With the rise of the low-price, plug-in-and-play "microconsole," we've all been wondering which company

is going to emerge victorious. Will the Ouya come out on top? Will GameStick rise to the occasion? Maybe Apple, Google, Amazon et al might blow the competition away. No-one could have expected that Sony would be a contender, especially when the company has its own PlayStation 4 launch to deal with.

Opinion: PS Vita TV poised to shake up the 'microconsole' race

No-one could have expected that Sony would be a contender, especially when the company has its own PlayStation 4 launch to deal with. And yet this morning, a microconsole is exactly what Sony revealed.

Microconsoles are a new form of compact games console, sold as a ready-to-go, plug-in-and-play console that gives the user a "10-foot" couch- and TV-friendly experience. These sorts of new breed of console usually have some form of app store to connect with as well.

The PS Vita TVis essentially a cheap, home console version of Sony's Vita handheld. You can take this tiny box, plug it into your TV, and then play PS Vita games, PSP games and select PS One games without the need for a PS Vita handheld.

There's a few fairly remarkable points to note about this device. First off, at around $100 it's inexpensive, especially compared to the Vita handheld, other games consoles, and even other microconsoles.

Of course, you'll have to factor the price of a DualShock controller or two into that equation, but realistically, a good portion of the people looking to purchase one of these boxes are going to already own at least one controller. This puts the PS Vita TV in line with the price of an Ouya.

Now consider that the box will have available over 1,000 titles across PS Vita, PSP and PS One at launch. Notably, many of the Vita games that rely on the touch-screen will apparently not be supported, Sony says, and a large portion of the overall total will be PSP and PS One titles -- but the company still puts the total games supported by the box at over 1,300.

No matter how you look at it, in comparison to other microconsoles on the way and currently available, that's a rather hefty number of titles to be dishing out at launch.

ps vita tv 1.jpgAnd then there's the console's power. The PS Vita TV will adopt the chipsets and system software of the PS Vita, including the ARM Cortex-A9 core (4core) CPU and IMG
SGX543MP4+ GPU -- meaning that straight off the bat, it'll be the most powerful microconsole available (though you can expect regular hardware updates from the Android mobile-based competition).

The main issues with microconsoles such as the Ouya up to this point have revolved around a lack of games, and limitations to the potential power that developers can utilizes. With the PS Vita TV, Sony may well have all these bases covered.

And where other Android-powered microconsoles have been criticized for essentially offering what the majority of smartphones can already provide, the PS Vita TV will offer not only what the PS Vita currently offers, but potentially also PlayStation Mobile, Sony's own Android platform.

PS Mobile allows developers to sign up and launch their Android games via the platform for free. If PS Mobile is also supported, as per a regular PS Vita, then not only has Sony just launched its own PlayStation microconsole, but it's also just launched its own Android-OS console in the same breath.

Of course, Sony has another trick up its sleeve too -- the hordes of indie developers that it has brought on-board. I said earlier this year that Sony was building an indie army for its PS4, and now it comes to light that this was only half the truth.

Sony is about to launch a cheap microconsole, that is relatively cheap and easy to develop for, with numerous indie devs no doubt clambering to be a part of. The Ouya, the GameStick et al have been positioning themselves as "the indie game console", but the PS Vita TV may well swoop in and steal the title with relative ease.

IGM Aus – The ‘Edge Of Twilight’ Story

It’s a new year, and generally new years mean new beginnings.

It’s a new year, and generally new years mean new beginnings. Today on IGM Aus , let’s check out a former Australian based game that returned out of the blue at the end of 2012 and is looking for a new beginning of its own. But at what cost?

Edge of Twilight was a promising title. Mixing a post-apocalyptic steampunk aesthetic with a 3rd person fantasy adventure, there was plenty of hype surrounding the games initial announcement in 2008, with Brisbane based Fuzzyeyes Studios handling production. The trailer below showed plenty of potential, a wonderful looking world with plenty of quirky characters and some intriguing lore behind the story.

Everything seemed to be going well. E3 2009 was a boon for the game, plenty of positive words were spoken and the buzz was increasing. Unfortunately, someone didn’t tell the Gaming Gods.

December 2009. News broke that the Aussie studio was on the verge of closing its doors. Fuzzyeyes also had two other studios at the time, Beijing and Singapore, but it was the Brisbane studio that was hit the hardest. Lay offs hit the studio amid rumours the game had stopped production months before. Some sources claimed the studio was still alive and that the game was simply in a short stasis period, with outsourcing teams brought in until Fuzzyeyes were back on track.

The rumours eventually came true. Fuzzyeyes Australia vanished from existence, Edge of Twilight slipped from its release date and for a long, long time, nobody ever heard a thing. That was until just a few months ago when, out of nowhere the game surprisingly resurfaced.

Under a new partnership between the Asian based company now known as Fuzzyeyes Entertainment and JDJC , Edge of Twilight climbed back out of the shadows as if it had never left. It was hard to believe at first, given the near three year hiatus. Further confirmation came through not only of a full release on Xbox 360 and PS3 in early/mid 2013, but of an iOS spin-off to go along with it inside the launch window.

Little has been said as to what really happened to Fuzzyeyes and where this publishing partnership came from. Unfortunately it seems as though none of the team involved in initial development are still around, with the work having shifted out of Australia entirely. Frustratingly, the official Fuzzyeyes website barely mentions anything in terms of who the team are, save for where they currently reside. Likewise the Facebook and Twitter feeds barely host any kind of news outside of the fact that the game is coming soon.

What’s stranger, the Fuzzyeyes Entertainment website only hosts the now three year old teaser trailers, whilst the Edge of Twilight official site doesn’t have anything outside of three release dates listed towards the bottom of the page. It doesn’t bode anyone with much confidence if there’s so little to show.

So what happened to the original development team? Why is Edge of Twilight back on the cards after all this time? How much of the game has changed, if anything at all? That’s the most concerning of questions, given that we’ve yet to see a new trailer or any new images showing off the game in any kind of state since the vanishing act.

There’s small consolation that the game does exist at least in some form, but the fact that it’s no longer an Australian production is a huge disappointment, especially given how well it was turning out and perhaps how far along the game was. Maybe we’ll never know.

I’ll be keeping a close eye on Edge of Twilight either way, out of curiosity if nothing else. Hopefully we don’t get the same results as other titles that have had long and complex development cycles. A quick shout out while I’m here to former lead designer Andy Chrysafidis . If you’re out there Andy, get in touch!

That’s all for IGM Aus this week. Keep an eye out over the coming weeks, there’s this little thing called the Global Game Jam coming up real soon…

IGM Interviews: The Fusty Game Team (Hover: Revolt of Gamers)

Hover: Revolt of Gamers is one of this year’s smash successes on Kickstarter .

. The “open world futuristic freerun / parkour game inspired by great games like Jet Set Radio and Mirror’s Edge ” managed to haul in an impressive pledge total of nearly $120k, more than triple the initial funding goal. Lucky for gamers, those funds are going toward some high quality stretch goals, including expanding the city’s scope, developing additional playable characters, and most notably,  a soundtrack composed by the legendary Jet Set Radio composer, Hideki Naganuma.

I got the chance to chat with the Fusty Game development team, consisting of Charles Vesic (art director and level designer), Marine Baron (character designer and 3D animator), and Pierre Raffali (technical director, gameplay designer, and programmer), about their plans for Hover going forward after such a successful Kickstarter launch.  Word of advice: you might want to put on a helmet and knee pads. (Bear in mind: The Fusty Game team is French, and while this interview has been translated, there may be some slight errors in their responses. But I don’t think anything gets lost in translation.)

Indie Game Magazine: The Kickstarter describes Hover as being “particularly adapted to the Oculus Rift.” Can you explain how Hover is being developed with the Oculus in mind? Do you think the game’s fast-paced nature will be a particular issue for those who are nervous about getting motion sickness?

Fusty Game : The Oculus Rift is a an amazing new technology which offers a whole new level of immersion in video games. One of our objectives is to create fresh and intense sensations, so using the Oculus Rift was an obvious decision! For now, few games have been presented with the Oculus, and it’s true that for some people the experience was unpleasant. We’re spending lots of time on setting up the Oculus correctly, to offer you a pleasurable immersion without motion-sickness. Everything is about precision and development time.

Jumping from a hundred meter’s high to bounce up without damage with the Oculus on your head is just… Wow !! We’re excited about sharing those sensations with you all.

IGM: What role will Clans play in the game? Will there be different story scenarios if players join different Clans?

FG : In the game’s story, there are 2 gamer clans, which are fighting the anti video-game tyranny. The clan that you’ll impersonate defends the positive values of video games, wishing to resist in a pacifist manner. The Breakers clan is much more violent and anarchistic, giving a bad image to Gamers (videos games make you violent…). You’ll have to fight the Mayor’s anti-leisure propaganda while preventing the Breakers from doing too much damage. You’ll also have to evade robotic police designed to track the Gamers down.

In multiplayer you’ll be able to play the 3 clans (Gamers, Breakers and Police), and in some missions they’ll each have their own objectives, as well as ways of achieving them.

IGM: With a game like this, it’s easy to get caught up in all the zany cartoon action and lose focus of the story. How important will the narrative be to the Hover experience, and what additional details can you tell us about the plot so far?

FG : The game is very free. As we explained in the game’s presentation on Kickstarter, we don’t like intrusive scenarios pausing the action every other minute. We want the player to feel immersed into the universe, and not a movie. This is why the missions won’t be mandatory, nor linear. While going around the city, you’ll meet people or Gamers who’ll ask for your help. It’s up to you to do the missions or not. Of course, each mission fills the story, each unlockable character possesses its own secrets to discover, and for the players wanting to get to the bottom of it, putting an end to the tyranny and dethroning the Mayor will be possible.

