IGM Issue 17

Issue 17: July/August 2011

Inside this Issue:

Frozen Synapse

Outland

Pulse

Terraria

Copyright Š 2011 The Indie Game Magazine, All Rights Reserved.

All game logos, screenshots, artwork, trademarks, etc are property of their respective owner.

Lume

Indie Game Magazine Issue 17 - July-August 2011

Staff Editors

Mike Gnade

Chris Priestman Art & Magazine Design

Mike Gnade

Michael Heald

Zak Gebelein

Writers/Contributors

Chris Priestman

Mike Gnade

Zak Gebelein

David Bruggink

Mark O'Beirne

Special Thanks FullyIllustrated.com

issuu Edition

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Copyright Š 2011 The Indie Game Magazine, All Rights Reserved.

All game logos, screenshots, artwork, trademarks, etc are property of their respective owner.

+ Table of Contents Front End

Staff/Credits pg 2 Table of Contents pg 3 Best Indie Games of E3 pg 4 Interview with Daniel Thomas pg 8

Cover Story

MinMax Interview SPAZ Review

Cover Story: Canadian Developer MinMax Studios is off to a great start with SPAZ

pg 10 pg 12

Reviews

Outland pg 14 Pulse pg 16 Terraria pg 17 Lume pg 18 Frozen Synapse pg 19

About our Reviews We rate all of our games based on their graphics, gameplay, sound, and lasting appeal. Each category is given a score on a scale of 1-10 (10 being perfect and 1 being horrendous). The average of these scores is tallied to give each game a percentage score and grade (A thru F). Games are more than the sum of their parts, so we do adjust our average scores based on our final assessment of the game, its appeal, creativity, uniqueness, and overall value.

A: 90-100% B: 80-89% C: 70-79%

D: 60-69% F: 0-59%

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Feature + Ad

The Best Indie Games Of E3 2011

With the advent of E3 every summer, it seems that the gaming industry grows ever more important within the lives of just about everybody. Of course the majority of eyeballs are drawn towards those touting the big budget titles, the free food and the longest queues imaginable. The friendly jeers and all-white smiles from the various PR laden booths may be inviting and some even remarkably so, however, they will never match the warmth of the hug that emanates from the indie developers on site. Typified by the utmost in sincerity and forever holding a passion for fun, the indie booths and their corresponding teams at E3 possess an aura that can only come from a group of prodigies.

The indie scene at E3 gains more attention with every passing year as the gaming media search for the next ‘breakthrough’ game. The problem with this filter though, is that it too often overlooks the other brilliant indie games on display. So without further ado, we present a number of indie titles that showcased a lot of promise at this year’s E3, but have not been given the attention they rightfully deserve.

By Chris Priestman

q.u.b.e

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There is not a more appropriate name for Toxic Games’ first person puzzler; in fact the full title actually spells out the idea of the game directly: Quick Understanding of Block Extrusion. Don’t let that odd title put you off though, for if you are into your puzzlers or are in love with minimalist game design, let Q.U.B.E. strut its stuff before your eyes.

Q.U.B.E. is set within a structure made of white cubes, and tasks the player with solving its many puzzles.

Kind of like a prettier version of the machine in the 1997 film, Cube, stripped of the fatal traps in each room. The only aspect of the structure that will catch the player’s eye are the coloured cubes, and it is these that they must manipulate with their technically enhanced gloves.

Only the basics of the game have been made playable thus far, but there is evidence that the game will become one hell of a complex puzzler.

Mostly, the player will be moving or elongating blocks to solve puzzles, but added

elements such as light beams and switch activators come into play also. One interesting level had the player tilting a large table in order to guide a ball located inside of it to the required position. It seems that the development team have a number of very cool ideas in mind to vary up the gameplay. Helping this along is the changing art style; while it basically keeps with the principals of minimalism, darker levels introduce glowing blocks, and it seems that the perfect geometrics of the levels may see some corruption later on, very much like the end of Portal.

Personally, Q.U.B.E. jumps right out at me as it ticks a lot of boxes – it feels and looks smart, it’s simple, and yet it looks incredibly complex.

Level design has always been a keen interest of mine, and it is this that makes a fantastic puzzler. What has been shown to me of Q.U.B.E. has certainly proven to be worth my attention, and so I highly anticipate its release.

Feature

ibb & obb

Being named after characters in Jasper Fforde’s ‘The Well of Lost Plots’ certainly provides the two titular characters of ibb and obb with an immediate status. While they are merely blobs on legs in terms of character design, the environment that they seem to be comfortable in will have a profound effect on the player’s idea of perception.

At its most basic, ibb and obb is a very simple looking, sidescrolling co-op platformer.

As is often the case though, there is a spanner thrown in the works as gravity is inverted either side of the line running across the middle of the screen. The players will have to use teamwork and attempt to master a confusing manipulation of physics in order to navigate across the levels.

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A combination of killing enemies, collecting diamonds and traversing high jumps will provide the majority of the challenge, and it is inevitable that both players will be scratching their heads quite often. Developer Sparpweed’s creative director, Richard Boeser, describes the game as allowing the players to “surf on gravity” – what a neat idea! The presentation makes the thinking process a whole lot more enjoyable though, as the art provided by Kevin Geers delights the eyes with an almost minimalist style that adorns a watercolour rainbow palette. Co-op puzzlers are becoming ever popular, especially after the release of Portal 2, so it would be great to see ibb and obb excel for its tantalizing efforts when it is released for PSN and PC this upcoming winter.

Puddle Next up is a small student project that managed to catch a few double takes from those passing by, and for good reason.

A class of French students were tasked with creating nearly 20 video game projects in their first year, and Puddle is the result of just one of these concepts being taken through to a finished state. Like many other indies, the students now known as Neko Entertainment, took a particular interest in the physics of liquid and how they can be manipulated in different ways. Games that experiment with liquid are often a joy to play due to the vast possibilities of working with such a fluid design mechanic. The students have met success with Puddle at the IGF and GDC, even being crowned as one of the winners of the Student Showcase in 2010.

