Indie Game Trailers For Tuesday, November 19th

Featuring: Super Motherload, 1heart, and Project Peon.

If you have a new indie game trailer that you’d like to see featured, shoot an email to Tom, tom@indiegamemag.com, with the relevant links.

Maxis: SimCity could have had "a subset offline mode" but the idea was rejected

Maxis GM Lucy Bradshaw has responded to criticism that SimCity could have featured an offline mode, saying that yes, it could have, but Maxis "rejected that idea" for a different vision.

"So, could we have built a subset offline mode? Yes," writes Bradshaw. "But we rejected that idea because it didn't fit with our vision. We did not focus on the 'single city in isolation' that we have delivered in past SimCities. We recognize that there are fans—people who love the original SimCity—who want that. But we're also hearing from thousands of people who are playing across regions, trading, communicating and loving the Always-Connected functionality. The SimCity we delivered captures the magic of its heritage but catches up with ever-improving technology."

This is a direct response to the ire Maxis has drawn for previously implying that an offline mode is unfeasible. For instance, in an interview with Polygonlast week, Bradshaw said:

"With the way that the game works, we offload a significant amount of the calculations to our servers so that the computations are off the local PCs and are moved into the cloud. It wouldn't be possible to make the game offline without a significant amount of engineering work by our team."

The second statement may be true now that the existing engineering is in place, but our question has always been, "Why couldn't an offline mode have been planned from the start?" As I wrote in an editorialyesterday, Maxis has been leaving out the caveat: it is possible to play some form of SimCity offline, but not as Maxis intended it to be played. Bradshaw's statement today is that caveat.

In the post, Bradshaw explains why SimCity was designed as a connected experience, saying it wasn't a corporate decision, but a means to "realize a vision of players connected in regions to create a SimCity that captured the dynamism of the world we live in; a global, ever-changing, social world."

"The game we launched is only the beginning for us—it's not final and it never will be," she continues later. "In many ways, we built an MMO."

I understand what Bradshaw means: we don't criticize MMO developers for not making single-player RPGs instead, and like an MMO, SimCity is designed to be a multiplayer experience. However, while Bradshaw makes many arguments for multiplayer, she offers no arguments against singleplayer. Unlike Guild Wars, for instance, SimCity has a history of being a single-player experience, and while the multiplayer and social features are interesting, I'm not convinced that the option to play a subset offline mode undermines Maxis' vision. SimCity is fun by myself, too.

To editorialize even further, I think being able to opt in and out of a connected experience at will would only have increased SimCity's value, and holding up social features as the most precious and integral vision for SimCity was a mistake. But that's it: SimCity was designed to forever be a connected experience. At least it's nice to have it all out in the open!

Red Bull planning unique interactive StarCraft 2 tournament at PAX

We don't often post about eSports tournaments and events, but this one was just too much fun to pass up. Red Bull has announced they'll be holding the Red Bull LAN Seattle nightly after PAX, and it's far from your typical eSports tournament. The LAN will feature eight pro StarCraft 2 players going head-to-head on never-before-seen custom maps. But the cool part is that the tournament is actually interactive

The end of Nintendo explored in gamesTM 149

The end of Nintendo explored in gamesTM 149 Following catastrophic Wii U sales and lack of third-party support for its new console, this month games™ takes a closer look at the dire fortunes of Nintendo and what the company can do to turn it all around. Speaking with industry commentators that those that work closely with Nintendo, we investigate where it all went wrong for the once mighty videogame

GOG survey results show customers' reaction to DLC, DRM and pre-release alphas

Digital distributor GOG.com has been letting younger games, with their modern engines and loud dubstep, run loose amongst the traditionally older residents of its catalogue.

has been letting younger games, with their modern engines and loud dubstep, run loose amongst the traditionally older residents of its catalogue. The problem for the store is that this newer generation are into all sorts of weird stuff - DLC, episodic releases, and even online activation. Rather than just give the youth free reign, they sent out a survey to customers, asking them to vote on what is and isn't acceptable to sell. They've now published the results, providing an interesting look at how these often controversial industry aspects are being received.

In almost all cases, the surveyed customers voted in favour of the additions. That's somewhat surprising. GOG have historically focused on bringing old, DRM-free games to digital distribution, and creating bespoke special editions through bonus content. That might suggest a user base who would be sceptical of the modern industry's love of extending a game's life through additional post-release content. That, apparently, is not the case; although it's worth remembering that the survey wasn't set up to judge whether these features are popular or liked, just whether they should be allowed into GOG's catalogue.

Of the general survey questions, the most supported potential addition was DLC, followed by episodic games and "Early Access" alphas. All three got over a 60% positive response. DLC and Episodic Season Passes also got majority of support, although these proved more controversial, with 52.29% and 56.23% yes votes respectively.

The only proposed plans that failed to gain majority support were for non-MMO multiplayer games requiring some form of online activation to access. Serial Key protection was narrowly rejected - 50.47% said no - while a third-party account was overwhelmingly dismissed, with over 70% of respondents dismissing the idea. Understandable perhaps, except the response was quite different when users were given specifics.

Planetary Annihilation was offered as an example, with GOG noting that it's online and skirmish focused, DRM-free for offline, but also that: "A unique key is required for Internet multiplayer, and an account with the developer's service is only required for the persistent online features." Given this choice, almost 78% of respondents were happy for the game to be sold.

Which makes it hard to draw firm conclusions. At best, the thing to note is that, far from people being immovably against DLC, or even DRM, consumers are more interested in judging things on a case-by-case basis - and what bonuses they're being offered as a result of perceived negatives.

As for GOG, as well as assuring they'll be considerate with their offerings of DLC And episodic content, they conclude by saying, "any game that we bring you guys with persistent multiplayer features will be at least as offline-friendly as Planetary Annihilation is."

Red Bull planning unique interactive StarCraft 2 tournament at PAX

We don't often post about eSports tournaments and events, but this one was just too much fun to pass up. Red Bull has announced they'll be holding the Red Bull LAN Seattle nightly after PAX, and it's far from your typical eSports tournament. The LAN will feature eight pro StarCraft 2 players going head-to-head on never-before-seen custom maps. But the cool part is that the tournament is actually interactive

Canines Find Their Place in Home Free

Dogs have become prominent side-kicks in a few big triple-A games lately, but none of them dared to explore the possibility of controlling one.

Home Free is about the life and times of a stray dog in a metropolis.

Home Free is an open-world RPG, though “dog simulator” seems like an apt descriptor as well. Players control a canine (one out of about a dozen breeds, there could be more) and wander a city. The metropolis is randomly generated and creates a different experience for each playthrough. It’s filled with a variety of places and activities for canine adventurers, such as dumpsters, dog parks, food vendors, and the occasional dog-friendly person.

The player has a lot of flexibility in deciding how to “roleplay” their dog. There are a few methods to acquiring food. Foraging from dumpsters is one option (it may pay off to find best spots). The pup may try to tempt some humans into “donating” food by performing cute tricks. Alternatively, the dog can steal something, but risk getting caught by the chasing victim.

Two-legged creatures aren’t the only inhabitants of the city. Players encounter lots of other four-legged friends or foes in Home Free . Some will be outright hostile and attack on sight, protecting their territory, but others can be befriended. A friendly sniff here and there, some chasing and play, and players can run their own pack of dogs.

The canine life simulator is off to a strong start on Kickstarter, earning nearly $20,000 of its $50,000 goal. The minimum pledge to secure a game key (estimated delivery November 2016) is $15. Those who can’t get enough of dog madness should be happy to know that pledging for the game also grants a copy Dog Park , a 4-player dog battling game. One of the stretch goals brings cats to Home Free . The game is planned for Windows and Mac.

Stay updated on Home Free by following its creator, Kevin Cancienne, on Twitter.

Fans launch campaign to get San Marino included in FIFA 17

Fans have launched a campaign to have Europe's least successful international team included in FIFA 17 . The tiny republic of San Marino is represented by a side that in 26 years has never won a competitive match, and even in friendlies has only a single victory to its name: a 1-0 triumph over Liechtenstein in April 2004. Yet a dedicated group of supporters think its time the minnows were rewarded

SimCity tested: offline play, phantom Sims, and other controversies verified or debunked

The connection problems of SimCity's botched launch may almost be behind us, but now that more players are actually playing, the critical bombardment has adjusted its aim to target the simulation itself.

The connection problems of SimCity's botched launch may almost be behind us, but now that more players are actually playing, the critical bombardment has adjusted its aim to target the simulation itself. Players are reporting bugs, quirks, and mysterious behaviors, and discontent has swelled into accusations. Our reviewcriticizes many of these problems, but is there a bigger story? Were we misled?

Posing that question without answering it would just be rhetoric, so I've run my own experiments to directly test the biggest claims. In addition to judging their accuracy, I've provided context to inform judgment on whether we were misinformed by our own assumptions or by Maxis itself, as well as my opinions on the individual controversies.

Just after this article was written, SimCity Lead Designer Stone Librande published a postwhich explains more about some of these issues and the design decisions behind them. He also promises a patch to car pathfinding to help alleviate traffic jams.


"SimCity can be played offline"
True — cities can be simulated locally

If you cut off your internet connection while playing SimCity, it doesn't dump you back to the launcher. It warns you, but continues to simulate your city normally until it decides you've been mucking around offline for too long and boots you. But now a modder claimsthat he enabled offline play for longer than the 20 minute limit by tweaking the game's package files. (The video shows debug mode, which I'll get to later—the claim appears in the description.)