IGM: What sorts of skills will players be able to unlock in the game? Will they only enhance maneuverability, or will there be combat mechanics as well?

FG : You’ll be able to unlock numerous characters. Each character has its own skill grid. By participating to challenges, doing crazy combos etc… you’ll gain XP and points which will allow you to buy skills. Speed, jump bonuses etc… will be available, most of those skills will be linked to tricks allowing, for example, double jumps, acceleration auras, bouncing surface graffitis, and so on!

IGM: In your Kickstarter video you hint at a lot of different types of gameplay, from ‘classic’ Graffiti Spray to ‘stealth’ infiltration missions. What other types of gameplay modes do you have planned?

FG : With a gameplay based on “parkour,” it’s possible to create a whole lot of situations. There will be infiltration scenes, chases, exploration, extraction, and even detective missions where you’ll have to discover and unveil some secret stuff. The game is highly axed on the multiplayer as well, and you’ll have the freedom of face other gamers during lots of races or scoring battle-type challenges. You’ll also be able to create your own challenges.

World of Warcraft loses nearly 1 million subscribers in less than a year

As of January 30, World of Warcraft had dipped to 11.1 million active users, 300,000 fewer than the 11.4 million they had in May, and almost a million down from their all-time peak of 12 million last October. Blizzard says it isn't worried about losing nearly a million users in less than a year because it's part of natural cycle that accompanies the release of new material. In a conference call with

Dev Links: Snow Dog

Today’s Developer Links stress the importance of good tools, as one developer shares his game prototyping kit, another remarks on unexpected use being made of an open source project he created, another discusses tools of sorts that players can find in his game, and still another shows some shots of his tool-based game.

stress the importance of good tools, as one developer shares his game prototyping kit, another remarks on unexpected use being made of an open source project he created, another discusses tools of sorts that players can find in his game, and still another shows some shots of his tool-based game. (A catapult counts as a tool, right?)

The Video Game Kickstarter Report – Week Of December 14(Zeboyd Games)
“There wasn’t much in the way of big blockbuster new kickstarters this past week that I noticed so I’d like to take this week’s installment of the kickstarter report to focus on some of the smaller projects that I think look interesting.”

Three Body Problem(Auntie Pixelante)
“i’ve been enjoying three body problemby roburky, author of reset. it’s a chase game: the player is trying to tag score tokens while two pursuers are trying to tag the player. but the dynamic of the game comes from how differently the pursuers move from the player. the player is slow, maneuverable, the pursuers have speed, momentum, they careen around the screen, draw circles around the player, whiz by her face. the player, the tortoise in this aesop’s fable, picks the right moment to slide out of the way, to let a pursuer toro past like a bull. (it’d be easy if there was only one of them, but there are two. that’s the three body problem.) the result is a dance, the harmony of three bodies cleaving together through video space.”

Dialogue History(Instant Kingdom)
“To end a long day of testing and feature-fixing, I decided to implement a much-requested feature, scrollable dialogue history! Hurray! You can now finally go back in time to reread all the witty replies that you so dearly love. I hope it will prove useful for you.”

Mew-Genics Teaser Week 8(Team Meat Blog)
“Ok, time to show one aspect of game play, though without much context this post will seem odd.. but in time you will “Ah Ha” all over it.”

Dog Game(Distractionware: Devlog)
“Working on something for this weekend’s Ludum Dare – not sure if it’s gonna go anywhere…”

My Game Prototyping Kit(Left-Handed Game Design)
“My wife knows the way to my heart, especially when it comes to birthday gifts. Where the typical husband might end up with an embroidered golf shirt or stockpile of fancy socks, Kate opted to build the ultimate game prototyping kit for me.”

Screenshot Saturday(Catapult For Hire)
“I’m still working day and night to get this baby done. It’s really coming together! Things are a bit crazy as I’m working through a few logistical issues to ensure that this game will be great. Independent game development is like setting off your own personal atomic bomb that rips everything in your life apart. If you come out the other side and survive, you have a game!”

Mok Mok(Arges Systems)
“One of the great things about releasing a project as open source is that it can go on to take forms you never expected. I just found out today that my own UnitySteerpowers the creatures on the upcoming Mok Mok:”

Tug of Gore!’ Enlists Four Player Madness

‘Tug of Gore!’ Enlists Four Player Madness
In Tug of Gore , players take on the role of hungry DuDus, alien monsters trying to chow down on a Gore.

Indie devs Stefander, Vuurig, Sasjand Creative Heroeshave released a four-player on one iPad game entitled.

, players take on the role of hungry DuDus, alien monsters trying to chow down on a Gore. Players each put one hand on the iPad itself and must tap their DuDu to tug on the Gore in order to eat it.

The hand that’s NOT being used for DuDu feeding can be used in any other way, as long as it doesn’t touch the game screen. Want to tickle another player? Shout distractions? Block the iPad from view? Sure! It’s all part of the game. In fact, the game offers suggestions, like stealing the iPad away, for any Tug of Gore players who might need some encouragement to try these evil tactics. I’m a huge fan of goofy and creative one-button games like B.U.T.T.O.N .and of hilarious multiplayer games like, so Tug of Gore sounds like a perfect party game.

Tug of Gore was originally created and developed as part of the 2013 Global Game Jam , just like Bossa Studio’s 100% Scientifically Accurate Surgeon Simulator , The Unseen Evil ,and many other creative indies. Tug of Gore was developed in 48 hours, and ended up taking third prize at the Hilversum meetup of the Global Game Jam.

Tug of Gore is now available as a free download from the App Store. If you’re reading at work, and don’t have three friends to be recruited to play RIGHT NOW, you can check out the video of Tug of Gore in action here:

The Sunday Video Pwn

You've probably read Tom's preview of Deus Ex: Human Revolution, and wondered at the possibilities the latest game in the series will offer you.

of Deus Ex: Human Revolution, and wondered at the possibilities the latest game in the series will offer you. Now you can behold such choice in the above video, in which protagonist Jenson tackles the same objective three times in three very different manners. Take a look at the game's combat (with those incredible blade-arms and a very cool rifle reload animation) and its exploration avenues, and start getting excited. You've only got until August to wait, so get planning on how you'll tackle this segment.

Some footage from Fallen Frontierappeared on the PC Gamer radar this week. We had to approach it with cautious optimism, since it currently has no confirmed platform, but developers Moonshot Games have expressed their wish to see it on Steam. So, we could be in for a great-looking side-scrolling co-op, with some very satisfying shotgun blasts, slick grappling-hook action and a funky split-screen effect that waves around like a see-saw.

It was the BAFTA Game awardsthis week, and a few oddities turned up. Bad Company 2 and StarCraft II - some of our favourite on-line games - missed out on the 'Best Multiplayer' game to NFS: Hot Pursuit 2, and Heavy Rain (a game for that PS3 thingy) managed to bag 'Best Story' despite being riddled with plot holes the size of the moon. Thankfully, these wrongs were made up for with the 'Best Game' award going to the thoroughly deserving Mass Effect 2.

Valve showed us more love this week with the Portal 2 TV spot, and like the TF2 'Meet the...'series, it's a beautifully animated piece that could rival Pixar. It may only run for little more than thirty seconds, but those cute little robots will steal your heart as easy as any Nemo or Boo could. These certainly are the droids you've been looking for, and the search will be over in ONE MONTH!

Behold with wonder the above trailer for Duke Nukem Forever that was shown off at PAX east this week. Or, at least the trailer I wish they'd shown off. In reality, the above two-and-a-half-minutes of complete gleeful insanity is the game's trailer from E3 2001. But, despite being almost a whole decade old, just look at it. There's giant alien ships, car chases, sandwiches, explosions, bug-eyed monsters, cheesy acting AND a pinball machine. Of course, for the demanding players of the year 2001 that just wouldn't be enough, so there's even a sweet motorbike skid in there for good measure.

If you're asking yourself whatever happen to all this, your answer is held in the PAX east Duke Nukem Forever gameplay trailer. There's still plenty of shooting to be had, but it seems a little on the generic side in comparison to it's long dead origin. There is, naturally, an elongated phallic joke, and some lesbian school girls thrown in in the name of generosity. At least the spirit of Duke isn't dead yet...

Brink is shaping up to look like a great summer venture, with it's online competitive/mission hybrid system launching in May. We saw a great snippet of the game's seemingly Team Fortress 2-influenced classes in this week's trailer, but a more in-depth look at the game and it's quirks can be seen over at GameTrailers in their Brink Video Preview. It certainly looks a lot of fun, and we hope the parkour features will play as significant a role as the shooting and the teamwork. If nothing else, it'll pass the time whilst we wait for the real online event of the year.

At PC Gamer, we love being amazed by the various Kinect hacks the PC community keeps coming up with. However, what we've found this week is more than just a novelty mod. The wizards at Konstanz University in Germany have used the Kinect to create an aid for blind people. This is PC experimentation at its most admirable, and whilst the system requires a Ghost Busters-style backpack for the laptop, it's awesome to see Microsoft's gaming gold-mine being put to good use.

Tormentum Demo Gives a Taste of Grim Point-and-Click Gameplay

We recently covered an exciting new point-and-click adventure game, Tormentum, Dark Sorrow .

. Polish OhNoo Studios is close to finishing up their IndieGoGo campaign, and they need more support. Meanwhile, they released a free demo to give players a chance to venture into the fantastically grim, phenomenally drawn world.

