That's what I thought by just watching a video a few minutes ago... The enemy ships look warp-speed fast and kind of deadly (they seem to run at yours and crash against it), to the point the player was actually dodging stuff way more than actually shooting at it.OnPoint said:
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Xbox LIVE Indie Games - The October 2011 Thread
- Thread starter toythatkills
- Start date
toythatkills
Member
Haven't tried MS11, but I've been enjoying Pixelosity a bit. Side scrollin' shmup with a pretty nice feel about it. I wish the enemy bullets were clearer, but I like it anyway. The multiplier system means you start racking up serious points after thirty seconds or so, and it's great.
HadesGigas
Member
Yeah in MS11 it seems like you start off with shitty guns that get upgraded as you get further into the game, but the enemies just take way too many shots to kill most of them at first. And a lot of them are in positions where it's practically impossible to shoot them with the default gun spread.
Gaspode_T said:
One of my favorite things of this generation is all the throwbacks to bygone eras. Somehow I never get tired of relieving 8 and 16 bit styles through modern interpretations like this. I hope it's not too difficult or there's an easy mode but regardless, this and Wizorb will probably make for a very nice weekend.
toythatkills
Member
Wirral Railway & Garden Plants
Game of the Year contender?
Galdelico said:
Things I don't like in Mega Shooter 11:
- Moving around when the girls talk to you. I wish they locked you in place!
- It'd also be nice if they would make you stop, and move to that place, after touching the girl.
- You should really be able to manually scroll through text.
- Enemies die as-expected to the special guns, but the normal gun is quite underpowered.
- There's almost TOO many warps. Instead of staring at the same point over and over when you find a new one, I wish the Warp areas were just 1 screen affairs for convos, slightly more than 1 for selecting paths / picking up weapons /etc.
- It would really help if power ups would float towards you. The way they get stuck in objects is very nostalgic, but I would have given up this bit for better gameplay.
Now, things I do like:
-Opening cinematic, sound effects, animation, these things are all spoit on. It calls back to R-Type in a way, which is nice.
- The game sounds like it has a solid amount of stuff. I would have gladly sacrificed some of the hidden areas, in order to get a more polished overall game, though.
I might have tried buying it, if not for the fact that I have a pretty exact number of points ATM, that need to be saved for certain things.
Oh, and I kinda like "There Will be Brains". Though it's also REALLY POORLY REFINED in ways, such as the text in the text boxes being WAY too big, and the pause and "buy game " screens being totally off. It just feels very odd that such basic features came out REALLY broken looking. Also, I'm not sure if the Shotgun worked as it should... when it shot spread fire, the bullets that hit the main target would have a hit effect, but the others wouldn't. Makes it hard to tell if you're hitting the others or not!
Seems like it could really use a patch.
Thanks SAB, helpful as usual. 
I think I may spend those points in something else, for now... I have a few games on my list, waiting for their moment: Sequence, Express Train Frontier, Blocks That Mattter and Cthulhu Saves The World: tried all ther trials but still undecided. :0
I think I may spend those points in something else, for now... I have a few games on my list, waiting for their moment: Sequence, Express Train Frontier, Blocks That Mattter and Cthulhu Saves The World: tried all ther trials but still undecided. :0
Hmmm. I need something to push you over the edge on Sequence.Galdelico said:Thanks SAB, helpful as usual.
I think I may spend those points in something else, for now... I have a few games on my list, waiting for their moment: Sequence, Express Train Frontier, Blocks That Mattter and Cthulhu Saves The World: tried all ther trials but still undecided. :0
Here's some rad background art?
PepsimanVsJoe
Member
I wrote a review of Pixelosity: http://www.extraguy.com/2011/10/pixelosity-review-squared-shooter/
I...am not proud of this review.
Finished Mega Shooter 11...on the easy setting. I was having quite a bit of trouble on normal so I made a fresh start. Easy is just way too easy, once I loaded up on the shield power-ups I was pretty much invincible as it took a ton of damage just to register a blip on my health meter.
Now I'm debating as to whether I should give normal another go or jump to hard. There are some very frustrating aspects to the game(like the speed) and they definitely exacerbate depending on the difficulty.