Since then they have been spotted by Konami who will be publishing their game on XBLA and PSN this summer. But why is their game any different to the several ‘play with water’ type games? The answer to this probably lies within the accessibility of the game that enables practically anybody to have a go. Combine that with the clever physics present in the game and you are able to wow a lot of people with an apparent ease.

The general concept of the game is to use the shoulder buttons to tilt the game world in order to manoeuvre the liquid through an obstacle course. The idea is to get as much liquid to the end of the level; with failure being met when too much is lost on the way. Unlike the very short free version of the game from over a year ago, Puddle now has eight different themes with six levels contained within each. These range from a laboratory to the human body and a nuclear power plant. The liquid you manipulate changes to fit with the theme and consequently has different effects on the environment it passes through. A good example would be encouraging plants to grow with the fertilizer so you can reach higher places with your liquid. In each level are a bunch of different threats that cause your puddle to dissipate and therefore make it harder to control, or sometimes even totally evaporate your liquid. So being careful with your tilting is an essential practice. It may be a very accessible game but it is still going to be a challenge to anyone who plays it. With such a simple but clever design behind it, Puddle will make quite a splash on consoles this summer.

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Best of E3 + Ad

Papo & Yo Where to start with Papo & Yo? Minority’s first game looks beautiful and will undoubtedly tickle the interest of any puzzle/platformer loving gamer. Set in an idyllic and colourful town in South America, you play as a young boy called Quico. The most defining feature of Papo & Yo is its use of imagination. The game’s environments truly belong in Carroll’s Wonderland; they are manipulated by the minds of its characters to the point that doors can be created in walls by merely drawing the outline with chalk. Taking this further is a jaw dropping sequence shown in the E3 demo in which the player must traverse a canyon by picking up blocks and forming a bridge with them. The catch is that the blocks correspond to houses situated along the canyon walls, and by picking up the blocks, the houses are also picked up and moved into position. It’s a breathtaking concept and only begins to carve the way towards brilliance for this PSN exclusive.

Some understanding of the game’s design can be gained when consulting its creative director, Vander Caballero.

Speaking to him reveals his troubled relationship with his father, and how the game is acting as therapy for him to deal with this personal history. The title, Papo & Yo, is translatable to Dad and I, so it is obvious that the game is based on the mind of the young Caballero. Childhood fantasies run wild and paint the game with an eloquent uniqueness. Of course, children must always have imaginary friends and so accompanying Quico is a toy robot called Lula and a beast known as Monster. Caballero says his father is represented in the game through Monster – he was dependant on alcohol and drugs and consequently had two sides to him. In the game, Monster is kind to Quico but his more evil side often makes itself known, he also has an addiction to eating frogs. Gameplay wise, both of these friends help out with the dilemmas that Quico will face across the game when the situation calls for it. This offers those cutesy moments often seen in games of this calibre; Lula catching a piggyback ride from Quico, hints provided in cardboard boxes when worn as a hat, and an unbreakable friendship. If Papo & Yo is currently not on your radar, then certainly make some room for Quico and his friends when it hits PSN sometime in 2012.

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Okabu We’ve already had a cutesy co-op puzzler this year in the form of ilomilo, but Okabu is cracking up to be crowned the new king of cute. Within an instant of playing Hand Circus’ Okabu, players will notice the cel-shaded visual style that almost pops out of the screen. It’s bright, it’s vivid, and certainly has an Animal Crossing kind of feel to it. Smiles all around, then.

Okabu has you play as a pair of ever-happy clouds called Kumulo and Nimbe, wearing a tuque and headband respectively. Very much like ilomilo, the player switches between the two clouds, whereas each player will take control of a cloud during two player. The two clouds intend to save the Yorubo people from an invading industrialist force known as Doza. The problem brought by the Dozas is pollution as they utilize the advantages of technology and machinery – no need to point out the obvious morals inherent to this plot. Being clouds, Kumulo and Nimbe can absorb water and rain onto the machinery to destroy it, as well as put out fires and water plants. Later in the game, absorbing oil will allow the player to leave a trail that can be lit on fire to solve one puzzle. The villagers are not ones to merely sit around and wait to be rescued though; they have different abilities that can be utilized to solve the puzzles throughout the game. The playable demo introduces the player to Captain Monkfish – upon sitting on the clouds, he allows the player to pick up objects with his trusty harpoon plunger hybrid tool. Another villager known as Piccolo plays the instrument of his name to lure animals to certain spots to help you – eating foliage obstructing the way is the example given. Collecting the villagers throughout the game will give access to several different abilities, which will ultimately provide access to more complex puzzles.

Cute puzzlers are something that will appeal to a lot of people, especially when they are as gorgeous as Okabu. It’s hard to tell how challenging this game will actually be, but it looks to be worth playing for its art style and distinct charm alone.

Best of E3

Papa Sangre It may be hard for most gamers to fathom how a game can rely on sound alone. But when pulled off with such engineered perfection, as is the case with Papa Sangre, it all becomes very clear.

Somehow this handheld title completely avoided my radar when it was released in December 2010, but it soon made up for it by gripping me as its latest victim and tipping the fear factor over the preferred capacity. Fans of horror games will know that the effective use of sound can make or break an experience at times.

Amnesia: The Dark Descent is a prime example of the amount of fear that can be incited into a player with the subtle use of sound. Now imagine a game that focuses

solely on horrifying the player through sound cues – it’s honestly terrifying.

Aesthetically, there are no visuals accompanying the experience, but that only allows the player’s imagination to step in and paint its own images.

levelHead is a game unlike anything I have ever seen before. In fact, it is a game unlike anyone has ever conceived before. Scrap all of your preconceived ideas of game interface and instead make do with three separate cubes that can be rotated and tilted in your own hands.

Inside the six faces of the cubes, are interconnected rooms. Basically, a camera tracks the cube and projects a 3D digital overlay via augmented reality technology onto each face. The player can see inside of these rooms by looking at the screen that is displaying the camera feed. A man appears to be inside the rooms and by tilting the cube, the player can determine the direction he travels in. Located on the sides of the room are doors that the player must move the man through to try and work his way out. Going through a door will mean the man will come out on the corresponding face of the cube, requiring the player to rotate the cube to

see inside the room they just entered. The player is tasked with getting the man to the exit of each cube to then enter into the next one and eventually find the way out of his prison.