I haven't been able to test that claim yet, but it isn't necessary—20 minutes is long enough to establish that SimCity can simulate a single city locally. So where are the "portions of the computing" that Maxis GM Lucy Bradshaw claimedhappen on EA's servers? Most likely, Bradshaw was referring to the common pool of regional data cities draw from, which informs interactions like commuting workers and shoppers. From what I can tell on the front-end, it's essentially shared cloud saving.

There's also the Global Market (a shared commodities exchange), leaderboards, achievements, and other standard online game niceties, but there is no evidence that the core single-player experience can't be replicated offline for longer than the connection timer allows.

Maxis seems to be leaving out the caveat: you can't play SimCity offline as it was intended , and it's intended to be a connected experience. This is an unfortunate stance, because as I stated in my review, the bulk of my fun was a solo experience.


"Sims don't remember their houses or jobs"
True — But Maxis never hid this behavior

It is true that Sims can go to a different job each morning and return to a different house each night, and that they seem to seek the nearest instance of a building type to fulfill their desires. In a way, it's an elegant solution—with little processing per Sim, it encourages the creation of wealth-segmented neighborhoods which satisfy multiple desires. At higher populations, however, it can abruptly lead to a traffic gridlock and other unintended behaviors, something I criticized in our review.

Sleuths who have done their research already know there's no conspiracy here, because Maxis has said from the start that this is how Sims work. In fact, the May 2012 issue of PC Gamer US contains our first feature on SimCity, and in it I wrote:

"These Sims aren't as complex as the families we love to torture in The Sims. They start each day at the top of a flowchart, asking a series of simple questions such as: 'Am I sick? Do I have shopping money? Do I need to find a job? If there aren't any jobs, is there a park to sit in?'"

This was repeated and elaborated on in many subsequent previews and interviews with developers, both here and at other outlets. We were never misled about Sim behavior.


"Total population exceeds the actual number of Sims"
True — The population count seems to be flavor text

After 500 residents, every house of six adds about .5 people to a city's total population count. That ratio seems to increase with population, so that at 200,000 residents, somewhere around 20,000 appear to actually be simulated Sims.

To test this, I built a city containing exactly 90 low-wealth houses. Each house adds six Sims to the population, so 90 houses should give me a population of 540. The reported population, however, was 583—a discrepancy of 43, almost exactly half the number of houses. The community is calling these mysterious population padders "phantom Sims."

The population chart supports this observation. If you add up the total number of reported workers, shoppers, students, and homeless in a city, you get the correct number—in my 90 house town, the total was 140. That means the "total population" is likely flavor text which is meant to represent the fiction of the city—perhaps it accounts for children, who aren't otherwise factored in.

Because SimCity was sold largely on the power of its simulation engine, this should have been explicitly stated, but it's not actively hidden and doesn't change my overall appraisal of the game. SimCity is a game—its job is to create the illusion of a city, not to achieve a perfect 1-to-1 simulation.

Our assumption that the population count was part of that simulation and not a fictional game element was justified, but I haven't seen any marketing which explicitly states that. It should have been stated to avoid the apparent deception, but our assumptions aren't required features.

Most likely, things don't work so well with 100,000 individual Sims, and I think most would have accepted that if it were stated up front. After all, we accepted that our SimCity 4 cities didn't actually have 1,000,000 residents, or any at all, except as a number. It's a shame this wasn't communicated better, or it could have been a non-issue.

StarCraft 2: Heart of the Swarm not coming until 2013 says analyst

An analyst from Cowen & Company spoke out today about Activision Blizzard with comments that included predictions on the payout of the Infinity Ward lawsuit, as well as the prospective release date of the highly anticipated StarCraft 2 expansion pack: Heart of the Swarm. Doug Creutz said that he believes Blizzard is planning to push Heart of the Swarm back until after 2013 citing the fact that Blizzard

Open-world Survival Horror P.A.M.E.L.A Gets the Greenlight to Destroy Eden

Utopia, by its own definition, is meant to be pretty close to perfect.

Utopia, by its own definition, is meant to be pretty close to perfect. In the future of NVYVE Studios’ open-world survival horror P.A.M.E.L.A , this hasn’t quite gone to plan. Despite this, horror gamers seem excited, as the game reached the #1 spot on Steam Greenlight in only 48 hours, and went on to be Greenlit after 10 days.

Players will explore the less-than-perfect utopia, called Eden, as a recently-awakened “Sleeper.” Alongside them in their journey to discover what happened to the technologically-advanced civilization of Eden will be Pamela, the AI that made the decision to wake the protagonist from their cryo-sleep when everything went to hell.

Gamers can expect to make their way through a world that is out to get them, as the Afflicted (former Eden residents) will be out to kill them, driven mad by “excruciating pain and [a] disfiguring disease.” However, an advanced AI system will ensure that none of these encounters will be the same as the last, and each citizen or android met through P.A.M.E.L.A will be completely different, depending on behaviors, alliances and player actions.

To survive, players will be able to use and customize equipment found around the world, enhancing their body with “bio-augmentations” that will give them an advantage in a fight. The studio hints that this may have impacts further on, though, because “every decision has consequences in Eden,” and P.A.M.E.L.A looks like it will have gamers pondering where the line has to be drawn in technological advances.

P.A.M.E.L.A will be released on Windows PC in 2016, and those hungry for some more sci-fi horror information can check out the game’s website. Or, start a conversation with the developers on Facebookor Twitter.

Follow the Development of VR Explorer Child of Cooper

Might and Delight is an independent studio from Stockholm, founded in 2010.

Might and Delight is an independent studio from Stockholm, founded in 2010. Their aim is often experimental; the developers state their intentions to create innovative games that are artistically stylized and draw on interdisciplinary influences. Previous projects include the Shelter series, in which players control wild animals.

The upcoming Child of Cooper is the studio’s first use of Virtual Reality technology in the creation of an immersive, first-person exploration game, soundtracked by Might and Delight’s musical collaborators Retro Family. Players see the world from the perspective of a child, and must learn to navigate without instruction, as the story progresses without waiting for their actions. The protagonist explores a world of surreal animation to interpret their fragmented memories, attempting to make sense of a non-standard narrative structure.

Release dates have yet to be announced, but the game has been in production for several months and will be released on Steam and other platforms in the future. The game will be available on PC and Mac as well as being VR compatible.

The developers are releasing regular updates for those following the game’s progress. More information on the project can be found on Might and Delight’s websiteas well as on their Facebookand Twitter. The studio is also sharing concept art and other updates on their Tumblror Steampages.

SimCity Reddit AMA goes over modding, always-on DRM

Last Friday, Maxis opened a Q&A discussion on Reddit surrounding the development of upcoming city-sim SimCity.

surrounding the development of upcoming city-sim SimCity. (Say that ten times fast.) Among other team members, Senior Producer Kip Katsarelis and Creative Director Ocean Quigley responded to questions about modding support, who Maxis considers the ideal SimCity player, building density, and other topics. Read on for excerpts of the best answers.

"Always. Seriously though, being the first 3D SimCity (and the first with curvy roads) means there's some serious spline tech under the hood. We've got a few old, grizzled engineers (including some from the SimCity 4 days) making sure your splines are reticulated to perfection."

"This is definitely a game for the hardcore fans. When we started this project, we looked at previous SimCity games and evaluated what made them great. We looked at fan sites, spoke with fans, looked at reviews, and looked at what the SimCity 4 community was up to. We wanted to make sure that we delivered on the core values of SimCity.

"Buildings come in at different densities. Low density buildings (like standalone houses) have space between them. By the time you get to middle density, buildings are packed much more tightly. High density buildings are mixed. Some have plazas or other spaces around them, some are tightly packed."

On modding:

"It's going to be tricky! Buildings in SimCity 4 were sprites projected onto low-poly cards, so it was easy to make new ones. Our new buildings are pretty complicated—they're rigged, animated, and LOD'd Maya models with complex material assignments. They're more like animated characters than like SC4 buildings. Remember, modding didn't get off the ground on SC4 until a year or so after the Rush Hour expansion—this stuff is hard, and can take a while."

"We will allow you to play for as long as we can preserve your game state. This will most likely be minutes."

As you might expect, commenters' reception of this statement wasn't exactly positive. Many thread participantsdecried the requirement of maintaining a constant Internet connection to save games and store data. "I'm really sorry, but I cannot support an online-only game," one poster wrote. "When I'm paying $50+ for a game, I want the decision for how and when I play it to be mine. It's not the developer or the publisher's place to choose how and when I play my games. I want to play your game. I will pay extra money for a DRM-free version."

We checked in with the status of the project ourselves by interviewing Lead Designer Stone Librandeon building a better town-builder.

MLG StarCraft 2 Summer Arena ends with $10,000 winner

The Major League Gaming StarCraft 2 Summer Arena wrapped up this weekend with a hefty $10,000 purse going to Team Liquid'sYoon "TaeJa" Young Suh, a South Korean Terran player who took down team SlayerS' Protoss player Alicia in convincing fashion, winning 4 out of 6 games. The finals victory was TaeJa's first ever win in an offline tournament as he took down Yang "Alicia" Joon Sik, who has now lost

Pokkén Tournament review

Pokkén Tournament review Pokkén Tournament is a surprising game. It’s surprising in a number of ways, not least because it even exists in the first place. For The Pokémon Company – usually notoriously protective over its IP – to give its blessing to a game in which Pokémon kick seven shades of Scizor out of each other is something few could have expected. Perhaps even more remarkable, however, is that

Nintendo believed Wii U sales would hit 100 million, says Kimishima

Addressing a question relating to current Nintendo president Tatsumi Kimishima's reported pre-launch scepticism of the Wii U, Kimishima himself revealed Nintendo initially hoped the console would hit 100 million in worldwide sales.

Nintendo's latest investor Q&Ahas shed some light on the console maker's early ambitions for the Wii U.

