity before it's too late!
Satellite Rush - PC, Mac, Linux
http://www.kimericlabs.com/SatelliteRush/
Welcome to the Satellite! Satellite Rush is a pixelart top-down dual stick shooter with randomized levels and roguelike elements. Take control of an office worker and blast through the endless corridors of Satellite Moebius, an arena filled with vicious aliens, robots programmed to clean (or kill) and a (not always so) cheery audience.
Catharsis - Free demo
http://rpgmaker.net/games/3027/
An rpg with multiple POVs set in a dark fantasy & steampunk setting.
Unnamed 2D murder mystery - ????
http://www.gameproducer.net/2014/07/28/started-prototyping-a-2d-murder-mystery/
A 2D murder mystery, pixel art style. The basic gameplay is about deducing the murderer based on stuff you see on the screen. You play a coroner (or medical examiner) in early 20th century world and help the local police to figure out cases.
Hazewalker - ????
http://hazewalker.com/
Hazewalker is a dark fantasy action-adventure Metroidvania game. Explore deep into the Haze, slay corrupt abominations, unlock powerful abilities and discover secrets at every turn.
Please turn out good! Can't take another Noir Syndrome.
I cant even think of any good 2D murder mysteries, maybe some adventure games? Some of those have some noir themes (9 days a stranger, or whatever it was called), but it wasnt strictly a murder mystery. Broken Sword had some of those elements too, and the first 2 games were fantastic.
Hm, if we're talking indie only, then yeah, not too much going on. Even less when talking about "noir", specifically. There's Case & Bot: Murder in the Hotel Lisbon, I guess, and the aforementioned Noire Syndrome.. and.. well. I mean, there is definitely some smaller stuff (e.g. a game called 'Noir' which we featured a couple months ago) but full-fledged releases? I'd certainly take more adventure games, e.g. in the vein of Murder on the Mississippi, Cruise for a Corpse or The Colonel's Bequest.
I guess writing a decent script is a elementary hurdle that's hard to overcome, though. And otherwise, you gotta come up with some clever system. Super simplistic approaches like in Noire Syndrome won't cut it.
I dont even think that the script is the only elementary problem though. Another problem I see is making the gameplay appealing, because the easiest ways to pull this off is either by adventure game style pixel hunting, or endless conversation paths with other characters, both of which arent particularly fun and mysterious.
PandaPedinte
Member
Lexicopolis - I decided to start the month with this because I can play it on my browser, and I must say it's quite addictive. I'm still playing with small cities but I'm liking it so far, writing a building name and then thinking where you're going to place it to gather the letters you need to build more buildings (build, build, build, build). It looks like there are a lot of words you can use but I wish it had a little more of depth, aside from it I reccomend you to play this game.
As I said in the Steam thread it's incredible, I guess Devolver was involved in getting that deal.
As I said in the Steam thread it's incredible, I guess Devolver was involved in getting that deal.
Considering the highscore nature of the game, it actually is quite deep once you start trying to think about the optimal way to get a good score. Use big buildings with rare letters for the multipliers, put roads over negative numbers, try to build buildings that are currently rare and use the space as optimal as possible. Lots of potential for a challenging highscore game here.
I picked up Crypt of the Necrodancer last week and have been putting a fair amount of time into it. For anyone else who thinks the game looks good but is bad at rhythm games, I am happy to report that it is a non-issue after you play a zone a couple times.
One other thing I would recommend is that if you play a lot of roguelikes, play on Hardcore mainly. I feel like the zones being split out and permanent upgrades available through the "normal" gameplay are more akin to playing Spelunky with shortcuts. Sure, you can beat the game this way, but I feel like hardcore mode is where the meat of the re-playability and fun comes from.
One other thing I would recommend is that if you play a lot of roguelikes, play on Hardcore mainly. I feel like the zones being split out and permanent upgrades available through the "normal" gameplay are more akin to playing Spelunky with shortcuts. Sure, you can beat the game this way, but I feel like hardcore mode is where the meat of the re-playability and fun comes from.
More_Badass
Member
Rex Rocket - $9.99 (PC)
Road Not Taken - $14.99 (PC, Mac)
Mind: Path to Thalamus - $12.99 (PC)
http://store.steampowered.com/app/288020/
Inspired by the retro glory days of 8-bit games, Rex Rocket is a traditional 2D platformer brought into the 21st century. Paying tribute to classic NES games like Mario, Mega Man, and Metroid, old-school platformer fans will find Rex Rocket a breath of fresh air.
Road Not Taken - $14.99 (PC, Mac)
http://store.steampowered.com/app/293740/
Road Not Taken is a roguelike puzzle game about surviving lifes surprises. You play as a ranger adventuring through a vast, unforgiving forest in the aftermath of a brutal winter storm, rescuing children who have lost their way.
Mind: Path to Thalamus - $12.99 (PC)
http://store.steampowered.com/app/296070/
MIND: Path to Thalamus is a First Person Puzzler that throws you into a fantastic and surreal environment. You will bend the natural elements to your will in order to progress in this emotive, mindbending tale.
Day off from work today so I've been trying to catch up. Applying for a new job, looking to move down to London as well so that's eating a lot of time.
Catching up on indies and website work too - Metrico is done (which you guys should check out if you have a Vita since it's FREE) - then I've got Road Not Taken to start playing tonight and I'm rounding up an interview about Only If.
