Indie Games 2014 [June] Now Voting - Post 538!

Wow, nice groupees bundle:

$1:
Legend of Dungeon
Antisquad
Alpha Kimori™ 1
Journey of a Roach

$4
Nekro
Miasmata
The Longest Journey
Spate
Fly'n

I'll probably get the $4 bundle for Miasmata and Legend of Dungeon.
 
Played the first 3 levels of this at SXSW and god damn is it amazing. What a unique freaking concept. Also, that new gameplay looks awesome, as usual.

So excited for this game...but it's been "TBA" for a while now. Hopefully this year. That's what Brendon said when I asked him about it, anyway. *crossses fingers*
Could you give us some impressions? I'm really anticipating this so any new details are great to hear
 
Could you give us some impressions? I'm really anticipating this so any new details are great to hear

Well, it's really hard to say because the game is so damn unique. I only played the "hacker" portion. This was before they revealed most of the other "classes" like in that video we just saw. I think the coolest thing about it was the first couple levels were a tutorial without you even knowing it was one -- just the way the level was designed and the "trial and error" kind of style of gameplay.

You've got your briefcase/computer thing that you can use to hack into most any system, and they've got cleverly placed signs all over the place given you tiny hints at commands you can input to interact with the world: like "turn of lasers" or "wait 3 seconds" or "unlock door". It's not guided at all but you fall into this self tutorial thing that has this awesome flow to it. It's obviously a very puzzle-esque game, giving you just enough information to solve what's at hand.

The first level was pretty straightforwad: teaching you how to move, interact with stuff, and basic hacking commands via signage in the actual level. You'd frequently needed to open your briefcase-computer and enter some commands, which had little sticky-note reminders on how to do stuff. It was pretty short and sweet, and eventually took you back to your home base, where you could interact with a multitude of objects before getting to the next mission (which, by the way, you get to a very roundabout way which I found pretty cool). This interlude had a bunch of fun diversions, too.

The second level ramped up the difficulty. It continued to give out more commands you could use to hack things. They gave you the commands out sparingly so you didn't get overwhelmed and you had eventually had to put them all together to solve the tougher puzzles -- timing your hacks on alarms, laser tripwires, opening/closing doors, and turning off security cameras all correctly to pass through to reach the next area. After that seconds level completed I could really tell how this game could open up with a lot of possibilities. There's so many unique puzzles and situations I can see them working in, it's really exciting. Especially with the new information we've been given about the rest of the characters. Unfortunately, I didn't get to get through all of the third level they had, but what I played was equally interesting.

The interface takes a little getting used to but I really liked it. It's all in-world, basically. With your computer screen being physically represented in game. It really helped me get into the demo and feel like a hacker.

The artstyle is pretty similar to Blendo's other stuff, which I'm quite fond of, but I know it's hit or miss to some. It's got a neat cyberpunk but also noir-ish vibe to it, which I quite liked. The story, as far as I can tell has that same "Blendo feel". If you've played any of their previous stuff you know what I'm talking about. It's noir-like, told in a kind of second-hand way through the environment. I didn't really grasp it but the way it's presented is really cool.

I think the biggest thing for me was it really reminded me of the original Portal and how it slowly introduced you to new things you could do and give you those "aha" moments when solving obstacles. Like how a good portion of the game is almost a "tutorial" for what's to come. I really enjoyed how it all flowed and the puzzles I got to solve, even though I clearly didn't even scratch the surface of the game.

Looks to be a pretty monster undertaking, though. In terms of level and puzzle design, characters, art, and all around scope. It's like they keep adding awesome new things everytime I read about it! I hope it's this year, as it's one of my most anticipated games right now. But we shall see.

Whew...sorry about that long response. As you can tell, I'm pretty pumped for the game. :)
 
Tobias and the Dark Sceptres - Free (PC)
Tobias_TIGSPost2.jpg

http://www.tobiasgame.co.uk/

A Zelda rip-off that is nothing like Zelda. A labour of love. A game that time forgot.
Here's a cool short documentary he made about the game's really long development:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2b0tSu0QDQ0
 
Anyone here played Pyroeis? The game keeps crashing on start for me.

This:
There is not really much to say about the game. Its a dig/craft game, but very simple. There are 4 basic items that you can craft and 4 weapons to defend yourself with that you will need upon decending further into the cave, but its just not involved or interesting enough at the current point, more or less I'd compare it to a Terraria without the crafting/building and less interesting cave layouts.
 
Heroes Rise is a good "choose your own adventure" type of game, I'm at the second part of the first game and so far it's been an engaging game and I'm enjoying the story and the characters. The writing is good (I'm a non native English speaker so take that in consideration) nothing exceptional but could easily be adapted to a comic book. The game isn't for everyone, you need to like the genre and enjoy super heroes stories, but there is a demo with the first 5 chapters in the developer's site so give it a try.


Thanks.
 