I'm a little distracted right now though.
I...am not proud of this review.
Finished Mega Shooter 11...on the easy setting. I was having quite a bit of trouble on normal so I made a fresh start. Easy is just way too easy, once I loaded up on the shield power-ups I was pretty much invincible as it took a ton of damage just to register a blip on my health meter.
Now I'm debating as to whether I should give normal another go or jump to hard. There are some very frustrating aspects to the game(like the speed) and they definitely exacerbate depending on the difficulty.
I'm a little distracted right now though.
HadesGigas
Member
Wow, Ninja War STOLEN SCROLLS is literally Castle Crashers but with a ninja skin.
Four faceless heroes with color coded costumes that correspond to their magic abilities beat up hundreds of generic ninja soldiers and wild animals.
Even smaller things like the world map or the opening cutscene are lifted from Castle Crashers.
It's naturally nowhere near as polished and well animated as Castle Crashers, and there seemed to be little background or enemy variety in the few levels I ran through (very easy too). But it is quite solid for a buck.
If the developer were to flesh this out more it'd be well worth $3-5. What's here feels like a tech demo showing that they can make a game that sorta looks and feels like Castle Crashers, but without all the weapons, enemies, and funny animations that help make Castle Crashers great.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gshi4I0jVB0
Four faceless heroes with color coded costumes that correspond to their magic abilities beat up hundreds of generic ninja soldiers and wild animals.
Even smaller things like the world map or the opening cutscene are lifted from Castle Crashers.
It's naturally nowhere near as polished and well animated as Castle Crashers, and there seemed to be little background or enemy variety in the few levels I ran through (very easy too). But it is quite solid for a buck.
If the developer were to flesh this out more it'd be well worth $3-5. What's here feels like a tech demo showing that they can make a game that sorta looks and feels like Castle Crashers, but without all the weapons, enemies, and funny animations that help make Castle Crashers great.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gshi4I0jVB0
Dark Octave
Banned
I just played the demo and if CC is worth $15, this is easily worth $3-$5. It probably didn't take them 5 years to make it and it probably didn't have the budget, but it's a good "poor man's" CC. I really enjoyed the feel, art and music in this one. The music gave me a Final Fantasy feel in some parts. Very good job.HadesGigas said:Wow, Ninja War STOLEN SCROLLS is literally Castle Crashers but with a ninja skin.
Four faceless heroes with color coded costumes that correspond to their magic abilities beat up hundreds of generic ninja soldiers and wild animals.
Even smaller things like the world map or the opening cutscene are lifted from Castle Crashers.
It's naturally nowhere near as polished and well animated as Castle Crashers, and there seemed to be little background or enemy variety in the few levels I ran through (very easy too). But it is quite solid for a buck.
If the developer were to flesh this out more it'd be well worth $3-5. What's here feels like a tech demo showing that they can make a game that sorta looks and feels like Castle Crashers, but without all the weapons, enemies, and funny animations that help make Castle Crashers great.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gshi4I0jVB0
With that said, I wish they had also copied the weapon fighting more closley to CC as everything else. I enjoyed fighting with swords much more than the fists. Too bad weapons only last a few swipes and not every weapon can be picked up for some reason. Even if the sword is shorter and no more powerful than the fist, having that even if only visual, to me is much better for a ninja game.
But the biggest offender of them all, of every 2D sidescrolling game you have ever played in your life, you have always jumped with the "A" button or the most bottom face button, so WHY THE FUCK AM I JUMPING WITH "Y"? Who made that decision and what was the thought process behind it? Major turn off for me and completley disgusting. Sorry but controls and button layout is a big thing to me.
HadesGigas
Member
Dark Octave said:
Yeah I kept pressing A instead. At first I thought there wasn't a jump button.
It doesn't support the D-pad either. A pet peeve of mine that so many Indie Game developers seem to leave out. If you're making a sidescroller you should let the player use the D-pad for movement unless you've made some complex game with a lot of items that need to be mapped to it.
