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Xbox LIVE Indie Games - The February 2011 Thread

K

Kafel

Banned
Battle High: San Bruno is a good 2D fighter. The influences are obvious but the dev still did some bits on his own and he did it them well. Nice art, impressive powers for each character and a game that "feels" good overall. 80 points. Will buy.


Bird Assassin might be simple (in every ways) but it has humour (plot, character design, "GunMart"), ugradable weapons and a map. Not bad for 80 points. Despite all of this I'm afraid it would become quickly annoying past the demo.
 
W

WaltJay

Member
toythatkills said:
On achievements, a thought. Is it even possible? Are Indie Games all bunched up together as "Indie Games" as some technical restraint? Because if so, it'd be impossible to have achievements for individual games anyway, just achievements like "play 100 Indie Games!" or something.
Click to expand...

Interesting question. I never thought about that. I figured the reason there were no achievements was part technical, part business-decision, although I don't know how concerned MS is with games with easy achievements. I recall an interview with Randy Pitchford around the Borderlands release where he said that they made the achievements relatively easy because their research showed if a game has easy achievements, they sell x amount more copies.

It would interesting to hear the reasoning behind no achievements for XBLIG (maybe a good interview question?); my guess is it would require MS to do some legwork and they don't want the hassle.
 
T

toythatkills

Member
Avatar Ragdolls is one of few height climbers on Indie Games, which is a surprise with them being so popular on iOS. This one's not spectacular. It's very, very slow and takes a major effort to lose. Also, sometimes you can boost and sometimes you can't, and there's no indication as to how long your boost takes to recharge. Overall, I can't recommend a game that puts my avatar in this position:

5429129690_3f49d81b2b.jpg


Stick Unleashed was... equally nice and not nice. It looks really good, and sounds fantastic, I'm gonna have those tunes in my head for days. The gameplay though, I didn't enjoy much. It was so, so, so slow and floaty, which makes it really difficult to dodge enemy fire because you jump before the enemy fires and still haven't landed by the time the bullet reaches you, and by then it's too late to dodge. The helicopter controls were kinda weird too, I never felt quite in control of it.

Defy Gravity was fun for one minute. Then it gets too complex in a way that isn't even that complex, but is so confusing that with the promise of it getting EVEN MORE COMPLEX beyond the start of the first level, it's just going to be frustrating. You can fire blue gravity wells that attract you, and orange gravity wells that repel you. It's a really nice idea, but it just doesn't control very well, and a lot of the time there's no hint as to why the button you're pressing isn't doing anything. Sometimes you can jump, sometimes you can't. Just annoying, in the end.

Zombie Concentation is a twin stick. I'm losing the will to write anything at all about these at this point. I swear I've played over 500. This one is slow, cramped, and offers no satisfying feedback when you kill enemies.

Final Rift needs more time.

And that leaves Bird Assassin... which is pretty ace, really. Not so much for the gameplay, which is alright but repetitive. It's really funny though, I lol'd a few times during the trial. Gameplay-wise, you walk from left to right aiming with the right stick and shooting birds, avoiding traps, etc. That's pretty much it, but it works. There's an extensive upgrade system, too.
 
H

HadesGigas

Member
S

SAB CA

Sketchbook Picasso
Kafel said:
Battle High: San Bruno is a 2D fighter that doesn't look bad :

http://catalog.create.msdn.com/en-U...d=36b06a84-0585-4cf5-bdd5-9054cbc7664a&type=2
Click to expand...

xboxboxart.jpg


screen3.jpg


screen4.jpg


Really, the game is very well done for a $1 indie effort. My brother and I played it together (offline) for like an hour plus, and had fun all the way through, discovering new things, and getting a feel for the characters. Game has a good movelist, the characters feel nicely varied, and there's a challenge mode that's just what you'd expect from SFIV-inspired challenge modes, to name a few standout features.

It's got some nice depth, though it's fairly loose. Make sure to read the "Basics" info on the movelist screen! You have Dash-canceling, and that can help you lead to some decent rush-style combos off near everything. Some moves are not immediately cancellable, others are only on startup, or after completion. Some special moves can be canceled into OTHER specials, leading to some pretty strong combos.