Tormentum has you playing as an amnesiac who finds himself caged beneath a floating ship, with only a vague memory of a statue with human hands. Determined to find where that is as well as to uncover his own identity, the character is dropped off in the prison of a gothic, climatic castle. Thus, the adventure begins, inviting players to explore the gritty, awe-inspiring setting.

I thoroughly enjoyed the demo. It was about 15 minutes of gameplay starting from the beginning; the prison. After a rough conversation with the guard, with skeletal remains surrounding, I started clicking around for clues. The interactive elements are fairly obvious, as they’re often gently lit, but even so, I didn’t feel it was too easy (it’s still the very beginning of the game). The demo had me finding several pieces to assemble an angel statue. And already at the start, there were quite a few mechanical puzzles, which felt just right. After a bit of tinkering, I would solve them. This beginning foreshadows a good mix of dialogue, click-exploration, and active mini puzzles.

OhNoo has plans to make mobile ports for iOS and Android, and based on what I saw, Tormentum seems very-well suited for a touch screen game, as it features large, easy-to-click icons and elements. In the full game, the  player will visit three vastly different lands with 70 climatic, masterfully drawn locations.

Give it a go yourself from their campaign page, it’s definitely worth it. While you do, consider donating, since they have less than 13 days left on a fixed fund campaign. $9 nets a DRM-free copy of the title. Check back with us for more information on this exciting project.

Relax with Parallax

In recent years, puzzle platformers have attempted to up the stakes by not simply asking players to move from Point A to Point B, but instead to start at Point A, turn their brains inside out, and look, stunned, at their feet, which are now standing at Point B.

Parallax is a new puzzle platformer from developers Toasty Games, and it is continuing that new, grand tradition in puzzling platformers by asking players to move between two different dimensions – one a white world with black platforms, the other a black world with white platforms – in order to work their way to a goal.

As it is possible to see in the above video, players will often be asked to move between dimensions as quickly as they have to move between platforms and puzzle elements, giving every level the potential for what we’re reasonably certain is known medically as “mind-inside-out-ness.”

The game also features a mysterious, almost ominous soundtrack, as well as some very strange, very silly sound effects to accompany different puzzle elements, such as switches or buttons. Even in just the trailer, it gives the impression of a game that is intentionally weird.

Parallax is set to release through Steam on March 10th for Mac, Windows, and Linux PCs from the get-go. You can find out more about the game by visiting its website, its Steam page, and by checking out the video above. You can also keep up with and get in touch with the devs through their Twitter.

Plants vs Zombies 2: It's About Time will be released sometime in July

"Hell, it's about time," I imagine a spacesuited sunflower grunting, a cigar dangling between its happy-mouthed lips.

"Hell, it's about time," I imagine a spacesuited sunflower grunting, a cigar dangling between its happy-mouthed lips. Is that the image Plants vs Zombies 2 intended to invoke with its new tagline? Will zergling-zombies make a surprise appearance in the sequel? It's hard to say with this new teaser trailer, but if there's one thing it can teach us, it's that despite the far-ranging diversity of PvZ's audience, all of these hilarious stereotypes are united in their desire for more garden-themed tower defensing—and that they'll finally have a reason to stop complaining come July.

Social misfits with webcams, hipster dudes in a creative start-up, angry granddads, PC Gamer writers typing from their living room couch—oh yeah, everyone wants a piece of that pea-hurling action. This asparagus enthusiast is hoping that the "Aspearagus"makes it into PvZ2—what sort of veggies are you hoping to see?

Mystery Enshrouds ‘Blast-A-Way’

Nothing builds hype for a game like mystique, and there’s plenty of it to go around surrounding Blast-A-Way , the upcoming title from Illusion Labs .

Not much is known about Blast-A-Way other than that the developers are billing it as an action adventure puzzler.  No official press assets for the game exist yet.  There are no screenshots , no videos, no press releases.  Nothing.

In fact, the only reason we know Blast-A-Way even exists is because the developers recently teased about it on their Twitter with the above screenshot, which they say is a screenshot from the fourteenth level of the game.

There are no specifics about the gameplay as of yet.  So many games have been “action adventure puzzlers” that the term could mean literally anything.  Any one guess is as good as the next, though I personally think it looks a little bit like Little Big Planet .

There is also very little information regarding tech specifics.  All we know is that the game will require at least third generation hardware, meaning iPads, iPhone 3GS or better and iPod Touch 3G or higher.  This also comes to us from Illusion Labs’ Twitter.

Illusion Labs is known for being one of the first developers to take full advantage of the iPhone’s technical capabilities.  Their titles Touch Grind and Labyrinth made great use of the multi-touch interface and the accelerometer respectively, and it’s no exaggeration to say that they pioneered the way for the modern generation of iOS titles.

There’s no solid release date for Blast-A-Way at the moment (surprise), but according to the developer’s website, it should hit the App Store sometime at the end of this month.  Until then, keep your eyes on IGM Mobile for the latest on what is sure to be another great game from one of the most revolutionary developers on the iOS.

You can learn more about Illusion Labs on their official websiteand Twitter.

Valve rumoured to be opening San Francisco office, headed by former PopCap devs

Valve's Doug Lombardi told Joystiq : "As a point of clarification, this is probably better categorized as Valve hiring two new employees instead of an acquisition of a company or opening of a Valve SF office."
According to the LinkedIn profile of Star Filled's Tod Semple, a former programmer for PopCap, "my recent startup was acquired by Valve and we are opening a new office on the San Francisco peninsula."
Star Filled Studios is comprised of Tod, who has previously worked at Blizzard and LucasArts, and Jeff Gates, who did work on Maxis' Spore and Blizzard's Diablo 3.

Original: Valve Timeare reporting that the two-man operation Star Filled Studios have been bought by Valve, and will be heading up a new office based in San Francisco.

Star Filled Studios is comprised of Tod, who has previously worked at Blizzard and LucasArts, and Jeff Gates, who did work on Maxis' Spore and Blizzard's Diablo 3. Both then worked together at PopCap.

Valve's plans for the company are still a mystery. While Star Filled Studios never announced what they were working on, their websitestates, "our games are made to be playable by everyone and available on iPhone, Steam and many different platforms."

The last company acquired by Valve was Turtle Rock Studios, who made Left 4 Dead before being rolled into Valve's Bellevue HQ. Turtle Rock have since reopened, now independent of Valve.

Thanks CVG.

Tall Tails Kickstarter Campaign Launches

Zuul Labs just launched the Kickstarter campaign for their mobile game, Tall Tails .

. (Which we originally previewed during Screenshot Weekly.) A dog-themed puzzle game, Zuul Labs promises a challenging game with cute dogs that will also subtly teach different pieces of important information for present and future dog owners as the game is continually played.

In Tall Tails , the player must help their rescue dog solve puzzles and navigate through the storybook world that it has fallen into. Each puzzle requires drawing a path through a map filled with many obstacles and dangers. Players are able to choose their dog, and can also customize it with different items that can be found or purchased within the app itself. While challenging in some levels, the game should not intimidate any players. It is said to also have easy-to-learn controls, making Tall Tails good for gamers of all ages.

The visuals of the game use a sleek cartoon style that’s colorful and cute. Mixing this with the no-doubt adorable sound effects of the game and the challenging elements to their puzzles, Tall Tails will hopefully turn out to be an appealing and fun game.

Learn more about Tall Tails on their Kickstarter campaign page. This game will be released for iOS and Android devices, at least to start. Backers will have 30 days to pledge donations to the project, which needs to reach a minimum of $150,000.

PopCap co-founder: Company leadership are "only ones culpable" for layoffs

Today's "say it ain't so" news involves PopCap releasing about 50 employees at its Seattle offices and investigating the shaky future of its Dublin, Ireland branch.

Today's "say it ain't so" news involves PopCap releasing about 50 employees at its Seattle offices and investigating the shaky future of its Dublin, Ireland branch. Now, PopCap co-founder John Vechey took to the keyboard with anexplaining the decision with unusual clarity.

"In the past year, we've seen a dramatic change in the way people play and pay for games," Vechey wrote. "Free-to-play, social and mobile games have exploded in popularity. That happened fast. Surprisingly so. The change in consumer tastes requires us to reorganize our business and invest in new types of games on new platforms. It's a completely different world from when we started."

"There's also an economic component to the reorganization. To stay in business, we need to manage costs, improve efficiency, and maintain a profit. We've been able to invest in creative new games like Peggle and Plants vs. Zombies because we had a high profit business. That business is challenged, and if we don't adapt, we won't be able to invest in new IP. That sounds harsh -- but if we don't stay in business, no more plants, zombies, jewels, frogs, or worms."

Vechey later tweeteda followup thought to the employee departures, saying, "PopCap's leadership, especially and including myself, are the only ones culpable for this sad news."

We're saddened by the layoffs at PopCap. It's refreshing, however, to see a developer breaking bad news with such candor, rather than burying it in an obfuscating haze of corporate jargon.

E3 2015: No Man’s Sky Shows off PS4 Gameplay

No Man’s Sky is a bit of a dream come true for me, since it will give players all the freedom of other space exploration games, plus the freedom of some insane procedural generation, plus the bonus of possibly never meeting another human player, because the game’s universe is just that big.

Sony gave Hello Games three minutes to demo No Man’s Sky , and so the gameplay shot through as much as it could in that time. In those short few minutes, we saw what it was like to get into a ship, fly out into a battle between two warring NPC factions, and head from orbit down onto a planet. Despite what Hello Games Co-founder Sean Murray said about the relatively quiet random planet the demo brought us to, it actually seemed quite lively, especially as several robots tried to kill Murray.

