-
Hey Guest. Check out your NeoGAF Wrapped 2025 results here!
The XNA Indie Games Official Thread
- Thread starter Gowans
- Start date
- Status
I was just coming here to gush about it. Great mix of dungeon crawl and tower defense. I beat it in a few hours, but it was totally worth the $3 and I'll be trying again on hard mode soon. Great music, fantastic level design, simple but surprisingly deep gameplay.harSon said:
It takes the old-school vibe a little too far though: going with password saves over save states is pushing it. :lol
Macmanus
Member
GhaleonEB said:
That is literally my only complaint of the game. The guy who made it is highly approachable so I'll shoot him an email asking about this, but I'm curious if it was a choice made for retro reasons or simply due to programing knowledge limitations.
He stated his design choice was because he is simply "bad at art" and not because he really wanted to cultivate a retro feel. But man did he go all out.
HadesGigas
Member
Breath of Death VII: The Beginning:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yDAj48iq4w8
"Breath of Death VII: The Beginning is a retro-style parody of classic 8 to 16 bit RPGs. Featuring retro visuals at 720p, a huge World to explore, Unite Techs and Combo System for strategic combat, branching levelling system, and more. Only 80 MS Points ($1)."
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yDAj48iq4w8
"Breath of Death VII: The Beginning is a retro-style parody of classic 8 to 16 bit RPGs. Featuring retro visuals at 720p, a huge World to explore, Unite Techs and Combo System for strategic combat, branching levelling system, and more. Only 80 MS Points ($1)."
HadesGigas
Member
HadesGigas
Member
New easier and cheaper ($1) version of ARIKA's Jewelry Master Twinkle has been released, Jewelry Master Twinkle Light.
Looks like it might just have one "scenario" (difficulty) instead of three, not sure. Object of the game is to surround your glob of jewels with blocks (can also use the wall). What makes this one easier is it seems you can make them disappear in the same move as a fusion, which is not possible in the original version.
Looks like it might just have one "scenario" (difficulty) instead of three, not sure. Object of the game is to surround your glob of jewels with blocks (can also use the wall). What makes this one easier is it seems you can make them disappear in the same move as a fusion, which is not possible in the original version.
Breath of Death VII looks great. Fun personality, nice throwback battle system, yet with a combo and strategic twist, and WOO, PIXELS!
Jewelery Master Twinkle Light made me look back at the previous release, and... I dunno. 400 pts is still a bit more than I normally have spare with all the XBLA releases I plan to get, but I rather like the game. So the light one... missing some content, but it's like... part 1 of 3 difficulties, so I wonder if it'd be worth buying, for one who wishes to buy the "full" game.. -shrug-
The Twin Blades DLC looks like everything I found lacking from the first release, packed right in, and even more. Attack combo, attack voice, world map, boss encounters... it looks like sooo much more than the original, that I really think I just have to buy it now XD
Another shoutout for Soulcaster, too. I'd never guess this was the dev's first game, it seems so nice and polished!
XBLIG really are getting to a point where they're seriously competing for XBLA time and money share. With I think says a lot, with the "Block Party" promotion on right now. "Do I get Scrap Metal, or pig out on a buffet of indy goodness?"
And I'd love to see a bunch of those DBP 2010 entries show up, so many of them looked very solid!
Jewelery Master Twinkle Light made me look back at the previous release, and... I dunno. 400 pts is still a bit more than I normally have spare with all the XBLA releases I plan to get, but I rather like the game. So the light one... missing some content, but it's like... part 1 of 3 difficulties, so I wonder if it'd be worth buying, for one who wishes to buy the "full" game.. -shrug-
The Twin Blades DLC looks like everything I found lacking from the first release, packed right in, and even more. Attack combo, attack voice, world map, boss encounters... it looks like sooo much more than the original, that I really think I just have to buy it now XD
Another shoutout for Soulcaster, too. I'd never guess this was the dev's first game, it seems so nice and polished!
XBLIG really are getting to a point where they're seriously competing for XBLA time and money share. With I think says a lot, with the "Block Party" promotion on right now. "Do I get Scrap Metal, or pig out on a buffet of indy goodness?"
And I'd love to see a bunch of those DBP 2010 entries show up, so many of them looked very solid!
Anso said:
On one hand I agree with you, I'd love to see some of the absolute gems get more exposure and their creators get paid (Platypus for example, I remember hearing about how he got shafted a bunch in the past).
