Making an attempt to follow review guidelines, Yusuke13 has been telling me that Gears & Peers should be featured. It's a game with simultaneous turns where players crash opposing robots, collect their gears and run away. I'd just assume let Yusuke13's review stand as more participation in the process is something I've been hoping for.
I believe Gears & Peers meets the standards. It was developed with most of them in mind. However, I know this because it's my creation. As I run featured games, I figured I'd let people vent. More of my work can be criticized in the Submissions forum.
Within BYOND
Silk Games held a 4th of July festival in their retro MORPG NEStalgia where players could launch fireworks, hunt holiday monsters and duel for emblems. More recently, version 1.50 of the game was released with a hotkey system and graphical improvements. The 8th episode of the official podcast is available now.
Jittai has released an alpha version of his procedurally generated survival game, Stranded. A lighting system has been added. Jittai is currently aware of CPU usage issues and would appreciate feedback.
Mista-mage123 has released a text-based roleplay system called Rp Radio Custom Edition. Players can create NPCs, enemies, equipment, items, skills and more. Those databases can be imported and exported for other campaigns.
Acebloke has updated the empire-building Wargames 2 along with its map and scenario editor. Settlers can build villages, there are a couple new units and... You know the drill. There's a plethora of changes that I can't do justice to.
The prequel was patched and updated as well. Acebloke summarized the latter as balance tweaks. That'll do. ;)
After taking some time off to work on unrelated procedural generation, Robertbanks2 updated his tactical RPG Imperatorum. The focus was on the HUD and some AI tweaks. He seeks an artist. Paco the bear-wrestling chicken demands player feedback.
With more screenshots to drool over as we await its release, Forum_account has been continuing his platformer MORPG Tiny Heroes. Key bindings can now be customized and a new enemy has been added. Meanwhile, Forum_account's Interface library has been updated with improved JavaScript handling.
Tsfreaks announced that his turn-based strategy HexGame is now fully playable. (You know, other than a server or file to download. ;)) Unit highlights and end game conditions have been added. More is planned.
As PopLava, it was announced that the prizes of PopLava Challenge #1 have been increased with the winner receiving $150. The deadline is still August 14th.
Yut Put and ExPixel have offered WIP screenshots of their MORPG Devotion. Somehow, I find the shot of the game mockup more impressive than that of the source code. However, I keep seeing YouTube videos of indie developers who think otherwise in regards to their own work.
Oasiscircle has been working on a multiplayer sidescrolling action game called Rocket Down. A video demonstrating the jetpack physics has been posted along with a screenshot of the firearms by artist Akto.
Taitz has been developing a new game called League of Power. Players will create their own skills and do battle. Multiple ability categories will be available. The latest progress report focused on the landscape and whether it will be dynamic. Either way, it seems pretty.
Xerse released the source for his MORPG Rise of Heroes in October of 2004. Yusuke13 and DungeonDan are now creating a variant called Rise of Heroes: A new legacy. The art is being replaced and the original source code has been scratched... Forgive my ignorance, but is the IP alone that valuable?
Speaking of IP... In the comments of the last column, BYOND owner Tom Hehre confirmed that a cease and desist order was received from Square Enix. Kudos to all of those pushing ahead with their own content. Here are a couple examples:
- Gakumerasara has stated that the delisting of the MORPG Final Fantasy Online is not an issue. A superior project with original IP named Terulia has been in the works since early 2009.
- Similarly, Dpheonix7 stated that he has separated his MORPG War of the Magi from the Final Fantasy brand. While graphical progress has slowed, system development has not.
Beyond BYOND
- Bill S. 978 has been introduced before the United States Senate with broad language which, among other things, could put people who stream gameplay in prison for up to five years. The Entertainment Consumers Association is urging citizens to take action now as part of their Gamers for Digital Rights advocacy. Those who type in their zip codes can use the site to write editable form letters to their congressmen.
- Submissions are open to the 14th Annual Independent Games Festival. IGF Chairman Brandon Boyer has explained the changes. The final deadlines (depending on the competition) are in October.
- Submissions are also open for the Indie Games Arcade at Eurogamer Expo 2011. The deadline is August 19th.
- Submissions for the Fantastic Arcade at Fantastic Fest 2011 are due by August 1st.
- The theme for July's Experimental Gameplay Project is "disintegrate". Apologies for the timing as I'm posting this two weeks in. On the bright side, you're only supposed to work on an entry for seven days.
- Super Friendship Club is a new forum where developers can discuss their work and get feedback. Pageants will be held. The first has the theme "justice" and ends on August 1st.
- GDC Vault has opened an invitation-only beta for individual subscribers. On the free side, you may wish to try new video releases such as Minimalist Game Design: Growing Osmos and Turning Depression into Inspiration.
- Game Developer has released the 2011 issue of their Career Guide for free.
- Marketing link dump!
- Wadjet Eye at New York GameDev: Your game sucks! (and how to respond)
- Ryan Creighton: Flew The Coop: Playing Chicken With Indie Marketing
- Peter Kjaer: Getting Press For Your Game
- Anime News Network: How To Format a Press Release
- Alan Youngblood: Marketing 101 Part 1 and Part 2
- Jorge "Vino" Rodriguez: 5 For 5 Bundle Postmortem
- I don't care if their hidden agenda is to sell Mommy's Best Games. I'm on board with the 2D focus of 8 Bit Horse and hope to see more of the Oddities in 2D series. =)
This is a more baldfaced ad. But it's got a frelling Muppet!
