- Impressions: Song Of The Deep - 14 July 2016
Insomniac Games, presently most famous for their Ratchet & Clank games on PlayStation, have released – with minimal fanfare – a 2D underwater Metroidvania on Steam called Song Of The Deep . So, someone played Aquaria and Ori & The Blind Forest. Here are my thoughts: …
- Derek Yu on the state of indie and his new book about Spelunky - 22 March 2016
Derek Yu Derek Yu is the creator of Spelunky. He was also co-creator of 2007 Metroidvania adventure Aquaria, and the 2002 freeware action adventure Eternal Daughter. He's also the writer of the book Spelunky. Maybe one day there will be a film adaptation of Spelunky. We can only hope. The best thing about Derek Yu s new book about Spelunky is that it answers all the questions I ve ever wanted to ask about his game. The worst thing about Derek Yu s new book about Spelunky is that it leaves very few questions to ask him directly. Part indie development motivational tome, part technical retrospective, Spelunky (the book) is something fans of the game will devour in one sitting, just as I did. Published by Boss Fight Books, Spelunky traces the game s origins as a free-to-play browser game built in GameMaker, through to the release of the HD remake on XBLA in 2012 and PC the following year.…
- Aquaria Dev’s Night In The Woods Looks Really Special - 25 October 2013
You have infinite money, right? I mean, you look like the sort, what with your snazzy diamond-encrusted cane and hat/jacket ensemble knitted entirely from Kickstarter bonus swag. That in mind, what’s one more delightfully promising project to throw a worrisome amount of cash at? Because seriously, Night in the Woods has all the makings of quirky, wildly inventive greatness – with a hint of sincere humanity thrown in for good measure. Also, anarchic, mailbox-busting cats. The fact that the story-based adventure looks uniquely gorgeous certainly doesn’t hurt, either. Oh, and it’s from one of the minds behind ageless indie darling Aquaria . Bouncy, bobby, meow-y video below. (more…)
- The Humble Introversion Bundle launches - 22 November 2011
The Humble Bundles keep on rolling, with a new 'pay what you want' indie mega-bargain arriving mere weeks after the last one wrapped up. The new Humble Introversion Bundle packs four games from English indie Introversion: hacking sim Uplink , RTS Darwinia , its multiplayer sequel Multiwinia , and Cold War 'em up Defcon . The Bundle also includes two Introversion tech demos, the procedural city generator used in Subversion and a voxel-based destructible building demo. As Subversion is on indefinite hold , it'll be nice to get a good look at some of it at least. On top of that, if you pay over the average price, you'll also score Humble Bundle veterans Aquaria and Crayon Physics Deluxe . The Bundle has already outsold Xbox Live Arcade's Darwinia+ within 41 minutes on sale, Introversion revealed on Twitter . As ever, all games come DRM-free, but you can activate them on Steam if you fancy.…
- The iPad Gets an Underwater Computer-Gaming Stunner - 3 November 2011
I'd heard lovely things about Aquaria , the beautiful underwater adventure for PC and Mac. It was an underwater 2D throwback of a game, an action-adventure with mysterious new-agey music and a good story. But I haven't play it on the computer. I've played it on my iPad, for which it went on sale last night. It's handled the transition well, with just some manageable control issues. Aquaria lets you control an underwater nymph named Naija who can swim through a massive underwater world filled with colorful aquatic animal and plant life. She narrates her own story of conflict and re-discovery. The game plays like a mix of Metroid , Zelda and old shooters. From Metroid and its imitators the game gets its massive world, a network of caves and temples waiting to be explored. The game's grand map is filled in as you do this, just like in the classic Nintendo series. And, as in Metroid , many…
- Plants Vs. Zombies Composer Tries Her Hand at Magic: The Gathering Rap - 31 October 2011
It's an indie game geeksplosion as the woman behind the Plants Vs. Zombies music teams up with the programmer for Xbox Live Arcade's Spelunky to rap about their shared love of Magic: The Gathering . This is the sort of video I would normally avoid, but the sheer indie gaming power contained within (coupled with Laura Shigihara 's overwhelming cuteness) stayed my hand. Sure the music steps all over the lyrics as two of the softest rappers of all-time wax lyrical about Magic cards, but it's Laura and Andy Hull, plus Plants Vs. Zombies designer George Fan, Aquaria and Spelunky creator Derek Hu (shirtless, no less), Paul Hubans with a mouthful of tinfoil, and Team Meat's Tommy Refenes flaunting his sweet Super Meat Boy cash. Laura sent the video our way, along with some words. "I was randomly inspired to make a Magic: The Gathering rap video, so I asked my friend Andy if he wanted to work o…
- Now Explore the Massive Ocean World of Aquaria On the iPad - 27 September 2011
It's always wonderful to see a worthy indie game slowly bud and blossom over time. In this case we're talking about the underwater fantasy world of Aquaria which is, after winning awards at the Indie Game Festival and hitting Steam , now making a debut on the iPad this fall. The iPad version of the game includes new gameplay and a bit more visual polish. This version is also the result of one amazing collaboration between Alec Holowka ( Paper Moon , Marian ), Derek Yu ( TIGSource , Spelunky ), Adam Saltsman ( Wurdle , Canabalt ) and Andrew Church ( Aquaria PSP ). So pretty.