Global sales, however, currently total 12.6 million, a disappointing situation Kimishima puts down to early miscommunication.

"In an internal sales representative meeting, someone projected that we would sell close to 100 million Wii U systems worldwide," explained the Nintendo chief.

"The thinking was that because Wii sold well, Wii U would follow suit. I said that, since the Wii had already sold so well, we need to clearly explain the attraction of the Wii U if we are to get beyond that and sell the new system."

Expanding on Kimishima's comments, Super Mario creator Shigeru Miymoto suggested poor sales could also be the result of pricing issues, but defended the system's place in the console ecosystem.

"It is true that we are having a hard time with Wii U sales, due to its price and the added fact that tablets are distributed free of charge in the market.” added Miyamoto.

"I do think Wii U continues to be attractive as a media device that changes life in the living room."

Find out what else Nintendo had to say during the lengthy Q&A by checking out our comprehensive round-up.

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Our Verdict
A fine balance of polished gaming and addictive new modes.

A fine balance of polished gaming and addictive new modes. The worlds most compulsive puzzle game just got even better.

I've been in a trance-like state for the last two hours, subconsciously creating rows of identically coloured gems and breathing in time to visual cues, while the sound of falling rain coerces me into a deep, meditative state. Bejeweled 3's new Zen mode is remarkable.

An addition intended to relax stressed minds, Zen mode takes Bejeweled's regular mechanic – clearing an 8x8 grid by aligning identically coloured jewels in rows of three or more – and adds a few tweaks. Firstly, everything is easier, with more opportunities to create multiplier gems and less chance of the dreaded 'NO MORE MOVES' situation. There are options to help you modulate your breathing while the game plays relaxing ambient noise. But the most notable – and brave – feature in Zen mode is 'binaural beats'. Developed with scientists, the idea is that by feeding your ears a continuous loop of single band frequencies, you'll enter a relaxed mental state. So I plugged in my headphones and started the 'Chill Cycle' loop – recommended to wash away 'troubling thoughts and stressful energies'.

I'm now utterly docile, drifting around in a dreamy haze, unable to believe that a basic puzzler has done the work of a skilled masseuse and a bottle of Sauvignon Blanc. PopCap have once again proved that they have magic fingers.

Hidden gem

But before the more serious gamers turn away, you'll be pleased to know that there's more to B3 than hardcore relaxation. For a start there's the basic match-3 game under the guise of Classic mode, while the arthritisinducing Lightning mode is essentially Bejeweled Blitz: blast as many gems as you can within a oneminute time limit, which can be extended by hitting clock gems.

Zen mode is a calm ocean compared to the stormy seas of the other new addition, Quest mode. It comprises 40 minigames (although half are just harder versions of the first half) and you'll need ninja-quick reflexes to overcome the timelimited puzzles. Ice Storm, for instance, requires you to hastily line up gems so that the explosions stop the grid from freezing over. Wall Blast, meanwhile, has you targeting your explosions at a wall before tempus fugits.

While many of the puzzles depend on beating the clock, which does becomes repetitive, two are more cerebral: Butterflies and Poker. The former has you matching sparkly gems with steadily advancing butterflies in order to save them from the spider at the top of the screen. The latter scores you based on the ranking of each poker hand you put down. Clear three sets of blue gems, and two sets of red, for example, and you've got a Full House worth 750 points. The nature of these two puzzles pushes you to think several moves ahead before you even touch a gem. And the payoff is damn satisfying.

Between Zen's hypnotic powers, Quest's fiendishly cognitive puzzles and further tweaks (such as badgeawarding and a simple XP system), Bejeweled 3 is the perfect example of how PopCap will be the ruin of us all. The time-based challenges do start to grind after a while, but the balance of rewards, satisfying combos and brow-furrowing action will keep you playing. “I'll just do one more game before I eat my tea,” you'll say. Before you know it, it's 2am and the oven has been on the whole time. Touché, PopCap. You owe me a pizza.

The Verdict

Bejeweled 3

A fine balance of polished gaming and addictive new modes. The worlds most compulsive puzzle game just got even better.

We recommend By Zergnet

10 of the best Super Mario Maker community levels

10 of the best Super Mario Maker community levels Pit of Panga: P-Break ID: 6059-0000-005E-4FB5 This legendary level is the one that took its own creator about nine hours to complete so that it could be uploaded to Nintendo’s network. It demands you to throw enemies and objects with speed and absolute precision as you make your way through a deadly course. We’ve still not made it farther than the first

Schrodinger’s Cat and the Raiders of the Lost Quark Arrives on PS4 and Xbox One

Schrodinger’s cat is tired of being locked in a box with a hammer, a poison flask, and radiation.

Schrodinger’s cat is tired of being locked in a box with a hammer, a poison flask, and radiation. Now, thanks to developer Italic Pig and their publisher Team17, the famous feline can be found in Schrodinger’s Cat And The Raiders of The Lost Quark , a new adventure now available for PS4 and Xbox One.

The action-adventure puzzle-platformer is inspired by one of the most famous scientific experiments ever, which is of course Schrodinger’s Cat. But in this universe there’s no paradox: The cat is very much alive and ready to save the Particle Zoo from subatomic chaos. The player’s duty is to collect the lost primitive particles that escaped from the Zoo through more than 30 levels with the help of cuddly quarks.

With visuals that resemble those of the Rayman series, Schrodinger’s Cat And The Raiders of The Lost Quark was already released on PC back in September 2014 on Steam. Now, the fast-paced adventure game is also available on Xbox One and Playstation 4, with all the same bombs, helicopters, and general cat madness. Those interested will find the game on the Xbox Live Marketplaceas well as the PSN storeat a price point of $9.99 , and can also buy the game for PC, Mac, and Linux through Steam. For a more detailed description of the game, visit their official website.

Bejeweled 3 demo released

A couple of days ago Bejeweled 3 launched, at a quiet tea party in a London living room.

Bejeweled 3

launched, at a quiet tea party in a London living room. Now there's a 60 minute trial available, so you can check out the glitzy match 3 puzzler without having to throw any money at it. The hour long trial is about 59 minutes more than is needed to get completely hooked on the game. It's available now on the PopCapsite. The game's available to buy now from PopCap, Direct2Driveand Steamfor $20 / £15.

Space Nomads’ Preparing For Lift-Off

‘Space Nomads’ Preparing For Lift-Off
You know what’s enjoyable?

You know what’s enjoyable? Exploration. And you know what makes that better? Exploring outer-space. Welcome to the first project by Loading Studios: the other-worldly game, Space Nomads .

This title falls amongst the survival and tower-defense genres. I will say this, upon realizing that it’s a game in which you live to protect an object that you will inevitably be forced to see destroyed, I admit, I did distance myself from the thought of playing it, although this was too hasty on my part.

In short, you are required to protect a core, the only piece of technology that survived during your reckless arrival to a planet that you aim to escape by eventually gathering enough power and materials. All the planets will be different due to various environments and procedural generation. You’ll also be able to construct turrets and weapons to bolster your efforts of protection, or, like me, just create a really pretty building.

The graphical style Space Nomads currently has going is fresh and cel-shaded (think of Borderlands crossed with another new indie title, StarForge ). This game makes me think of Starship Troopers , and not without the comedy either, as this game is fully co-operative. Allowing you to laugh as your friend gets eaten through your reluctance to warn them of an approaching insect. Survival of the fittest after all, right?

Currently, the game isn’t due for release any time soon, but a playable pre-release has been shown already and you can watch that below. I believe that this game is worth observing, it’ll be interesting to see just what features they add. I, for one, am hoping for curtains and carpets.

You can follow the development of the game on Loading Studios’ official site.

Or perhaps you wish to show some support to the development of the game, say hellovia twitter.

Ingonga: Time for You to Meet Voodoo

It’s that terrifying day of year again, and Twitter was kind enough to spew forth HeyKiddo!

It’s that terrifying day of year again, and Twitter was kind enough to spew forth HeyKiddo! Games’ upcoming indie horror, Ingonga. This is the scary love-child of two developers, Rhett Chassereau, who previously worked at Activision for 8 years before moving onto his passion project, and Catherine Edwards, who is the talent behind the game’s art and sound. It’s her you can thank for the sounds of your own laboured breathing or leaves crunching as a twisted pursuer gets closer.

Ingonga is a “ first-person horror game that’s focused on exploration, atmosphere, and story ”; in particular the story of Luna, a young woman whom has travelled to an island east of New Orleans, where an old, reclusive family built a mansion and village away from prying eyes. Unfortunately Luna hasn’t travelled for leisure, but to discover the whereabouts of her mother. Her mother travelled to the very same island as a journalist, trying to piece together a string of horrific events that took place there 20 years earlier, but never returned.

Finding out what happened to her is the main focus of the Ingonga , but HeyKiddo! suggest that there will be much more to find and experience. That is, if you can survive long enough to find and experience them. All kinds of cruel entities wander the island along with Luna, and for the most part, they want her dead.

Outside of the main narrative there will also be many artifacts and notes to discover relating to the game’s theme of Voodo-culture, not so often explored in games. These include video tapes – which provide access to sections of gameplay set in the horrific events of the past – and ‘Veves’ – which are symbols of the Loa (Haitian spirits), and open up ‘Moments’, which are unique sections with entirely different styles of gameplay.

On top of this, there will also be items to craft and ‘gris-gris’ – similar to charms or totems – to protect yourself from the creatures of the island, numerous areas of the island to explore, and it is said that no single playthrough will be the same as the last. This basically means that you can scare yourself over and over again, if you have a death wish.

