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[Antiwhippy]

Yeah but pretty much none of those games actually play like the games they try to be/pay tribute to. :/

I'd say more than a few of them come close, while putting their own unique spin on it. Stuff like Skullgirls, Wizorb, jamestown, noitu love 2, the Zeboyd stuff, etc, etc.

You can argue the definition of indie for of these studios compared to the doujin scene. I still wouldn't dismiss the entire western indie scene for not having old console/arcade games, though I agree the doujin scene has more. There's also a shit ton of indie platformers, though quite a few of them have their own unique modern take.

 

[shaowebb]

This one?

Not entirely sure on the name but the website title seems to be Suwapyon 2. The demo is here .
The isometric perspective isn't standard - you can tilt or rotate the camera to help figure out the depth of the bullets on the screen when necessary.

It's pretty fun from what i've played of the demo. The second level in particular did some fun stuff with the 3d gimmick. I kinda wish i could buy the full version.

Thanks. I'm curious on this one. I'll try it out later.

 

[Femmeworth]

Does this really add anything to the thread?

Your arguments have been very compelling. I bow down the prowess of the doujin scene.

Well both of those games are from legitimate development studios who are staffed with industry veterans. I'm not even sure how you could call them "indie", at least in the context of this thread.

Seems silly to start drawing arbitrary lines now. Look at Frictional Games, they are comprised of less than ten people and they put out games like Penumbra and Amnesia which have professional looking graphics.

 

[Antiwhippy]

There's also this, which I'm pretty sure is just one man. Too bad it's xbox only.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DmSAQwbbig8

Though I'm guessing most of the doujin scene don't have the luxury of taking forever to put a game out.

 

[Durante]

Seems silly to start drawing arbitrary lines now. Look at Frictional Games, they are comprised of less than ten people and they put out games like Penumbra and Amnesia which have professional looking graphics.

What is truly silly is directly comparing the production values of games made by a single person in <=1 year to something like Trine 2, which was made by a company of 33 in 2 years.

 

[Sentenza]

What is truly silly is directly comparing the production values of games made by a single person in <=1 year to something like Trine 2, which was made by a company of 33 in 2 years.

And yet I pointed three games so far as example, of which one has a team of four guys (Legend of Grimrorck), the other two are developed by one single developer each.

 

[Mandoric]

Your arguments have been very compelling. I bow down the prowess of the doujin scene.

Seems silly to start drawing arbitrary lines now. Look at Frictional Games, they are comprised of less than ten people and they put out games like Penumbra and Amnesia which have professional looking graphics.

Doujin are, for the most part, not the day job of anyone involved. Even ZUN does 9-5 as a sound engineer at a Square-Enix subsidiary.

That said, I think the visual styles for most doujin games are an aesthetic thing first, a target platform thing second, and a budget thing third. Even if you look at high-budget, high-production-value circles like TasoFro the difference is execution rather than technical and it's -prettier- 1024x768-target sprites.

 

[Durante]

And yet I pointed three games so far as example, of which one has a team of four guys (Legend of Grimrorck), the other two are developed by one single developer each.

Legend of Grimrock is an outstanding achievement, and not representative of the western indie scene as a whole. Also, as you say, it was made by 4 people as their full time job, not a single person as a hobby, a pretty significant difference.

Games like The Binding of Isaac or even Jamestown are more comparable. And they also look comparable.

 

[Tain]

Then we have simply to "agree to disagree", because games like those two I already linked or this one for me simply destroy anything in this thread so far, in terms of potential appeal and ambition.

I actually did forget that Grimrock is such a recent game. It was interesting enough for me to pick up and put some hours into, even if I'm not crazy with the end result. It also seems like a higher budget/larger team project than any of the games in this video, which probably contributed to me not remembering it, but playing the "indie"/not "indie" game is the worst given how meaningless the label is.

