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Xbox LIVE Indie Games - JUNE 2012 (combined NeoGAF spend in May: 0 Microsoft Points)

T

toythatkills

Member
Gaspode_T said:
I like her explanation of punishers being too common on XBLIG and demand being low for them
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It depends what you see as a punisher though, really. Her definition differs massively from mine, and where she sees hard games as punishers, I see hard games as games which are hard. There's a line a game has to cross before it goes from a hard game to a punisher, and there's not that much on XBLIG that truly crosses it.

She's obviously right about the demand not being there for them, but I certainly don't think there's an overabundance of them. At least not if you compare them to, say, twin stick shooters, among other things.
 
G

Gaspode_T

Member
There are lots of things which I think are still in high demand not fulfilled:

Runners (better ones, more like iOS)
Light sims like Tiny Tower/Pocket Planes but dont revolve around quiting and coming back
Metroidvanias that dont suck
Dungeon Raid clones
Clones of clones
Clones of clones of clones

By the way ...
Places to release XNA games in 2013: XBLIG and WP8. XNA is not going away. Kind of nice to know. I was worried for a while that WP8 would not support XNA, but it was great to hear it confirmed it will.
 
O

OnPoint

Member
toythatkills said:
It failed peer review and then went back into peer review before the seven day waiting period was over. Bunch of devs starting crying on twitter about it and as a result, it got the most exhaustive peer review ever, with people looking specifically for reasons why they could fail it - so it failed.
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I wondered why they didn't peer review it THEN announce a release date.
 
T

toythatkills

Member
OnPoint said:
I wondered why they didn't peer review it THEN announce a release date.
Click to expand...

Yeah, bringing it forward from the original date was pretty ambitious! Still, Steam is obviously the focus, of course, I don't think the XBLIG version is expected to make much money, really, so it probably doesn't matter if it's a few days late.
 
Trumpets

Trumpets

Member
Yeah we have just been discussing it on Twitter. Failed because the memory card was pulled out when saving and cause the game to crash.
Click to expand...

That's a fairly standard test in peer review, to be fair. Stupid, but standard.

I'd have thought any player who pulls the memory card out during a save deserves whatever they get.
 
S

slash000

Zeboyd Games
Well, we had accounted for the MU pull problem with code failsafes that were thoroughly tested in or past games. We used the same code and failsafes in RS3; it's built on the same engine after all. Neither I nor Robert have an old-school Xbox to test this on, as the newer Xbox's don't even support MU's and you can't even buy MU's in stores any more as Microsoft no longer sells them either. We relied on what few reviewers have old Xbox/MUs to verify that our failsafes worked, we figured they would still work now, since nothing has changed in our data saving code.

Nevertheless, I bought a used MU off Ebay and a refurb old Xbox360 model for the sole purpose of testing this particular issue so hopefully I get those in the mail soon. In the meantime Robert's gonna try and add an extra layer of protection against the MU-pull Code4.

That said we're not devastated over this as we're focused full force on the PC release now, and we'll let people know when the Xblig version will be out once it's passed Peer, whenever that might be.
 
W

Warm Machine

Member
toythatkills said:
Bunch of devs starting crying on twitter about it and as a result, it got the most exhaustive peer review ever, with people looking specifically for reasons why they could fail it - so it failed.
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As an xblig dev myself I'd rather the game be available and not failed again simply to drive people towards the store and see what else is on offer to buy. A game that crashes is a game that crashes and unfortunately should not be available but anyone breaking the game out of spite is only screwing themselves over.

I have no problem with RS3 bypassing the 7 day peer review jail. I have no problem with anyone who has a partner or point of contact at Microsoft who is able to work this sort of stuff out. It is simply being a good business person and forming partnerships.
 
S

SAB CA

Sketchbook Picasso
toythatkills said:
This is actually featured on the UK Marketplace, replacing Solar 2.
Click to expand...

The weird thing about Shoot Chicken Revenge: BrutalSuckers... is that not only is it featured in the US marketplace, but it ALSO got an ad in the Father's Day promotion, all within a few days of it's release.

This hasn't seemed to help it's raitings, however; only 170 or so people had rated it when I last looked.So can't tell if all this feature'n is really pushing it any.

Someone at Microsoft must really like it's cover!

----

I feel bas for some of those DBP entries... some of them look GREAT, but I'd never have looked at them on name alone. Wyv and Keep is quite charming, and I even liked what I saw of Larnin, but none of that describes anything!

Fist Puncher looks better and better, I constantly want more Beat em ups released (IG or otherwise), bring it on! Seems to have gotten what it needed from it's Kickstarter Campaign.

Heroes of Mythology probably looks a bit better (already!) Than Pirates Plundaar! on Wii, and that was a 30 dollar or so retail release! The artistic design of the game looks really highclass overall, and it looks like an inspired take on Castle Crasher-style Beat em ups.

