SNWD #4: Space Funeral

So there's this guy, right. He calls himself thecatamites. This guy's a fucking magician. Srrsly. He made this game called Space Funeral using RPGMaker2003. Now this should set off alarm bells and stuff cause RPGMaker is founded on templates. Templates that build standard, tried, tired, formulaic JRPGs, but this is where thecatamites's magic powers come into play cause right from the main menu screen, he's already playing around with your expectations and assumptions of what JRPGs are.

And then you select "Blood," and you're tossed into a game world drawn in MS Paint with some awesome, fuzzy Japanese noise rock, and you notice that your character is always crying, and your dad's tossing you out of the house, but before you leave, listen to your JRPG instincts. Check out that chest looking thing off to the right.

Download Link for those that missed it the first time:
http://gamejolt.com/freeware/games/space-funeral/files/space-funeral-v1-1/download/3492/4619/

I wish thecatamites had a blog or something that I could link. He's too indie for that though. He just pops up every now and then with a new game release and disappears again. Doo's a fucking magician I tell ya.

Thursday Night is Community Night

but the show's getting pretty stale, so screw that. Let's watch someone talk about the indie gaming community instead.

Things to take note of before watching:

• Independent game developers take pride in calling themselves indie. Indie is equivalent to "DIY LO-FI FO LYFE!!1!" (mmMMm, HELLZ YEA).
• SNES = Super Nintendo Entertainment System. It's a gaming console from back in the 90s.
• Farmville is the definitive "social game" by Zynga and can be played on Facebook. The term "social gaming" has taken on a very negative and dirty connotation with indies. These games are viewed as lacking in actual gameplay, and instead, hide away unlockable items and content behind how many friends you've invited or how long you've played both of which generate ad revenue. The mass appeal though is that players can then customize and dress up their avatars or their farms or their pets with this unlockable content and then share it with their friends or anyone else on the internet.
• Sleep is Death is an interactive storytelling game by Jason Rohrer. It requires two computers, two copies of the game, and a network connection between them. Player A plays the "storyteller" who has complete control over the characters, scenes, and areas that Player B interacts with. Player B explores this world and communicates with the in-game characters by typing (to PlayerA). Player A then responds or takes an action or changes the scene entirely, and then it's Player B's turn again to explore and take an action. Both players work together to push the story in whatever they want. Think of it is as improvisational theater as gameplay. (BUY AND PLAY THIS GAME ALREADY)

TIGJam Talks (uncut) - Timothy Fitz from IndieGame: The Movie on Vimeo.

This is a clip taken from IndieGame: The Movie which is a documentary that is supposed to be released sometime this year. They have a bunch of clips, talks, and interviews on both youtube and vimeo that you guys should definitely check out.

up with yolk down with dope

i have a dream that one day that each and every egg may be prepared, always, united under one pan, indivisible, with liberty and enjoyment for all. i propose, brothers and sisters, that we rid the world of the separate but edible clause so that whites and yolks can live in harmony and work together to further our tasting experience. so join me, brothers and sisters, and fry your eggs, sunny side up, and pop that yolk and have it run free with the whites and into your hashbrowns. so shall it be written so shall it be done.

Salutations. The Return (again)

So like, a decade has passed, and I'm officially a college graduate. Pretty sweeet, righ? Totally starting off this new decade with nothing to do. I'll get a job eventually, but for now, I'm a be bustin out dem drankz and binging on video games and hopefully making some too.

And since I've been playing so much, I got a top quality grade A list for you guys. I might do reviews. I might not. We'll see.

But yeah, first off we got Hydorah, a side-scrolling SHMUP, that takes influence from Gradius and R-Type. Work on them reflexes and stretch them fingers cause this is one tough cookie.

http://www.locomalito.com/juegos_hydorah.php

You should check out the making of PDF they have down at the bottom of their page too. Pretty fun to look through. Locomalito has done quite a few games though, so check 'em all out. L'Abbaye des Morts is another goodie by them.


Next up, we got Knytt Stories, a platformer, but of the atmospheric persuasion. Nifflas is known for lively worlds and this game is my favorite of the ones I've played. Knytt Stories is relaxed, and extremely pretty. Definitely a Sunday Night Wind Down candidate. I actually enjoyed standing around in game and just watching the scenery. 

http://nifflas.ni2.se/?page=Knytt+Stories

Be sure to download the expansion too!

Last for this list is a flash game near and dear to my heart. This is definitely in my top 5 for 2010. Matt Thorson has spent years working on level design concepts and it really shows in Give Up Robot 2. Plus, the music is catchy, and the visuals are top notch. Everyone must play this game!

http://games.adultswim.com/give-up-robot-2-online-game.html

Check out his blog and other work at http://mattmakesgames.com

Anyway, yeah, hopefully I can do this more consistently. I'm actually starting work on a platformer, so keep in touch.