I'm actually one of the devs behind this game, sound designer to be more precise. So I guess you could call it a NeoGAF-related game to some degree (can't remember if we actually added a NeoGAF reference in the game though)!
Anyway, glad to finally being able to release it on Steam, can't believe it actually happened tbh. We've been working on the game on and off pretty much since we formed the studio (The Working Parts) 4+ years ago, at this point we've probably made two remakes of it. It was the first 'real' game I ever worked on, so it's really cool seeing it make it all the way onto Steam after all these years.
But it's also kind of frustrating because there are some things I really wanted to see improved that couldn't be done for various reasons (mostly time/resources related). But then, I have a tendency to be really critical of my own work. At some point, you just have to release it and move on.
Anyway, just wanted to give a bit of inside info about this game, sorry for the rambling.
I also have this gentleman's game to play! (Well one of my colleagues does) Good to see you in the thread!
This is fantastic by the way. You're fantastic.
Now to work through the OP as well - looks like a solid group this month.
More_Badass
Member
Thanks! The Showcase turned out much better than I expected. Had more devs and comments than the initial Showcase, and I didn't even do as much promotion as I had wanted to.
---
If any of you were following the 2014 Kickstarter thread, the OP is now up to date
http://neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=773681
Now to work on the August retrospective
Indie-August continues! All of these looks great!
Would love impressions on any one of them.
More_Badass
Member
Rex Rocket impressions coming later
Messofanego
Banned
So hype for MIND: Path To Thalamus.
This Gamerscape review is encouraging. Good puzzles backed to the amazing visual design.
This Gamerscape review is encouraging. Good puzzles backed to the amazing visual design.
Rex Rocket impressions coming later
Let me guess. You hated it!
;p
Seemed very Myst-esque to me from the screens. Also, potentially out-witnessing the Witness since that's still a little ways off. Reminds me that I still need to play some first person puzzle games like Ether One, Fract OSC and probably some others. >_>
CheesecakeRecipe
Stormy Grey
Still working on my review for Mind but it really is a great time. You can see some shortcuts taken here and there but visually it remains pretty striking throughout and the puzzles sometimes require some out of the box thinking. I think my only complaint was the voice over work, which was, in my opinion, very poor.
Messofanego
Banned
There are some line readings that aren't great for sure. Damn, it's a pretty as hell game and runs well even on a very modest laptop.
Hm, coop? I think Gang Beasts has at least one coop map. 8 players, no less!
Lovers In A Dangerous Spacetime will have 2 player coop, that's definitely one to look forward to.
Mount Your Friends just came out on Steam.
More_Badass
Member
daydreaming already stated Gang Beasts and Lovers in a Dangerous Spacetime
Crawl is going to be awesome
Well doesn't have to be co-op, it can be co-fuckeachotherup.
Mount your friends isn't local i thought.
More_Badass
Member
If you don't have them already, Nidhogg, Samurai Gunn, and Towerfall are great for local multiplayer
Already obtained. Well as broforce and gangs.
Words for Evil - $4.99 (PC/Mac)
I just released (I'm pretty excited). You can grab the game from my site, and if you like it, it's up on greenlight too : Greenlight
www.WordsforEvil.com
Words for Evil is a fast paced word game combined with a fantasy RPG. It features everything you expect from an RPG, including combat, hero progression, loot and more, all built on top of word game mechanics.
The game is available on PC and Mac. An iPad version will be coming soon!
I just released (I'm pretty excited). You can grab the game from my site, and if you like it, it's up on greenlight too : Greenlight
MYF is definitely local (+ online).
Like M_B said, Crawl is another good one, plus there's already a very good assortment of games out, most of which you probably own already. I'd add stuff like The Yawgh, Speedrunners or Starwhal to M_B's list.
Oh, also Lethal League. That's on the horizon.
More_Badass
Member
Welcome to IndieGAF! Your game looks like a lot of fun, quite polished. Reminds me a bit of Word Mage on IOS, but with much deeper RPG elements. Definitely on my wishlist.
Looks awesome man - Best of luck to you!
More_Badass
Member
Cavern Kings - Free beta (PC)
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/vine/cavern-kings/
Current on Kickstarter:
http://vine.itch.io/cavern-kings
CAVERN KINGS is a procedurally generated, mech-mashing, powerup-hoarding, guns-blazing permadeath platformer.
Dig into the depths and discover increasingly better powerups guarded by increasingly stronger monsters!
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/vine/cavern-kings/
MYF is definitely local (+ online).
Like M_B said, Crawl is another good one, plus there's already a very good assortment of games out, most of which you probably own already. I'd add stuff like The Yawgh, Speedrunners or Starwhal to M_B's list.
Oh, also Lethal League. That's on the horizon.
Holy crap didn't know lethal league was getting a full game.
PandaPedinte
Member
I wasn't paying attention to the highscore, just worried about building a balanced city. D:
Yep, kinda nice you can play it in different ways, but even in its simplicity, there is quite a bit of depth actually already if you look at all the mechanics.
More_Badass
Member
Okay, you need to check out that Cavern Kings. Very addictive, very promising. The stacking power ups of Risk of Rain + the randomized weapons of Super Crate Box + hectic platforming/shooting action + a little bit of Dig Dug as you're always mining downward to new arenas. The beta hooked me for an hour, backed the Kickstarter right after
Thread link?