The game is actually inspired by a theatre game called Sangre Y Patatas (Killer and Prey), in which the players are blindfolded and wander around in the darkness. The team re-enacted the game with extra sound cues such as crisps on the floor and bells to knock into that would give the position of the prey away to the killer.

Such is the principle of Papa Sangre. Best played in darkness with headphones,

The challenge of the game is realised upon entering the wrong door as the man in the cube is sent back to where he started. Staircases and multiple doors provide a variety of ways to go within each room. The idea is to test the player’s memory in a kind of labyrinthine puzzle.

Relying specifically on human memory tricks rather than those inhabited by computers is the key principle behind levelHead. Not only does the player utilise human memory techniques like spatial association, but having the handheld cubes triggers muscle-memory with each turn and tilt. Finding the corresponding room that the avatar has moved into becomes an important technique in this

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the player enters Papa Sangre’s Palace of Bones. Amidst the prowling monsters and creatures, the player must attempt to rescue their lover from the darkness. The game utilizes what the team have deemed a procedurally generated binaural audio.

This enables the player to navigate around the palace with a full 3D sound effect that reacts to where the player is moving. That means the journey through the palace will vary every time it is played, consequently there is no set path of safety. If you haven’t already, I advise checking Papa Sangre out as soon as you are in need of a scare. The developers collectively known as Somethin’ Else, certainly live up to their name.

regard. Upon experiencing levelHead, one is tempted to compare it to the Rubiks cube almost instantly. In many regards, this is a digital age Rubiks cube and it has completely blown the minds of all those who have played it. The genius behind levelHead is award winning software developer, Julian Oliver – he simply glows with brilliance.

That will have to do us for the indie highlights of this year’s E3, but there are plenty of other games that were showcasing an interesting and often unique design idea. While the rest of the industry seems to be content, albeit rather tense, about releasing a truckload of sequels this year, it is reassuring to know that the indie scene still holds a myriad of surprises waiting to be discovered. Long live innovation!

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+ Interview

Daniel Thomas talks about upcoming game The Journey of Iesir - PC The Journey of Iesir is an upcoming point'n'click adventure being developed in Adventure Game Studio (AGS) by a team of artists and programmers scattered around the globe. Though its hand-drawn style is reminiscent of titles like the Curse of Monkey Island, its story is unique, and centers around a would-be viking named Daniel Trondhjemsfjord. IGM talked to project manager and artist, Daniel Thomas, about the game's influences and style, and what kinds of adventures players can expect to have with Mr. Trondhjemsfjord.

IGM: Where did the initial idea for the Journey of Iesir come from?

Daniel Thomas: The whole project started with me really wanting to work on an adventure game, I had a passion for drawing backgrounds at the time. I posted in gamedev.net forums seeking a writer to collaborate with; some days later I got a email from Marcus Gaigg and he would start working on the script.

I haven't asked Marcus, but I think his inspiration for the characters and start of the game was just what I mentioned above. The characters Mikael and Jack are looking for freelance work and have come in contact with a Viking called Daniel.

IGM: Can you give a little introduction to the main story of the Journey of Iesir?

DT: The summary from Marcus (better than I would ever be able to tell it): The Journey of Iesir takes place in a land reminiscent of the medieval ages, yet has a story that integrates ideas as old as the legendary Vikings, and as modern as the hippie movement in the 8

1970’s. This story details the journey of a charismatic Viking named Daniel Trondhjemsfjord, who has a burning desire to return to his Viking heritage and join the ranks of this legendary yet clandestine group. Michael and Jack, two wanderers and freelancers, join him on his quest. What begins as a simple job turns out to be much more than any of them has bargained for.

Amidst the serious plot, this journey is filled with tongue in cheek humor, satirizing the different changes, social, personal development, philosophies, stereotypes, which accompany the different social elements that make up the story line. Different groups of people, from hippies, to gangsta bosses, superstitions, the rich class, Japanese demons, to archetypal knights in shining armor, are poked fun at.

IGM: Can you describe what you mean by the "living environments" you've created? What kinds of changes did you introduce to make this possible, and how will this be different from other AGS-style games?

DT: As an artist, I try to put focus on environment effects. I don't think it's totally unique - with our fading light beams, dust particles, glowing stuff, etc - But it's a nice touch to try and make the backgrounds come alive and be less static. We're quick with suggesting any effects to the environment as soon as we see one and our coder, Ryan, has coded functions for AGS that allows us easily to add the effects and adjust them to fit any background.

IGM: What can the player expect in terms of your approach to puzzles and interaction in the game (ie, is the game more puzzle- or dialogue-driven?)?

DT: Logic! Everything should make sense in the frame of the game world.

If there is something that we don't think is understood by the player we make sure that it's explained so he can make the logical connection to solve a puzzle. Since it's a fantasy world there are always things we don't know, such as how that world works, so it requires some explanation for the player.

Interview

IGM: Have you worked on other games before this one?

DT: Adventure games, but nothing finished, sadly. I have been involved in Picaroon, Mapoco Mountain and another called 'Pennyless'. In all of those I was contributing as a background artist.

These have been my free-time projects, but I have been working as a freelancer on a couple of other games, but mostly smaller projects like iPhone games.

My largest and latest gig was a HOG [hidden object game] game that should be released anytime now.

IGM: What are the biggest influences behind the Journey of Iesir's story, art, and gameplay style?

DT: No doubt the LucasArts adventure games. We often refer back to Curse of Monkey island when discussing features and game design with the team. But we absolutely take influences from all adventure games we have played, both new and old. For the writing of dialog I think the biggest influence would be a mix of Discworld and the Monkey Island games. But I'm sure Dave, our writer, has more influences when he's writing the dialog.

IGM: When will chapter 1 be released and how many chapters do you plan to release?

DT: Right now we're working on our free-time to finish a pitch-demo. As it's a free-time project, it's impossible to say when it might be done. If we would be able to work on this project full-time, I wouldn't think it would take many months to finish Chapter 1.

IGM: Who else is working on the project at this moment?

