Didn't Jerry do all of the text for this game?Originally Posted by DaveVoyles
Robert Boyd's writing is as snarky as ever
I love the idea behind this, but didn't enjoy playing it much. Things flashed on and off screen so quickly that they were almost impossible to collect unless you were on the right track to begin with, because it was very hard to switch in time. Combine that with them not really being that clear in the first place and it became kind of annoying. I think I'd like it a lot more if it was just a pure racing game tbh.Originally Posted by DaveVoyles
Anyway, we started a new feature at Armless Octopus called At A Glance, where we offer 3-4 paragraph reviews of some of our favorite games in the past weeks. The first one is for Go Gimbal Go, which I really enjoyed for a number of reasons, but perhaps mostly because it reminded me of a hybrid racing game on rails.
I did like OCD and Super Amazing Wagon Thing though, both of them are well worth picking up.
Yes - basically, Robert structured the text/dialogue and Jerry Holkins (aka Tycho from Penny Arcade) wrote all of it. Jerry did incorporate some of Robert's joke ideas though, but the writing itself is all Jerry's.Originally Posted by timetokill
Didn't Jerry do all of the text for this game [Penny Arcade's Rain-slick 3]?
I basically did the first draft of the script and then Jerry redid most (but not all) of the dialogue. Most of the enemy/item descriptions were him as well.
31 here (sorry late replying to that topic, was wondering why the June thread was so quite for a while).
There is for sure a generation gap, I see it more so in level of difficulty than any sort of game style. I grew up with punishing games and while I don't want them as hard as they once where, I don't want all the hand holding, constant save points, etc that have made today's games so easy. It's tricky to find a balance that pleases everyone. Ultimately (and probably at the cost of sales) I tend to err more on what feels good to me. I'm an Indie game developer and I'm going to make the games I want to play.
There is for sure a generation gap, I see it more so in level of difficulty than any sort of game style. I grew up with punishing games and while I don't want them as hard as they once where, I don't want all the hand holding, constant save points, etc that have made today's games so easy. It's tricky to find a balance that pleases everyone. Ultimately (and probably at the cost of sales) I tend to err more on what feels good to me. I'm an Indie game developer and I'm going to make the games I want to play.
That penny arcade rpg looks great. Do Indie games have achievements?
No, unfortunately Xbox Live Indie Games aren't allowed to have official Achievements or Gamerscore associated with them. A few games have unofficial achievements as part of the game, but these aren't associated with the overall gamerscore/achievement system of XBLA.
Shame not to have achievements, the PS Minis also dont have trophies pff. :/
It's something we all agree would probably increase the allure of the service, but also could potentially change how games are put together. As in, the market would flood with a million "Press A to get 50 Achievement Points" games.Originally Posted by TurkishEmperor
Shame not to have achievements, the PS Minis also dont have trophies pff. :/
I dunno that it'd make that much difference, really. We all dream that it would but there are XBLA titles selling under a thousand copies.It's something we all agree would probably increase the allure of the service, but also could potentially change how games are put together. As in, the market would flood with a million "Press A to get 50 Achievement Points" games.
Yeah, the discussion's been done to death, but the bottom line is that there would be far too many extremely gray areas to deal with as far as game content and MS probably wants to keep its XBLA Games up there as the "premium" tier of its service anyway.
So after finally going to the Dark SIDE and getting a Vita, I see that TOM Blitz, a free game, offers PSN trophies. However, they seem to be "local" trophies; they don't count to your overall PSN score, but they still have the appearance and stuff of trophies.Yeah, the discussion's been done to death, but the bottom line is that there would be far too many extremely gray areas to deal with as far as game content and MS probably wants to keep its XBLA Games up there as the "premium" tier of its service anyway.
XBLIG should have had something like this long, LONG ago. Just to make the IG feel like a full part of the system. I applaud devs who add their own "Awardments" and such to their games, too, though.
I hope, if IG continues onto the next Xbox (I hope it does), that they integrate the ideas better into the starting base of that system. I can see why they wouldn't want it to interfere with XBLA, but just making it's place feel more cherished and special would help loads, especially if these games become optionally cross-platform with Win8 devices (I think that'd help a lot, actually.)
Thanks for clarifying.Yes - basically, Robert structured the text/dialogue and Jerry Holkins (aka Tycho from Penny Arcade) wrote all of it. Jerry did incorporate some of Robert's joke ideas though, but the writing itself is all Jerry's.
