indie

Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in Videos, Wii U eShop | 0 comments

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Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in Videos, Wii U eShop | 0 comments

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Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Wii U eShop | 4 Comments

In a new preview published by GamesBeat, new details are shared about Pencil Test Studios’ indie game Armikrog. The game was playable at GDC 2015 this week. For a summary of the latest information, check out our roundup below.

– Tommynaut is the game’s hero
– Dog companion Beak-Beak
– Demo begins with the two crash landing on a strange and hostile alien planet
– Tommynaut and Beak-Beak soon find themselves within the walls of a four-tower fortress
– The towers have mysterious secrets and environmental puzzles that Tommynaut and Beak-Beak must decode
– Game is a classic point-and-click adventure
– Use a sequence of items interlocking with environmental objects to head toward another puzzle
– Doesn’t use a traditional inventory system
– If the player has an appropriate item for a puzzle, the solution is simply to click where that item should be placed in the environment
– Ex: Tommynaut can pick up a hand crank early in the game; he later finds a device that is missing a handle; just click the device for Tommynaut to pull out the crank and start turning
– The team wants to simplify the experience and keep it about puzzle solving, and avoid vague/insane crafting sessions
– Some puzzles will require swapping to Beak-Beak
– Beak-Beak can crawl through tight spaces and travel through the towers’ strange duct ways
– Beak-Beak sees the world around him differently than Tommynaut
– Because Beak-Beak is color blind the environment turns black/white when playing as him
– Beak-Beak picks up on special wavelengths that Tommynaut can’t
– Demo has a section where Beak-Beak’s dog vision revealed an invisible clue tagged on a wall, which couldn’t be seen before
– Pencil Test Studios didn’t just build the characters out of traditional sculptural materials
– Everything in the game is created out of some form of real-world media — the rooms, objects, environments
– Design team: Ed Schofield, Mike Dietz, and Doug TenNapel
– Each of these team members are long-time animators who worked on The Neverhood
– Lighting works by pre-shooting the clay assets then putting them onto a 2D plane in Unity
– Team uses a 3D environment to move 2D assets around, which lets them throw in a specially tweaked spotlight to create the subtle illusion of the characters moving through light and shadow to match the clay backgrounds

More: Armikrog, details roundup, indie, Pencil Test Studios

Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News, Wii U eShop | 6 Comments

Several indie developers were on hand for a special Nintendo showcase at GDC 2015 this week. GamesIndustry caught up with some of the folks behind Never Alone, Don’t Starve, Runbow, and Swords & Soldiers II. Each one had extremely positive things to say about Nintendo – you can find their full words below.

Dima Veryovka, art director on Never Alone

“It was really fast, everything happened in like two weeks. We didn’t have the build and now we already have the build running, and that’s not something we would be able to do without the support of Nintendo. I think it’s really good that they have opened up to independent developers. To be honest, that’s the future. We really want to see the smaller groups [succeed] and the way Nintendo has supported us is tremendous.”

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Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS eShop, General Nintendo, News, Wii U eShop | 0 comments

At Nintendo’s indie showcase at GDC 2015, Engadget spoke with Damon Baker, senior manager of licensing at Nintendo. Baker was asked about a bunch of questions with regard to the company’s approach to indies. Read on below for comments about Nintendo’s relationships with indies, the company’s desire for exclusive features when a game comes out later on Wii U/3DS, and more.

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Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in Videos, Wii U eShop | 0 comments

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Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Wii U eShop | 0 comments

Developer: 13AM Games (based in Toronto)
Genre: Party / Action / Platformer
Release Date: 2015
Platform: Wii U/Nintendo eShop
Players: 1-9 local
Website: http://runbowgame.com
ESRB: E (Predicted)
Price: TBD

Description:
Runbow is a fast-paced, action party game with a never-before seen color mechanic: Up-to nine players race against each other as platforms and obstacles appear and disappear when the background changes vibrant colors. Players can sprint against each other in Run, or go head-to-head in one of Runbow’s six additional modes, including Arena, King of the Hill, ColourMaster and The Bowhemoth.