DT: Our current team is: Ryan Timothy, our programmer; Nikolas Sideris is taking care of all audio; Dave Seaman writes our dialog and script and is working on puzzles; Simon Eltz, our new animator, works on the character animations; and me, artist and project manager.

And we had some people come and go while in production: Marcus Gaigg, the first and original writer, had to leave due to lack of time.

Daniel Muller helped out a little with character design, then disappeared.
Geoff "strange visitor" Hawthorne helped out with script and puzzles but had to leave because of too little time.

IGM: Where is your team currently based? How has your location affected the game's development, in terms of logistics, but also in terms of theme, story, characters?

DT: We're in Sweden, England, Canada, Greece and Switzerland.

Remote production does of course always take a little longer as we communicate through a forum. And the different timezones makes it harder for any real-time communication. But we try, and so far it's working I think.

I think as I'm from Sweden I try to see if there are any fun Viking stereotypes or myths to make fun of.

IGM: Do you have a "day job"?

DT: I'm working as a freelance artist (http://danielthomas-artportfolio. blogspot.com/) and training Kung-fu. So that, with my free-time projects, take up most of my week.

IGM: What are your main influences as an artist and animator?

DT: My first main influence was Bill

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Tiller (artist behind Monkey Island 3, Vampyre story etc.) which basically was the reason for me wanting to start doing background art for adventure games.

To mention a few others: John Kricfalusi, Rembrandt, Frazetta .. and more or less any background artist I can find. I'm no animator, but the nine old men working on the Disney movies are awesome, both as animators and what they did for animation.

IGM: How did you become an artist (eg, through school or self-taught?)

DT: Depends on how you define self-taught, I never had any teacher in person. But by books and videos I tried to learn as much as possible. I did go to a games and entertainment school as a 3D artist though, but I don't do any 3D anymore and try to focus on my 2D art instead.

IGM: How did you decide to develop in AGS, rather than for example, Wintermute or Visionaire Studio?

DT: I had some experience with AGS before, but hadn't really decided which engine to use until our coder Ryan joined – who worked in AGS. IGM: Has the influence of the AGS community affected the game's development?

DT: We listen to comments - if we hear something we at least consider it.

But one must realize that people will always have different opinions, so no matter what you do you can't please everybody.

The most important thing I think is to make a game that you would enjoy playing yourself.

- Interview by David Bruggink 9

+ Cover Story

Interview with MinMax Games about their game SPAZ MinMax Games is a small two man company operating out of British Columbia, Canada that has over 20 years of experience in the games industry. IGM had a chance to interview Andrew Hume and Richard Clifford about quitting their studio jobs and working on an indie game for nearly 2 years.

When did you start developing games? What got you into programming and designing?

Andrew Hume: I have been playing games pretty much non stop since I was 10 (26 years ago.) I have always been working toward the dream of making games of my own since then.

My official game development career started while I was in university when I got a lucky break getting a part time job at a development studio named Black Box Games in Vancouver. To get my foot in the door, I worked as the company’s IT department. After that, there was a stint as a QA Lead, AI scripter, gameplay programmer, a failed company, then I joined a new AAA studio (Radical), worked for many years as a Technical designer, and now I am half of MinMax games. The variety of experience has helped a lot in the long run.

Richard Clifford: I’ve been a bit of a game junkie ever since I was able to hold an Atari controller in my hands. I spent a lot of my high school years making maps for Quake and Starcraft rather than doing my homework. Out of 10 high school I went to a game design

school. Following that, I landed myself a job at a AAA studio, where I stayed for nearly 5 years. After I left that job we began working on SPAZ. What is your favorite retro game?

What game do you remember from your childhood that inspired you to make games?

AH: Well it is sad that this counts as retro, but it has been over 10 years.

Deus Ex is my all time favourite game, followed closely by StarControl 2. The most important element for me in a game is immersion. These two games consumed my mind so completely that I felt as if I was in the game as I was playing them. Very few games have what I would call a soul, and these days with the huge dev teams, I don’t think any really do. But these older games did. They had an idea and executed on it perfectly and without compromise.

Back then it was ok if your game did not skew toward the most general audience. In both cases it was obvious that the dev team loved what they were making and knew it was special. We try to reach for the same goal with SPAZ. RC: That’s a tough question to answer.

Back in the day I played everything from

Mario to Doom. I think the game that really showed me how deep a game can really be would have to be SimCity.

I was totally blown away that a game can make you think so strategically.

What’s your favorite game of all time? Why is it your favorite?

AH: Deus Ex. Immersion, amazing story, revisiting old locations, strategic permanent player upgrades, multiple paths to achieve objectives, rewarding exploration. It pretty much had everything. I have played it seven times now, and I am not one to replay games often. There was just such a variety in play depending on the choices you made in developing your character.

RC: Another toughie. I’ll have to crown Diablo 2. I’ve put so much time into that game, and I constantly come back to it annually. The pacing is so fast and there is so much content. They randomize just about everything, including all the levels and dungeons.

That alone keeps the game somewhat interesting despite having finished it a billion times.

Cover Story What is your favorite indie game right now? Why? AH: I am playing Rogue Survivor on and off right now. It is a zombie survival game with no real ending. Again it is all about atmosphere/immersion. The game doesn’t really tell you that you need to do anything except figure out a way to survive.

RC: Right now I’m having a lot of fun with Sanctum. I’m a big sucker for tower defence games. They have some really original creeps that defy my Borg like grid layouts. They find a good mix between fixed path, and maze tower defence gameplay.

What does it mean to be an indie developer?

AH+RC: Being an indie developer is about freedom and fear. You get to build what you want, and creatively it is ideal. The fear comes in when you need to pay the bills and are not 100% sure that there are other people out there with the same taste in games as you have. There is no safety net.

For the most part Indie games seem to be labours of love instead of games with the strict goal of making the most money by casting the widest net.

AH+RC: The indie title also seems to be getting a bit grey these days. We see a lot of so called Indie games now that are close to AAA production value.

Games like Shadow Complex and Torchlight have high budgets and large teams compared to games like Aquaria, Castle Crashers, and SPAZ. We used to think being an Indie developer was living on savings and working out of a basement on a dream. It’s almost like there are “indie” games, and then there are “indie indie” games. We think we fall into the second category. We literally did everything ourselves and really put everything on the line for this one game.