To keep that skin-crawling up a little longer, get your fill over Ingonga over at the game’s Twitter, Facebook, Tumblrand Kickstarter, which launches today . HeyKiddo! Games have already kindly offered up a playable version of Ingonga to IGM in the near future, so a preview is very possible. Until that point, you may be able to sleep at night, unless you watched the video above, that is…

How to run Command & Conquer Red Alert 2 on Windows 7/8

Twice a month Wes guides you through the hacks, tricks, and mods you'll need to run a classic PC game on Windows 7/8.

pixelboost Red Alert 2

Twice a month Wes guides you through the hacks, tricks, and mods you'll need to run a classic PC game on Windows 7/8. Each Pixel Boostguide comes with a free side of high-res screenshots from the LPCcelebrating the graphics of PC gaming's past. This week: eternal classic Red Alert 2.

Red Alert 2 is not the most balanced Command & Conquer. It's not the most stable—multiplayer matches ended in crashes more often than not. It's not the most serious (that's probably Generals) and it's not the goofiest (that's probably Red Alert 3). But it's my favorite, because it includes a little bit of what made every C&C game special. Westwood upped the production value of its FMV cutscenes without sacrificing the camp and built a huge range of creative units without straying from C&C's messy large-scale battles. Until the Minecraft era, Westwood was also one of the only developers to make smart use of voxels, and Red Alert 2's colorful world and soldiers still look cool 14 years later. RA2 isn't the easiest game to find these days, but if you have a copy, it's still possible to run the game at high-res in modern Windows.


Install it

The last Command & Conquer games, including the fantastic Command & Conquer 3, are on Steam. The older games, including C&C, Tiberian Sun, and Red Alert, are all free downloads and multiplayer-ready at CnCNet.That leaves poor Red Alert 2 the odd man out. If you want to play it and don't have a disc copy sitting around, there's only one way to legally download it: the $20 Command & Conquer Ultimate Collection. Alternately, you could buy a disc copy of the First Decade collection.

Depending on your copy of Red Alert 2, you may run into different issues installing or running the game. The most likely fix is to run the game in Compatibility Mode for Windows XP (SP3), and always run the executable as an Administrator.


Run it in high resolution

Once Command & Conquer: Red Alert 2 is installed, running it in high resolution is incredibly easy. Navigate to the game's install directory and open up RA2.ini. In the file, simply set the video ScreenWidth and ScreenHeight attributes to the resolution of your display. I ran the game at 2560x1440, which makes everything far smaller than it once was on a 1024x768 CRT monitor.

Want to play multiplayer online? If you're on Windows Vista or newer, you'll need to download a patch like this one to enable LAN support. RA2's old networking protocol, IPX/SPX, was dropped after Windows XP. A LAN tunneling program like Hamachi makes it easy to play Red Alert 2 online with friends. Red Alert 2 also has a community of online players on GameRanger.

Here are solutions to a couple other issues RA2 has on modern Windows:


Mod it

There are a variety of mods available for Red Alert 2 on ModDB. If you're looking for well-balanced, thoughtful mods, Red Alert 2 probably isn't the right game for you. If you're looking for ridiculous mods that jam tons of new, weird units into the game, though, you'll find those on ModDB. I remember having fun with Total Destruction, which is sadly gone from ModDB, and Apocalypse.

There are also loads of custom maps for RA2 at sites like C&C Maps, which add needed variety to the multiplayer's limited map pool.


Command & Conquer: Red Alert 2 at 2560x1440 on the LPC

These screenshots were captured by running Red Alert 2 on a single 1440p monitor .on the Large Pixel Collider. I didn't experiment with running the game at 4K or higher resolutions—the scale is already so small at 1440p, going higher-res would make the game difficult to play For more guides to running classic games on modern Windows and more classic game screenshots, check out Pixel Boostevery other week.

Race To The Finish In ‘Tiny Elementals’

Normally when you think of a racing game you picture a group of racers in carts or cars, winding their way around ridiculous tracks and throwing shells and banana peels at each other.

Tiny Elementals is a new racing game for iOS and Android currently looking to raise funding on Kickstarter.

Instead of racing in vehicles, however, you control a monster as you race against other real players. As with other arcade racing games such as Mario Kart or Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed , you can obtain power-ups  such as fireballs, mud traps or frost novas. To defeat your opponents and rise to the top of the leaderboards you’ll need to time your jumps and your attacks correctly and race to the finish line.

That’s not all there is to it, however. After every gain you’ll gain coins which can be turned in at the store to customize your elemental with unique gear and gadgets. You can also create tournaments, chat with friends and compare yourself with other players from your country, or even worldwide.

Tiny Elementals is looking to raise $15,000 by April 19th, so if you’re interesting you can either head over to the Tiny Elemental ‘s Kickstarter Page, or go to the website, Twitter, Facebookor Google+pages for more information.

Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture Arises Again

If you know anything about The Chinese Room, developers of the story-driven Half-Life 2 mod Dear Esther , it’s that their games have a mysterious atmosphere unlike any other.

it’s that their games have a mysterious atmosphere unlike any other. The same can be said about the development of their upcoming title Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture , a game that’s had so few details given and seen such little footage since it’s 2012 announcement that some thought it on the verge of becoming vaporware. After being shockingly devoid of a presentation during Sony’s E3 conference, The Chinese Room has shown the first (depressingly short) Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture trailer in nearly a year at today’s Horizon indie conference.

The trailer shows a gorgeous, detailed environment (alongside the CryEngine 4 logo); a wheat field and dirt path similar to their well-polished Dear Esther. An abandoned bike and a tipped shopping cat lay barren in the way and, as we move towards a large tree standing tall above the wheat, dancing in the wind, a glowing gold light hovers, floating across the screen as though alive before embracing a similar light emanating from the tree’s trunk.

Whatever all that’s supposed to mean.

Fortunately, while the trailer offers next to nothing, co-director and composer Jessica Curry  has given some new details to the public via the Playstation blogwhile the press get the chance to view the game behind closed doors.

Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture is set in a fictional rural countryside, Yaughton valley, back in June 1984, and it’s a “story about people and how they live with each other” during the impeding end of the world. There’s cited inspirations by English literature in attempt to achieve a combination of the epic and the intimate– real people in extraordinary times.

The game is about exploration and discovery, something The Chinese Room flirted with in Dear Esther ; players will freely roam an open world to meet other characters and find new locations, shaping their own dynamic story and immersing themselves in the game unequivocally.

Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture is anticipated to release on Playstation 4 next year.

Bejeweled 3 is out, PopCap throw living room launch party

World of Warcraft players will be celebrating the release of Cataclysm tonight with an international series of glamorous midnight launch parties.

PopCap tea party

World of Warcraft players will be celebrating the release of Cataclysm tonight with an international series of glamorous midnight launch parties. PopCap have taken a cosier approach, hosting the Bejeweled 3 launch party in somebody's front room, with a fine selection of tea and biscuits.

Attending the event was a cross section of casual gamers, including "a Women's Institute secretary; a granny; a Welsh librarian; a glamorous banker and a trendy dad." The group was picked as a result of the outcome of a survey of 2000 gamers, which suggests that the average casual gamer is "a 45 year old mum called Sue".

Bejeweled 3 is out today. You can find more information about the game on PopCap'ssite. For Bejeweled's exciting origin story, have a look at our interview with PopCap's John Vechey. Meanwhile here's a trailer showing some of Bejeweled 3's new game modes in action.

The Best 3DS & Vita Indies Of 2012

So we’ve run through some of the best iOS and Android games of the past year, of which there were plenty of games to choose from.

So we’ve run through some of the best iOS and Android games of the past year, of which there were plenty of games to choose from. But what of the other handhelds? Without further ado, let’s have a look at some of the best Indie’s of 2012 on both Nintendo 3DS and PlayStation Vita .

Tales From Space: Mutant Blobs Attack – The Vita may have had a rocky year, launching decently but declining in sales compared to Nintendo’s dual screen portable, but there’s at least a few things we can all agree on. First, the console is better than some people give it credit, and secondly, Tales of Space: Mutant Blobs Attack was one of the best launch games available on the Vita’s PSN service. Providing a rock solid platformer with plenty of ambitious uses of the handhelds abilities, you can still consider this one worthy of your time to this day.

Frobisher Says! – Sony have been extremely supportive of the indie scene since the Vita’s launch. Frobisher Says! stands as one such game by indie studio Honeyslug that was well deserving of Sony’s support. This very fun collection of mini games harks back to the old days of Nintendo’s WarioWare series, throwing a number of quick and challenging games at you whilst using every trick the Vita has to offer, including the camera and rear touch screen.

Sound Shapes – Another side scroller that made plenty of noise this year, Sound Shapes featured an innovative musical rhythm design with a retro inspired art style that was addictive and unique. The ability to create and share your own levels with the easy to use track creation system added plenty of extra content on top of the wonderful collection of levels and songs provided in the game. You really need to play it to understand it.

Fractured Soul – Some regions have yet to taste this engaging side scrolling action game, but that wait won’t be for much longer. As for those that have, I’m sure you can attest to how good this really is, especially in trying to provide a unique experience. Using both screens to tackle the many enemies on screen at once or avoiding obstacles may sound tricky at first, but once you get used to the hop technique you’ll find a deep and rewarding game.

escapeVektor – Available on both systems, escapeVektor may have arrived late on the scene in 2012 but that’s no reason to leave it off this list. Whether it was the puzzle solving or the solid use of 3D on the 3DS and the touch screen on the Vita, the game deserves to be played. Originally designed for the original Wii, the puzzler turns the concept of colouring in into an inventive and at times brain taxing game. Also be sure to check out the DS exclusive Spirit Hunters Inc. , another title worthy of mention by Nnooo .