Axiom Verge looks fantastic, they seem to have all the timing, movement expectancy, and overall "flow" that feels like a legit, polished game, right already. Highly impressive! Really looking forward to this one.

Windhaven doesn't seem to be as SOLID as that (It looks rough around the edges), but what a promising looking game in general!

Astralis power-walking in kinda funny. I kinda like it, as the game looks almost like it could fit in the simple 2000 series with an EDF game.

----

More DBP Entries that Caught my eye:

Elem3ntz <- That looks nicely polished. Fun personality, really works it's artstyle well!
PuzzleBlitz <- Another side of Puzzle fighitng! Like the idea, think the way the attacks move to the other side is so slow it kidna... saps away from the overall speed of the game?
Chibis Bombas <- I normally hate the idea of "Bomberman with more movement freedom", but this seems like it's coming along well.
Super Amazing Wagon Adventure! <- Oregon Trail: Warioware ADD edition! This is kinda fun.
Gheldia <- Dislike the font at the end for title, too hard to read. But the game looks nice! Looks like original spritework too.
Vintage Hero <- SUPER FIGHTING Ro... Jani... hmm. Err... VINTAGE HERO!
 
V

vireland

Member
toythatkills said:
It failed peer review and then went back into peer review before the seven day waiting period was over. Bunch of devs starting crying on twitter about it and as a result, it got the most exhaustive peer review ever, with people looking specifically for reasons why they could fail it - so it failed.
Click to expand...

Which is completely ridiculous because there are a ton of indie games that flaunt the guidelines/rules and it still passes review. Haters gotta hate. It's crazy, especially since it will bring positive attention to XBLIG.
 
T

toythatkills

Member
SAB CA said:
The weird thing about Shoot Chicken Revenge: BrutalSuckers... is that not only is it featured in the US marketplace, but it ALSO got an ad in the Father's Day promotion, all within a few days of it's release.

This hasn't seemed to help it's raitings, however; only 170 or so people had rated it when I last looked.So can't tell if all this feature'n is really pushing it any.

Someone at Microsoft must really like it's cover!
Click to expand...

Amusingly (or not) it's actually Kohei's worst game as well. If they're gonna promote anything it should be Moe Mekuri, it's a really bizarre choice.
 
F

FunInfusedGames

Member
It's a legit fail reason (a stupid reason too I'll add). A lot of devs seemed angry that Zeboyd got to skirt the normal 7 day jail and really went in depth on the peer review. I'm not surprised on one of the devs at all given just how much of that has been done to him.

I think it's too bad when someone can't be happy for someone else's success and instead makes it about what they didn't get.
 
D

DaveVoyles

Member
Yeah, 7 days, 3 days, who cares. Some games sit there for WEEKS without passing peer review, as no one is interested in playing them.

I'm SLOWLY building my XBLIG, Pong With Cats, and have updated my blog here.


As far as XNA on WP8, yeah it will work, but how do you get the actual game? They can't appear in the Metro Store, so how would you buy them, other than using a 3rd party website?
 
G

Gaspode_T

Member
DaveVoyles said:
Yeah, 7 days, 3 days, who cares. Some games sit there for WEEKS without passing peer review, as no one is interested in playing them.

I'm SLOWLY building my XBLIG, Pong With Cats, and have updated my blog here.


As far as XNA on WP8, yeah it will work, but how do you get the actual game? They can't appear in the Metro Store, so how would you buy them, other than using a 3rd party website?
Click to expand...

WP8 will not list games from Windows Store, as far as I know unfortunately you still have to submit them to a system just like the one from today (to putting on both places is technically a little bit of work, even if some WinRT things is just recompiling with diff settings). So XNA games still have some sort of fair shot there.
 
A

AlejandroDaJ

Neo Member
Hey, guys. After a few months of registration limbo, NeoGAF approved my account.

I've been working on porting Cute Things Dying Violently to PC for the last few months, and did a complete art overhaul while I was at it:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cz4nzW81j28

I'd originally pegged myself to a July 10 release date, but now I'm wondering if two full weeks is enough time to promote from scratch. That, plus I'd run afoul of Steam Summer Sale coverage. Do you think July 17 might be more reasonable, or even some time further after that?

Also, the Xbox version will be getting all of the art and code upgrades for free, natch.
 
G

Gaspode_T

Member
I think summer would be a decent time when school kids are out and mommy has them locked in their room with nothing but a 1600 Microsoft spacebucks card, you might need to change the game to Cute Boobs Dying Violently to get their pre-pubescent attention though.

Seriously though - I am impressed by the cloudy shader effects...
 