How many people comprise MinMax? How did the studio get formed?

AH+RC: MinMax is just the two of us. We both worked together for a long time at Radical Entertainment.

After 2 company mergers and a heartbreaking cancellation following 2

years of development, we had to leave.

After that, we didn’t really want to go right back into another huge studio environment. We took the risk and tried to do something completely on our own.

Now here we are.

When did you start work on SPAZ? Personally, the game reminds me of Starscape and one of my favorite games of all time: StarControl 2. Where did you get the idea/ inspiration for the game?

AH+RC: We started working on SPAZ 23 months ago, shortly after we left our “real” jobs.

StarControl is definitely a huge inspiration for us. When we started working on the project, making a huge space game was a no brainer for us. We hadn’t seen a game like Star Control for ages, and we were tired of waiting for one to come around. We hoped that there were others out there that felt the same way, so we began making the game of our dreams.

Tell us about SPAZ. What is your favorite moment or feature?

AH: I really like all the choices and the temptation to be a little evil. Since every choice has some consequence in SPAZ, usually faction relation wise, it can be a lot of fun to manipulate the game systems to get unusual outcomes. For example, taking an escort mission just to let the escorted ship die to get its blueprints is a personal favourite. A lot of times SPAZ will present you with a roadblock, and the fun is in figuring out how the hell to get around it. Sometimes it may be a bribe, or to back off and research new technology, or to build a cloaked fleet to pick off defenders, or to simply go around the long way. The options are really what it is all about for me.

RC: The visceral combat takes the cake for me. Having the ships fall apart while little space dudes get sucked out into space and curl up just looks so awesome. The spherical shockwaves, massive wrecks, cascading explosions, it’s like a fireworks display.

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tried to make a game for people like us.

There is something about the mouse and keyboard that makes a game like this work so well. We both also had some hobby level experience with Torque on the PC (the game engine we used).

The PC allows for a much easier entry level into the market, and probably has a lot more users of the same mindset as we have. There is also no real shortage of console games. Although SPAZ has a funny title, it is actually quite deep and we knew the PC market would be a lot more accepting of it.

If you had more time/money what would you change about SPAZ? AH+RC: Interestingly enough, we wouldn’t change much. With a game like SPAZ there is always room for more content, but we’re very happy with what we produced.

What has been your biggest failure?

AH+RC: Making time estimates for the project. We intended to be working on SPAZ for less then 6 months. We just released our beta less then a month ago after 23 months of development.

What has been your biggest success?

AH+RC: Our biggest success was sticking with SPAZ for almost 2 years with no income and getting it into peoples’ hands. It’s been a constant struggle with the “flight or fight” response and we’re proud we endured the long road.

What one piece of advice would you give to aspiring indie developers?

AH+RC: Keep your scope focused. Try to achieve the “fun” part of your game as soon as possible so you can really prove it is indeed fun. Also no matter how long you think it will take it WILL take 3 times longer. The devil is in the details.

- Interviewed by Mike Gnade

Why did you choose to release the game for PC? AH+RC: We’re huge PC game fans and

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+ Reviews

Space Pirates and Zombies - www.spacepiratesandzombies.com - PC Space Pirates and Zombies (SPAZ) is MinMax Studios first title and has been in development for nearly 2 years.

SPAZ has old school sensibilities with great modern graphics. The game combines RPG elements, space combat, arcade action, and strategy into an epic space opera. SPAZ will suck hours and days out of your life.

Don’t be fooled by the title, there is an incredibly deep and rich game here that caters to hardcore PC gamers out there.

SPAZ takes place far enough in the future that Earth has been polluted and humans have colonized the galaxy.

The galaxy is randomly and uniquely generated at the start of a game, but you start the campaign in the Sol System. You play as a ragtag group of Space Pirates who want to become rich by traveling to the core of the galaxy and scoring some REZ (a valuable resource and currency) to become rich. Your band of wisecracking misfits has managed to scrap together a Mothership so that they can warp between star systems and start their quest.

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The gameplay in SPAZ is incredibly rich and addictive. SPAZ is a top down space shooter, you control the Mothership’s fleet of ships to collect resources, complete missions, and destroy enemies. This type of action gameplay has been around since Asteroids, but SPAZ adds layers of strategy and RPG elements to create a whole different flavor. The player is fully responsible for designing and building every ship in your fleet. Players will choose the hull, weapons, and modules of their ships and send them into battle. By destroying other ships, you will acquire new hull blueprints and research data. This research data can be used to upgrade and acquire new ship components to use in your designs.

With hundreds of stars to explore, SPAZ can tend to feel a little grinding and time-consuming. Eventually you enter a rhythm where you enter a new Star System, play a few missions that will improve your relations with one faction or another and then attack or bribe the warp gate guards to proceed on to the next star. My only complaint about the game’s rich gameplay is that you have

a tendency to get stuck pursuing the main missions of the game. You usually have to spend some time grinding away at other repetitive missions in order to acquire the bribe or technology necessary to overcome the obstacle.

The main campaign missions are much better varied than the random system conflicts that pop up. It is a shame that these roadblocks and repetition detract from the experience.

The graphics in SPAZ are excellent.

Every star system location has a great level of detail with fantastic looking nebulas, clouds and debris. Of course a game like this all comes down to the explosions and combat. There are tons of different ships and fantastic weapon effects. The space battles in SPAZ are on a smaller scale, but they do rival indie hit, Gratuitous Space Battles.

The real time nature of the battles also brings a great level of excitement.

There’s nothing like getting all of your ships destroyed only to redesign and rebuild them to crush your enemies.

The explosions won’t let you down either. It is immensely satisfying to see a ship jettison its crew and explode into bits of Rez and other collectibles.

Reviews

The music and sound in SPAZ has the same high quality production values as the rest of the package. All of the sound effects and music are high quality if a somewhat standard fare. What gives SPAZ some of its character though is the excellent radio chatter that you will hear during gameplay. Some favorites include, “Anyone know of a good strip club? I need a job” and “I wonder if your eyes really explode in space?” This banter is subtle and adds some great humor and character to an otherwise typical space opera soundtrack.