The characters also have special win quotes to people they know (everyone seems to be connected, or have heard of one another), and I rather like some of the music (probably because alot of it seems very close to certain traditional fighter tunes). The animations are pretty good too, with a good amount of anticipation, follow-through, and personality. Some of the key frames might look a bit weird here or there, however. There's a lot of derivative stuff in there when it comes to move inspiration (normals, some specials) but that's kinda impossible to avoid, and not as blatant and poor as weaker efforts would show. Some of the animations themselves might look a LITTLE weird here or there, but it's a pretty solid looking game overall.

I haven't touched the arcade mode yet, so I cannot comment on it.

Overall, a nice suprise game on the indies. It's not in an overcrowded genre, it seems to be made by someone who knows the gameplay style and presentation very well, and it feels much, MUCH more polished than any other fighter on the IG service (save for Chu's Dynasty!)
 
S

SmallCaveGames

Neo Member
K

Kafel

Banned
Feep said:
That's me. = D

I'm thrilled I got an article up on Joystiq. And to other indie developers, I wasn't chosen, or anything...just send those guys an E-mail. = D
Click to expand...

I know they accept e-mails from every indie devs but weren't you the guy with good contacts though ? Like you've already written for them some time ago or something ?
 
V

Ventron

Member
Feep said:
That's me. = D

I'm thrilled I got an article up on Joystiq. And to other indie developers, I wasn't chosen, or anything...just send those guys an E-mail. = D
Click to expand...

You used to work for them, didn't you? :p

How did you contact them? Did you use the form on their website, or did you email someone directly?
 
Ronabo

Ronabo

Member
I just played through the Battle High: San Bruno demo 3 times. It's fucking awesome for a 1$.

Fighter GAF check it out.
 
P

PepsimanVsJoe

Member
SmallCaveGames said:
lol, what the heck did I just watch? Is that a game? And is that content allowed on XBLIG?
Click to expand...

I hate to be that guy sometimes but these cheesy and incredibly offensive trailers make me want to buy games.

Maybe it's a text-adventure.

The game said:
You've just entered the suspect's home. The lights are out but you believe he is still in the house somewhere.

What will you do?
A) Search for clues.
B) Make sure your gun is ready.
C) Take a shower. <------

Good job Investitator. You've just been gunned down. GAME OVER
Click to expand...
 
P

PepsimanVsJoe

Member
It's one thing to get a Metroid vibe from a woman in a space-suit but the devs behind Defy Gravity probably should have avoided the Ice Beam sound effect from Super Metroid to be used so prevalently in the game.

Otherwise it's pretty good, nice music, but it ends way too quickly. A challenge mode with a hundred or so levels(what can I say? I'm a machine) would have been excellent.
 
M

MrWhitefolks

Neo Member
Ok, so this Battle High game is amazing (enough so that I've been working with it in hopes of figuring out some awesome combos). I'll post what I find in this post only, as to not continually bump the thread. Hope you guys found some stuff as well!

Battle High: Combos

j: jumping
d: ducking
dpm: dragon punch motion
fdc: forward dash cancel
~: two in one
wp: weak punch
wk: weak kick
fp: fierce punch
fk: fierce kick

note: these combos expect the user to have a full super meter

Mai (corner):
j.fp, d.fp~qcb+wp, d.wp~qcb+wp, d.fp~qcb+fp, qcb+wk, fdc, d.fp, fdc, d.wk, d.fp, fdc, wp,wk, dpm+wp, fk

Khai: (crossup)
j.fk, d.wp, d.wk, d.fp, fdc, d.wk, d.fp, fdc, d.wk, d.fp, fdc, d.wk, d.fp, dpm+fk, dpm+fk, qcb,hcf+fk

HW:
j.fk, d.wp, d.wk, fk, qcb+wp, qcf,qcf+fp

Shinji: (infinite)
d.wp,d.fk~qcb+wp,d.wp,d.fk~qcb+wp, etc, etc
 
K

Kafel

Banned
You get a combo list when you pause the game. I hope you've seen this before doing your hard detective work.
 