Despite its simplicity, Super Amazing Wagon was a very charming and funny game. If you grew up on Oregon Trail then this is definitely worth a play.Originally Posted by toythatkills
I did like OCD and Super Amazing Wagon Thing though, both of them are well worth picking up.
I agree. I don't now if I would have the patience to go back and play a lot of those games again, but it is definitely a tough thing to balance. Wait a minute... I went back and beat Mega Man 2, 3, and X this year, as well as Castlevania and TMNT 2.... so I take that back, I do play a lot of old games. They do test my patience though, and I doubt most gamers would have that kind of patience today. I suppose we put up with it nearly 20 years ago simply because we HAD to.Originally Posted by FunInfusedGames
There is for sure a generation gap, I see it more so in level of difficulty than any sort of game style. I grew up with punishing games and while I don't want them as hard as they once where, I don't want all the hand holding, constant save points, etc that have made today's games so easy. It's tricky to find a balance that pleases everyone. Ultimately (and probably at the cost of sales) I tend to err more on what feels good to me. I'm an Indie game developer and I'm going to make the games I want to play.
I think it was more of a different mentality as to what made a game worth playing, too. And a different environment.Originally Posted by DaveVoyles
They do test my patience though, and I doubt most gamers would have that kind of patience today. I suppose we put up with it nearly 20 years ago simply because we HAD to.
I never cared about wheither I beat my games much back in the day; That was the GOAL, but I didn't judge the game's worth by how long it took to beat, or if it was hard or easy. I just judged it by on if it was fun to play, or not.
I wonder if it has something to do with the style of game design offered now, too? In an old Arcade game, you normally had all your abilities and powers, right off the bat, and you had to learn to use them, to get through the game. You got the "full experience" of your character, even if you just played stage 1 30 times.
Now, most games have leveling systems and varying gameplay that depends on progress. You'll never see the best guns, strongest moves, or fanciest items, if you never get past the beginning. You'll NEVER see everything the game has to offer, unless you get better, and get past the hard stuff.
Also, there was a lot less "GAME" out there to take in. I could focus on Double Dragon III for a few weeks / months, because there wasn't an XBLA weekly release, along with Wiiware and PSN, alongside Steam, alongside retail releases, alongside cellphone and tablet games. The one or 2 games that were big, STAYED big, so you could afford to spend time with them, and not miss out on the next thing.
But what a different world; what would have made a legendary arcade game we'd sink countless quaters into, can now be had for free, or a few bucks, to play on a phone. I spent 20 dollars on an arcade visit for a few hours back in the day, and now getting to keep a $15 game that only last 3 hours from start to finish is considered overpriced...
SAB, you raise quite a few good points there.
While I can't say that I actually miss those times, it certainly was a different environment. You mention that there were far fewer releases each week, and I definitely miss that. When I had a game I played it for months, as that was all I could afford until the next b-day, holiday, or local lawn moving to raise some funds.
Now it feels like I have video game ADD, where I can't play anything for more than a few hours (at most!) before moving onto the other shining thing. I have so many games that I don't know what to do with myself, and the worst part is that I doubt that I will ever even get an opportunity to play half of these gems.
This also raises a dangerous thing about the industry which I first noticed from something Cliff Blezinski said a while back: You can create an excellent game today, but that's still not enough. There are so many games and distractions out there that even an incredible title may not necessarily sell.
As far as beating games....well I can probably count how many I've beaten in the last two years on one hand. I seldom play through more than a few hours of a game. I just don't have the time or patience anymore to play anything more than 4 or 5 hours. I have 28 hours of BF3 multiplayer, but I'm not sure if Steam is tracking it correctly.... still, that's by far the most time I've put into a game in years!
While I can't say that I actually miss those times, it certainly was a different environment. You mention that there were far fewer releases each week, and I definitely miss that. When I had a game I played it for months, as that was all I could afford until the next b-day, holiday, or local lawn moving to raise some funds.
Now it feels like I have video game ADD, where I can't play anything for more than a few hours (at most!) before moving onto the other shining thing. I have so many games that I don't know what to do with myself, and the worst part is that I doubt that I will ever even get an opportunity to play half of these gems.
This also raises a dangerous thing about the industry which I first noticed from something Cliff Blezinski said a while back: You can create an excellent game today, but that's still not enough. There are so many games and distractions out there that even an incredible title may not necessarily sell.