Besides some of the mission repetition, my biggest complaint about SPAZ is its title. Personally, I am fed up with the Zombie game fad and hate that indies are cashing in and proliferating it. Luckily, the “Zombies” in SPAZ are more like an organic plague than actually walking undead. They remind

me more of Halo’s Flood than the clichéd walking undead that we find in all of the games today. While I don’t particularly like the game’s title, you shouldn’t let that turn you off to an incredible indie sci-fi adventure. After nearly 2 years, SPAZ is still only in Beta and is 25% off till it gets released. The game is utterly immense and contains hundreds of hours of gameplay. SPAZ combines my favorite elements from great indie games like Gratuitous Space Battles and Starscape into one of the best PC sci-fi games I have played since Star Control 2. If you’ve heard of and enjoyed any of the games that I have compared SPAZ to in this article – you will probably enjoy SPAZ as much as I have. Check the game out and support MinMax. This 2-man Canadian team knows how to make games.

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REVIEW Gameplay: Graphics: Sound/Music: Lasting Appeal:

9 9 8 10

Score: 93%

Grade

A

- Mike Gnade

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+ Reviews

Outland - www.housemarque.com - XBLA Finnish game developers have a reputation for being technical experts in their craft. This combined with a spark of creativity has led to a thriving native industry. Housemarque’s Outland is a game that certainly justifies the reputation of their nationality – it is a smooth and visually stunning game.

As far as 2D platformers go, Outland is by far one of the most stylish and eye catching. Players are treated to a silhouetted presentation that is supported by a background that provides the character to each unique level – from a lush forest to a meteor shower. The foreground adopts more of a minimalist style by combining contrasting colours over the black imagery. The contrast between light and dark is a central theme running throughout Outland and the visual display only helps to illustrate the accompanying plot. If anything the game’s narrative is its weak point as it literally boils down to the traditional good versus evil theme in which you play an incarnation of an ancient warrior, battling to prevent the destruction of the world. Of course this 14

is not so much of an issue when you are served such an elegant blend of gameplay. Unfortunately the game does not bring anything new to the table in terms of core ideas, in fact it borrows the colour switching mechanic from Ikaruga. The feeling of familiarity that runs through the game is a bit of a down side when the game’s presentation feels so fresh. Considering this though, it is not the delivery of innovation from the developers that makes Outland so fun to play, but the mastery in which they have taken previous ideas and combined them to provide a tight and enjoyable experience.

Do not be fooled by its beauty though, Outland is no pushover. It is true that the game eases the player in by tasking them to fight simple creatures and traverse only the most basic of traps and pits at first. Eventually the momentum does pick up a little when the player discovers an ancient power that enables them to switch alignment between blue and red (light and dark).

At the this point the environment becomes a lot more tricky to move around in as the player must rely on

quick reactions from both their head and their fingers. The challenge is fit for even the most outspoken platforming masters; timing is impeccable and at times even feels impossible. The player must juggle correctly judging jumps along with understanding the patterns of the spirit energy being pumped around the screen. Like the player, this comes in either blue or red and the player must match the colour if they are to pass through it safely. The escalation of difficulty is slow but sure, and in the end the game will show no mercy to those who have braved it thus far. This gives further reason for the player to stop and stare at the screen; firstly to admire the beauty of the game, but to then also figure out how to cross its gauntlets unscathed. Undoubtedly this is a frustrating experience and there will be times when taking damage will seem a fair compromise to progress through the levels. However, the game ultimately rewards the patient and thoughtful and will seek only to punish those who resort to blind luck.

Reviews

Outland is a smooth and delectable platformer, but it also offers variation by tasking the player with combat. At the most basic the player must only swing their sword to defeat large spiders and armed warriors. Further into the game a vast range of enemies is introduced but the player’s biggest concern will be their spirit colour. While the obstructive balls of spirit energy must be matched in order to absorb them, the player can only deal damage to foes by wearing the opposing colour. As can be imagined, this often becomes a difficult balance and one that will lead to many an untimely death. Yet, when all seems to have reached some form of a peak in difficulty, a boss battle inevitably arrives.

Fighting these large titans will test all the skills acquired up to that point and any mistakes are severely punished.

Do not expect the game to be forgiving.

For a 2D platformer these boss battles prove surprisingly epic in proportion with the music and visuals blending to deliver an experience worthy of the ancient Greek battles between mortal and deity. Admittedly a couple of these battles seem too unfair at times, but worse than this is the dangerously familiar tones emanating from them – with at least two of them directly mimicking moments from Shadow of the Colossus. Whether this is a shameful copy paste job or a tribute, at least a similar quality to the efforts of Team Ico’s masterpiece is realised.

Housemarque’s ability to transform previous ideas into a fresh experience is admirable.

When it is all over there is reason to revisit areas due to the new abilities gained throughout the game. Breaking through the ground, shooting across the sky and sliding through tunnels are just some of the abilities drip-fed to the player. Unlike other games, Outland is tailored so that new moves are not dumped on the player at the start, but are instead earned through progression. Time is therefore allowed for the player to master each ability with another plus being that there are surprises throughout the entire length of the game. This also ensures that there are plenty of hidden areas to discover, where money and Marks of the Gods can be found and collected, that were not accessible earlier in the game. These abilities seem to be a gift at first as they provide new ways of defeating enemies and make combat richer than simply slashing a sword. It soon becomes clear that reward comes at a price as the game now has a new obstruction to match the newly gained ability. The requirement to be precise, quick thinking and to become a master of timing is but an understatement when considering Outland. Why limit the frustration to just yourself though? Online co-op is available, but unfortunately the whole game does not cater to this mode. Designated co-op levels are provided for a duo to take their frustrations out on each other.

Expect no let up from the game, but only even more complex challenges that will require patience and teamwork.

It is perhaps for fear of the fights that

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may ensue, that a local co-op is not available. Players will have to suffice with shouting at each other through their headsets – probably for the best really.

After all is said and done it is clear that Outland is a superb game. Attracting newcomers with such a fantastic presentation acts as the façade of seductive beauty. Beneath the surface however, lies a demonically challenging game that seeks to condition its players to the delights of torture. You will not have to sell your soul to conquer the challenges within, but Outland will ensure that the taste of blood resides in your mouth.