Mutant Mudds – Platform games are the go to design for many indie studios but Mutant Mudds stands out from the pack, especially considering its long and unusual development cycle. Originally conceived as a 3rd person shooter and at one stage bound for Xbox Live, the game finally found a home on the 3DS and certainly made a name for itself. Creators Renegade Kid were rather busy last year, also releasing Bomb Monkey and Planet Crashers on the eShop and have just announced the Mutant Mudds sequel.

Cave Story PlusCave Story has appeared on a few best of lists in the past. In fact, it’s also appeared on the 3DS already as Cave Story 3D not too long ago. But unlike that fresh coat of paint, Cave Story Plus is a port of the PC upgrade to the original pixelated story and it’s in fine form here as well. It hasn’t lost any of its quality and entertainment value either despite these many appearances.

VVVVVV – Before Super Hexagon, Terry Cavanagh introduced us to the very tough but very engaging VVVVVV , which made a welcome addition to the Nintendo 3DS eShop this past year after tearing up the PC in 2010. Technically this was released at the very end of 2011 in the US, but since the UK and Australian release wasn’t until the middle of last year (for reasons uncertain), we’ll count it on a technicality. Besides, why wouldn’t you want to play a game that creates nightmares for even the best gamers?

And that’s a wrap for 2012. If last year is anything to go by, the next 12 months will be very interesting indeed. Keep it locked to IGM Mobile for all the latest on the 3DS and Vita Indie scene.

Holiday Playlist: Kurt Indovina

And so it begins: The Holiday break.

And so it begins: The Holiday break. For many (myself included), the Holidays can be… well, at times, stressful. Often, there is this self-motivated obligation to drive around town, visiting family members stretched between yourself and a significant other’s families, or being forced to interact with the politically incorrect individuals on your Mom’s side; these things are inevitable. But we must always remember what’s truly important around this time of year, and that’s what video games you can use to escape the realities of Holiday stresses.

Here’s what I’ll be sinking into over the next week:

Kentucky Route Zero can be best described as a Coen brothers’ film meets a surreal interactive novel. Thus far in the episodic series, Kentucky Route Zero has done some of the most interesting and innovative things I’ve ever seen done in a point-and-click adventure. Cardboard Computer has designed a game that simply engulfs me into an atmosphere and world that I truly feel apart of. From act to act, Kentucky Route Zero feels extraordinarily dream-like, and breaks conventions of structure and storytelling I rarely even seen attempted in film. Click over to the gam e’s Steam Pageto find out more information.

I like spooky stuff. After all, I am frequently referred to as “The Spooky Kid” (no I’m not). When I first saw The Last Door on Kickstartermany moons ago, I said “hey, that’s pretty spooky looking, and it’s also a point-and-click adventures game. I can dig it.” Since then, I’ve been keeping a keen eye on it, and have been eager to experience it in all of its pixelated, spooky beauty. Inspired by the likes of Edgar Allen Poe, and H.P. Lovecraft, The Last Door is a horror adventure game set in Victorian England. There and then, I was sold. In the spirit of the Holiday season, I was gifted such a desired game and can now escape the happy holiday festivities into something a bit more dark and brooding… just like me.

Sometimes you just gotta kick-it-back and get classy. The Journey Down by Skygoblin Games is as classic as you can get with the graphic adventure genre. You’ll be solving several puzzles at once with an inventory filled with plenty of items, having sarcastic witty conversations, and endlessly exploring environments and their quirky characters. The Journey Down has a funky “afro-caribbean” vibe, with somewhat grim character design; all the characters faces are designed based of African death masks. Spooky, the way I like it. The game follows the bumbling protagonist Bwana on his journey, beginning as a poor gas station employee across a tale of crime and corruption that kicks off when a mysterious woman enters his life looking for a rare and highly desirable book.

It’s true, I like the point-and-click adventure genre. I’m a sucker for narrative and atmosphere, and nothing allows me to sink away into an atmosphere at my own pace the way an adventure game allows me too. These are games I’ve been patiently waiting to dive into, and no better time then when I’m trying to avoid undesirable relatives.

I hope all those reading this will gain some insight and inspiration for titles to check out, and more importantly, have a wonderfully safe Holiday break, filled with a calming escape from our somewhat hectic and busy lifestyles.

Be well and game on.

Heroes & Generals Gets a Content Update in its Crosshairs

Reto-Moto’s online first-person shooter, Heroes & Generals , has recently received a content update that adds to the game’s list of weapons, vehicles, and game modes.

The title puts players in Europe during World War II, and they must choose to fight as heroes or generals, which result in varying gameplay experiences. Heroes primarily deal with ground combat but also use planes and vehicles to wage war. Generals, on the other hand, implement strategy and management in order to emerge successful. According to the developer, “The game merges first-person shooter action with a rich strategic layer where player decisions can turn the tide in an ongoing war among thousands of online players.”

The new update, titled “Young,” brings new weapons to both Soviet and US troops. An additional vehicle has been made available to German soldiers, and vehicle camouflage can now be utilized for various battle scenarios. The update also comes with a new game mode that focuses on straightforward combat without planes or vehicles present.

Regarding additional improvements, the developer states, “Improving the overall game play experience has been a central focus point of this update. This ranges from alleviating spawn camping with a new and improved spawn protection system, to including new immersion enhancing features such as the addition of the grits of war on the screen.”

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Heroes & Generals is currently in open beta and free to play on Steamfor Windows users. For more information, check the game out on Facebook, Twitter, and the official website.

Renegade-X enters open beta, can be downloaded for free right now

I'm starting to think PC gaming might be dangerous to humanity's long-term survival.

I'm starting to think PC gaming might be dangerous to humanity's long-term survival. Hearing Renegade-X's soft-spoken AI announcer just gave me a nostalgic shiver of childhood days spent building tanks and targeting Ion Cannons. That's a powerful weakness for future robot armies to exploit in their inevitable campaign to enslave us all. Until that dark day arrives, we can at least busy ourselves with a free, tactical multiplayer shooter. The C&C inspired FPS has now entered open beta.

It's a timely release. With Titanfall offering a fresh take on the all-out arcade action shooter, Renegade-X should be a welcome diversion for those after a more tactical experience. A spiritual successor to Westwood's C&C: Renegade, its main mode - Command and Conquer - tasks players with destroying their enemy's base, while also defending their own. Rather than a single defence point, each building of the base serves a different function, from charging special weapons to powering team bonuses.

To download the game, and to find some useful tips to start you playing, head over to the official Renegade-X site.

IndieCade East Has Started!

IndieCade , a festival created to shine light onto the world of independent games, has had plans to travel East for a while.

, a festival created to shine light onto the world of independent games, has had plans to travel East for a while. Whether you’ve simply forgotten of the event or are new to the prospect entirely, IndieCade East will be hosted in New York on February 15th to the 17th at ‘ New York City’s Museum of the Moving Image ‘ and is an event that focuses on both the development and the world of independent games as well as those that create them.

IndieCade East is about inviting the public to discover the indie developers and the games they are making. There is quite a hefty schedule, it includes various keynotes, gaming sessions, previews of various independent games, conferences, chances to observe and learn the development of games and a multitude of other exciting events.

IndieCade East is specifically located at: Astoria, Queens, 36-01 35th Avenue New York, NY 11106 and various tickets are available; an all-inclusive ticket will cost $80. Considering there is are a large number of events to visit, it’s certainly worth it, and this covers all 3 days.

Those interested can purchase tickets here, take a look and see which it is you prefer. You can also read more about IndieCade East on the site.

Time Travelling Puzzle-Platformer Tick Tock Isle Is Out Now

It’s the year 20XX.

It’s the year 20XX. Strike, a young horologist, is sent to repair a mysterious and abandoned clock tower before finding himself inadvertently transported to an island back in time. To get back to the future, he has to repair the time machine that he’s accidentally discovered, but he also must find a way to fix the island’s dysfunctional family, responsible for its disrepair.

This is Tick Tock Isle: an adventure puzzle platformer with elements of classic point-and-click, animated in a colourful and retro pixel style. The game also features original music and SFX from Kevin Carville. The story-driven game requires players to use character interaction and creative thinking to solve puzzles and work towards getting Strike back home.

Tick Tock Isle comes from Squiddershins, a studio who have made “weird games” since 2009. Tick Tock Isle follows Cat Poke, a game which used a similar format to help a young girl find and poke cats while stuck inside on a rainy day.

Tick Tock Isle is available for $2.99 USD on Steamfor Windows PC. It is also available for download from itch.io, or try a free demo. For more information, check out the Squiddershins website, Facebook, or Twitter.  Be sure to check out musician Kevin Carville on Soundcloud.

Renegade-X is out next month, new trailer shows Command and Conquer based FPS action

I get told off by the community every time I suggest that C&C Renegade wasn't a good game.

I get told off by the community every time I suggest that C&C Renegade wasn't a good game. Let's try this instead: C&C Renegade was a heaping pile of shipped software that was technically unable to match its conceptual ambition, instead providing a shonky singleplayer experience, and a multiplayer mode that, despite being reasonably entertaining, was largely forgettable. There, that should keep people happy.

Before you run over to the comments to call me a blithering idiot, take a peek at this new video for Renegade X, the fan-made C&C shooter that is due to be released next month. Formerly a UT3 mod, it's now a standalone game that will be freely available to anyone seeking a tactical multiplayer fix.

As stated in the video, the game will be released on February 26th. Technically, it's being launched into open beta, with patches and balance tweaks due over the coming weeks and months. Still, based on what we've seen so far, it's already seeming like a competent and enjoyable take on the third/first-person base defence formula.

For more info, head over to the official Renegade-Xforum, where you'll also find a link to Black Dawn: the already released single-player portion of the game.

