Super T.I.M.E. Force is a Side Project, Originated At Game Jam

Super T.I.M.E. Force is a side project for Capy Games. That may be a bit shocking considering Capy Games’ PAX East booth was routinely mobbed with people gathered around to play the time-reversing run-and-gun shooter, but President Nathan Vella said a small team of four is working on the game just once a week.

The game has only been in development for a few months, and Programmer Kenneth Yeung came up with the idea thanks to the TOJam, a game jam held in Toronto. Developers who participated in the 3-day game-development binge had to craft a game around the theme of “what just happened?”

Yeung said “I interpreted the message as ‘go back in time and see what happened.’” He chose a run-and-gun platformer because it was an established formula that everyone was familiar with. This would allow him to focus on innovating with the time-reversing mechanic. By the end of the game jam, he had a working prototype to continue iterating on. “We pretty much had the fundamentals of the game done in three days,” he said. Read more

Video Review: Vidiot Game

It would be near impossible to preface this review with information that would prepare you for the weirdness that is Vidiot Game. That being the case, just watch the video and see for yourself.

Vidiot Game was purchased for 80 MS points ($1). You can download a free demo on the Xbox Live Marketplace.

PAX East: Skulls of the Shogun Shows All of Its Cards

Posted on April 8, 2012 by Dave Voyles in PC, PC Previews, Previews, XBLA, XBLA Previews | Leave a comment

We last saw Skulls of the Shogun during 2011’s PAX East. Since then, developer Haunted Temple Studios has come a long way towards improving not only the game’s aesthetic, but also refining the gameplay for a larger audience.

The presentation is stunning, from the whimsical and offbeat dialogue, to the smooth animations as my characters gallop gracefully across the battlefield before striking into battle. Haunted Temple’s professionalism and love for all things Japanese even extends to their media kit, which is reminiscent of a Sega Saturn jewel case; perhaps it’s a love letter from studio lead Jake Kazdal’s years spent in Japan.

At its heart, Skulls is a turn-based strategy game heavily inspired by the Nintendo DS’s Advance Wars series. Players take control of a recently deceased and stubborn samurai general from feudal Japan who refuses to finish his transition into the afterlife. Along the way, he recruits other spectral soldiers to do his bidding and fight by his side. Should your general die, the game is over, but his pawns are disposable and are always willing to die (again) for their cause. A low barrier to entry is a key element to the game, as players are limited to three unit types, each with their own distinct advantages.

PAX East: Hands on They Bleed Pixels: Bloody Fun

Posted on April 7, 2012 by Mike Wall in Previews | 3 Comments

What would you do if you were perusing a library and droplets of blood drizzled on your hands from a tome on the top shelf? Most people would sensibly flee the scene and immediately head for a sink, but that wouldn’t make a very compelling video game, so it’s probably a good thing for us that the unnamed little girl in They Bleed Pixels made the ill-advised decision to examine the book’s blood-soaked pages.

Her cat-like inquisitiveness results in haunting nightmares, which is where we pick up the action as her purple-skinned, lobster-clawed alter ego. Half brawler, half platformer, They Bleed Pixels feels authentically 8-bit, right down to its two-button controls that could be pulled off with a certain grey, boxy controller. With merely a jump and attack button, the girl is capable of an impressive array of moves including forward kicks, launcher kicks, slam moves, and dash attacks. The two-man development team was inspired by the one-button games at GDC. “It makes you think about your moves. There is something more deliberate,” said Lead Designer Miguel Sternberg. Read more

The Present and Future of Drinkbox Studios

Posted on April 7, 2012 by Taylor Bliss in News, PSN News, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

You may not know the name Drinkbox, but you should learn it. They’re the devs behind Mutant Blobs Attack, the PlayStation Vita downloadable title that has received wide critical acclaim. It’s also been selling well according to Drinkbox Studios’ Chris Harvey, who told us the game has already earned the studio enough to break even: something not all self-published indie studios get to tout.

But Drinkbox isn’t stopping there. They have a PC port of the game on the way, which should be hitting Steam sometime in the not-too-distant future. They also have a skeleton crew finishing the port, but they’re doing more than just bringing a wonderful indie title to PC; they’re getting to know the process as well as possible and streamline it for their future releases. And they’re going to need it. They already have a new title slated for this fall, Guacamelee!, a metroidvania action-platforming game that will have players straddling the space between the world of the living and the dead with a touch of Mexican mythology to spice things up. Check back later for our hands-on taste test of Guacamelee!.

Pax East: Hands on Deadlight: Out of This (Undead) World

Posted on April 6, 2012 by Mike Wall in Previews, XBLA Previews | 2 Comments

Games are all about empowerment. They stick the player in perilous situations where most real-life people would almost certainly fail, and provide the tools to defy all the odds. No soldier is as bloodthirsty as the protagonist in Call of Duty, a scrawny boxer would never crawl into the ring with Mike Tyson, and I’m fairly certain my right winger would comfortably hold the NHL single-season scoring record with his 345 goals.

But what would it be like to really live in a post-apocalyptic world infested with zombies? That’s what developer Tequila Works is exploring in Deadlight. It’s not a game about finding a cure or eradicating the zombies. “You’re not saving the world. The world is already dead,” said Creative Director Raúl Rubio. This 2D adventure has more in common with the original Prince of Persia than Left 4 Dead. Zombies, which the game calls ‘shadows,’ should be avoided at all costs.

“It’s not focused on zombies; [it's] focused on surviving in a world that is dead,” said Lead Designer Lucas González Torres. That description extends well beyond the fact that the world is crawling with zombies. The entire world feels desolate and abandoned: filled with dilapidated buildings and crumbling highways. It’s set in an alternate version of 1986, and you play as Randal Wayne, a Joe-everyman kind of guy who seems completely unremarkable in every way, except for the fact that he is one of the few people who survived the unknown calamity that destroyed civilization. Read more

PAX East: Hands on Super T.I.M.E. Force: A Blast To The Past

Posted on April 6, 2012 by Dave Voyles in Previews, XBLA Previews | 2 Comments

Canadian dev team Capybara (Capy) Games, most notably known for their recent iOS hit Super Brothers EP: Sword and Sworcery, revealed their newest title, Super T.I.M.E. Force, to an unsuspecting audience during the IGF Awards show at GDC. Unsure of what to make of the surprise attack, and with little information to go on, I was uncertain of what to expect when I had my first opportunity to experience the game at the PAX Indie Mega Booth.

Grabbing a seat alongside technical director Kenneth Yeung, I picked up a controller and selected the first of three playable characters: a machine gunner whose special attack was a multi-shot burst, similar to the spread gun in Contra. Speaking of which, Contra fans will instantly feel at home with this game’s pixilated, nostalgic appearance, punishing one-hit deaths, and chaotic on-screen action.

Dying just a few moments after my adventure began, my screen began to rewind quickly and started me at the beginning where I had the opportunity to select a character again. This time I chose the female with the laser-powered rifle that could blast through surfaces, destroying enemies behind cover. To my surprise, my first character was also present, albeit in ghost form and fighting alongside me. Even better, all of his actions still had a direct effect on my game, so each shot fired could still kill enemies.

Armless Octocast Episode 95: An April Christmas Story

Posted on April 5, 2012 by Taylor Bliss in Podcast | Leave a comment

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