As far as beating games....well I can probably count how many I've beaten in the last two years on one hand. I seldom play through more than a few hours of a game. I just don't have the time or patience anymore to play anything more than 4 or 5 hours. I have 28 hours of BF3 multiplayer, but I'm not sure if Steam is tracking it correctly.... still, that's by far the most time I've put into a game in years!
Yeah, lots of good points here. I've finally stopped buying so many games at retail because I realized that I can't keep up with the backlog I already have. Like Dave was saying, I spend a couple hours on most then move on, regrettably. Unfortunately, I buy a lot more download titles now, and while I finish many of them, I never feel like I'm beating as many games as I should be.
Am I wrong or did XBLIG just get its first isometric game?
Tacticolor is isometric - though probably not exactly what you mean! There must be others, surely? Can't think of any, but this new one looks a bit janky anyway.Originally Posted by Gaspode_T
Am I wrong or did XBLIG just get its first isometric game?
New milkstone game looks good though. A dungeon-crawling twin-stick with tons of content and bosses and stuff. It's called Sushi Castle.
Milkstone Studios released their new game, Sushi Castle. Appears to draw heavily from Binding of Isaac's mechanics.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zIZr7pCdREc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zIZr7pCdREc
Milkstone is one of the few developers on the service who continue to deliver quality looking products. I can't comment on Sushi as I haven't played it, but they're last several titles have been beautiful, well done games. Little Racers: STREET is still my favorite XBLIG of the year, and I think of one of the best games on XBLIG.
WOW! Sushi Castle and Super Amazing Wagon Adventure are the two most polished and fun new non-sequel Indies in some time. Haven't played too much SC, but it is fun and very familiar. The one I spent three hours straight with was the other. I fucking love SAWA. Like a twisted and darkly violent Oregon Trail on an Atari 2600 with a little rouguelike permadeath/procedurally-generated progress, it has a distinct feel that reminds me of Swordquest's individual screen challenges and that staple scrolling shooter pace and control found in most high quality 2600 scrolling shooters...mixed with some non-boring twin stick-shooting. Amazingly entertaining right from the start, especially if you grew up with these pre-NES console games. Easily my favorite XBLIG title right now.
Last edited by MightyHedgehog; 07-13-2012 at 06:22 PM.
Zandri's Revenge. The game requires two players or one player and two controllers to sign in to even get past the second screen you see upon boot. Will try later.Originally Posted by Gaspode_T
Am I wrong or did XBLIG just get its first isometric game?
I like Milkstone, they have a list of games I have got enjoyment out of; Little Racers Street, Moterhead, Avatar Panic, Infinity Danger spring to mind straight away.
I quite like Sushi Castle, the game seems to have no save facility, which may cause concern for some (harking back to the comments previously about games being made too easy these days). I have no idea at the minute how long the main game is, I got to the Barracks on my 2nd go before getting trapped in a room with zombies being lobbed at me. Milkstone have stated depending on sales they will add more content. It's another decent game from Milkstone.
I quite like Sushi Castle, the game seems to have no save facility, which may cause concern for some (harking back to the comments previously about games being made too easy these days). I have no idea at the minute how long the main game is, I got to the Barracks on my 2nd go before getting trapped in a room with zombies being lobbed at me. Milkstone have stated depending on sales they will add more content. It's another decent game from Milkstone.
I have no idea of why that is even allowed. I've run into so many games which I cannot run unless I have multiple controllers signed into multiple LIVE accounts. It should be something that was added to the evil checklist long ago.Originally Posted by MightyHedgehog
Zandri's Revenge. The game requires two players or one player and two controllers to sign in to even get past the second screen you see upon boot. Will try later.
INDEED.Originally Posted by DaveVoyles
I have no idea of why that is even allowed. I've run into so many games which I cannot run unless I have multiple controllers signed into multiple LIVE accounts. It should be something that was added to the evil checklist long ago.
But my solution is simple. I erased the trial and will never look back.
There was a game that I played for review this month that I can't remember the name of and my work computer blocks most game sites so I can't look it up either. Basically it was a black title screen with some other gibberish on it. I couldn't even get pased that point. I don't remember if I needed another controller or what. I didn't feel confident enough to give it a bad review just in case I was doing something wrong, so I decided to simply ignore it. In the future I will be consulting you guys here to make sure it's not just me who is having issues. But actually I should have just given the thing a bad score. Games aren't supossed to have you wondering if you're playing it right, before you can even play the game.Originally Posted by DaveVoyles
I have no idea of why that is even allowed. I've run into so many games which I cannot run unless I have multiple controllers signed into multiple LIVE accounts. It should be something that was added to the evil checklist long ago.