On the other hand I don't think it's necessarily, and I use that word carefully, up to MS to advertise these games so much seeing as they are "Indie" games.
I hope the pimping continues on the popular blogs and places like Gametrailers who have been putting up heaps of Indie Games trailers.
Anso said:
Really? I don't remember the story clearly at all but basically the guy who created the game had his game stolen by some company and whored out though it took him a long time to make and he had to stop working or something to that effect. So the person who put it up on Indie Games isn't the creator? That sucks, please nobody buy it and buy Cletus Clay instead!
I agree with you totally about advertising the service.
RadarScope1
Member
HadesGigas said:
Looks promising. Barkers Crest was asking about what people would be interested in when it comes to $1 RPGs on XBLIG. This is it.
Spyn Doctor
Neo Member
The story about Anthony Flack and Platypus is here: http://www.tigsource.com/articles/2006/12/06/anthony-flack-made-platypus. Note: The Xbox Version does mention Anthony in the credits (unlike the PSP version).mujun said:
Doc
HadesGigas
Member
Anso said:
Just having an ad for indie games in general on the front of the spotlight tab would help, since you see that right when you turn it on. But doubt it'd happen this month considering all the Block Party ads. Keep the $1 games hidden from people you're trying to sell $15 games to.
Also got Soulcaster.
And agree with eveyrthing said so far.
Really nice game, well done, lots of retro-feel..that is taking probably too far because of the passwords instead of saves. Heck I ignored that it was via password the only way to proceed, until I died chose Continue and was weclomed with a Password screen. It needs at least a Quick Save option...or the option to "copy" the last password it had.
EDIT:
Oh, woow ..Breath of Death looks nice, and only $1. :O!
And agree with eveyrthing said so far.
Really nice game, well done, lots of retro-feel..that is taking probably too far because of the passwords instead of saves. Heck I ignored that it was via password the only way to proceed, until I died chose Continue and was weclomed with a Password screen. It needs at least a Quick Save option...or the option to "copy" the last password it had.
EDIT:
Oh, woow ..Breath of Death looks nice, and only $1. :O!
I went to read more about Soulcaster, and found the guy that made it had a blog running about its development, here: http://www.soulcastergame.com/
It goes back a few pages from when he was using early test graphics (mostly lifted from other games) under a different name. Pretty interesting to read through in order.
He's got a good sense of humor too - the post about critical raves is pretty funny.
It goes back a few pages from when he was using early test graphics (mostly lifted from other games) under a different name. Pretty interesting to read through in order.
He's got a good sense of humor too - the post about critical raves is pretty funny.
As promised, Major Nelson has added 2 Indie games to this week's podcast!
http://majornelson.com/archive/2010...live-profile-policy-change-sxsw-and-more.aspx
Shoot 1UP and Kaleidoscope have been at least mentioned! I haven't listened to it yet, so I don't know what they actually talked about.
http://majornelson.com/archive/2010...live-profile-policy-change-sxsw-and-more.aspx
Shoot 1UP and Kaleidoscope have been at least mentioned! I haven't listened to it yet, so I don't know what they actually talked about.
HadesGigas
Member
wwm0nkey said:Im kind of looking forward to A.R.E.S
Video
It reminds me of Megaman Zero, but thats the reason why I am looking forward too it.
There's a PC demo here: http://trashman.x10studio.com/
ShapeGSX said:As promised, Major Nelson has added 2 Indie games to this week's podcast!
http://majornelson.com/archive/2010...live-profile-policy-change-sxsw-and-more.aspx
Shoot 1UP and Kaleidoscope have been at least mentioned! I haven't listened to it yet, so I don't know what they actually talked about.
That's pretty damn sweet, props to Hryb. I'm still pissed he went to Iraq as a publicity stunt but this ALMOST makes up for it!
They pretty much only said it existed and sounds "interesting" and went on to talk about how good XBLIG is
Hey, the dude who made Gravity Bone made a new space game called Flotilla.
Yeah, some of you may have heard it. Idle Thumbs were raving about it. It's already out on PC, but it's going to be out on Indie Games soon.
http://www.blendogames.com/flotilla/
It's pretty sweet, it's a simultaneous turn-based rogue-like in space.
Yeah, some of you may have heard it. Idle Thumbs were raving about it. It's already out on PC, but it's going to be out on Indie Games soon.
http://www.blendogames.com/flotilla/
It's pretty sweet, it's a simultaneous turn-based rogue-like in space.