FEATURES
· Local Nine-player Multiplayer – The biggest couch-multiplayer experience to come to Wii U, ever!
· If You Can’t See It, It Doesn’t Exist! – Players must think fast as obstacles appear and disappear with the changing backgrounds.
· ‘60s Poster Art Aesthetic – Using the unique art style of Saul Bass and the Czechoslovakian New Wave, Runbow is not only fun to play, it’s fun to look at.
· Hundreds of Challenges – Runbow’s packed to the brim with challenging levels and endless permutations of color transitions and obstacles!
· Seven Great Game Modes – Challenge friends in King of the Hill, Arena, Run, Online, Bowhemoth, Adventure or become the ColourMaster and dominate Runbow’s colorful world.
· One Master to Rule Them All – Play against friends in ColourMaster mode, where challengers race against one malevolent ColourMaster who controls the colors and obstacles in the level.
· Master The Bowhemoth – Runbow’s toughest game mode, The Bowhemoth, has racers tackle more than 30 minutes of platforming challenges that will put the patience and skill of even the toughest players to the test.
· Tons of Unlockable Costumes – From Pirate to Zombie to Ninja, players can pick the runner that’s right for them.
· Challenges, Achievements, and More – Hours of replayability and unlockable content will keep gamers running back for more.
· Special Guests! (Announcing Soon) – What special guest characters will challenge Hue and Val in a race for glory? Find out next time on Runbow!

More: 13AM Games, indie, Runbow

Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Wii U eShop | 1 Comment

Name: Swords & Soldiers II
Publisher: Ronimo Games BV
Developer: Ronimo Games BV
Platform: Wii U
Number of Players: 1 (Campaign mode), 1-2 (Skirmish mode)
Release Window: Q2 2015
ESRB Rating: Rating Pending
Genre: Side scrolling strategy
Playable Factions: 3
Campaign Levels: 20 Story missions plus Skirmishes
Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XPtF9-vdgxA

About Swords & Soldiers II
Swords & Soldiers II is the sequel to the award winning WiiWare game Swords & Soldiers, released in 2009 by Ronimo Games. Like its predecessor, the game is a side scrolling strategy game. It allows players to buy units, cast spells and build structures to overwhelm their enemy on a 2D battleground.
The Vikings make their return from the original game, once again led by their ever-hungry chieftain Redbeard. But this time they face two new enemy factions, the brutal and manaical Demons, and another as-of-yet unannounced faction. Joined by likely and unlikely allies it’s up to Redbeard to root out these new threats and restore peace to the lands.

About Ronimo Games
Ronimo Games was founded in 2007 by 7 enthusiastic game developers. Utilizing the in-house developed RoniTech engine, Ronimo Games is focused on creating innovative, high quality 2D games that appeal to a wide audience. The studio released their first commercial game, Swords & Soldiers, in May 2009 worldwide on WiiWare and later on Playstation Network, PC, Mac and iOS. In 2012, Ronimo Games released Awesomenauts, a Sidescrolling Battle Arena Game. The studio is now 17 developers strong and very motivated to deliver awesome game experiences!

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Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Wii U eShop | 0 comments

More: 13AM Games, indie, Runbow

Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Wii U eShop | 0 comments

Title: Never Alone (Kisima Ingitchuna)
Platform: Wii U
Genre: Puzzle Platformer
Players: 1 or 2 (local co-op)
Rating: E10+ (Mild Violence)
Launch Date: June 2015
Publisher/Developer: E-Line Media / Upper One Games
URL: http://neveralonegame.com

On over 50 “Best of 2014” lists, from Eurogamer to Kotaku, from the L.A. Times to the New Yorker. Nominated for awards from DICE, GDC, SXSW, BAFTA, Games for Change, IndieCade, and more. The whole world has discovered and fallen in love with Never Alone (Kisima Ingitchuna) — the first game developed in collaboration with the Iñupiat, an Alaska Native people. Nearly 40 Alaska Native elders, storytellers and community members contributed to the development of the game. Play as a young Iñupiat girl and an arctic fox as they set out to find the source of the eternal blizzard which threatens the survival of everything they have ever known.

Guide both characters in single-player mode or play cooperatively with a friend or family member as you trek through frozen tundra, leap across treacherous ice floes, swim through underwater ice caverns, and face numerous enemies both strange and familiar in the journey to save the girl’s village.

In this atmospheric puzzle platformer, you will explore awe-inspiring environments, perform heroic deeds, and meet legendary characters from Iñupiaq stories — all narrated by a master storyteller in the spoken Iñupiaq language.

Key Features:
• Local co-op puzzle platforming with two characters (Nuna and Fox) that play in unique ways:
o Fox scrambles up (and jumps back from) sheer vertical walls, and reveals the world of Helping Spirits
o Nuna can move heavy objects, climb ladders, and throw her bola to solve puzzles
• Gameplay is narrated by an Iñupiat elder in the spoken Iñupiaq language
• Over 30 minutes of video interviews with elders, storytellers, and other members of the Alaska Native community

Wii U specific features:
• All new Cultural Insights: In addition to the documentary-quality video interviews, the Wii U version features all new “Contextual Insights” — fascinating detail about the history, culture, and lives of the Iñupiaq people, presented on the Gamepad during the player’s journey
• Off-TV play for gameplay and Cultural Insights
• Over 40 unlockable stamps for Miiverse

More: E-Line Media, fact sheet, indie, Never Alone, Upper One Games