Remember when I told you that we were fortunate to had ads on the dash for the Summer Uprising last year?
Ben Kuchera explains why.
Ben Kuchera explains why.
"Microsoft make money from adverts" is right up there with "sun will rise tomorrow" on the surprise-o-meter. People seem to have this rose-tinted view that things were all wonderful back in ye olden days but remember the blades? There was basically no room for adverts for anything there, XBLA or not.Originally Posted by DaveVoyles
Remember when I told you that we were fortunate to had ads on the dash for the Summer Uprising last year?
Ben Kuchera explains why.
Minecraft has sold, what, 2.5m copies by now? This suggests to me that if people want to find something, they know how to find it.
But, er, off topic :lol
There's a contest running on IGC to help name a developer's game.
http://indiegamerchick.com/2012/07/1...name-the-game/
You can win up to 21 XBLIGs! It's mainly of note because this is probably the one thing in all the Dream.Build.Play entries this year which really intrigued me. Running a call centre is the worst idea for a game ever, and yet the art and the possibilities with the simulation aspects mean it's my most wanted XBLIG at the moment.
What's it going to be called, though?
http://indiegamerchick.com/2012/07/1...name-the-game/
You can win up to 21 XBLIGs! It's mainly of note because this is probably the one thing in all the Dream.Build.Play entries this year which really intrigued me. Running a call centre is the worst idea for a game ever, and yet the art and the possibilities with the simulation aspects mean it's my most wanted XBLIG at the moment.
What's it going to be called, though?
This thread just made me pick up Apple Jack 2. Thanks.
Why does the service have such crazy spurts of games. Quiet for a period then about 15 releases in a few days, happens all the time.
TTK - I quite like the look of that Call Centre game too, the art style especially.
TTK - I quite like the look of that Call Centre game too, the art style especially.
It's been dead for the past few weeks for some reason.
Call center is looking sharp. I know that he is currently looking for name submissions, as per a contest that Indie Gamer Chick is running.
Call center is looking sharp. I know that he is currently looking for name submissions, as per a contest that Indie Gamer Chick is running.
Maybe more of a lull while entrants are waiting for Dream Build Play results Sept 2nd? I know my son is holding off releasing his game while he waits to see if he managed to place in the top 10. Any modest promotional bump from just placing will help, so he wants to release his game after results are announced and he's using the summer to polish the game more and incorporate features and requests based on playtest feedback from the version up in the XBLIG indie forum.Originally Posted by DaveVoyles
It's been dead for the past few weeks for some reason.
Call center is looking sharp. I know that he is currently looking for name submissions, as per a contest that Indie Gamer Chick is running.
What's the name of your son's game? I'm curious to see what passion Vic transfered into futur generations. :PMaybe more of a lull while entrants are waiting for Dream Build Play results Sept 2nd? I know my son is holding off releasing his game while he waits to see if he managed to place in the top 10. Any modest promotional bump from just placing will help, so he wants to release his game after results are announced and he's using the summer to polish the game more and incorporate features and requests based on playtest feedback from the version up in the XBLIG indie forum.
What's the name of your son's game? I'm curious to see what passion Vic transfered into futur generations. :P
Heh, well he was immersed in shooters and RPGs growing up, so he chose the shooter for his first game genre since he was working by himself and art would be a major problem. Eventually he picked up an artist to work with at school to replace most of his "programmer art". :)
The game is Space Crüesader. If you have an XBLIG developer membership, it can be downloaded as it's in playtest right now. Otherwise, about all you can do right now is watch the trailer:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nv927tcUIZg
Last edited by vireland; 07-15-2012 at 07:05 AM.
Beautiful particle effectsHeh, well he was immersed in shooters and RPGs growing up, so he chose the shooter for his first game genre since he was working by himself and art would be a major problem. Eventually he picked up an artist to work with at school to replace most of his "programmer art". :)
The game is Space Crüesader. If you have an XBLIG developer membership, it can be downloaded as it's in playtest right now. Otherwise, about all you can do right now is watch the trailer:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nv927tcUIZg
Thanks, I'll pass the compliments to him! He's using the mercury particle engine. He's been pulling his hair out over the last year trying to squeeze down the amount of time it chews up in the draw because he loves the look the particles have but hates the performance. Fortunately he was able to get the performance smooth across the board and on all the levels just last month. Co-op was the last mode that had noticible lag because of the increase of particle effects and that's now worked out. He's learning that the trick of programming is actually powering through and finishing strong. :)Originally Posted by DaveVoyles
Beautiful particle effects
Last edited by vireland; 07-15-2012 at 08:08 PM.