In addition, we learned that planets are entirely destructible, which raises the question of whether or not a planet can literally be destroyed. Presumably, it can’t be destroyed with the small, destructive pistol that was shown in the demo, but with a big enough ship…

As far as actual, proper news is concerned, Hello Games announced that No Man’s Sky would be launching on the PCas well as the PS4, and that they will be announcing the release date sometime in the near future.

As always, you can find out more about the game from its website, and you can express your impatience to the devs via the Hello Games Twitter,or through our own comments below.

Ace Ferrara and The Dino Menace: Space combat that’ll Knock your Socks Off

Described as a blend of Star Fox and Wing Commander, Ace Ferrara and The Dino Menace is a mission-based combat sim with an oddball twist.

is a mission-based combat sim with an oddball twist. The story takes place in the depths of unknown solar systems, where players take control of Ace Ferrara, a red head military cadet who has been asked to complete a very important task: Escort 3.2 tons of coffee through the Galapagos system. Unfortunately, two wicked dinosaurs with serious chips on their shoulders are there to foil Ace’s plan. Fed up at the entire human race for exiling their kind for millions of years, they have decided that now is the best time to revolt, return to the Earth, and establish their tyrannical reign. (Tyranno-rannical? There’s a T-Rex pun here somewhere…)

Patrol unknown realms, strike down your enemies, and save thy Earth.

Ace Ferrara has been published by BulkyPix, but the game’s production and development-code, graphics, music and narrative have all been orchestrated by Philipp Seifried, a Vienna based game developer. The game is organized into missions with varying objectives, and features basic flight tutorials for the ‘Sparrow,’ a tiny space flyer that must hone in on targets called ‘waypoints.’ Oozing charm and witty humor, Ace Ferrara’s quirky characters reside in an 80s cartoon universe that is filled with boppy, cheerful tunes, and the urging sense that space is the final frontier between humans and velociraptors.

Keen on some dino-blasting epicness? Try your hand at Ace Ferrara and the Dino Menace today from the App Storeor the Google Play Store. For the latest on the game, be sure to follow Philipp Seifried on Twitter.

Plants vs. Zombies 2 announced: "hordes of new plant and zombie types"

Did you enjoy Plants vs.

Did you enjoy Plants vs. Zombies? We did, very much. It was a dark drama about sunflowers plopping out light beads in the shadow of hordes of hungry undead, some of them wearing speedos. Expect more strangeness spring next year when the zombies return with new strategies designed to undo your home grown garden defences. There are no real details yet, but unlike most of EA's other games at the moment, it doesn't seem to be made in the Frostbite engine, as far as we know. Hooray! The screenshot above is from Plants vs. Zombies 1.

“Spring is crullest curlieungood time, and plantz grow dull roots,” a zombie told PopCap's press department. “So, we are meating you for brainz at yore house. No worry to skedule schedlueplan… we're freee anytime. We'll find you.” What a polite young zombie.

Interview Exclusive: IGM Chats With Cascadia Games

I love my console games.

I love my console games. I grew up in a Nintendo world from the late 80’s, the Super Nintendo is my all time favourite system, and my ultimate dream is to own every console ever made. Why not, right?

Now I realise that seems a little odd saying that, considering I’m here amongst the mobile indie developers, but it will all become much clearer once you get your hands on Cascadia Games ‘ GameDock, a device that will turn your Apple iOS device into a home console system. I first learnt of the device during its recent Kickstarter campaign, something we wrote about here on IGM back in July, and I’ve been fascinated by it ever since.

A few things have changed since July. The kickstarter was a resounding success, Apple have launched a whole new iOS device range, and Chris Jorgensen and the team is on the verge of launching not just a new piece of hardware, but a new game too. So in the midst of all this, I thought I’d ask some deep and meaningful questions, to see what’s really going on over there in Cascadia Games. Unfortunately, the deep and meaningful questions were a little too deep, so instead I asked Chris the following just as important questions:

Were you surprised by the response to the GameDock’s Kickstarter campaign or was it something you always knew would come to fruition no matter what?

Just from personal experience and observing other similar projects on Kickstarter, I figured we could get about $50k in funding. The fact that we came so close to that number, especially considering that we had so much unexpected media coverage, was a surprise.

Since achieving your funding goal on Kickstarter, has there been any specific changes or updates to the design of the GameDock that you’ve been able to introduce? Or any new ideas?

As far as hardware goes, most of the changes have been to the circuit board. We’ve swapped out a few components and changed its layout a couple of times as we’ve prepped it for production. The aesthetics of the case itself continue to evolve as well. If anything, however, we’ve gotten more conservative as things progress as the primary goal is to make a quality product and get it done according to the timeline we promised. There isn’t a lot of room for improvisation.

How different is the experience of developing a piece of hardware to that of developing a game?

It’s more expensive, for starters, because you’re not just paying for labor. The one-time costs are bigger. A mold for the plastic dock cases, for example, will likely cost over $10,000 by itself. That alone is higher than any contractor budget I’ve had on an app to date.

The order of events is a little more rigid as well. With software, I can plug in placeholder art or audio, for example, while I get the code in place. It doesn’t matter in which order finished bits arrive. But with hardware, for example, I can’t start producing the cases until I have a finished circuit board. And I can’t order boxes without having finished cases. I can’t get final box art until I have the box dimensions, etc, etc. So it takes a lot of iterations with slowly better approximations to make progress.

What was your first thought when Apple unveiled the Lightning Connector for the iPhone 5?

We expected it would happen, so we didn’t have a huge reaction one way or another. There was some disappointment, however, when we learned that the Lighting-to-30-pin adapter won’t support video. It basically means folks who get a GameDock will have to plug in their iPhone 5 separately into their TV. Of course, they’ll still be able to play games since the controls are sent via blue-tooth, but in the short term it means they won’t have the convenience of docking their phone while they play. Otherwise, it’s a neat connector. And there’s a chance they may be less expensive to use than the 30-pins, which would be great.

Will you be adapting the GameDock to the new connector ASAP or is it a wait and see mentality?

We’re in wait-and-see mode, but it’s not due to the connector. It depends on demand for the GameDock and what changes we might need for another model beyond just the connector.

While the iPhone and iOS are still a large chunk of the market, Android users are growing by the day. Are there plans to create alternative versions for those users without an iOS device in the future?

We’ve talked about it, but we don’t have any firm plans yet. To our knowledge, iOS is still where game developers make most of their money in mobile. Once we’ve established ourselves there, we will look at other devices.

Personally, how much has your own development style evolved from the early days?

I spend less time on things like art, audio, level design, etc, and more on the code and project management. The projects are bigger but better planned. I have more help, which is nice. I’m much less in a rush to get something out and more interested in making sure what we do is as good as it can be. In fact, I’ve been slowly pulling my older apps out of the iOS App Store to make sure there’s consistent quality from Cascadia Games.

Has the response to the Torque 2D Kit been as expected? Are there plans to refine or expand upon it?

The response has been great. In the early years of Cascadia Games, it was the primary revenue source. GarageGames has always been very supportive of it and about a half dozen games have been published using at least some of its code. I do plan on updating it. It just depends on the GarageGames’ engine release schedule. If their current engines haven’t been replaced by early next year, the kit will get some of the features from Wacky Wheels. If they have a new engine by then, I’ll rewrite it from the ground up.

For those of us who grew up with it, Wacky Wheels is a classic PC racer. What made you decide to bring back such a franchise? How did it all come about?

I’ve always loved the “mode 7” racing genre. I think it died too soon as folks jumped onto the 3D ship. I think it has a different feel than true 3D that makes it unique and fun in its own right. I didn’t like how Konami updated its Krazy Racers game to 3D for the iPhone, for example. It lost its pacing and intensity.

I had wanted to do a new kart racing game for awhile. But nothing quite struck me as a worthy idea. I took a lot of flak for releasing Cascadia Kart, which many folks felt was too similar to Zombie Karts. I didn’t want to crank out something that felt cookie-cutter. I was waiting for something that clearly was a strong, original game in its own right.

Wacky Wheels always stood out to me as a great example of how to do a kart game well. And the idea of releasing a game with a known brand was a new and interesting one for me. So I wrote 3D Realms and asked if I could license it. They said “Okay.” We put together an agreement and that was it.

What issues were involved in creating a game based on an existing IP compared to an original idea such as Cavorite?

There’s going to be a set of expectations that comes with an existing IP. So I’ve been very hesitant to share progress with anyone, much more than usual, and maybe a little bit more picky with what everyone produces. Everything needs to be well thought out since any change from the original needs to be justifiably for the better.

If you had the chance, what other classic franchise(s) would you love to revisit?

Without a doubt, Commander Keen is number one. Someone start petitioning id Software so I can make that happen!

So what’s next for Cascadia?

In the short term, obviously, Wacky Wheels and the GameDock need to be done right. Their levels of success will set the course going forward. With that said, we’ve been sitting on a really clever Gameboy style game that we’re excited about but haven’t been able to get to yet. And, of course, Dr. Cavorwill be back. We’re still deciding between a couple different routes to take that humble little franchise.

There you go folks. A big thanks to Chris and Cascadia Games for taking the time out to answer all the above. Keep it locked to IGM as, being a Wacky Wheels fan of old, you can be sure I’ll be keeping a close eye on its development and the upcoming launch of the GameDock with it! And for more on both projects, be sure to visit the official Cascadia Games website.

Figure O’ Speech – Fun Puns

As a writer, I, of course, love words.

As a writer, I, of course, love words. This is fairly normal. What is apparently less normal is my love for puns (something my friends repeatedly remind me of), and, well… let’s just say that if App-titude Games’ Figure O’ Speech was a person, it and I would probably be best friends.