A

AlejandroDaJ

Neo Member
toythatkills said:
That looks excellent. Do you have any plans for an iOS port? Feels like that would be *the* market for this if you can get it controlling well.
Click to expand...

Once I've had a chance to catch my breath, I'm gonna spend some serious time with MonoGame and shoot for Mac, Linux, iOS, and Android.

Everyone wants a mobile port, but I'm super leery of how much the game would have to be trimmed to work on a touch interface. Most of the precision levels go bye bye, and somehow I have to rectify the fact that on XBLIG/PC, the cursor is limited to a single horizontal plane, whereas on the phone, you can touch everywhere. Also, Angry Birds is designed so that every single level can be beaten by using 100% pull on the birds, compared to the CTDV levels that require only 50% power or 75% power to get a flick right. I"d probably have to abandon those levels too.

I don't think these issues are insurmountable, but they certainly give me heartburn and I'm not sure what my game will look like when all's said and done.
 
T

the_dannobot

Member
slash000 said:
Well, we had accounted for the MU pull problem with code failsafes that were thoroughly tested in or past games. We used the same code and failsafes in RS3; it's built on the same engine after all. Neither I nor Robert have an old-school Xbox to test this on, as the newer Xbox's don't even support MU's and you can't even buy MU's in stores any more as Microsoft no longer sells them either. We relied on what few reviewers have old Xbox/MUs to verify that our failsafes worked, we figured they would still work now, since nothing has changed in our data saving code.

Nevertheless, I bought a used MU off Ebay and a refurb old Xbox360 model for the sole purpose of testing this particular issue so hopefully I get those in the mail soon. In the meantime Robert's gonna try and add an extra layer of protection against the MU-pull Code4.

That said we're not devastated over this as we're focused full force on the PC release now, and we'll let people know when the Xblig version will be out once it's passed Peer, whenever that might be.
Click to expand...
You can use any usb stick as an MU.

Cheers!
 
D

DaveVoyles

Member
FunInfusedGames said:
Personally I think CTDV is a game that BEGS for touch controls.
Click to expand...

I've been saying that forever.

July 17th is fine for release. No conferences until last August (GamesCom, GDC Europe, PAX) and not many huge releases around then. Should try to get in before the Steam summer sale, where we all buy games we know we will never play, but get simply because they are on sale.
 
G

Gaspode_T

Member
toythatkills said:
Pig & Bullet is... ace. The IKA mode has awesome music
Click to expand...

Is that game Japanese developed??

I cannot believe they put Shooting Chickens Brutalsuckers on the dash...pretty cool seeing the dev sales spike up whenever they do that. Hopefully it is bringing new people into the channel by catching their attention.
 
T

toythatkills

Member
DaveVoyles said:
'Cthulhu Saves The World' Hitting iOS, Android, and Mac On June 28
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I wonder if the guys porting that found a way to do controls that aren't rubbish.

In XBLIG opinionage, Adamant Ants is just about the worst Lemmings clone I've ever played.

Aqualibrium is an excellent action/puzzle game with loads of content where you have to filter water from one place to another.

Monster King is an RPG, people really need to actually take care with their art more because it's just no fun looking at something that looks this bad.

Overdriven is a shmup and is so painfully average.

Superdimension Iliad is far too difficult.

Puzzle Cubicle is meant to be some kind of logic puzzle or something, but it doesn't seem to have any logical rules or patterns with which to solve it a level.
 
H

HadesGigas

Member
toythatkills said:
Puzzle Cubicle is meant to be some kind of logic puzzle or something, but it doesn't seem to have any logical rules or patterns with which to solve it a level.
Click to expand...

Puzzle Cubicles rules:
Certain pieces have to appear in the location that they are in in the preview image.
Have to form enclosed "boxes" (of one color once colors are introduced).

The easy levels are kind of horrible (the first one you literally just make a box the size of the screen).
 
W

Warm Machine

Member
In case you didn't hear, Orbitron: Revolution is going back up to 240msp on the 2nd of July. The reason is because we want price parity with the PC version which is now $2.99 instead of $4.99.

While I make NO PROMISES about this it MAY be in your best interests to own a copy of Orbitron: Revolution when we release our next game. Much like Steam Heroes and Fortresscraft.
 
M

-=Magic=-

Neo Member
Finally I got the NeoGaf Activation :)

I'm the dev of "Magic Racing GP 2", and the upcoming "Magic Racing Rally". (the XBLIG version will have a lot of more features than the one released for the Dream Build and Play contest)

Just to say, "Hello to all of you :)"
 
D

DaveVoyles

Member
-=Magic=- said:
Finally I got the NeoGaf Activation :)

I'm the dev of "Magic Racing GP 2", and the upcoming "Magic Racing Rally". (the XBLIG version will have a lot of more features than the one released for the Dream Build and Play contest)

Just to say, "Hello to all of you :)"
Click to expand...