We have pretty different ideas of what counts as ambitious, and we undoubtedly weigh the importance of ambition differently. Grimrock is more of a retread to me than Astebreed looks to be (hell, Grimrock might be a straight-up retrogression, mechanically), and I don't even know what to compare GHost92 to. Your post was the first time I saw Starship Corporation.

But they are made by baka gaijin!

yup, you caught me.

Come on. This seems below you.

Legend of Grimrock is an outstanding achievement, and not representative of the western indie scene as a whole. Also, as you say, it was made by 4 people as their full time job, not a single person as a hobby, a pretty significant difference.

This is a road I don't like going down, though. One of the reasons I hate limiting discussion to "indie" and "doujin" games is that quabbles over budgets and team sizes and how disadvantaged various developers are spend too much time in the spotlight, often foreshadowing even the quality of the games themselves.

 

[ponpo]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FyViJr7_I3c

TDM clone will be good.

 

[SatelliteOfLove]

Does this really add anything to the thread?

I think that people who like well-made arcade or older console style games will lean towards the doujin side.

Remember when any Japanese game of any size, genre, or pedigree, was debated on its merits as a game, not on its ability to flagship for the entire nation's game output or be damned a broad stereotype?

Yup, those were gooooooood times.

 

[StayDead]

This is going to sound like a really stupid question, but when's the date of this summers komiket again? I've been following them for about 3 years but I still can never remember the dates. Perhaps when I eventually get to Japan and start attending them I'll be able to remember the dates :/

 

[ponpo]

It just opened, actually.

Livestream of the line moving? http://tinyurl.com/coeyyxt

Also that TDM game I posted above apparently won't be sold because of copyright worries, lol

http://ryohoji.jp/game_main.html

 

[SpaceDrake]

This is going to sound like a really stupid question, but when's the date of this summers komiket again? I've been following them for about 3 years but I still can never remember the dates. Perhaps when I eventually get to Japan and start attending them I'll be able to remember the dates :/

Game Day, the one posters here will be interested in, is tomorrow. It opens specifically in, like, 16 hours or so. It will be a madhouse.

Also, continuing the ~quality debate~ thing (silly as I find it on some level), the part-timer nature is another aspect to consider and follows into the "hobbyist" aspect I mentioned earlier - a lot of these guys simply can't put much as much time into their games as full-timers can simply because they have other jobs. Groups who work on their games full-time like EasyGameStation and Edelweiss (I think? the Edel crew WANTS to go full time, at least, IIRC) are very much an exception, not a rule. Hell, a lot of groups that get successful actually incorporate and stop being "doujin" - Type-Moon and Gust are good examples. Some would even argue that if you're working on games full-time you CAN'T be "doujin", though that begins to veer off the topic entirely and into a cultural debate.

Point is, the Japanese scene isn't quite analogous to the western indie scene for various reasons. The software, as a result, can be pretty different.

 

[StayDead]

It just opened, actually.

Livestream of the line moving? http://tinyurl.com/coeyyxt

Also that TDM game I posted above apparently won't be sold because of copyright worries, lol

http://ryohoji.jp/game_main.html

Tokyo's Big Site convention center is so beautiful for such an odd looking structure.

 

[duckroll]

Tokyo's Big Site convention center is so beautiful for such an odd looking structure.

I love the way Big Sight looks. It's such an interesting design for a convention center.

 

[Sage00]

Dear god, it's Touhou Zaxxon. Sold.



If you go on the porn day, and go to the porn section! Otherwise you're just going to be awash in a mountain of fanfic comics for the latest Jump hits, poetry anthologies, 784329798423 garage bands that exclusively cover Touhou BGM, dubiously-legal-for-export ham radio parts, and the traffic clusterfuck that's gonna result because at least one pizza chain has decided that this year, they'll deliver direct to the convention hall.

Grab a catalog before you go, not only does it count as your admission ticket but the sample art will give you a feel for which parts of the hall you want to be in even if you can't read it and don't have any favorite authors you want to hit up before they sell out.

lol, if you consider over half of it to be the 'porn section', sure. Admission is free, too.