Soulcaster got a shout out at Penny-Arcade today, which the developer is probably thrilled with.
A cross of Bomberman and Tower Defense is exactly it. I went through it on Hard Mode and was delighted to find that it forced me to learn new strategies to clear some of the boards (one of which I still had to run straight through like a coward - the graveyard). I then played through it AGAIN on normal mode, but using the new tactics, and really tore through it. I'm gearing up for another hard mode run tonight, which I think will probably be my last romp through for a while. One nice thing about the hard mode is the greater abundance of enemies, which means you can level your souls to a much higher level, which balances things out a bit toward the end.
My favorite Indie Game since Miner Dig Deep.
Edit: on the Soulcaster Facebook page, it's mentioned that they're working on a save patch.
A cross of Bomberman and Tower Defense is exactly it. I went through it on Hard Mode and was delighted to find that it forced me to learn new strategies to clear some of the boards (one of which I still had to run straight through like a coward - the graveyard). I then played through it AGAIN on normal mode, but using the new tactics, and really tore through it. I'm gearing up for another hard mode run tonight, which I think will probably be my last romp through for a while. One nice thing about the hard mode is the greater abundance of enemies, which means you can level your souls to a much higher level, which balances things out a bit toward the end.
My favorite Indie Game since Miner Dig Deep.
Edit: on the Soulcaster Facebook page, it's mentioned that they're working on a save patch.
LocoMrPollock
Banned
Beezy said:
Weapon of Choice is my favorite, and has gotten the most play time. It's also made by the same dude that did Shoot 1UP.
LocoMrPollock said:
It's weird but I love Shoot 1UP almost exactly as much as I dislike Weapon of Choice. I think it's mainly aesthetics -- I have honestly never been so visually repulsed by a game.
I can't say enough nice things about Pixel Boarder, Jump, Decimation X, Platypus or either of the Johnny Platform games. Also, though I haven't yet plunked down the ten bucks for it, the Super Dodgeball port/remake/whatever is pretty fantastic.
Beezy said:
Blow = bubble manipulation puzzle game
Soulcaster = tower defence + ultima 4 + zelda
carneyvale = pinball or pachinkoesque puzzle game with great carnival aesthetics
miner dig deep = mining action rpg
pixel boarder = simple snowboarding game with charming pixel graphics
I dunno about Pixel Boarder, when I got the full version I discovered that most of the levels beyond the demo have an awful framerate issue.
Also.
SWAP - Cute puzzler with great presentation. $3
Weapon of Choice - Contra/Metal-Slug-Like with weird art direction. $3
The Impossible Game - More addictive than you think, great at parties. $1
Decimation X - It's Spaces Invaders on crack. $1
I MAED A GAEM WITH ZOMBIES!!111 - It costs a dollar, and it's a pretty cool game. $1
Gerbil Physics - It's another cute puzzler that's reminiscent of Boom Blox.
Kaleidoscope - It's a very cute platformer with a pretty good score. Charm out of the butt. $3
Johnny Platformer Games - They're simple, but well designed and clever. Addictive as all hell to play. $3 for the 2nd game. I think $1 for the first.
Avatar Golf - Probably the best avatar game. $3
Also.
SWAP - Cute puzzler with great presentation. $3
Weapon of Choice - Contra/Metal-Slug-Like with weird art direction. $3
The Impossible Game - More addictive than you think, great at parties. $1
Decimation X - It's Spaces Invaders on crack. $1
I MAED A GAEM WITH ZOMBIES!!111 - It costs a dollar, and it's a pretty cool game. $1
Gerbil Physics - It's another cute puzzler that's reminiscent of Boom Blox.
Kaleidoscope - It's a very cute platformer with a pretty good score. Charm out of the butt. $3
Johnny Platformer Games - They're simple, but well designed and clever. Addictive as all hell to play. $3 for the 2nd game. I think $1 for the first.
Avatar Golf - Probably the best avatar game. $3
PepsimanVsJoe
Member
Whoa check out Streets of Fury while you're at it. It's a 2D beatemup with digitized characters. There's an absurd combo system in place straight out of Marvel Vs Capcom.
I love Miner Dig Deep. But I have to ask. Why the hell hasn't someone tried to copy the genre? I could totally see this becoming something like the next tower defense. The next time I see a good game studio with a decent budget take on a mining genre will be when I start getting anticipated for a game again.