- Chris Priestman

REVIEW Gameplay: Graphics: Sound/Music: Lasting Appeal:

8 9 8 8

Score: 87%

Grade

B

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+ Reviews

Pulse - www.cipherprime.com - iPad Pulse is a music rhythm game from Cipher Prime and their first title for the iPad. The goal in Pulse is simple: tap the orbiting notes in time with the music. While the game’s goal and gameplay mechanics are simple, Pulse is anything but easy. Some of the later tracks are challenging and the new free downloadable tracks are pretty brutal.

This difficulty is actually enjoyable and makes Pulse a perfect iPad showpiece for your friends. Pulse is best experienced when you’re showing it off to your friends and competing with them for high scores. Cipher Prime has done an incredible job with Pulse. It is a must own iPad app. Pulse’s stellar design, visuals, music and simple gameplay mechanics will make all your friends envy your iPad and when they can’t beat your high score, you will be the one left smiling.

Pulse has no campaign. The game is more like an album of music. There’s a playlist menu and you select that song that you want to play. You do your best to hit as many notes as possible and are then given a percentage score at the end of each song. Pulse shipped with 8 core tracks from Cipher Prime’s own Dain Saint and Kerry Gilbert. Like any music album, there are some tracks that you’ll play over and over again and some that you’ll only play once or twice.

For the folks here at IGM, Sakura is the hands down favorite. Pulse’s eight core tracks do an excellent job of spanning the difficulty spectrum of easy to hard.

If you want impossible, all you have to 16

do is check out Tidbits from George and Jonathan and Veedja from Ghost Fight.

While Pulse was released with only eight tracks for $4.99, there will be at least 32 tracks when all the updates are rolled out. There are four new songs from Philly artists scheduled to release every month for 6 months following the game’s release. As of the writing of this review, the first batch of songs had been released and they are pretty ruthless. We’re struggling to break 50% on Tidbits and Veedja. While the latest tracks are incredibly difficult, the music is superb.

While there were definitely some standout tracks from indie developer, Cipher Prime, each of the downloadable tracks offers a look at a local Philly band and a glimpse at the city’s indie music scene. So far Cipher Prime has found some incredible musical talent and there’s a lot to look forward to as Pulse’s updates continue.

Pulse is best experienced with friends.

Nothing beats a friendly competition and Pulse’s casual gameplay and short levels (usually around 2 minutes) make it the perfect game to pass around the iPad trying to beat each other’s scores. If you have two iPads between you, then competing head-to-head will provide an even better experience. It’s a great pickup and play experience that was honestly a little lacking when it was released with only 8 tracks. The first batch of downloadable tracks and the promise of more makes Pulse a must

buy.

Pulse is more than an indie game. It’s a musical experience that surpasses the indie game scene and exposes players to great local indie bands. I can’t think of another indie game out there that does that. As a game, Pulse is quick and short Arcade fun. It evolves into something sublime when you approach it from a different perspective. Pulse is an interactive music album that will eventually feature over 20 local indie artists and over 30 tracks for only $4.99.

If you have an iPad, why haven’t you purchased it yet?

- Mike Gnade

REVIEW Gameplay: Graphics: Sound/Music: Lasting Appeal:

8 9 10 8

Score: 96%

Grade

A

Reviews

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Terraria - www.terraria.org - PC When a game involves crafting, building, exploration and killing monsters, it is very easy to draw comparisons to the excellently received Minecraft. While this can be done with Terraria, the Re-Logic team has worked to make it unique in its own ways.

The most striking initial impression is that Terraria features a beautiful 2D landscape. While it is possible to construct elaborate structures, that is not the end goal. Instead, players are encouraged to explore, craft items, hunt monsters, loot and summon bosses.

Players can even build additional houses or structures in the hopes that other characters will come to live there.

There is plenty to keep both creative and quest driven players appeased and satisfied.

Players are expected to learn by doing.

No manual or tutorial system has been implemented. Instead, players are accompanied by a guide. Rather than explicitly teaching the player, he prefers to give vague notions by which to live by. While it is better than nothing, a game of such magnitude could use a formal introduction. Thankfully, there are some generous community members who have put together some basic tutorials along with a Wiki.

While the first day can be overwhelming, players quickly learn that there is a world to explore and an abundance of possibilities. There is a wide open 2D plain to explore. The surface presents opportunities in the forms of unique enemies, resources and events such as falling stars or meteor strikes.

The underworld, on the other hand, requires intricate navigation, clever tunnelling and a sharp eye to watch out for Giant Worms. There are multiple environments within every world, each with their own intricacies.

The worlds are meticulously crafted.

Each sprite used in the game world is simply beautiful. Care has been taken in all graphical elements from enemies, such as the Demon Eye or Goblin Warriors, to sprawling caverns or dungeons. While each world does have a restriction to the left and right, there is ample opportunity to explore within each world. Of course, it is possible to trek across a world but that would ignore one of the key features of Terraria; digging down and caving.

There is plenty to do in Single Player.

But then, the game opens further with a multiplayer mode. Players can assist each other in quests and cave exploration, or can take the route of player versus player combat. All data is saved to the player’s character. This means that it is quite simple to take a character and their equipment that you have refined in the single player and use them online.

This is one of the key points of Terraria.

Re-Logic has simplified a few elements in order to let the player play as they like. Crafting is done by simply possessing the correct resources and equipment, and then choosing to make it. Explorers are kept satisfied as items do not degrade. Torches will stay lit unless water falls upon it. Those that wish to quest may do so with a stacked inventory, safe in the knowledge that death will impact their finances alone,

rather than wiping out a valuable collection of items.

Terraria is the new definition of value for money. There are three world sizes and a seemingly infinite number of combinations and world possibilities.

Players have so much choice over the way that they play each time. It is possible to create up to five different characters, so players can take it upon themselves to play each in a different style. There really is something for everyone in Terraria.