Figure O’ Speech is a relatively simple game, but that is how it throws you off. The menus are easy to navigate, if a little clunky-looking, and you get a large amount of puzzles (60) to test you right off the bat. I’ll be perfectly up front here: I accidentally spent a half hour on this game when I went to look at it. It is right up my alley. Each puzzle presents you with a visual representation of a phrase, and each set of 60 has a theme. For example, the first one is “Proverbs and Idioms,” while the second one is “People.” Better still is that all of the sets of puzzles are unlocked simply by finishing enough puzzles from the previous sets; there are no in-app purchases (though there are ads). The hint system is tied to a timer, but it is a relatively short timer, and there’s no button to instantly replenish the hints for the low, low price of your firstborn child. Instead, the timer is just there to encourage you to try to solve the puzzles on your own, without the (admittedly cryptic) hints. That said… a lot of the puzzles are really difficult. I’ve used most of my hints already.

If frustratingly difficult puzzles sound like your cup of tea, then you can check out Figure O’ Speech in the Google Play store here, and learn a bit more about the developers from their Facebook page.

PopCap release Plants vs. Zombies Christmas single called "Wabby Wabbo." No, really

PopCap are going head to head with the X-Factor this Christmas.

PopCap are going head to head with the X-Factor this Christmas. Crazy Dave aka. Cray-Z is the talent behind Wabby Wabbo. It's available to buy through iTunesnow. Purchases registered between December 18 and December 24 will count towards Wabby Wabbo's Christmas chart rankings. PopCap mention that "approximately 55p of each 79p purchase" will go to the Concern Worldwidecharity.

PopCap point out that Wabby Wabbo "is believed to be the first hip-hop single ever released to feature a yodelling solo by a Yeti zombie." It may also be the first hip-hop single ever released to contain just five real words ("heeey, gonna eat your braains"), and is probably the first to be performed by an animated character wearing a saucepan on his head. The official music video is above, which means you've probably heard it by now. What do you think?

Support Video Game Based Learning In The Classroom

Now I realise that this isn’t necessarily about a new mobile game, or an upcoming title, but given the subject matter I figured this was something that needed to be shared with a wider audience.

Now I realise that this isn’t necessarily about a new mobile game, or an upcoming title, but given the subject matter I figured this was something that needed to be shared with a wider audience. More importantly, it was worth sharing with likeminded people who know the importance video games can have on the imagination.

Jeff Clarkis a sixth grade English teacher out of Cheektowaga-Sloan, a school district in Buffalo, NY that’s home two four different schools. He is also the creator of Patient Number Zero, an online narrative that was created to enrich the learning experience for his students, teaching them the importance of narrative through a unique online gaming experience.

It’s Jeff’s dream to introduce a video game based curriculum to the district, specifically at John F. Kennedy Middle School, to teach kids through the use of video game based literacy.

“As we continue to evolve into a “gaming” culture, it would be foolish for educators to not capitalize on students’ high level of interest and immersion in video games,” Jeff explains on his kickstarter campaign page, “Games like Uncharted, Skyrim, and the Fallout series tell AMAZING narratives that not only engage the player, but leave a lasting impression, much like that of an amazing piece of literature. My goal is to merge the English Language Arts with high-interest video games.”

The plan involves combining various video games across multiple genres and platforms with the national Common Core Learning Standards for English Language Arts & Literacy. This will teach kids to analyse specific video game narratives, genres and plots whilst building an interest in writing walkthroughs, narratives or video game reviews and creative pieces, visual presentations and the like.

From a personal point of view, I wish there had been something like this back when I was a kid. To be able to write about what I love now as a child would have not only motivated me to become a writer earlier in life, but it would have also allowed me to share in my love and appreciation for video games instead of just playing at home when no-one was watching. It’s a sign of the times, perhaps, that gaming has become more than just picking up a controller after a hard days work.

Now of course, none of this is possible without your help, so be sure to head over to the kickstarter pageand show your support for this fantastic initiative. As indie writers, fans and creators alike, we can all agree that providing a better curriculum of the children of the future can only lead to bigger and better things, not only within our own industry but within the general appreciation of the english language as a whole and beyond.

So please, go donatewhat you can to put some smiles on some kids faces. Tell Jeff that IGM sent you.

Escape Dangerous Obstacles with FreeDum

Just released on iOS and Android devices on April 10, 2014, FreeDum is the ultimate in cute, escape platform gaming from BulkyPix Publishers and Pedro Studios.

is the ultimate in cute, escape platform gaming from BulkyPix Publishers and Pedro Studios. It is a puzzle game set in a childlike atmosphere. Players control Dum, a little ladybug who is bullied by a child named Max.

Max has set out dangerous mazes and traps that Dum must cross. The environment is full of obstacles, but Dum must face these dangers to save himself and the baby ladybugs. Can you outsmart the inventive boy? Or will his traps be your last adventure?

Featuring sixty fun and challenging levels (with more levels still to come), FreeDum is a challenging, childlike game to keep players entertained for hours. Will you need to shrink to avoid obstacles or can you simply fly over them to reach the level exit? Control the spirit of other insects to help players on their escape attempt.

FreeDum is available on iOSfor iPhone and iPad for $.99 USD, and on Android via GooglePlayfor $1.23 USD.

Smart Casual - How PopCap conquered casual gaming

Sitting on the floor of Benaroya Hall in Seattle, I'm depressed as hell.

PopCapfeaturethumb

Following the news that PopCap has been purchased by EA. We've decided to bring you a feature on the mammoth casual games developer that originally ran in PC Gamer UK issue 220.

Sitting on the floor of Benaroya Hall in Seattle, I'm depressed as hell. I've come to the Casual Connect Conference 2010 to hear the makers of casual and social games share their ideas, but in three days of lectures I haven't heard a single idea about games.

Instead they're talking about how designers don't matter. They're talking about how psychological tricks can turn their audience into zombies. They're talking about how to use metrics to better monetise your mum. This isn't just the industry's business men and women talking, either; these are the people who actually make the games. At a point in history when a new and huge mainstream audience is trying computer games for the first time, our ambassadors aren't interested in talking about how to make something fun.

The scene couldn't have been more different three days earlier, just a few blocks away from Benaroya Hall at PopCap's headquarters. They've been playing Risk with their office space for the past ten years, starting with just a couple of desks and expanding through their skyscraper in all directions. They showed me the workmen putting the finishing touches to their most recently conquered floor, where every wall is coated with IdeaPaint. It turns every surface into a whiteboard. Designers, programmers and artists will hole up inside each room for years – as long as it takes to make something great – and will literally cover the walls with game ideas.

Since 2000, PopCap have grown from three guys working from their homes to an employer of hundreds with offices in Seattle, San Francisco, Chicago, Dublin and Shanghai. Along the way they've made some of the most successful and beloved games on the PC: from Bejeweled to Peggle to Plants vs Zombies.

I came to Seattle not to be depressed, but to speak to the founders and designers of PopCap. Who are they? What makes them tick? How did they get to be so huge, and where are they going? What is the secret behind this very silly company? Like so many great stories, it starts with a game of strip poker.

In 2000, John Vechey, Brian Fiete and Jason Kapalka left their jobs at large online gaming companies to start their own. It wasn't going well. The idea was to create browser games and make money from ads, but the dotcom bubble had burst and their first game was garnering complaints.

The game was Foxy Poker. “This is not in our corporate histories,” admits Jason Kapalka. “We thought, 'We can do this thing, then we can sell it and take the money to do whatever.' But we were still trying to do this advertising stuff where they wouldn't allow nudity, so there was always some object interposed. There's no actual nudity. We did get a lot of complaints because you had to play a long time to get to the final stage of undress, and when you did there were some vases and things.”

If strip poker seems an odd fit for PopCap, keep in mind that their company was called Sexy Action Cool. The name was taken from a Rolling Stone review quote for the movie Desperado: 'Antonio Banderas is the ultimate in sexy action cool.'

PopCap's history is filled with discarded names.

“It was a pretty good strip poker game,” says Jason, “But we found we didn't really have the heart to deal with any of the porn companies because they were just too scummy. We abandoned our short-lived effort to be a company like that.”

Their first success came in the form of their next game: Diamond Mine. Today it's called Bejeweled.

“I'd seen a game that used some similar rulesets to Bejeweled,” says John Vechey. “But there was no animation, no sound effects, and they had very indifferent rules. We simplified it and changed it and then I sent a link out, Brian did a version that was just circles, and then Jason added the gem graphics. So it was three days of boom, boom, boom. And then we had it.”

Is this just another case of a casual game developer making a derivative dollar? Sort of. Bejeweled certainly wasn't the first of its kind, as John admits. The first match-three PC game seems to be Shariki, a 1994 DOS game by a Russian programmer called Eugene Alemzhin. On top of that core concept, Bejeweled added a timer and bonus points, but PopCap's largest contribution was polish. Even in its most basic version, Bejeweled is testament to the human mind's ability to be endlessly entertained by things that tinkle.

Struggling to make their advertising model work in the short-term, they tried to sell Bejeweled outright for $60,000 to EA. EA said it wasn't even really a game. They turned to MSN Games, offering it for $30,000. Microsoft said no.

But they had a different idea. “Microsoft said they would do a licensing fee for $1,500 dollars a month,” says John. “We had two games at the time, we had Bejeweled and our second game, Alchemy. $1,500 a month times two is $3,000 a month. If we get about ten of these we're actually OK, right? And our third game we licensed exclusively for $10,000 a month.”