Welcome aboard!

This is one of the few constructive threads on GAF, where you probably won't see a flame war. ( I said probably)
 
T

toythatkills

Member
HadesGigas said:
Puzzle Cubicles rules:
Certain pieces have to appear in the location that they are in in the preview image.
Have to form enclosed "boxes" (of one color once colors are introduced).

The easy levels are kind of horrible (the first one you literally just make a box the size of the screen).
Click to expand...

Yeah, I did that first easy one and then skipped to a medium one, put in the bits from the preview, and then nothing else seemed to fit without leaving weird gaps all over because they were awkwardly shaped.

Warm Machine said:
I believe they set it up so that Steam Heroes takes your gamertag and from your gamertag assigns you a personalized code.

You then play Fortresscraft, signed in with that same gamertag, punch the code in and the game gives you a special item!
Click to expand...

Oh, that explains why Steam Heroes suddenly turned up in the top selling chart for a while.

I'm more confused about how Football League Simulator is the 53rd best selling XBLIG in the UK. I know that doesn't sound like much, but the thing's been out for years and it barely even does anything, just simulates a bunch of football results and generates a league table, for no reason at all. It's not even based on any stats or anything so Man Utd could finish last on 12 points. I can't really work out why people are buying it, suddenly.
 
T

toythatkills

Member
Spoids is only 80 Microsoft Points now (possibly short term, who knows?)

It's one of the best Tower Defense™ games on XBLIG, with top-notch presentation in particular, but is really fucking hard
 
O

OnPoint

Member
Caught up on an oldie the other day, Monster's (Probably) Stole My Princess. The game has fantastic production values and simple-yet-fun gameplay, but it feels incredibly short, especially given how long the demo is. I liked that you had to unlock the real final level by getting a gold medal on the initial five stages, but the last stage was incredibly easy to complete.
 
T

toythatkills

Member
OnPoint said:
Caught up on an oldie the other day, Monster's (Probably) Stole My Princess. The game has fantastic production values and simple-yet-fun gameplay, but it feels incredibly short, especially given how long the demo is. I liked that you had to unlock the real final level by getting a gold medal on the initial five stages, but the last stage was incredibly easy to complete.
Click to expand...

I didn't really mind the length, 'cause it felt more like a score-chasing game than a get-to-the-end one, and max-comboing a level is really hard

I played it mostly on PSP, though, got it long before the XBLIG appeared!
 
T

toythatkills

Member
Looks like Penny-Arcade might be out before too much longer =)

Also, I just noticed this description for Learn Basic French.

Learn Basic French is a simple tool to learn French. This app have different categories like Basic Phrases, Vocabulary and Grammar.
Click to expand...

Amazing how an app that claims to help you learn a language can have such a glaring mistake in its description. There's no way I'd trust this to teach me grammar.
 
V

vireland

Member
toythatkills said:
Spoids is only 80 Microsoft Points now (possibly short term, who knows?)

It's one of the best Tower Defense™ games on XBLIG, with top-notch presentation in particular, but is really fucking hard
Click to expand...

Heh, indiegamerchick.com agrees about the hard part, but didn't really think it was worth recommending until they dropped the price to a buck BECAUSE of the (she felt, broken) difficulty:

http://indiegamerchick.com/2012/06/26/spoids-second-chance-with-the-chick/

At least she re-reviewed it.
 
T

toythatkills

Member
For me, tower defense is supposed to be this hard. It's about losing over and over and refining and revising your strategy each time and getting further, like a kind of puzzle, I guess.

There isn't much more pointless than easy tower defense, because at that point it's basically a game playing itself!
 
O

OnPoint

Member
Her grading curve is pretty severe. She's a bit too severe and polarizing for me to take seriously. Her popularity is good for visibility for the service, but I fear her unrelenting standards are harmful.
 
D

Dark Octave

Banned
KDR_11k said:
That's probably why tower defense is so popular, see also Call of Duty.
Click to expand...
You're right. The causal crowd, people who play portal/browser PC games like Zuma and Peggle don't want a difficult game. They want a relaxing time waster and that's pretty much what most tower defense games are. But I do see Toy's point of view as well. Give me the difficult tower defense game any day.
 
S

SAB CA

Sketchbook Picasso
Just thought it should be noted: Shoot Chicken Revenge: Brutalsuckers recieved an update.

I haven't seen a list for the changes yet, but from playing the trial, I noticed it's added difficulty settings (easy, normal, and hard), with the normal feeling much more gentle. You can take more hits before death, and health drops at a decent rate. Also, I think the play-dead sliding chickens might have been removed early on, if not entirely?

Sounds like Kohei Gallery is out there, listening to the complains! Can't comment as if there are any other changes, as I don't have the full game, but that much was nice to see.
 
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