- Indie Jeff's Weekly Picks: August 1-5 - 6 August 2011
This week in indie gaming brought with it another round of insightful interviews, including chats with Nathan Fouts (Mommy's Best Games) and Alex Holowka (Infinite Ammo) about their upcoming games-- Serious Sam Double D and Marian , respectively. To put it another way, fans of Explosionade and Aquaria can get an interesting peek into how the talented developers each work their magic. Interabang Entertainment rounds things out with some words about developing Super Comboman at the first Indie Open House. discuss developing the upcoming Super Comboman, fundraising, and participating in the IGN-sponsored Indie Open House residency program My favorite bit of media this week is a trailer for an upcoming mobile game by Halfbrick Studios ( Fruit Ninja Kinect ), named, quite awesomely: " Machine Gun Jetpack ." The entire game--which stars Halfbrick's recurring hero, Barry Steakfries--can be pla…
- Humble Indie Bundle Makes Bundle - 12 May 2010
Perhaps you need to hear some good news. Here’s some now. You might remember we told you about the Humble Indie Bundle . (We really did. Could people maybe stop emailing us about it now? Please?) You can get World of Goo, Aquaria, Lugaru, Gish and Penumbra Overture, DRM free, for whatever price you choose . It’s $80 worth, at the price of your choosing. And now it comes with Samorost 2 as well! You can choose what proportion of what you pay reaches the two charities the project is supporting, Child’s Play and The Electronic Frontiers Foundation . And that’s not the good news. The good news is they’ve so far, in one week, been voluntarily paid $1,066,880, with 31% of that reaching the charities. Even more, Aquaria, Gish, Lugaru HD, and Penumbra Overture have now pledged to become Free Software – i.e. their source code available for anyone to use in any…
- Mega-Philanthropy: Humble Indie Bundle - 4 May 2010
Media reportage still has it that Radiohead’s pay-what-you-want experiment a couple of years back was somehow a disaster. Independent gaming has roundly proved the lie: more devs than we can keep up with have offered PWYW deals recently, so clearly something’s going right. It’s good news for gamers too. The Humble Indie Bundle , though, is yer bona fide motherlode. World of Goo, Aquaria, Lugaru, Gish and Penumbra Overture: a collection of the last few years’ finest indies, yours for however many groats you think you can spare. Phenomenal, basically. Better still, a third of the proceeds go to Child’s Play and the Electronic Frontier Foundation apiece. Well, by default, You can request that the whole lot goes to charity if you like. Games and kindness: a winning and natural formula (and one that the shrieking anti-games media will never, ever cover.) The dea…
- Get Gish, World of Goo & More Cheap, Do Good Things - 4 May 2010
How much would you pay for a copy of World of Goo, Gish and three additional games that don't prominently feature black blobs dripping with indie cred? Thanks to the Humble Indie Bundle you pay exactly "whatever." Wolfire is offering a five game bundle that includes Aquaria, Penumbra: Overture, Lugaru, Gish and World of Goo at a pay-what-you-want rate. These cross-platform games are DRM-free and run on Mac, Windows, and Linux, so no one need complain. (Okay, OS/2 users, you can complain about being left out.) In addition to letting indie game enthusiasts name their price, Wolfire and the participating indie acts are letting buyers send their contribution directly to charity, Penny Arcade's Child's Play and the Electronic Frontier Foundation, specifically. Give it all to charity, divvy it up evenly, whatever! The fun and the good vibes from doing good are free, so be hasty with the purch…