Enter the Home of The Grandfather to Pick up the Pieces

Grandparents are supposed to be friendly, loving, and caring.

Grandparents are supposed to be friendly, loving, and caring. This cannot be said for The Grandfather . Haunted and tormented by the coldness of his wife, The Grandfather tells the story of the old man who cannot escape his past. It is a point-and-click puzzle horror game with a unique story of torment and sorrow.

One night, the Grandfather tries to get a kiss from his wife before going to bed, but she gives him the cold shoulder. By the next morning, he wakes up and is missing all of his body parts, except for his head. Players must help the old man recover his missing body, and reclaim his lost soul from the various rooms in Grandfather’s dark, dusty old house.

The Grandfather is presented in a pop-up storybook/comic book art style, just like the stories Grandfather used to read. The soundtrack is created by the user, and changes as they play the game, offering a unique background for every player.

The creators ofandhave brought their horror knowledge together to create this twisted game . Scheduled to release in spring 2016 on PC and Mac with a later release on PS4, The Grandfather is currently available as a pre-alpha demo. An IndieGoGo campaign will launch for the game on October 3 rd, 2015.

To find out more about the game and the developers, follow them on Twitter, and “like” their page on Facebook.

Solve Puzzles to Make Potions in Wizdom for 3DS

Moving Player has released a new title for Nintendo 3DS: Wizdom.

Animated in vibrant colors with an original soundtrack, Wizdom mixes a match-three puzzle style with time management skills as players must quickly create potions to satisfy their customers.

There are four different kingdoms, and more than more than ten hours of gameplay for the player to explore, testing their potion-making skills in a world of anthropomorphic animals and villains who try to set traps for the hero. While producing potions as quickly and effectively as they can, players must also keep an eye on their stock of ingredients, and replenish them as needed.

Moving Player is a French studio that publishes their own titles on mobile, Nintendo, and Playstation; they also offer services to help other indie developers adapt their titles for consoles through a programm called Xport. Moving Player CEO Luca Benevolo says, “we come from the indie world. We know that developing, releasing and updating a game takes a lot of time and energy, love, as well as human and financial resources that aren’t unlimited” and Xport aims to ease the pressure of this process on indie developers. Anyone can submit their game for potential partnership.

Wizdom is available from the Nintendo eShop for 3DS and 2DS. For more information check out Moving Player’s website, Facebook, or Twitter.

...

Jump to Section: Best Price Comments Our Verdict No need to have a bad feeling about this. J.J. Abrams’ movie will thrill youngsters and transport millions more back to their childhoods far, far away. J.J. stays on target… Blue letters on black: A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away… And then: STAR WARS. And if that doesn’t elicit goosebumps, the receding crawl that follows – straightforward,

EA cancels Command & Conquer, devs admit to "not making the game you want to play"

EA's free-to-play Command & Conquer successor has been canceled during its closed alpha phase.

successor has been canceled during its closed alpha phase. A post on developer Victory Games' sitepoints to community feedback as the primary reason for this decision. Polygonreports, via sources inside the studio, that the dev team is also being laid off.

"Part of being in a creative team is the understanding that not all of your choices are going to work out," the official announcement reads. "In this case, we shifted the game away from campaign mode and built an economy-based, multiplayer experience. Your feedback from the alpha trial is clear: We are not making the game you want to play."

Originally announced way back in December 2011 as Command & Conquer: Generals 2, the latest entry in the venerable RTS series was later reimagined as a mictrotransaction-based free-to-play game, which was slated to enter beta this year. The statement from Victory ends with the assertion: "We are determined to get the best game made as soon as possible. To that end, we have already begun looking at a number of alternatives to get the game back on track."

The Top 7... Sega series we want back

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DestinyQuest Infinite: Act 1 Brings a Book to Life

DestinyQuest Infinite: Act 1 is a new project by QuestForge, based on a 600-page book by Michael J.

is a new project by QuestForge, based on a 600-page book by Michael J. Ward. While QuestForge hopes to create more “gamebooks,” they’ve currently only (nearly) finished the first act. This book is a choose-your-own-adventure with RPG elements; you can level up, collect loot, get new weapons and upgrade, and you get a variety of quests to complete. Any machine that has a browser (either Chrome or Firefox is recommended – it doesn’t work very well on Internet Explorer) will be able to run the game.

Adventure Cow, the browser platform on which the game will be playable, started as an emailed adventure story, with people able to choose their own path and have the next part of the story emailed to them on a weekly basis. When it was discovered how popular a concept this was, QuestForge decided to make it accessible to a larger audience by creating online games. There will be 3 acts to DestinyQuest Infinite , and the first act will be available for purchase before the end of the year, though you will be able to purchase all three acts as a pre-order soon.

To find out more about the game and story, head over to the QuestForge website, “like” their Facebook, or follow them on Twitter. You can sign up to find out when DestinyQuest Infinite: Act 1 will be available. Act 1 will cost $4.99, and pre-ordering the three acts together will cost $14.99. [ : The prices listed on the official website are not final, as they will be running a Kickstarter-like soft launch in the future.]

Stay tuned for a preview, soon!

The Indie Gala Brings Four Android Games, You Choose the Price

Do you have an Android device with a game collection that could use some filling out, but not the funds to fork over $15 or $20?

Do you have an Android device with a game collection that could use some filling out, but not the funds to fork over $15 or $20?  Then you need to check out The Indie Gala’s latest bundle.

If you aren’t familiar with the name, The Indie Gala is a group which partners with developers to let gamers (you) decide the price they want to pay for their games, as little as one dollar.  Even better, you also get to decide how your purchase is broken up.  Do the developers get the proceeds, or should they go to The Indie Gala?  Or maybe you’re feeling righteous and want to donate to charity?  It’s entirely up to you.

Great Little War Game – This turn-based strategy title will have you battling for control of the world. Cardinal Quest – Get ready for some 80s style dungeon crawling fun. Smiles HD – Relax with this casual-oriented matching game. Legends of Yore – Forge your own destiny as a hero in this mobile rogue like.

As an added bonus, if you pay more than the average donation (currently $4.62) you’ll get PC versions of three of the above games, as well as three more PC titles: Manor of the Damned and Pitiri 1977 through Desura and Turba through Steam.

If you’ve got literally any money laying around, head on over to The Indie Galato pick up the bundle before it’s gone on tomorrow. You can learn more about The Indie Gala’s affiliated charities, AbleGamers and the Italian Red Cross, on their respective websites hereand here(if you can read Italian).

Command & Conquer to feature faster paced matches, may have starter packs

The free-to-play Command & Conquer will feature shorter matches than previous games in the series - though players will be able to expand them if they prefer the length of the older battles.

will feature shorter matches than previous games in the series - though players will be able to expand them if they prefer the length of the older battles. Speaking to Polygon, Victory Games' Jon Caneghem said that "we've been noticing since the original Generals, the preferred play session has gone done from an hour plus to 30 to 45 minutes. So we've changed the pacing [of Command & Conquer] to deal with that". They're also considering introducing starter packs, which will give paying players something of a head-start in the game.

"We are toying around with starter packs," Caneghem explained. "Maybe selling them for $30 to $40 and including a half-dozen generals and some currency. That would be for players who don't want to start from scratch and don't want to be a totally free player." By "totally free" he means that everything in the game can be unlocked through play, though you will be able to sign up to a premium service to earn more credits, accrue experience faster and so on. You'll also be able to purchase generals, perks and the like via microtransactions.

This comes in the same Gamescom-flavoured week that the game's episodic, story-driven campaign modewas revealed. C&C will release next year, and you'll now be able to start and finish matches in your lunch break.

8-Bit Adventures Gets a Remastered Edition

Back in January of 2013, indie game developer Joshua Hallaran released his retro JRPG inspired title called 8-Bit Adventures: The Forgotten Journey .

[ 8-Bit Adventures will launch via Steamon May 22.]

. Recently, Hallaran announced that he made significant changes and updates to the game, which prompted him to release a re-mastered edition.

In 8-Bit Adventures , players embark on a classic JRPG quest inspired by the 8-bit graphics of the NES era. With the promise of unique story twists, engaging characters, and plenty of monsters, gamers explore a vast world by land, airship, snow-craft, and even whirlwind. Players utilize the abilities of the Warrior, Thief, and Mage as they engage in turn-based combat that also includes a color-based element system to determine strengths and weaknesses.

8-Bit Adventures: The Forgotten Journey Remastered Edition features several updates, including gameplay re-balancing, completely re-written dialogue, re-designed environments, additional music, and several hours worth of new scenes and game content.

Hallaran’s small indie studio Critical Games has released several other projects, with a majority of them built for mobile markets. Some of their previous projects include Giusto Intonation Training , Martian Mix-Up , and Path of Thanatos . Currently, 8-Bit Adventures can be purchased through the Greenman Gamingclient for PC at a price of $9.99 USD, or otherwise directly through the official website. For those who may wish to sample the game before buying, Critical Games has made a demo version available for download on their website.

Rodea The Sky Soldier review

Rodea The Sky Soldier review [Reviewed on Wii U] This is an attempt by famed developer Yuji Naka to re-capture the lightning in a bottle that was Saturn classic Nights Into Dreams. Unfortunately, his new game has more of the nightmare about it, as Rodea returns to Earth with a bump just as soon as he’s taken flight. Perhaps this should be expected of a game that has spent much of its life in development

Float On with Drew and the Floating Labyrinth

Drew and the Floating Labyrinth is a new game from Andrew Hlynka, otherwise known as Dust Scratch Games.

is a new game from Andrew Hlynka, otherwise known as Dust Scratch Games. You might know him from the other project he’s working on: James — Journey of Existence , which, incidentally, is the game that Drew and the Floating Labyrinth is functioning as a prequel for ( we’ve also covered James ).