 

[ponpo]

This is kind of fun.

 

[Mandoric]

lol, if you consider over half of it to be the 'porn section', sure. Admission is free, too.

Three halls + spare space on one day is "over half". Got it.
And while you won't get kicked out without a catalog anymore, that's a nod to the logistical futility of following up on people who say they bought the DVD or phone version. It's still both 'encouraged' by the staff and a near-necessity in one format or another.

 

[LFF]

This is kind of fun.

Especially on Hard and Insane difficulties.
If anybody wants, I can do a rough picture guide of what all the menu options and stuff do.

 

[ponpo]

Also Fatal Action Zero is bad.

 

[KDR_11k]

That's the second doujin EDF clone I've seen, shame they insist on taking unlicensed characters so a widespread release of these games is practically impossible.

 

[Sage00]

Three halls + spare space on one day is "over half". Got it.
And while you won't get kicked out without a catalog anymore, that's a nod to the logistical futility of following up on people who say they bought the DVD or phone version. It's still both 'encouraged' by the staff and a near-necessity in one format or another.

Most people I've seen just printed stuff out to help them, like the floor map (as did I). The catalog is a nice souvenir I guess, but you could find a better one for that 2400 yen.

 

[ponpo]

http://www.twitch.tv/frostbolt

Suwapyon stream.

 

[D3RANG3D]

Especially on Hard and Insane difficulties.
If anybody wants, I can do a rough picture guide of what all the menu options and stuff do.

Do it I was just pushing shit, the game is amazing!

 

[To Far Away Times]

So with all these Touhou spinoff games being made by the community, is there an actual Touhou 14 coming? I haven't heard anything about it...

 

[LFF]

Ok, here's a rough suwapyon 2 guide. I think i've figured out what most things do through trial and error and messing around.
Also note that I've never played any Touhou games before so I might have got names wrong (i.e. blue things).

This screencap guide covers what most of the menu options do and also how some things work during gameplay.

Main Menu / Bomb Selection
(bomb details were made through observation only, so they may be inaccurate or missing details):

Pause menu options / Gui features and gameplay details
(Quit and submit score might actually be quit and submit replay, i'm not sure.)

Practice mode Menu / Replay menu / Hi-scores menu

Options menu / Gamepad Controls menu

 

[D3RANG3D]

Ok, here's a rough suwapyon 2 guide. I think i've figured out what most things do through trial and error and messing around.
Also note that I've never played any Touhou games before so I might have got names wrong (i.e. blue things).

This screencap guide covers what most of the menu options do and also how some things work during gameplay.

Thank you

 

[Chairmanchuck]

Point is, the Japanese scene isn't quite analogous to the western indie scene for various reasons. The software, as a result, can be pretty different.

Sure. I still dont really understand how "bad" some of these games look. I saw a model a friend of mine did in like 2 hours and it looked absolutely great.
I also see what some inidedevs from the west can make in just 5-6 hours.

Its just sad, since I really would like some more japanese "indie"-games, that not only play great, but look great too. I like their artdesign and style more than the ones of the western "indie"devs.


Btw. how did ur C82 go?

 

[ponpo]

Not sure if this was popular enough for a new thread just for C83 (well, at least not yet) but some trailers are coming out for C83ge.

&#12304;&#21516;&#20154;&#12466;&#12540;&#12512;&#12305;&#12402;&#12394;&#12398;&#12405;&#12431;&#12405;&#12431;&#12489;&#12522;&#12540;&#12512;&#9734;&#12288;PV&#12304;&#12405;&#12431;&#12405;&#12431;&#12450;&#12463;&#12471;&#12519;&#12531;&#12305;

&#12300;NINE TAIL&#65288;&#20206;&#65289;Trial Ver.C83&#12301; (this was at C82 too wasn't it?) Looks fun.