As of right now, Humble Bundle has fixed the Alpha upgrade bug for Distance beta backers and people who pre-ordered the beta. This option also works with people who haven't pre-ordered yet.

http://survivethedistance.com/

Jordan Hemenway (Refract Dev)
Alpha upgrade update: I've received word from Humble that all backers should now be able to upgrade to Alpha! Can someone who backed via Humble widget on our website confirm this?

Lily
Yep, working for me. Thanks Jordan
 
Well it's kind of a surreal puzzle game. You drive around various areas flashing your lights on things in order to solve a puzzle, then proceed to the next area with another puzzle.

It doesn't tell you what to do or where to go, it's just you and your car plopped down and left to figure out things for yourself. That and the cool soundtrack and visuals add to the charm. It's a very vague game and it's really hard to put into words, it's just something you have to play.
 
Well it's kind of a surreal puzzle game. You drive around various areas flashing your lights on things in order to solve a puzzle, then proceed to the next area with another puzzle.

It doesn't tell you what to do or where to go, it's just you and your car plopped down and left to figure out things for yourself. That and the cool soundtrack and visuals add to the charm. It's a very vague game and it's really hard to put into words, it's just something you have to play.

Do you think it would be a good addition to the general "Indie games on sale you need to check out!"-thread, or do you think its too obscure?
 
Well, I wouldn't add it to that list because it's early access. I think it's great, especially for 3 bucks, but it being unfinished may deter some people.
 
I finished updating the info from the old thread to be used for a new thread. I'll still need to add about 30-40 games in a new section and maybe write up my planned "Toma Seal of Approval Games to buy during this sale" list if I have time for it, buuuut what would you guys suggest for the new thread title?

The last one was:
Steam Sale - (Overlooked) Indie Game Deals Discussion Thread

Ideally it should sound different enough to make clear its a new thread, while also still containing the Steam, Sale and Indie words.
 
I finished updating the info from the old thread to be used for a new thread. I'll still need to add about 30-40 games in a new section and maybe write up my planned "Toma Seal of Approval Games to buy during this sale" list if I have time for it, buuuut what would you guys suggest for the new thread title?

The last one was:
Steam Sale - (Overlooked) Indie Game Deals Discussion Thread

Ideally it should sound different enough to make clear its a new thread, while also still containing the Steam, Sale and Indie words.

Indie-ana Games and the Temple of Hidden Sale Gems
 
I probably should start with Steam Sale in the thread title to make it abundantly clear who this thread is aimed at. How does this look like?

[Steam Sale 2014] Indie-ana Games and the Temple of Hidden Gems

Does Cheesecake approve? :p
 
I probably should start with Steam Sale in the thread title to make it abundantly clear who this thread is aimed at. How does this look like?

[Steam Sale 2014] Indie-ana Games and the Temple of Hidden Gems

Does Cheesecake approve? :p

Agreed that it needed a little more clarity, I like it.
 
Where Gods Sleep - Interesting idea and visual, the first time Iplayed I did'nt get too far because my characters vanished from the screen so I started again and I beleive I finished the game.
I was able to reunite the two being and a "become one" message appeared
It was a cool experience and I would like to see it expanded.
 
I just wanted to let any South Florida GAFers know that we're going to be demoing the current unfinished version of Rebirth (for the first time ever!) at Florida Supercon July 3 - 7th

We're not selling anything, mostly just want to get people's impressions of things so far. So if you're going to Supercon anyways or feel like trying Rebirth, please stop by the booth and say hi :-)

I really dig the community here so I definitely want to see what other fellow GAF folks think of what we have so far. It still won't be a full vertical slice of the game sadly, but I'm coding my hands into stumps to get as much as I can in before the demo.
 
I grabbed Inquisitor from GOG this week. Hopefully I'll get to play some of these games once I have some time for gaming again. It looks fairly interesting!
 
Lifeless Planet got a pretty glowing review on RPS:
http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2014/06/20/lifeless-planet-review/
Good for him, then, that he’s had the luck to be dropped into a game with style – beautiful, well written and with just the right level of creepy atmosphere – one Kickstarter should be proud of.
In leading you the right way is where Lifeless Planet’s skill lies. The audio-visual cues for pushing and pulling you along are masterful. A sunset over a hill or a well placed jutt of scenary draw the eye that way. There’s a Valve-tier level of care gone into the placement and variety of ways in which it is done, making it only more impressive that it’s the work of one man.

What were the thoughts on the game here? I wasn't really interested, oddly enough because I usually love exploration-driven atmospheric games like this, but that RPS review peaked my interest now
 
So I've played Inquisitor for about 40 minutes. Honestly, I can't really give detailed impressions because I've barely done anything. It's a game that definitely doesn't hold your hand. All I've done so far is walk around the first town and talk to people, so I can't say how the combat or other aspects of gameplay are. I'm not saying that as a bad thing; it has a slower pace than most RPGs I've played. I especially like the atmosphere and tone; it's kind of reminiscent of Game of Thrones in a way: gritty, grim, there is magical and fantasy elements but it feels more realistic than other fantasy games I've played.
 