HadesGigas
Member
A pretty slick looking puzzle/battle game just came out, MagicalCube. Going for 400 points, it takes the match-3 mechanics of Chuzzle (where you slide a whole row or column around) and gives it a Puzzle Quest twist with an enemy to fight and items appearing on the board. And has a bunch of items you can buy to dress up your anime girl (I assume it also changes her abilities):
Odrion said:
Well, (and I forgot to mention it) Fishing Girl is also kind of awesome for 80 points. I found it similar to Miner Dig Deep in some ways.
Basically I think the same could be done with any kind of harvesting game. Some kind of harvesting fruit in a jungle game could be cool. You could upgrade your storage, harvesting equipment, etc. Level up your guy/gal. Have enemies to avoid or fight and do it all with a simple top down style or perhaps a side on one ala Miner Dig Deep.
Let me be the first to add on, Streets of Fury is an awesome game, and I'll always recommend it to fans of brawlers / Guardian Heroes!
Wow, MagicalCube has the feel and refinement of a full XBLA game. Getting through the one battle I was able to in the trial, I rather liked the gameplay and personality.
Seems to be different magical effects per cube color. The skills didn't seem to do too much damage, so the battle took a decent amount of time.
I only collected 3 coins during my play, not enough to buy any equips, though. They're blacked out in the trial anyway, as in, the texture on the outfit is black, nice way to just show a silhouette.
Wish it told you how many stages the game has, but they do show a teaser of the enemies, in which it showed 7 ot 8 different enemies.
In retrospect, if this was a 400 pt XBLA game, I'd probably have followed it's previews, and purchased it easily upon release. I'd love to see the same creator/team pull of a ful on isometric RPG or something... nice and clean look to the in-game assets.
HadesGigas said:A pretty slick looking puzzle/battle game just came out, MagicalCube. Going for 400 points, it takes the match-3 mechanics of Chuzzle (where you slide a whole row or column around) and gives it a Puzzle Quest twist with an enemy to fight and items appearing on the board. And has a bunch of items you can buy to dress up your anime girl (I assume it also changes her abilities):
Wow, MagicalCube has the feel and refinement of a full XBLA game. Getting through the one battle I was able to in the trial, I rather liked the gameplay and personality.
Seems to be different magical effects per cube color. The skills didn't seem to do too much damage, so the battle took a decent amount of time.
I only collected 3 coins during my play, not enough to buy any equips, though. They're blacked out in the trial anyway, as in, the texture on the outfit is black, nice way to just show a silhouette.
Wish it told you how many stages the game has, but they do show a teaser of the enemies, in which it showed 7 ot 8 different enemies.
In retrospect, if this was a 400 pt XBLA game, I'd probably have followed it's previews, and purchased it easily upon release. I'd love to see the same creator/team pull of a ful on isometric RPG or something... nice and clean look to the in-game assets.
XNA 4.0
http://creators.xna.com/en-US/news/gdc2010
not that surprising considering Windows Phone 7 is just around the corner but still...
http://creators.xna.com/en-US/news/gdc2010
not that surprising considering Windows Phone 7 is just around the corner but still...
I really like Miner Dig Deep because of the dynamic environment. I would totally love to see a game like it with a botanic system where you can plant seeds deep in the earth, and dig little underground water channels and it'll have a change on the environment as it grows (pushes dirt into empty spots, softens up hard soil, somehow allows you to access different parts of the earth, when it sprouts upwards it could let you harvest fruit.)mujun said:
Dilli666 said:Argh, I'll hopefully still get along with my XNA 3.0 books I've just bought
Please don't change to much on the GUI, MS - thanks!
you should be fine, things don't change that much. You could just continue to learn 3.0 and move on if/when you're happy if it's that much different (which it won't be)
coincidently(?) Shawn Hargreaves put this post up a couple of days ago; http://blogs.msdn.com/shawnhar/archive/2010/03/05/backward-compatibility.aspx
D4Danger said:
Speaking of books. Does anyone have James Silva's XNA 3.0 book? (http://www.amazon.com/dp/143021869X/?tag=neogaf0e-20)
I heard it was good but I have looked everywhere but it is out of print.
Sanic
Member
zukalous said:
It's a good book, but not so much if you want to learn the in's and out's of XNA. It's more like 'Here's this really good, highly expandable 2d sidescroller engine we made and here's all the code we used to make it!' with explanations of how all of the game's systems work.
If you have at least some knowledge of XNA it could probably be helpful, but if you're an absolute beginner I would look elsewhere.
- Status