 

[A Huge Battleship]

Not sure if this was popular enough for a new thread just for C83 (well, at least not yet) but some trailers are coming out for C83ge.

&#12304;&#21516;&#20154;&#12466;&#12540;&#12512;&#12305;&#12402;&#12394;&#12398;&#12405;&#12431;&#12405;&#12431;&#12489;&#12522;&#12540;&#12512;&#9734;&#12288;PV&#12304;&#12405;&#12431;&#12405;&#12431;&#12450;&#12463;&#12471;&#12519;&#12531;&#12305;

Oh joy, another venture from the same group that did the MariAri games and Fantasy Explorer Nitroid. Which means the final levels will be utterly sanity destroying.

 

[lordfroakie]

I'm curious, what do they use to make these games?

 

[Despera]

&#12300;NINE TAIL&#65288;&#20206;&#65289;Trial Ver.C83&#12301; (this was at C82 too wasn't it?) Looks fun.

Other than the bland look of that level, this indeed looks like a fun game.

 

[Izayoi]

I'm curious, what do they use to make these games?

Blood, sweat, and lots of semen.

 

[pirata]

&#12304;&#21516;&#20154;&#12466;&#12540;&#12512;&#12305;&#12402;&#12394;&#12398;&#12405;&#12431;&#12405;&#12431;&#12489;&#12522;&#12540;&#12512;&#9734;&#12288;PV&#12304;&#12405;&#12431;&#12405;&#12431;&#12450;&#12463;&#12471;&#12519;&#12531;&#12305;

I don't know if I'm manly enough to play this.

 

[StayDead]

Not sure if this was popular enough for a new thread just for C83 (well, at least not yet) but some trailers are coming out for C83ge.

&#12304;&#21516;&#20154;&#12466;&#12540;&#12512;&#12305;&#12402;&#12394;&#12398;&#12405;&#12431;&#12405;&#12431;&#12489;&#12522;&#12540;&#12512;&#9734;&#12288;PV&#12304;&#12405;&#12431;&#12405;&#12431;&#12450;&#12463;&#12471;&#12519;&#12531;&#12305;

&#12300;NINE TAIL&#65288;&#20206;&#65289;Trial Ver.C83&#12301; (this was at C82 too wasn't it?) Looks fun.

Those look pretty cool.

 

[ponpo]

Via @shmups on twitter, C83 STG list.

 

[A Huge Battleship]

Vita @shmups on twitter, C83 STG list.

Only skimmed that list, but the new Edelweiss game'll be worth a look. Also seeing Space Marisar EX there surprises me because I didn't realise the basic version was out.

 

[ponpo]

NEO AQUARIUM2: ACE OF SEAFOOD 1st Trailer

Yes.

 

[thetrin]

NEO AQUARIUM2: ACE OF SEAFOOD 1st Trailer

Yes.

Awesome! I love Neo Aquarium.

 

[BudokaiMR2]

Haha oh god I just saw a mail from the NEO AQUARIUM developer with that trailer.

The destructible environments look awesome! TAKE THAT CORAL!

Wonder if there are any other hidden gems at the Winter Comic Market....

 

[ponpo]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2DUjUPzIfBk

New Touhou fighter.

Other Touhou kusoge.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cWlhcZ5fJfc

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nk4YdaSHl5w

 

[ponpo]

Er double post but here's the operation jaguar list of touhou games.

http://operationjaguar.blog100.fc2.com/blog-entry-270.html

 

[ponpo]

Edit: New thread http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?p=45669193

 

[Hazaro]

Touhou WarCraft 3
Touhou Pikmin
Touhou Ikaruga
Touhou Pikmin again
Poker Something
FUCKIN Ether Vapor
Revolver360 RE:ACTOR - Rotating side scrolling shump
Anime VVVVVV
NINE TAIL - Swag dashing the game
Neo Aquarium 2: Ace of Seafood