Licensing instead of selling the game outright meant that they weren't losing complete control. While Diamond Mine appeared on the MSN Games portal, they could also put it on their own site. The founders realised they needed a more public face, and that meant a company name that better matched their intended audience. They settled on the lid to a bottle of soda: a pop cap. PopCap was officially born.

“We ended up not being a great business, but for three guys it was OK. But then Bejeweled experienced disproportionate success to any money we were making, I think it was getting 50-60,000 peak users during the day. A lot of people were playing it, and it took a while for us to find the financial success behind that.”

They found it by offering a premium version of the game. You could play Bejeweled for free at any number of online portals – you still can, even sometimes still named Diamond Mine – but if you liked it, you could grab a downloadable version. After an hour's trial, you could pay $20 to unlock it.

“Now we were making $30-40,000 a month just from that one downloadable version on our website,” says John. It provided stability for the company.

Rather than trying to build on that stability and grow the company, the founders were more concerned with having and making fun.

“Brian and I moved to Argentina for a couple months,” says John. “We were making money and we wanted to learn Spanish, and they had good steak and wine and we could work there.” At the time, PopCap still didn't have an office. The three of them worked from home.

“We were having fun. We were making games. We'd spend four days playing Counter-Strike,” says John. “Well, Brian and I would spend four days playing Counter-Strike and lie to Jason. We'd tell him what we were working on was really hard. He didn't understand technology at the time.”

Given such humble origins, it's important to put the game's success into perspective. Bejeweled has now sold over 25 million copies, and the series as a whole – which includes Bejeweled 2, Bejeweled Twist and Bejeweled Blitz – has sold over 50 million. It is a gaming juggernaut.

When their first office opened in 2002, they focused on hiring artists and other game designers. “We didn't want to be anything more than a game developer. That was really the focus,” says John. They contracted George Fan – who would later make Plants vs Zombies – as employee number five. Sukhbir Sidhu, the designer of Peggle, was employee number eight.

“The first conversation I had with Jason when I talked about coming to work for PopCap, we talked about the kinds of games they wanted to make,” says Sukhbir. “I actually mentioned pachinko at that time.”

Pachinko is a Japanese sensation. The player fires a ball up into the machine as in pinball, and the ball then cascades back down, striking dozens of small pegs as it falls. There are no flippers to send it back up, but if it falls in certain pockets at the bottom, it triggers a jackpot that drops more balls. The balls that are won are then exchanged for tokens that can be traded for prizes.

Sukhbir had played a Godzilla pachinko machine that Jason had in his apartment in San Francisco. “It was really mesmerising and I couldn't believe how fun it was. That experience always stayed with me,” says Sukhbir.

“The problem was it was all luck. The fun in pachinko is the gambling aspect of it – the thrill of it – even though it's mesmerising it's hard to get that same feeling in a game.”

Vanished: The Island’ for iOS

‘Vanished: The Island’ for iOS
Vanished: The Island is the indie studios first release.

has releasedan adventure game for iOS, today.

is the indie studios first release. In the game, players begin by being summoned to an exotic tropical island after receiving a mysterious message from Aunt Emma. Aunt Emma has a history of exciting adventures (and sometimes going missing in unusual locations) and she seems to have been excavating a Mayan archeological site when she encountered some trouble.

Players will need to explore tropical environments, find and use objects, and solve puzzles as the story unfolds. Puzzles are based on Mayan history. and the overall setting is a bright, tropical island (Probably my favorite game setting ever). Players will have to think creatively to figure out puzzles, and of course, remember to take everything that’s not nailed down. There’s also a game journal that allows players to read a recap of important information, so it’s easy to pick the game back up without wandering around in confusion.

I had the chance to participate in the beta, and really enjoyed the blend of puzzles with the the old-fashioned point-and-click adventure game. It’s not hard to see the influence of classic favorites like Myst and Monkey Island on the development of Vanished.

Indie studio Sky Horse Interactive is composed of four game-obsessed indie developers, with a focus on storytelling, that wanted to make games the way they felt games should be made. Sky Horse are currently at work on the second game in the Vanished series.

IGM Interviews – Laura Shigihara (Rakuen)

Friday night already?

Friday night already? I guess it’s time for another installment of IGM Interviews ! This week, we’re featuring Laura Shigihara, a composer known for working on projects such as Plants vs. Zombies and, for the WoW fans among us, provided the vocals for the Singing Sunflower pet. But pretty soon, you’ll also know her for her upcoming game, Rakuen . A story-based adventure game, Rakuen is about a boy in a hospital, and the partly whimsical journey he goes on through light puzzle solving and heavy dialogue.

Rakuen is being developed by a three-person team; Shigihara works on the programming, design, audio, and pixel characters, while two of her artistically inclined friends assist with concept, character, and background art. Beyond the game, she also creates original music and is an active member of the YouTube community, posting cover songs and music videos of her own design. I got the chance to chat with her about Rakuen , her music, and what inspires her during the music creation process. There may or may not also be an embarrassing story she willingly shared somewhere towards the end, too.

IGM: Do you have a particular routine when preparing to compose for a new game?

Laura Shigihara : I do. I have a lot of things that I do to get ready, like in the right state of mind. I like going onwalks, and drinking tea. Sometimes eating chocolate. I usually do some combination of things to get in a creative state beforehand.

As for doing music specifically for levels, I usually ask if I can get a build of the game to play, so that I can just see how it feels. Hopefully, new music materializes in my head from there.

IGM: Where do you look for inspiration when creating a soundtrack?

Shigihara : I think a lot of times, I just try to go with the feel of the game. So if I have a build and I can play through it, usually I get music in my head that matches what’s going on. I don’t do a lot of research unless it’s something really new. So if it’s a style I haven’t composed in before, I’ll usually go listen to a lot of different tracks to learn more about it.

IGM: Do you have a particular style or genre that you prefer to compose?

Shigihara : I enjoy, I don’t know what you would call it, but a lot of melodic stuff where I can kind of mix genres together. So the base is where I can use a pop-type melody that’s relatable and kind of simple, and I can build onto it and make the arrangement more complex. Then I like mixing all different kinds of beats; everything from swing music, or hip hop, electronic stuff. I guess I just like combining different things together.

IGM: You grew up playing games, right? What were some of the games you enjoyed growing up?

Shigihara : Well, my favorite game of all time is Chrono Trigger . I love that game. Everything about it, I thought was so wonderful.

What else? Let’s see… Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past , Yoshi’s Island was one that I played a lot. The Mega Man series, I played like all of the Mega Man games. There’s so many. Starcraft is another one, I played a lot of Starcraft .

IGM: Can you recall any tracks in particular that stood out to you when you were younger? Why do you think the music had such a powerful effect on you?

Shigihara : I really liked Gravity Man’s themefrom Mega Man 5 . I thought that was so cool because, well, I used to play a lot of game music on the piano when I was a kid, just like listen and then play it, but Gravity Man’s theme was the one that alluded me. I remember it being really difficult to figure out how to play. I was like, ‘this is so complex!’ It was very interesting.

I also like Schala’s Themefrom Chrono Trigger . I love the instrumentation, I felt like it was so mysterious and, I don’t know, it just felt like I got to know the character better by listening to her music.

But I mean there’s so many, I don’t even know where to begin. I always say that my favorite soundtrack is the Chrono Cross soundtrack, I can listen that over and over again.

IGM: From your perspective, how can developers best use music as a way to enhance the storytelling or gameplay of their games?

Shigihara : I think that, a lot of times, there’s a lot of music that’s sort of generic, you know? You don’t really remember it afterwards. I think that if a game has good music, that’s melodic and memorable, that can bring out emotions in the player; then they’re more likely to remember certain things, or have the scenes make a bigger impact on their life.

There’s this one game I played, Suikoden ; the music that played during this one super sad scene, which I won’t say in case anyone plays it, it just hit me so hard. So whenever I hear that song, I remember the characters so well, and I remember the scene so well. So, I think that just having music that’s memorable, that can help the game be more memorable overall. Especially specific scenes or exciting parts, or scary parts.

IGM: You’ve composed for a number of games now. If you had a choice, is there a particular game series you’d love to be a part of?

Shigihara : I’d say Mega Man . Either Mega Man , or some type of Square [Enix] RPG where I can write sad songs.

IGM: What would you say was the most difficult part of getting started as a composer? What sort of roadblocks did you encounter?

Shigihara : It was really hard to find work. Nowadays, I feel like there’s probably more opportunities just because there are so many different kinds of games out there. But I felt like there were just not that many jobs available. And also, I guess the nature of composing is that, for anything other than huge AAA games, one composer can handle multiple game soundtracks at the same time. So there’s not really as big of a need for composers as, say, programmers or artists. The jobs were pretty limited.

I feel like I really had to put effort into looking for work. I was part of many game development forums and I went to industry events, and I tried to build up my portfolio anyway I could, by working on friend’s games and free projects and stuff like that. I guess that was one of the bigger challengers.

I think another thing too, is that when I first meet people, I don’t know if it’s because I’m a girl or I look really young or what the deal is, but it often takes people awhile to know I know what I’m doing. I think now it’s easier, because people know what I’ve worked on, but in the beginning it was hard for people to take me seriously.

Plants vs. Zombiesville? China gets exclusive adaptation from Popcap

Popcap have revealed a "Social Edition" of the superb Plants vs.

PVZ Thumbnail

Popcap have revealed a "Social Edition" of the superb Plants vs. Zombies. The adaptation was handled by Popcap's Shanghai studio, and is launching on Chinese networking site Renren.com. There's no news of an English translation yet, sadly.

Read on for screens and the details.