- Mark O'Beirne

REVIEW Gameplay: Graphics: Sound/Music: Lasting Appeal:

10 8 8 9

Score: 88%

Grade

B 17

+ Reviews

Lume - www.lumegame.com - PC - Mac Lume is a charming little 2D pointand-click adventure title from State of Play Games. The player takes control of Lumi who is visiting her granddad’s house. He has gone to the village but has left Lumi some brain teasers to solve. The story takes place in, and around, the house as Lumi attempts to restore power to the house. This requires a mix of creativity, determination and clever thinking.

The art style is quite simply, wonderful.

The set is built from cardboard and paper, while animations are captured fluidly. The style is beautiful and captures the world magnificently. Even the way the game is filmed is to be admired with excellent homemade transitions.

Lumi’s granddad does not make life easy for her. As if it wasn’t bad enough that the electricity is gone, granddad has also locked the doors and there is no key. Instead, Lumi must work out how to get inside the house. Once inside, there are several more puzzles to master to restore power to the house.

One is left wondering why granddad could not have done this before he left; it would be a lot simpler for someone with all the codes and keys to perform all the necessary actions.

The puzzles are quite diverse with a mix of clues ranging from musical notes, visual clues and spot-thedifference games. Some of the puzzles are quite tricky but there is a sense of 18

accomplishment once the cogs start turning in the player's brain.

Lume follows in the footsteps of the granddad and does not make life easy for the player. While the game mechanics and controls are very simple, the puzzles can provide a challenge. Unlike some releases, if a code is found, it is not stored. Players must remember it or revisit where they found the code to refresh their memory.

There is also no in-built hint system in the game. This means that players will never quit through stubbornness, give up, or simply consult an online guide. In a sense, it harks back to simpler times when there were no cheat systems, and dial-up connections meant it was often quicker to solve a problem.

Unfortunately, Lume is part one of a larger, on-going story. This is not necessarily a problem, but this first part is extremely short and offers no replay value. There are no alternative ways to complete puzzles and there is little else to explore. Challenges tracking fewest moves or time to complete could have enhanced the replay value somewhat.

Considering how short the game is, it is understandable that there is no hint system. This could be an acknowledgement that allowing players to essentially bypass the couple of puzzles that prove difficult will end the game rather quickly.

Lume is certainly a fun and charming

title. There is a good variety in the style and difficulty of puzzles. Unfortunately, the short play time of the title leaves the player wanting more. More could have been done with Part One but it will be interesting to see where State of Play Games takes the adventure from here.

- Mark O'Beirne

REVIEW Gameplay: Graphics: Sound/Music: Lasting Appeal:

9 10 7 4

Score: 75%

Grade

C

Reviews

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Frozen Synapse - www.mode7games.com - PC Few games make players spend so much thought, effort and time on something that will take five seconds. Frozen Synapse does. Mode 7 Games has produced a top down, turn-based, strategic shooter that has players pondering every possible outcome.

Frozen Synapse bears resemblance to the tactical planning section of old Rainbow Six titles. Players are given an overview of a randomly generated area and must plot out soldiers' movement turn-by-turn. Squads are comprised of soldiers armed with assault rifles, shotguns, grenade launchers, sniper rifles or rocket launchers.

Each turn lasts a total of five seconds but players are given the opportunity to preview how scenarios may play out. When players feel that the perfect plan is in place, they simply commit to a turn and the outcome is played out. Once you commit you must watch, sometimes in heartbreak, as your squad moves around the map. In a sense, it is an overhead version of chess where you see re-enactments of the moves that the opponent could make, once you yourself can see them.

The graphical style is simple, but clean and efficient. Rooms are illustrated as 2D overlays with shades of blues on display.

This serves to perfectly outline where cover is available and how the room is arranged.

Explosions are dazzling and fire fights are easily distinguishable. It is a pleasure to play a tactical shooter when everything is readily identified. The only downfall in presentation is that the turn overlay covers the bottom of the map. This can hide some of the action or potential moves and requires players to take some care to ensure that their squad does not get caught off-guard.

There is a comprehensive tutorial that demonstrates a player’s “skill with clicking”.

This can be played or watched online.

The tutorial is invaluable as it breaks the game down into simple steps that, when

combined, see a player’s squad scramble around any map, eliminating opponents with military precision.

The single player campaign acts as a proving ground for any new player. After the handholding nature of the tutorial, players are let loose to refine essential skills. These are required to ensure the squad survives and overcome the opponent. There are 55 campaign missions in all which see you command squads engaging in many different scenarios. The missions range from escorting a NPC across an area, to eliminating a staff of scientists, to eliminating enemy squads in an area. Once a mission is completed, players are given the option to watch the action back. However, if a mission is failed, there are no second chances.

Levels are randomly generated so a failed mission will not appear the same again.

While the basic objective remains constant, the squad at hand, the enemies and even the layout may change.

If that wasn’t enough, players have the option to engage in instant skirmishes.

These are randomly generated scenarios that replicate what players will face online.

Every detail can be customised from map size, squad composition all the way to the overall play style of the AI. There is a seemingly endless combination of possible scenarios available to players.

The main draw of Frozen Synapse is the multiplayer element. It is possible to make yourself available for challenges or directly challenge other players. Games can be accepted and participated in at any time.

When new turns are available, a notification will appear which gives the player the option of immediately crafting a turn. However, players are free to play at their leisure. If offline, players will be notified by e-mail that a new turn is available. There are five unique game modes available and two different versions of each. A game can either

be “light”, which means that enemies are always visible on the map, or “dark”, which means that enemies will only be visible when in sight and will appear as ghosts in their last known position.

The multiplayer interface is full of information, ranging from the best ranked players to results of matches and new games started. Popular recent games are also highlighted, with the replay available to watch and learn from. Player profiles and replays can also be searched. Frozen Synapse also makes it quick and convenient to export results to Facebook and Twitter, or replays to YouTube. There is a wealth of information available online at any given time.

Frozen Synapse is quite simply sublime.

The concept and mechanics are simple but the game has plenty of depth to it. It is well executed and well presented throughout.

It is amazing to think how important five seconds can be. One wrong move in a five second window can be the difference between success and failure.

- Mark O'Beirne

REVIEW Gameplay: Graphics: Sound/Music: Lasting Appeal:

10 8 8 9

Score: 88%

Grade

B

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Returns August 2011

www.gametunnel.com

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