Dark Octave
Banned
Yes, thanks for pointing that out. This still bothers me, but over the years, developers do it so much, the initial annoyance fades quicker. I hate that I am accepting the stick in place of a D-pad (the 360's horrible D-pad helps), but I refuse to accept screwed up button placement.HadesGigas said:
FunInfusedGames
Member
Not supporting both DPAD and Analog is a bad design move. I'd email those developers and complain if you see this missing in their games. Once you have support for one or the other, it's pretty easy to support both. It's literally a 5 minute job with how my games are setup, but even worst case I cannot see it being more than an hour or two of work. No excuses guys, come on!
What's your guys take on this?
I was playing Pixelosity after having talked with Pepsiman about it some. He remarked about how it made him think of the Bit.Trip games, having seen them and not played them. So I downloaded the game and was messing around. Then I heard this sound effect:
Pixelosity sound
My jaw hit the floor. It's the exact sound effect found here.
Bit.Trip Runner sound
Was this thievery, or is it some sort of sample both games used?
I could send this Gaijin's way, or I could contact the Pixelosity dev. I just don't know if it should be allowed to stand if he stole it.
I was playing Pixelosity after having talked with Pepsiman about it some. He remarked about how it made him think of the Bit.Trip games, having seen them and not played them. So I downloaded the game and was messing around. Then I heard this sound effect:
Pixelosity sound
My jaw hit the floor. It's the exact sound effect found here.
Bit.Trip Runner sound
Was this thievery, or is it some sort of sample both games used?
I could send this Gaijin's way, or I could contact the Pixelosity dev. I just don't know if it should be allowed to stand if he stole it.
toythatkills
Member
It's kinda weird that you'd just accuse the dev and report them to Gaijin without actually checking out the source of the sound first, which you could easily have done in about five minutes if you'd asked him on twitter. I've asked and we'll see what he says.OnPoint said:
Anyway, Glow Arcade Racer looks awesome but don't be fooled, this game's AI has more rubber bands than Royal Mail.
EDIT: There, literally five minutes.
Sounds like an accident ta me.
toythatkills said:
I never accused, but I probably jumped the gun. I just said something along the lines of "Hey, I don't know if this is a royalty-free sound or not, but in case it's not I thought you should be aware of it."
But good advice regardless. I'll tweet out next time. That makes sense.
Here's the creator of Pixelosity..
I had some people tell me that it sounds a lot like each other, and i agree. I've created a patch which will change that specific sounds, and some other small issue's. But microsoft allows me to put the patch into review saturday (not as i said in the tweets, thats it currently already in review). But, like i said, i created most sound effects myself using sfxr or an 8bit vst and i got some from the various free sound internet websites.
Anyway, i am sorry. It shouldnt have happend.
I had some people tell me that it sounds a lot like each other, and i agree. I've created a patch which will change that specific sounds, and some other small issue's. But microsoft allows me to put the patch into review saturday (not as i said in the tweets, thats it currently already in review). But, like i said, i created most sound effects myself using sfxr or an 8bit vst and i got some from the various free sound internet websites.
Anyway, i am sorry. It shouldnt have happend.
FunInfusedGames
Member
I use a sfxr to create sound effects too as I'm sure do a lot of Indie devs... it's not surprising when you're going for that 8-bit style that you get something similar but unintentional to other games. There are really only so many unique ways you can arrange beeps and boops
There are a few of us and I know others are waiting for account approvals.
HadesGigas said:
I have been losing my interest of Indie games over the past few months, the shite is becoming too much to wade through, and those 2 silver dollar games, no matter how much of a piss take they are, are not helping.
I am not sure how much longer I'll be checking out Indie games on a regular basis and I have been doing so since the beginning
Whenever I get frustrated by it I take a long look through the App Store on iOS and then realize things could be even worse...and I'm not really kidding either. What's the problem on there is almost even more difficult to deal with, because it's harder to tell the difference between the crap and good when most of the games at least have a nice coat of paint on them and fancy looking tile. The only reason App Store is so fun and easy to look through is because you never have to look through New Releases, if you look through that section it's just the same amount of weird crap to wade through. The reason you never have to look through New Releases is because Top Downloaded and word of mouth is more than enough to satisfy most people. It's kind of the same on XBLIG, from one perspective, the problem is probably more with sustaining word of mouth of the games that are not zombies and boobs.