Drew and the Floating Labyrinth focuses on, naturally, Drew, a young girl who is lost in a very strange maze that is situated somewhere odd and abstract. Think Super Monkey Ball levels if they were actually about careful platforming and were hand-drawn.

The basic mechanics seem to be standard platforming ones, with the added twist that you can’t actually see the path you have to take, at least not traditionally. In order to find out where to go, players will have to use clues from the environment to figure out where the path that can lead Drew to safety lies.

An early level, for example, features multiple colored cubes, one of which Drew is already standing on. There appears to be nothing connecting one cube to another, but a quick examination of the colored cubes will reveal a small, colored square on each that matches the color of a nearby cube. This suggests that the purple cube with a red square is linked to the red cube, and so Drew – while standing on the red cube – should be able to step into thin air to reach the purple cube. Theoretically.

The game features 63 levels, each with a different puzzle to solve, though they are all intended to be completed fairly quickly. Dust Scratch Games plans to launch Drew and the Floating Labyrinth on August 26th through Desura, but there is also a Kickstarter running for it, as well as a Steam Greenlight campaign, so if Drew’s adventures sound interesting to you, you should consider checking out either or both pages and giving it some love. Drew and the Floating Labyrinth will be launching on Windows, Linux, and Mac.

Command & Conquer dev interview reveals plan to revisit Red Alert and Tiberium universes

Once upon a time, a group of game developers sat down to create a real-time strategy.

Once upon a time, a group of game developers sat down to create a real-time strategy. More importantly, they sat down to create an intro video for that real-time strategy. The game was Red Alert, and that intro featured Einstein building a time-machine to assassinate Hitler with a handshake. It's an important, nay, defining moment in the history of gaming, and one that shouldn't be forgotten. By the sounds of it, it's one that current C&C custodians EA haven't forgotten, because briefly buried in this official promo video for the upcoming free-to-play Command & Conquer, is the admission that both the Red Alert and Tiberium storylines will be revisited.

The relevant line, from development director Tim Morten: "in the future, we're going to go back to the Tiberium universe and the Red Alert universe."

Of course, originally they were the same universe. But then continuity slipped through a chrono-hole, and common sense rode away on a mechanical dolphin. For instance, Red Alert 2's intro. People wrote that. For money. And then that guy from Twin Peaks acted in it. For money!

The upcoming Command & Conquer is based around the infinitely less interesting Generals universe, with its near-future West vs East vs Terrorist structure. Despite being free-to-play, this sequel will feature a singleplay campaign, which will be released episodically. It's currently in beta, and is due out before the end of the year.

Thanks, RPS.

Indie Intermission Sunday Round Up: Who Let The Sloths Out

Hello and welcome to the end of the week and sadly the weekend.

Hello and welcome to the end of the week and sadly the weekend. I hope you have all had a good week and an even better weekend so far I just hope to make it a little better by adding my round-up for the week.

As always clicking the title will take you back to my original article whilst clicking the image will take you to the game, enjoy and have a great Sunday.

Dodge Em strips back a lot of the mechanics found in the usual bullet hell or shoot em up games and just gives you the option to weave in and out of the asteroids. It is a rather challenging game from start to your inevitable death but it makes for quite the fun score attack game.

Extreme Sloth Cycling is a zany game that combines a lot of seemingly unconnected elements and throws them together in this unique game. Extreme Sloth Cycling is a crossover of infinite runners and platforming genres into this interesting arcade mix.

Hunter Willie is an interesting arcade style side scroller that has you taking down all manner of monsters in this spooky dungeon. Hunter Willie has a lot of interesting ideas although it sadly lacks depth in its current state only throwing you against a very small selection of enemies with just one weapon, but its fun whilst it lasts.

Zenzizenzic although still in a very early stage of its development offers a very fun bullet hell style of shooter with a distinctly geometric style and a clean minimalistic setting. Like any good bullet hell it starts out next to impossible and only gets more difficult as time goes on making for one nightmarish game.

I Can’t See Shit is a platformer which decides to turn out the lights and forces you to judge you movement via a form of echolocation. It is a great novel idea that I have seen in the odd game here and there but it works rather well here adding a nice twist on the conventional platforming game.

Well that about does it for this week, I hope you have enjoyed playing some (if not all) of the games I have come across this week as they all offer something just a little different but generate a great respite from everyday work. I hope to see you back again tomorrow for an all new Indie Intermission .

If you are a developer with A fun indie game that can be played over a coffee break, we want to hear from you! Private message us on twitter @IndieGameMag or shoot us an email at editors@indiegamemag.com with the subject “Indie Intermission” and you could be our indie intermission pick of the day!

Mario Tennis: Ultra Smash review

Mario Tennis: Ultra Smash review Time again for the Mushroom Kingdom’s answer to Wimbledon, but it’s not all strawberries and cream. Nintendo’s latest entry in the hybrid sports/party game errs closer to the latter, proving fun in a group, but not offering much more than grind when playing alone. The big addition – literally – are Mega Mushrooms, thrown on to the court during matches. Collect one and

Command & Conquer to get episodic campaign missions for singleplayer and co-op

EA are conferencing the hell out of Gamescom right now, and - after a faintly embarrassing near-parody of e-sports - Victory Games announced that their upcoming free-to-play Command & Conquer will feature an episodic, story-driven campaign mode, with missions that are playable in both singleplayer and co-op.

EA are conferencing the hell out of Gamescom right now, and - after a faintly embarrassing near-parody of e-sports - Victory Games announced that their upcoming free-to-play Command & Conquer will feature an episodic, story-driven campaign mode, with missions that are playable in both singleplayer and co-op. A brief sneak-peak trailer confirms that yes, the campaign will have tanks and stuff.

Here's the story description from the game's website, where you can also apply for beta access:

"The China dominated Asia-Pacific Alliance (APA), having sat comfortably as the world's foremost geopolitical power for nearly a decade, finds itself challenged on all fronts. The upstart European Union (EU), a high-tech, single-state entity with an increasingly expansionist agenda continues to flex her muscles, while a series of increasingly bloody uprisings have torn key APA and EU satellite nations asunder. Rumors point to a newly reconstituted Global Liberation Army (GLA) as the instigator, but witnesses have described technology far beyond the reach of any normal terrorist organization. Concerned, the APA dispatches an elite force to infiltrate the latest, most volatile rebellion, one targeting an EU backed dictator.

"Their mission - learn the truth about the GLA, undermine the EU and restore peace to the globe."

Command & Conquer's campaign missions are set to release next year.

Absorb all the latest news from Cologne with our complete Gamescom 2013 coverage.

Indie Intermission Sunday Round Up: Who Let The Sloths Out

Hello and welcome to the end of the week and sadly the weekend.

Hello and welcome to the end of the week and sadly the weekend. I hope you have all had a good week and an even better weekend so far I just hope to make it a little better by adding my round-up for the week.

As always clicking the title will take you back to my original article whilst clicking the image will take you to the game, enjoy and have a great Sunday.

Dodge Em strips back a lot of the mechanics found in the usual bullet hell or shoot em up games and just gives you the option to weave in and out of the asteroids. It is a rather challenging game from start to your inevitable death but it makes for quite the fun score attack game.

Extreme Sloth Cycling is a zany game that combines a lot of seemingly unconnected elements and throws them together in this unique game. Extreme Sloth Cycling is a crossover of infinite runners and platforming genres into this interesting arcade mix.

Hunter Willie is an interesting arcade style side scroller that has you taking down all manner of monsters in this spooky dungeon. Hunter Willie has a lot of interesting ideas although it sadly lacks depth in its current state only throwing you against a very small selection of enemies with just one weapon, but its fun whilst it lasts.

Zenzizenzic although still in a very early stage of its development offers a very fun bullet hell style of shooter with a distinctly geometric style and a clean minimalistic setting. Like any good bullet hell it starts out next to impossible and only gets more difficult as time goes on making for one nightmarish game.

I Can’t See Shit is a platformer which decides to turn out the lights and forces you to judge you movement via a form of echolocation. It is a great novel idea that I have seen in the odd game here and there but it works rather well here adding a nice twist on the conventional platforming game.

Well that about does it for this week, I hope you have enjoyed playing some (if not all) of the games I have come across this week as they all offer something just a little different but generate a great respite from everyday work. I hope to see you back again tomorrow for an all new Indie Intermission .

If you are a developer with A fun indie game that can be played over a coffee break, we want to hear from you! Private message us on twitter @IndieGameMag or shoot us an email at editors@indiegamemag.com with the subject “Indie Intermission” and you could be our indie intermission pick of the day!

Epic's Sweeney: Unreal Engine is at the epicenter of a graphics-intense future

At GDC this morning, Epic Games founder Tim Sweeney gave a talk that essentially had one main point: As realtime, photorealistic graphics rise in importance, Unreal Engine will be at the forefront of that movement.

He listed off the VR and AR pioneers -- from Oculus to Microsoft with its Hololens and beyond -- and said "the work is really revolutionary, and it's finally reached a level of quality where it's a really compelling experience."

"That's going to do a funny thing to 3D technology," he said. Mobile phones all have powerful 3D graphics chips, which are generally only used for games; but when they're needed for more, those capabilities will be expanded.

"All these social facets of your life will be exposed in a 3D environment with rich interaction than has been the case so far," Sweeney promised. "In 10 years, kids growing up will experience the world in a completely different way than we did growing up."

And as far as the capabilities of current-gen VR and AR solutions, he used this analogy: "the hardware is Palm Pilots, [compared to] to the iPads that will be available in subsequent generations."