The online adaptation lets you create your own personal town which reflects your choice of tactics. There'll be a Rampage mode that supplies a non-stop zombie attack, complete with leaderboards. It sounds as though Popcap are going for a similar vibe to their Facebook/iOS adaptation of Bejewelled Blitz- quick, competitive bursts of play through a browser.

We're intrigued by the weekly challenges, items, and zombies teased by Popcap, but the prospect of an online Zen Garden-esque town that your friends can come and visit is even more exciting. Upsettingly, Popcap have also confirmed that Plants vs. Zombies Social Edition will be exclusive to Renren.com for the time being. Boo to language barriers.

Screenshot Weekly – Destructive Super Novas Cause Craters

Welcome back to Screenshot Weekly !

! Every Tuesday, IGM brings you exclusive looks at upcoming games in various stages of development. The featured image introducing each game will always be original, and made especially for IGM, so you’ll see them for the first time right here! (Make sure to click the pics to see them in their full screen glory.) Without further ado, let’s take a look at this week’s screenshots:

Crater Kings

You want to know what the future of sports entertainment looks like? It’s all about the return of the rock. No, not Dwayne Johnson, a different rock. Here, I’ll let the developers at Grapplehook Games explain it to you: “As the people of Earth expanded their demand for resources beyond the confines of their home planet, mining operations began to take place on the moon. No work is without its slow days however, and Moon mining was no excpetion. The workers began to use their highly specialized equipment and mining tools to challenge each other in games of strange mining sport. This gave birth to their the ‘King of The Crater’ tournament! Earn respect from Lunar Mining Corp and your worker peers by mastering smashing rocks in space!” You know the funny part about that synopsis? I bet astronauts already made a sport out of lunar mineral collecting. Boys will be boys, as the saying goes, and we turn just about everything into a competition. Gameplay details about Crater Kings can be found on the game’s website.

Nova Blitz

Nova Blitz is looking to stand out amongst the many indie TCGs out there by offering an assortment of differentiating mechanics. As an example, the devs at Dragon Foundry mentioned that “turns are shared between you and your opponent, so the action takes place simultaneously. There’s no waiting for your opponent to take their turn.” There’s also a shuffler that “reduces the chances of Energy Screw (not having enough resources to play your cards).” Drafts are then done between real players, so card packs are traded with actual players and not determined by a random algorithm. Finally, “ Nova Blitz booster packs will be smart packs: You get to choose the expansion the cards come from; you won’t be locked to one.” There’s a whole lot more information on the way, as the game is still in the early stages of development, but lore-wise the story pits different Novas against each other in gladiatorial combat in an effort to earn a place in the annual Nova Blitz championship, where winners receive fame and fortune.

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

Valiant Hearts Creative Director Embarks On Indie Development Journey

Yoan Fanise, a former Creative Director at Ubisoft responsible for Valiant Hearts and actively involved in other projects including Beyond Good & Evil , has announced he is joining the indie game development community by opening a new studio known as Digixart along with co-founder Anne-Laure Fanise.

, has announced he is joining the indie game development community by opening a new studio known as Digixart along with co-founder Anne-Laure Fanise. According to Yoan, the “X” is Latin for ten, since video games are being considered more and more as the 10th Art.

Yoan Fanise entered into video games thanks to classics like Tetris and Sonic the Hedgehog , before moving on to create a successful anime short film in France. His move to Ubisoft focused on creating and implementing sounds for Beyond Good & Evil , before eventually entering global creativity and working on a variety of game types through his 14 year career with the AAA company.

Yoan attributes the move from AAA to indie gaming based on the success of Valiant Hearts , a quaint 2D animation that follows the emotional stories of a handful of characters during the first World War. Expressing a desire to create more “meaningful” games that dig into the subject of personal lives through simple storytelling, Digixart intends to create games that continue to explore difficult concepts, such as religions, cultural differences, and the struggles of modern society. The goal is for the substance of the game, and the general message, to stay with the player even after the game is finished, and encourage personal introspection.

Digixart is, for now, a smallish studio with less than ten people, some of which include freelance artists experienced with Ubisoft projects, such as Nicolas Leger. Yoan also noted that he was pleasantly surprised to meet several talented and passionate indie devs within the community in Montpellier.

Gamers can learn more about Digixart’s current and future projects by following them on twitter at @digixart.

PopCap for sale? EA rumoured to be making a $1 billion offer

There are strong rumours flying around suggesting that EA are in the late stages of negotiating a deal to buy up PopCap for a massive ONE BILLION dollars.

Bejeweled 3

Edgepicked up a report from TechCrunch, who have been approached by two unnamed sources who say that Electronic Arts are about to spend 13% of its stock market value to buy up the casual games developer.

PopCap are best known as the professional purveyors of casual gaming crack like Peggle, Bejeweled and Plants vs. Zombies. PopCap's official response to the rumours was to say that "Per company policy, we do not comment on rumours and speculation of this nature."

Joining EA would be an interesting move for PopCap, given that its founding members left casual game company Pogoto go independent, and Pogo was bought by EA soon afterwards in 2001. In fact, PopCap CEO John Vechey told usthat PopCap tried to sell their breakout game, Bejeweled to EA when they were starting out for $60,000. "They said no, thank goodness!" said Vechey.

In the ten years since then, PopCap have gone from strength to strength, and are now an international company with more than 400 employees. You can find out more about how PopCap was founded, and the stories behind their greatest games, like Bejeweled, Peggle and Plants vs. Zombies in our week of features on PopCap.

Guns Of Icarus Online’ Adventure Mode Aims To Expand The Games Series In A Persistent Online World

‘Guns Of Icarus Online’ Adventure Mode Aims To Expand The Games Series In A Persistent Online World
After last year’s hugely successful Kickstarter campaign for Guns Of Icarus Online Muse Games are back on Kickstarter for a third time in as many years with their next proposal, an adventure mode for the highly successful Guns Of Icarus Online .

Guns Of Icarus Online is a cooperative multiplayer sky battle game in which a small team of players takes command of steampunk airships and fights to the death in fantastically created sky boxes across this fictitious landscape.

Muse Games aim to add to this already fantastic game by adding in a compelling adventure mode that expands the world’s lore to create a persistent online environment for players of rival factions to play in. The game will include various objective based missions in which you must complete a whole variety of tasks for the towns across the world. The missions will impact the world dependant on if they are completed or failed creating a great persistent online element.

Of course the key player verse player mechanics will still be used for the new adventure mode adding in the ability to raid enemy towns along with just intercepting player’s ships as they move around the world.

The way you play the adventure mode will determine how the world is shaped changing from day to day from the simple trade tasks to burning villages down, it will all create meaningful and lasting affects across the world really creating a great dynamic environment for players to shape.

The whole idea of having a persistent online world is great but also quite a tall order even for the very talented Muse Games and will the vision match the reality? Well considering the team’s track record I think it is a fairly safe bet to say they do indeed know what they are doing with game development, so maybe the risks are not all that high.

Muse Games currently have an active Kickstarter campaign for the adventure mode side to Guns Of Icarus and with it already raising over a quarter of the funds whilst still having 54 days to go the projects to be gaining quite a bit of traction already.

However if you would like to find out more about this very interesting new addition to the Guns Of Icarus series be sure to check out Muse Games’ Kickstarter page. If you like what you consider backing the project.

Sproggiwood – A Roguelike of Some Cute Proportions

Back in the summer of 2012 a game was first conceived as micro-roguelike.

Back in the summer of 2012 a game was first conceived as micro-roguelike. That game was known as Sproggiwood and it was first brought into fruition back in 2012, it has been in development ever since. The game has since grown and the Sproggiwood that we all can now look forward to is looking to be a beast, albeit a very, very cute beast, but a beast nonetheless.

Starting as a simple farmer from a peaceful island known as Clog, things begin to take a drastic turn once lured through a portal by a talking sheep. In this new world our hero finds themselves a prisoner to a forest spirit with a mischievous nature that enlists them into the aid of civilizing his realm. This spirit goes by the name of Sproggi and it is up to our hero to work with him to build the civilization, plunder through procedural dungeons, and decide whether or not you wish to crush or befriend a rival civilization that is on its rise to greatness.

Featuring a designable town mode with buildings, decorations, and monsters, all set within a world based on Finnish mythology. Dungeons filled with various items and equipment, and six fully unique classes to unlock and master: Simple farmer, brave warrior, merry archer, cunning thief, brainy wizard, and creepy vampire.

Sproggiwood is set for a release within the third-quarter of 2014 and will be available for Windows, Mac, Linux, iOS, Android, and currently has a Steam Greenlightcampaign in full swing. The game is being developed by indie developer Freehold Games, LLC, and more information can be found about them at their website, and be sure to check them out on Twitter.

Alphabear Review – Why Do Bears Like Spelling Bees?

It’s a pretty well-known fact that writers like word games.

It’s a pretty well-known fact that writers like word games. This is partially because most writers feed on words, but it’s also because we like feeling as though the years we’ve spent actually learning our respective language(s) gives us some kind of advantage. Alphabears will make most of us downright unbearable.

Spry Fox is a developer most people know by this point; if they haven’t played Road Not Taken, maybe they’ve lost their battery multiple times to the frustrating and addictive Triple Town. For those who have played any of Spry Fox’s clever games, they already know two things: One, that Spry Fox games tend to warp spacetime in such a way that all time tends to vanish, and two, that Spry Fox finds a way to put adorable, cube-shaped bears into all their games.