FunInfusedGames
Member
Sorting / filtering I think on XBLIG is a big reason for the low sales. XBLIG presents the New Releases FIRST. So gamers are all going to see whatever junk comes through, not the best stuff, and be turned off by the service. The current setup is best suited for releasing lots of games quickly (the Silver Dollar Formula) than anything else.
On iOS w/ Hypership, we got a lot of traffic because Apple hand picked our title and put us on a New and Noteworthy listing... this was a list of new titles that are good. For a gamer, this is a worthwhile list to check out. XBLIG needs something more like this. It's not the nature of submitting too many crappy games that is breaking things, its how Microsoft has chosen to display them.
On iOS w/ Hypership, we got a lot of traffic because Apple hand picked our title and put us on a New and Noteworthy listing... this was a list of new titles that are good. For a gamer, this is a worthwhile list to check out. XBLIG needs something more like this. It's not the nature of submitting too many crappy games that is breaking things, its how Microsoft has chosen to display them.
toythatkills
Member
Absolutely this. Wouldn't even take much work, just a person playing the games and deciding whether they're shit or not and if they're not, putting them on the list.FunInfusedGames said:
There's an update to Wizorb out now, for those that it was crashing for.
PepsimanVsJoe
Member
I'm surprised a list hasn't been put together by us yet.
I'm too lazy to do meaningful contributions though.
I'm too lazy to do meaningful contributions though.
Warm Machine
Member
Anyone interested could check out Twitter for #devchat. A bunch of XBLIG indies got together and shot the shit about all things XNA and XBLIG.
toythatkills
Member
I turned on my Xbox this morning to be met with the bunch of games I downloaded last night before I went to bed. I played them and to be honest, I think I'm done. Can't do it any more. If I have to play one more shit twin-stick shooter I'm going to kill myself. As time goes on, it seems the ratio of good:bad games just gets worse and worse. You used to see a great game every couple of days, now it's every couple of weeks if you're lucky. I'm in the final year of a degree, I just got a job for a while and I want to spend what free time I get playing stuff that's fun. I want to just go back to playing the stuff that isn't so obviously crap, which means making these threads ain't such an option any more because it can't be made fairly without trialling everything.
So, two choices. If someone else wants to do these monthly threads in my place, that'd be awesome. If not, I'll put together some kind of all time "best of XBLIGs" thread and we'll just go back to an XBLIGs megathread instead of monthly ones.
Any volunteers, then?
So, two choices. If someone else wants to do these monthly threads in my place, that'd be awesome. If not, I'll put together some kind of all time "best of XBLIGs" thread and we'll just go back to an XBLIGs megathread instead of monthly ones.
Any volunteers, then?
If I could buy any 10 80 point XBLIG titles, what should they be? I've read through these threads in the past and have some ideas, but I was wondering if anyone had a list of classics that everyone should at least try out. I already have Apple Jack, Hypership, Protect Me Knight, and Cursed Loot.
A couple of 240 point suggestions wouldn't hurt, either.
Haha, I didn't even read the rest of this page, so I guess it's already being discussed to a certain degree.
A couple of 240 point suggestions wouldn't hurt, either.
Haha, I didn't even read the rest of this page, so I guess it's already being discussed to a certain degree.
toythatkills
Member
Sort of. But rather than just picking eight games every two weeks or whatever, the list would just be the same as the New Arrivals list is now, but with the crap filtered so that only the good new games appeared. If this was called "New and Noteworthy" like on iOS, you could then have the New Arrivals list remain unchanged, but the New and Noteworthy list would be the default one. That's the first thing you'd see, and those are the boxarts that would appear on the "Indie Games" tab on the marketplace. The important thing is that it needs to be the default list, as nice as the Kotaku list is it's practically invisible. First impressions is what counts, and seeing boxes made in MS Paint with Comic Sans on them doesn't give a good first impression.JFizzle said:
FlipSideQuixzlizx said:
Old School Racer or OSR Unhinged
radiangames Fluid
TimeK
Pocoro
Gravitron360
One of the Platformances
LaserCat
Commander - World 1
The Deep Cave
Or for 240, get Blocks that Matter, Sequence, TEMPURA of the DEAD and Aesop's Garden. I've forgotten a bunch, obvs.