Heh, well he was immersed in shooters and RPGs growing up, so he chose the shooter for his first game genre since he was working by himself and art would be a major problem. Eventually he picked up an artist to work with at school to replace most of his "programmer art". :)
The game is Space Crüesader. If you have an XBLIG developer membership, it can be downloaded as it's in playtest right now. Otherwise, about all you can do right now is watch the trailer:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nv927tcUIZg
Bullet hell style too!
Not exactly my type of game but I'll be sure to check the trial and see if I dig.
The game has homages to a number of games and styles. Asteroids, Robotron, Sinistar, Vanguard, and some more-modern bullet-hell, too. The "bullet hell" section you see in the trailer with the pink bullets everywhere and the squadrons of ships is only on the approach to the mothership near the end of the final level. It's short, but intense. Essentially, it's a filter for those that failed to get the laser weapon through the maze that preceded it, since the mothership is very tedious to finish without the laser weapon.Bullet hell style too!
Not exactly my type of game but I'll be sure to check the trial and see if I dig.
Super Amazing Wagon Adventure is pretty fun.
Make sure he gets into peer review as early as he can, he doesn't want to come top ten and then still be waiting to get through peer review weeks later!Maybe more of a lull while entrants are waiting for Dream Build Play results Sept 2nd? I know my son is holding off releasing his game while he waits to see if he managed to place in the top 10. Any modest promotional bump from just placing will help, so he wants to release his game after results are announced and he's using the summer to polish the game more and incorporate features and requests based on playtest feedback from the version up in the XBLIG indie forum.
Nice to see a twin-stick that seems like it's fast and action packed for a change.
Yeah Wagon Adventure definitely relies on quite a bit of luck. Sometimes you can just be handed the shaft in a situation.
I also played Overdriven recently too. I like me some shmups!
I also played Overdriven recently too. I like me some shmups!
Yeah, timing of the peer review is the only part that's a little tricky, because as soon as you're done, you're up. But getting enough people to play it and review it can be hours or days, it's very helter skelter and therefore hard to gauge. It's one of the reasons he's been doing serial playtests for the last month - to iron out any bugs that may still be rattling around in the code and minimize the chance those will hold it up in peer review.Originally Posted by toythatkills
Make sure he gets into peer review as early as he can, he doesn't want to come top ten and then still be waiting to get through peer review weeks later!
Nice to see a twin-stick that seems like it's fast and action packed for a change.
That changed a few months back. Now you can opt not to release the game when it passes peer review, and then manually set it to release whenever you want. So if he gets into peer review mid-August, he should be able to just sit on it until DBP results are announced.Yeah, timing of the peer review is the only part that's a little tricky, because as soon as you're done, you're up.
Yup. Once you pass peer review it is up to your discretion, as far as when you would like to release.
Also it looks like Guncraft has entered beta. They are still heading to XBLIG it seems, along with some other platforms (which I can talk more about, shortly). Also, it's got helicopters in it. How many "craft" types have that?
I played the alpha some time ago, and honestly, it's quite a bit different from any of the other voxel based games on XBLIG.
Also, A port of Guncraft is potentially XBLA bound... talks with MS and Mojang as potential publishers .... interesting....
Also it looks like Guncraft has entered beta. They are still heading to XBLIG it seems, along with some other platforms (which I can talk more about, shortly). Also, it's got helicopters in it. How many "craft" types have that?
I played the alpha some time ago, and honestly, it's quite a bit different from any of the other voxel based games on XBLIG.
Also, A port of Guncraft is potentially XBLA bound... talks with MS and Mojang as potential publishers .... interesting....
Last edited by DaveVoyles; 07-16-2012 at 09:10 PM.
Maybe he already knows this, I didn't. I'll have to tell him, thanks.Originally Posted by toythatkills
That changed a few months back. Now you can opt not to release the game when it passes peer review, and then manually set it to release whenever you want. So if he gets into peer review mid-August, he should be able to just sit on it until DBP results are announced.
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