Alphabear features said bears as the main characters (bearacters? No, too much), with the goal being to earn as many points as possible. Each word spelled, and more specifically, each letter used, makes a bear. Through the magic of spelling words, players can make those bears larger, and the bigger their bears at the end of the round, the more bonus points they earn. Play consists of a board with letters which appear at the center. As words are spelled, the tiles turn into bears, and the letters spread out from the center. Players must use all the letters on one side of a bear, so it can then… eat the letters? There’s no explanation for what actually happens, but the bear is bigger at the end of it, which is what matters.

Of course, there is additional pressure from the tiles themselves: Each tile has a number on it, and every time a word is spelled, that number counts down closer to zero. Should it reach zero, that letter turns to stone. Not only does this keep players from using that letter, it means bears become blocked from expanding close to the stone. The key, then, is deciding where to allow letters to turn to stone, when possible. Obviously it becomes difficult when there are multiple letters on the board with one turn left, but a good word can keep the stones from interrupting play too much.

Each level of the game offers the chance to unlock a new bear, provided players earn enough points, and each bear that is unlocked is a specific buff that can be applied before starting a level. Most of them just improve the final score, but many also give bonus points for using specific letters. Doggy Bear, for example, gives a bonus to the final score, but also gives additional points for using the letters “D,” “O,” and “G.” It took me awhile to realize you don’t have to spell “dog” with those letters; players are given the bonus simply for using the letters.

Most levels allow the use of up to three bears, though every bear has to have a “nap” after it’s been used. The rarer (and therefore more powerful) bears have to nap for longer, though during my time with the game it was rare I couldn’t use the bear I wanted. This was primarily because the bears have a short nap time, but it’s also because, since Alphabear is a mobile game, gaps between play were long enough that I didn’t really even think about the bears and their naps.

Most levels cost honey to start, and like a lot of mobile games, honey naturally restores itself over time. Generally, because of how slowly I play the game – I prefer finding the best possible words – I never wanted for honey. But for players who go through the levels quickly, there are couple of options: They can watch a video (and therefore support the developer) and earn 50 honey. The videos are about 20 seconds long, and a pretty good deal to speed things up, considering there are no ads anywhere else in the game. For players willing to directly support the developer, infinite honey can also be purchased for $4.99 USD, which essentially prices the otherwise free game at about five dollars. But again, it’s an optional purchase, and there’s even a third option, which is buying more honey with coins that can be earned from playing the game.

Perhaps because of its simplicity, and because of the gentle way monetization was handled, I can find almost nothing about Alphabear to dislike. The only real issue with Alphabear at the moment is that there’s no way to play offline, which Spry Fox says is because of bugs caused by offline. But its UI is smooth, the bear theme is adorable, and I get to spell words and feel like I’m doing something worth celebrating. It’s easily one of the best mobile games out there, even with Triple Town being on the market. If you like spelling, or bears, there are few better games out there right now.

You can get Alphabear for free on iOSor Android devices, each from their respective stores. Beyond that, you can always check out Spry Fox’s websitefor more information on both Alphabear and their other games.

Oh, and to answer the joke in the title: Bears love spelling bees because they make spelling honey! You’re all welcome.

Pros

Clever Word Game Unobtrusive Monetization All-around enjoyable

Cons

No offline No Multiplayer No one laughed at my joke

Massive PopCap sale, all games half price

PopCap are holding a Thanksgiving winter sale, with all of their games selling for half price.

PopCap are holding a Thanksgiving winter sale, with all of their games selling for half price. That means a chance to scoop Plants vs Zombies, Peggle and Bejeweled 2 for almost $10 each.

The sale is set to run until November 29th over on the PopCapsite. For an insight into inception and development of these games check out our interviews with George Fanon the making of Plants vs. Zombies, and Jason Kapalkaon the inception on development of PopCap's most addictive opus, Peggle.

Yeah, we did just call Peggle an opus. Eat it, unicorn haters.

The Top 15 Games Machines Of All Time: Part Two

The Top 15 Games Machines Of All Time: Part Two 10. PC Manufacturer: IBM/Microsoft Released: 1982 The PC has enjoyed two distinct and highly successful lifetimes. Originally running leaps and bounds ahead of consoles during the pre-PlayStation era, it was a breeding ground for many of gaming’s now-prolific games and game-makers. The likes of BioWare, Epic and Lionhead would never be the powerhouses

The best gardens from our Plants vs Zombies swag giveaway

Over the weekend we ran a competition to take a screenshot of the coolest Plants vs Zombies garden you'd made, Zen or otherwise, with a massive haul of PvZ swag for the winner.

Plants vs Zombies coolest gardens

Over the weekend we ran a competition to take a screenshot of the coolest Plants vs Zombies garden you'd made, Zen or otherwise, with a massive haul of PvZ swag for the winner. Here are the best gardens we got, starting with the overall winner.


The Plants Vs Zombies award for Coolest Garden goes to:

kdfb, for his gorgeous and painstakingly made Marigold Rainbow

kdfb says: "It took me several revisions to find a working pattern that would allow me to include them all in order. Most frustrating moment: When my garden was half grown I discovered the cyan plant. Scrapped that pattern, had to start another. After that, I couldn't get too few cyan, and made it one of the longer rows. Happiest moment. Getting the final red marigold, the last piece in the puzzle."

He wins this magnificent maelstrom of plant- and zombie-related loot:


Honorable mentions

Some excellent sucking up by 747 with his PCG garden.

We admire the callous efficiency of kiran255's Money Maker lawn.

And the gleeful self-indulgence of SuperZambezi's Monogram garden.

And lastly, we love the cruel cleverness of auntydoris's Garlic Draughts.

Thanks to all who entered. We'll be announcing the winner of the Peggle giveaway soon.

Screenshot Weekly – Amnesia-Inducing, Spacefaring ShipAntics

Welcome back to Screenshot Weekly !

! Every Tuesday, IGM brings you exclusive looks at upcoming games in various stages of development. The featured image introducing each game will always be original, and made especially for IGM, so you’ll see them for the first time right here! Without further ado, let’s take a look at this week’s screenshots (remember to click the pictures to appreciate them in all their fully-sized glory):

4B10

“You wake up, without memory in a closed room. All you see are walls, but there’s something else.. a key, and a elevator. But, where does it take? Who are you? Can you find your way out? Can you find yourself along the way? Can you survive?” No, this isn’t the synopsis to an M. Night Shyamalan film, it’s in fact the story of 4B10 , an upcoming retro-styled platformer that is currently in Alpha. According to solo developer Juliano “tibone,” the game has been in development for quite some time, but since he can only devote free time to the project sparingly, it is only about 50% done. The good news is a demo is on the way soon. Described as a love letter to old games, with an emphasis on being difficult-but-fair, 4B10 will contain 40 levels, plus secrets and bonus endings. Juliano is hoping to release the game by the end of the year, targeting a launch on Windows PC, and likely OSX further down the line.

NORA

If you’re hankering for an episodic psychological thriller, NORA may just be the fix you’re after. Assuming the role of Abigael Blake, the captain of a privateer ship known as NORA, it will be up to the player to maintain positive relationships with the crew before everyone gives in to madness. (There’s a plot point in between there I’d just rather not spoil. In case you thought simply going into space inherently drove people mad…) Kevin Gray, co-owner of the development team at GravTech Games, further mentions that, “ NORA is a game about loss and hardship and the will to persevere throughout it all. It’s about the people that shape us, the strength they give us, and the lengths we will go to in order to protect them. It’s a game about how even little actions can have earth-shattering repercussions. Will you find the answers you so desperately need? Or will you succumb to the gibbering madness swelling throughout your ship?” No release date or platforms are confirmed yet, but the game is running in Unreal Engine 4.

ShipAntics

Our next preview comes to us from Studio POWWOW, developers of ShipAntics . As the team puts it, “ ShipAntics is a puzzle-adventure game mixed with zany cartoon action, stuffed to the gills with weird and wonderful characters. Set on The Barnacle, ShipAntics stars a madcap crew of seafaring adventurers; Captain Fred, the warm hearted skipper, Amanda, his precocious, wide-eyed daughter and Otto, a cheeky, young, tall-tale touting octopus.” The game is expected to release on iOS, and eventually Android, in mid-July, so it just barely made the cutoff for inclusion in the segment. It will be available in English, French, German, and Spanish, and is being published by Story Toys. One of the neat features of ShipAntics is that all of the game’s cartoon cutscenes can be viewed without having to play through the game; so if you’d like, they can be enjoyed as a comedic, coherent cartoon as well.

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

Polytron Partners Revealed; “Panoramical” is First Project

This morning, at the conclusion of the Horizon indie conference, Proteus producer David Kanaga took the stage to show off a live demo of his upcoming game Panoramical , which was first teased two years ago at Indiecade 2012.

which was first teased two years ago at Indiecade 2012. Kanaga also announced his and co-developer Fernando Ramallo’s new partnerships with Fez developer Polytron and Canabalt developer Finji Games. Defined as a “digital anthology of musical landscapes with analog controls,” the live demo of Panoramical was controlled by playing a MIDI keyboard to dynamically alter the world and audioscape in real-time with each musical key.

Last year at the Horizon conference, Polytron head Phil Fish announcedonly to loudly cancel the game and subsequently exit the games industry a short month later. After wrapping up development on a number of ports of the original Fez , Fish pursued a career in music, occasionally appearing as a DJand posting his beats on Twitter, so the new collaboration with Finji Games makes all kinds of sense.

In a blog post, Fish announced that his studio Polytron is making the jump to start a partnership label (somewhat like ‘Double Fine Presents’; not a publishing label), and will be helping promote Panoramical as it nears its push to a 2015 release.

Panoramical is slated for a PC Release via Steam in early 2015. We’ll have more on Panoramical and Polytron Partners in the future.

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