Screenshot Weekly – No Hope for Nomads in Space

Welcome back to Screenshot Weekly !

! Every Tuesday, IGM brings you exclusive looks at upcoming games in various stages of development. This week is actually the 52nd installment in the series, so… Happy Anniversary! You forgot, didn’t you? I’m standing here in a suit with reservations to Caffè Costoso and you’re staring blankly at me with a spoon in one hand, a pint of Ben & Jerry’s in the other, and I’m pretty sure the sweatpants you wore to bed last night despite the fact that it’s 8pm EST. We really don’t get to choose who we fall in love with, do we? Anyway, the featured image introducing each game will always be original, and made especially for IGM, so you’ll see them for the first time right here! (Make sure to click the pics to see them in their full screen glory.) Without further ado, let’s take a look at this week’s screenshots:

Nomad Fleet

Why are so many RTS games set in space? I guess to be fair, there are just a ton of RTS games, and space is just one particular setting, so in the grand scheme of things it’s only a small percentage, but it sure seems like space and RTS go hand-in-hand. Not one to upset the establishment, Nomad Fleet is a RTS game for PC where players are tasked with leading “the last remnants of mankind to safety after a mysterious alien race has hunted them to near-extinction.” In order to do so, players must lead “a fully armed fleet of battleships, carriers and fighters through a series of procedural scenarios where they must fight for their survival while scavenging for resources, researching new technologies, and solving disputes using diplomacy or brute force.” There weren’t any specifics given as to what sorts of diplomacy could be employed, but I did find out there will be more than one alien race that players will encounter, each with their own agendas and tactics. Nomad Fleet sports a fully 3D environment, and allows players to scavenge and harvest resources by salvaging ships to improve their own fleet via research upgrades. For more information, be sure to check out solo dev Jorge Pacheco’s IndieDB pageand the game’s Twitter page.

Spaceport Hope

If you get all hot and bothered over 2D platform shooters, well, then you my friend have a weird fetish. But if you just enjoy playing them instead, then Spaceport Hope is a curious title with an intriguing plot. According to the team at Dream Files, “ Spaceport Hope is a game about a planetary government trading technology with an alien race, which turns out bad.” Oh, Earth, always so willing to compare notes with anyone who has cooler weapons and shinier gadgets. Stay beautiful.  Of course, as is Earth custom, we really just plan on taking things without asking first, and so in Spaceport Hope , “you play as a badass courier who takes a government job, and soon is sucked in to the events of  an upcoming assault of the alien race. He does what he can to save his own skin, as well as the democracy and freedom in the world he’s living in.” Feature-wise, the game sports over 70 levels and areas across 10 different planets, 60 enemy types, 12 guns, 10 bosses…and a partridge in a pear tree. You can see some Alpha footage on Youtube, and read some more about it on this Reddit threadDream Files posted.

Vaporum

The developers at Fatbot Studio are currently developing Vaporum . In their own words, they describe the game as “ a grid-based, single-player & single-character dungeon crawler game seen from the first-person perspective in an original steampunk setting. Its main appeal lies in action-oriented combat and mechanical puzzle solving, backed by an immersive environment filled with mysteries and secrets to explore.” Since the game only features one character and is from a first-person POV, “the game uses a unique character development system where you improve your suit instead of the character itself, and with a combination of various items, skills, and traits, it allows for deep customization of your playstyle. Yet, the action-oriented gameplay lets you develop your own personal playing skills, rather than number-crunching power to defeat enemies and overcome obstacles.” Sounds interesting, but truthfully, they had me at Steampunk dungeon crawler. The developers would like to point those interested in the direction of their latest pre-Alpha video teaser, currently on YouTube. Alternatively, anyone who wants to learn more about Vaporum should visit the game’s official blog, or follow along on Twitterfor updates.

That’s it for this week’s Screenshot Weekly . Be sure to come back next week to see more exclusive looks of the latest indie games in development! Let us know in the comments section what upcoming indie games you’d like to see featured in a future installment. As for any indie developers who would like to see their screenshots featured in an upcoming segment, feel free to send an email to IGM at editors@indiegamemag.com with the Subject Line: “Screenshot Weekly”. Or, if you’d like to be part of our Magazine’s Screenshot Monthly segment, include that in the email as well!