Kotaku's Favorites is clearly visible on my tv. But that list doesn't matter since you're talking about first impressions, so top rated & top downloaded is perfect for the newcomers. Those lists are really hard to miss. I can't imagine somebody writing off the channel without checking them first. That would mean they either A) didn't see that clearly visible "newest" / "top downloaded" text (which is especially unlikely since they got to the channel via the same browsing method) or B) they saw the text, but said, "these new releases are terrible, the top downloads and top rated must also be terrible...and I'm not going to press up once or twice to find out."toythatkills said:
Are you saying there's a significant amount of people that fall into either of these two groups? Or is there something I'm missing?
toythatkills
Member
It needs to default to a new arrivals kind of list because otherwise it gives the impression that there's no new games. Top Rated and Top Downloaded are largely static lists. People expect the new stuff to be the first stuff they see. The way I suggested means that people who make good games get twice as much exposure as they get now, since their games would be on the New/Noteworthy list for longer, and they'd be in better company. It also means that new games are at the fore-front of the service, as they should be. The only people that suffer are those that make rubbish games, and that's their own fault.JFizzle said:
Maybe they moved the Kotaku list. Last time I went to the US Marketplace it was one option up from the top option on the screen when you first opened the Indie Games tab, so to see it at all you had to scroll up for it.
toythatkills said:
Exactly how I feel as I said above TTK. I have run the facebook page, the grcade thread since the beginning and I have other things to do in life that are more serious now. Too much crap is killing this service.
Maybe we could all combine an do a top 10-20 list in each category, if possible, and then underneath something called honorable mentions too, so some others get tried too.
toythatkills
Member
Sequence was definitely a high point though, at least you did your best to get me to feel differently =PFeep said:
I'm still stupidly excited for Apple Jack 2, too, but aside from that and Volchaos it feels like there's little on the horizon, not between now and Christmas, anyway.
If no one wants to do a monthly thread in my place, we'll probably just come up with a list of games using the Marketplace sorting:
Action & Adventure (365)
Card & Board (69)
Classics (116)
Educational (40)
Family (76)
Fighting (40)
Music (47)
Other (196)
Platformer (169)
Puzzle & Trivia (281)
Racing & Flying (95)
Role Playing (51)
Shooter (348)
Sports & Recreation (80)
Strategy & Simulation (103)
and I'll sort them all into a "best of" thread, but it'll only be the very best stuff, 9/10 games, and maybe another post of stuff that's not aaaas good.
^^toythatkills said:
I think I speak on behalf of everyone here, developers and fans alike, when I say that we're extremely grateful for all the hard work you've put into these threads. I know most, if not all of us, have found some awesome game or another thanks to you, who tirelessly sorted through all those awful titles just to find the few diamonds in the rough.
I think a megathread would be totally cool. You could still feature and highlight any awesome games you come across, and it'll be much less work.
toythatkills
Member
Yeah, that'd be the plan. I'd still be playing stuff and updating the OP so that AJ2 is in it, etc. And Sequence 2, obviously (worth a try). I just don't want to have to play another zombie twin-stick with graphics made by a six year old on the off-chance that it's good, 'cause they never are.Feep said:
Trumpets
Member
It's a shame but I can fully understand your XBLIG fatigue. I barely check New Releases now unless something has been recommended.
A single continuing Megathread sounds good anyway, I agree.
Glad to hear it, although even pre-christmas sounds like a stretch at the moment. I've designed all the levels bar the final boss fight, but there's an awful lot to do after that.
A single continuing Megathread sounds good anyway, I agree.
toythatkills said:
Glad to hear it, although even pre-christmas sounds like a stretch at the moment. I've designed all the levels bar the final boss fight, but there's an awful lot to do after that.