F

Feep

Banned
Ventron said:
You used to work for them, didn't you? :p

How did you contact them? Did you use the form on their website, or did you email someone directly?
Click to expand...
Okay, yeah, I used to work for them, but at the bottom of every Indie Pitch, they're like, "Hey, devs! Do you want to be on indie pitch? Just shoot an E-mail to someguy@joystiq.com!"

I did mention it in the E-mail, but the guy didn't comment on it, he just said, "Okay, cool, yours will be up in a couple weeks!" I didn't know him personally, either.
 
K

KAOS

Member
Enjoyed Battle High just wished there was a way to adjust (stretch) the screen. Would gladly pay more for an a HD sequel.
 
M

MrWhitefolks

Neo Member
I was going to go all Darth Vader (Nooooooooo!!!1), but after playing through all of Khai's challenges I was relieved to see that what I developed wasn't there. However, this mode is a godsend, as it let's me see exactly what links and gives me options when developing my own ideas. Kudos again to this title and I'll chalk it up as another reason this should be a HIGHLY acclaimed title in the indie scene.

ps: shinji has a REALLY easy infinite. :D
 
O

OldmanAndroid

Member
WaltJay said:
Interesting question. I never thought about that. I figured the reason there were no achievements was part technical, part business-decision, although I don't know how concerned MS is with games with easy achievements. I recall an interview with Randy Pitchford around the Borderlands release where he said that they made the achievements relatively easy because their research showed if a game has easy achievements, they sell x amount more copies.

It would interesting to hear the reasoning behind no achievements for XBLIG (maybe a good interview question?); my guess is it would require MS to do some legwork and they don't want the hassle.
Click to expand...

I bet the top 10 XBLIG list would all be variations of "easy achievements for $1"....achievement unlocked: press y twice
 
S

SmallCaveGames

Neo Member
Feep said:
Okay, yeah, I used to work for them, but at the bottom of every Indie Pitch, they're like, "Hey, devs! Do you want to be on indie pitch? Just shoot an E-mail to someguy@joystiq.com!"

I did mention it in the E-mail, but the guy didn't comment on it, he just said, "Okay, cool, yours will be up in a couple weeks!" I didn't know him personally, either.
Click to expand...

Yeah I think that's a new feature - within the past couple months - pretty cool.
 
F

Feep

Banned
An INCREDIBLY positive thing Microsoft could do would be to create a separate category of Gamerscore called "Indiescore", or something, and display it separately on a user's profile. But that would require an incredible leap of goodwill on Microsoft's part, and I don't see it happening.
 
K

Kafel

Banned
There's enough shit in the Indie Service for MS to avoid encouraging devs to sell games other than on their own merits.
 
Eteric Rice

Eteric Rice

Member
So I downloaded "Go."

Who was it that recommended it? I want to hurt them.

The camera breaks it. Seriously, it's always zoomed in and you cannot zoom out. Add to this that when the AI puts down a stone, the camera jerks. They should have just carbon copied goban and added the AI.

Just bad design all around. :(
 
P

Parallax Scroll

Banned
Bird Assassin's got a great sense of humor, funny concept, great voice acting, and well above average graphics for an indie game. But it's not fun to play at all. Just like with Alpha Squad, I can't justify rating it more than 3 stars. What a waste.

And here's a tip for anyone giving Final Rift a shot: Try the "racer" control scheme. I found the ship much easier to control this way.
 
Dr. Zoidberg

Dr. Zoidberg

Member
Just wanted to say that Battle High is awesome for a $1 Indie fighter. Definite purchase and would LOVE to see an HD fighter on Indies with this much playability. Dev has my support (and dollar).
 
P

paperinik

Neo Member
Sorry guys, it was not my intention to say that I randomly discovered this game.

I'm the developer of AVATAR RAGDOLLS, I thought it was clear, my fault.
 
M

mr jones

Ethnicity is not a race!
paperinik said:
Sorry guys, it was not my intention to say that I randomly discovered this game.

I'm the developer of AVATAR RAGDOLLS, I thought it was clear, my fault.
Click to expand...

You could have stopped any confusion from the get go by saying "Hey guys, check out MY game, Ragdoll Avatars. It has video here."

Otherwise it looks like your stealth promoting, which will get you flamed rather quickly, as you saw. :\
 
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