"What you can do on current VR hardware is not the end of it; it's the start of the revolution," Sweeney said.

With physically based rendering "now reaching a critical mass of capabilities and community awareness" and physically accurate lighting now being standardized, you can create realtime experiences with "physically accurate materials with physically accurate light."

That will blow open the potential for 3D graphics applications -- beyond games, into film, architectural visualization, and film.

Epic teased a new 3D, realtime, VR demo created by Weta Digital using assets from The Hobbit film and featuring Smaug -- for which the acclaimed effects house used Unreal Engine 4, of course. It's on display at the company's GDC booth.

"Hi! I'm Smaug, and I represent the convergence of Hollywood and the game business. For real this time."

And it presages more of the same, Sweeney suggested: "There's a growing realization that this is the future of storytelling," Sweeney said. Storytelling, over the centuries, "evolved into movies -- and that's not the end of it, there's more beyond this."

"In order to build really compelling stories in VR, you need to take an entirely different approach" than film. These experiences will combine "digital sets with digital actors and digital performance"

And, of course, here's the punchline: "There is no substitute ... for running the whole experience live in a game engine."

He hesitated to use the word "convergence" because those of us who were around in the 1990s remember Hollywood's dismal attempts to enter the game industry back then.

But he did: "This is the convergence of all of these different forms of media," Sweeney said. "This was talked about in the 1990s; it was an abysmal failure. It's happening now, for real."

"A realtime game engine is the common substrate," Sweeney said. "Photorealistic rendering ... makes it possible."

And according to Sweeney, these worlds are beginning to clash together -- and Weta's experiment isn't the only evidence.

VR, AR, film, visualization, game developers, and everyone experimenting with Unreal tech is coming together: "We're seeing this revolution be carried out in real time on the Unreal Engine forums. Even though they're creating radically different experiences, they're using the same language, using the same tools."

And the kicker is this: Epic's Unreal Demo for GDC 2015 was a whimsical (though technically impressive, of course) scene of a child running through a natural landscape chasing a kite. If anything proves that Epic wants people outside of the game industry to take the technology seriously -- it's this.

Wincars Racer Drifts into Beta

Wincars Racer , an upcoming racing title by developer DragonJam Studios, has recently entered its Beta phase.

, an upcoming racing title by developer DragonJam Studios, has recently entered its Beta phase. According to the developer, “The objective is to hear first-hand about the player’s opinion while working on balancing the game at maximum.”

The competitive racer is playable by up to eight people and supports both local and online game modes. For those seeking practice sessions, a single-player mode is also available, which allows players to time themselves across various circuits.

The game is heavily based on customization and features several combinations of cars, circuits, and drivers, as well as more than 120 alternate skins. Another key component is the implementation of a skill system, which varies by driver and requires cool-down periods or additional coins to function. The developer seeks to create a racer that contains “no random power-ups or any other element that [arbitrarily] unbalances the game.”

Wincars Racer began its Beta on November 18 and is free to play. The title is currently only accessible for PC users and is available, by request, through the developer’s website. DragonJam Studios plans on increasing the number of cars, drivers, and circuits as development progresses.

For more information, check out Wincars Racer on Facebook, Twitter, and the official website.

Gamescom 2013: all the stories from day one

Gamescom hasn't officially started yet, but even though the doors are closed, the big players decided to show off some games anyway.

Gamescom hasn't officially started yet, but even though the doors are closed, the big players decided to show off some games anyway. Possibly in a smelly old shack out the back. Between their excitable gibber, and the pre-announcements being excreted through the interwireless digiclouds, we've already gleaned plenty of info about The Future of Electronic Computer Gaming.

Here's your round-up of the first day's PC news.

Tom Clancy's The Division is coming to the PC. Who would have ever guessed? World of Warplanes gets a lavish CGI trailer, and a release date. Neither Peggle 2 nor Plants vs Zombies: Garden Warfarewill be on PC at launch. Boo! The free-to-play Command & Conquer is getting singleplayer and co-op campaign missionsnext year. The Sims 4 will "explore the gamut of human emotions". Data would be proud. Much like its parent, Battlefield 4 will also come in Premium flavour, giving players access to five planned expansions. EVE: Valkyriewill shoot your Oculus Rift nestled head into space next year. Dragon Age: Inquisition gets a new dev diary, this one focusing on the world of Thedas, and the Inquisiton. Sci-fi FPS Alien Rage is out next month. We might as well rage right back at them. We've picked up an exciting gameplay trailer for Titanfall, and stuffed it inside our robust metallic frame. City Interactive introduce us to the Lords of the Fallenwith a new CGI trailer.

That's day one, but you can peruse our complete coverage over at the Gamescom 2013 tag.

Average Giants Episode 19 pt 1 Don’t Starve

IGM Presents… The Average Giants!

IGM Presents… The Average Giants! A weekly webseries where we play indie games while chatting with their developers. Come watch (and “follow”) the show live on our hitboxchannel every Monday night at 9:00pm EDT.

Or you can just sit back and watch all our live streams right here on our new IGM Livepage.

Original Air Date: July 21, 2014

Great Balls of Fluff in Fluffy Rush – Multiplayer Race

Looks can be deceiving, especially when it’s something like a colorful ball of fluff with giant eyes, hell-bent on winning a race against its friends.

Looks can be deceiving, especially when it’s something like a colorful ball of fluff with giant eyes, hell-bent on winning a race against its friends. Enter the world of Fluffy Rush – Multiplayer Race. This game comes from developer Madarina, where players control a tiny ball of fluff in this frantic deadly race against either their friends or other random players.

Fluffy_Rush_4

Players can customize their fluffy ball racer with hats, glasses, mustaches, the works. However, they aren’t just armed with their deceptive looks when racing; they’ll have the opportunity to grab power-ups along the way, like missiles, bombs, snowballs, and shields. These power-ups are also upgradable, allowing players to pack more of a punch. Players can pick up speed and maintain it by collecting coins while they race. Controls are simple: tap the screen on the right side to jump and tap the left side to use collected power-ups.

Fluffy_Rush_2

Fluffy Rush- Multiplayer Race is out now on the App Storefor iOS, as well as on Google Playfor Android. The game is free to play and offers in-app purchases for players who wish to unlock items faster.

To learn more about the game visit the official website, “like” on Facebook, and follow on Twitter. To learn more about the developer, Madarina, visit their website, “like” them on Facebook, and follow them on Twitter.

Command & Conquer trailer introduces generals, opens beta sign-ups

EA and Victory Games' Frostbite 2-powered free to play take on Command & Conquer has received a new trailer announcing that beta sign-ups are now live on the C&C site .

. Our Craig suggested that there's "more micromanagement than micropayments" in our C&C hands-on, and it is looking quite pretty. Even without a grand factional metagame, it should give the suddenly-quiet End of Nationsa run for its money. Of course, much will need to be done to shift the cynicism attached to the free-to-play label, but footage of some plump explosions and bolshy tank columns isn't a bad place to begin.

For the latest from E3, check out our complete coverage.

E3 2015: Unravel… A Mysterious, Yarn-Filled Adventure

Amidst the AAA titles and PR reps with their awkward buzz-words, one little indie platformer during EA’s conference pulled at the heart strings; Unravel .

. Developed by Coldwood Interactive, a little Swedish studio, and published by EA (who picked it up after seeing its potential), the unassuming Yarny may yet be headed for an adventure filled with intrigue.

In Unravel , players join the aforementioned Yarny, the red, woolly protagonist of the game, on a journey of the unknown. Everywhere Yarny goes, a single line of yarn unravels behind him, leaving a trail behind his journey and connecting the story in ways that are yet to be seen. The yarn is also used to progress, as can be seen in the E3 2015 footage shown, in which Yarny uses it to swing across chasms, pull down blockages, fly a leaf like a kite, and wrap it around a fish to propel a raft forward.

At first glance, one might be mistaken for thinking that Sackboy from Media Molecule’s Little Big Planet lost a little weight, dyed himself red, and jumped into a new adventure, but the colorful appearance may yet be misleading. Unravel is quite clearly adorable, but there are elements of something darker in what has been revealed so far, from the melancholy music to a downtrodden Yarny making his way, only to be knocked into the mud by a passing car.

For those wondering how little Yarny’s adventure will progress, stick with IGM, where we’ve been keeping a close eye on everything indie as E3 unravels. More info can also be found on the studio’s website, Facebookand Twitter.

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Jump to Section: Best Price Comments Our Verdict If you can steel yourself for a challenge and come to grips with an unwieldy checkpoint system, Ori and the Blind Forest will mesmerize you with its lush world and incredible artistry. Pros Incredible art and audio make the forest and its inhabitants feel vibrantly alive Ori's movements feels agile and precise Varied stage themes keep things interesting

Scribblenauts developer turns to Fig to fund new free-to-play RPG

Drawn to Life , Run Roo Run , and Scribblenauts developer 5th Cell has turned to Fig to find funding for its new title, Anchors in the Drift .

The studio is looking to raise $500,000 to finish Anchors, a free-to-play action RPG that lets players craft their own special abilities by collecting and combining ability cards.

Fig, founded by former Double Fine COO, Justin Bailey, lets developers raise cash through conventional crowdfunding, but, unlike Kickstarter, it also gives users the chance to invest in projectsand receive a cut of the sales.

It might be a new approach to crowdfunding, but its one that convinced 5th Cell Fig was the right platform for Anchors .

"We're very excited to be partnering with Fig, and love that they've created a platform for crowdfunding as well as investment," said 5th Cell CEO, Jeremiah Slaczka.

Currently in pre-alpha, Anchors in the Drift has so far raised $73,500 after launching earlier today.

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