Might as well mention this here: Freedom Planet's suffering one final delay:

We hope everyone is enjoying their summer so far! That being said, we should get right to the point of this announcement.

We have decided to postpone our release by two and a half weeks. Our final release date is Saturday, July 19th. We're quite sorry about this and we understand that not everyone is going to be happy about it, but we think it's for the best considering all of the stuff that's going on in the next few weeks.

Our biggest reason for this delay is, quite simply, Steam summer sales. If we released at the end of this month, not only would Freedom Planet be drowned out by the huge selection of discounted games on Steam, but the huge amount of traffic they're getting would make it hard for players to load our storefront. Not only that, but we're sure that many of our outside fans will be emptying their wallets during the sale, so we hope that waiting a little longer will give them a fair chance to save up again. (In case anyone is curious, the retail version of Freedom Planet will be $14.99. We think this price is fair considering the amount of content and soul we've put into it. This and the fact that we skipped over going on sale was done out of respect to our backers who have been so patient with us since the beginning.)

Entire articles have been written about why releasing an indie game in the heat of summer sales is suicidal. We're quite bummed out that we didn't anticipate this, and we're relieved that we caught ourselves before disaster struck. We'll take it as a lesson learned for next time, and we really hope that other indie developers don't make this critical mistake!

Another big reason for this delay is, of course, Florida Supercon. Our trip to Miami is going to give us a valueble chance to see people playing the game in person. For the first time ever, we'll be able to get real-time feedback from a large number of players, and it would be silly of us not to take advantage of it to help make our game as polished as it can be. (On a side note, if we released at the end of June, we'd be flying off to the convention right as the game launched and would be unable to manage any problems that come up until we returned. Whoops!)

Thank you for reading, and we'll keep you informed on our progress. With all the stages complete and the cutscenes coming along smoothly, we'll be pumping out new trailers, screenshots and gameplay footage very soon!
I understand a few people in here were looking forward to playing it (PandaPedinte, at least, comes to mind), so I apologize for being the bearer of bad news there. Still, it makes sense; he'd been talking about how, if he did two cutscenes a day, he'd just manage to make the deadline, and that's not even counting a few last bosses he'd wanted to add for characters that aren't Lilac (trust me, her campaign's ready to go, cutscenes aside). Better it be delayed and be a more well-rounded game than release at the given time and potentially suffer bad first impressions (well, for its late-game, anyway).

They're also trying to sell T-shirts, which might be a bit early if you ask me, but then again, the trailer for it is pretty hilarious.
 
Might as well mention this here: Freedom Planet's suffering one final delay:

I understand a few people in here were looking forward to playing it (PandaPetite, at least, comes to mind), so I apologize for being the bearer of bad news there. Still, it makes sense; he'd been talking about how, if he did two cutscenes a day, he'd just manage to make the deadline, and that's not even counting a few last bosses he'd wanted to add for characters that aren't Lilac (trust me, her campaign's ready to go, cutscenes aside). Better it be delayed and be a more well-rounded game than release at the given time and potentially suffer bad first impressions (well, for its late-game, anyway).

They're also trying to sell T-shirts, which might be a bit early if you ask me, but then again, the trailer for it is pretty hilarious.

It's understandable, releasing a game during the Summer Sale is a suicide move and from what I followed the game looks good. It's good to see the team explaining the delay.
Edit: The t-shirt trailer is hilarious.
 
Guys, if you like the classic isometric RPGs like Baldurs Gate, grab Inquisitor on Steam for 3-4 bucks during the steam sale now. The game is fantastic. Bigger writeup and thread probably coming over the weekend.
 
OP impressions, Wormhunter:

Cool artstyle and premise but there really isnt much to this game and its easily cheatable too. I cant even call this "decent" to be honest.

The dev said they are reworking the Worm AI.

Thank you PandaPedinte. I don't mind people not liking Wormhunter as it is, since it is only a prototype.

Toma, your comment tells me that there is still a lot of work to do before it should end up on the list of this interesting thread. We gather constructive feedback based on our prototypes from different places ( from journalists and other developers mainly for now ). I am open for critique about my work, if you have feedback that would add to the game, please do share. I don't know which version you played, because the Ludum Dare version is too easy and it does feels like cheating.
 
I think releasing during the Summer Sale is going to make the Shovel Knight developers wish they didn't delay the Steam release for parity with Nintendo (at least I can only assume they are doing this).
 
I think releasing during the Summer Sale is going to make the Shovel Knight developers wish they didn't delay the Steam release for parity with Nintendo (at least I can only assume they are doing this).

Perhaps, I think (and hope) that Shovel Knight has enough exposure to be fairly immune to the negative sales impact that releasing during a sale might cause, although it will probably cause a slight impact for sure.
 
Top Bottom