IGM Digital Issue 20 by Indie Game Mag

Issue 20: January/February 2012

Inside this Issue:

Dungeon Defenders

Stealth Bastard

Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet

Minecraft

Sword & Sworcery

Indie Game Magazine Issue 20 - January-February 2012

Staff Editors Mike Gnade Chris Priestman Art & Magazine Design Mike Gnade Michael Heald Zak Gebelein

Writers/Contributors Chris Priestman Mike Gnade Richard Glenn Gerrard Winter Doug Walter Seth Tipps Sarah Bishop Michael Hicks

Website Content Manager Chris Newton Community Managers Toby Hoover Chris Adkins Special Thanks FullyIllustrated.com

Insider Edition

+ Table of Contents Front End

Staff/Credits pg 2 Table of Contents pg 3 One Bundle to Rule them All pg 4 A Teen's Exp with XBLIG pg 5 Twitter Talk pg 7

Cover Story: Check out all the winners from our 2nd Annual IGM GotY Awards

Cover Story

IGM Game of the Year Awards PSN GotY pg 8 XBLA GotY pg 9 Sound / XBLIG pg 10 Graphics / Mobile / Free pg 11 Games of 2012 pg 12 Computer Game pg 14 Game of the Year pg 15

Reviews

Stealth Bastard pg 18 Bastion (2nd Opinion) pg 20 Dungeon Defenders pg 21 Insanely Twisted Shadow pg 22 Minecraft pg 23

Backend

Words & Works of Zach Barth pg 16 Min Games, Max Fun 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%

+ Feature

Is there room for only one bundle in the world of Indie gaming? You have probably heard rumors to this effect. A good many feel the Humble Indie Bundle has such a dominant position that no other bundle on the market can really be profitable. This comes in response to a recent swell in the number of bundles available. Indie Royale, Indie Gala, Little Big Bunch, and about half a dozen others have been launched in the past few months, some of which have already offered more than one package. Everyone seems to be getting on board. There's even a bundle out there launched by lone developer Jochen Heizmann, who offers a pay what you want package known as the Christmas Bundle. With this many contenders, will the market dry up? Can any or all of these bundles be successful in the shadow of the Humble Indie Bundle? The Un-Humble Bundle I sent an e-mail over to Jeff Rosen, cofounder of the Humble Indie Bundle, to see what he had to say. He replied: "It's a common misconception that the video game market is a zero sum game. For instance, when you see that Minecraft has sold 4.3 million copies, you shouldn't think "ah geez, there's no one left to buy my game!" Instead, you should be inspired that the video game market is unimaginably huge. Likewise, when a Humble Bundle sells 350,000 bundles, that can seem like a pretty intimidating number, but keep in mind that far more people have paid $0 to pirate Skyrim via BitTorrent than have bought all Humble Bundles combined. So in short, I feel like we are just getting started. The rumors of Humble Bundle's iron grip on the economics of PC gaming are just a bit exaggerated, and I can't wait to show you what we have in store for 2012." 4

One Bundle to Rule them All

So there you have it! Or not. Does the $2.3M raised by the latest Humble Bundle really seem like just a start? If Jeff is right then the numbers should support him. At first glance it looks like growth is slowing. Ignoring the smaller deals like the Introversion Bundle, the four bundles have raised $1.27M, $1.82M, $2.17M, and $2.37M respectively. This turns out to be misleading. The Humble Bundle's strict rule requiring all games to be available on Windows, Mac, and Linux was one of the keys to it's early success. NonWindows sales made up nearly half the revenue of the first release, and Mac and Linux customers donate more on average than Windows users. This does a great thing for the bundle, which rewards customers who contribute more than the average with additional games and content. But the latest figures show a marked decrease in Mac and Linux sales. This creates an illusion that the bundle is starting to reach the top of its growth curve. It is not. While Mac and Linux purchases and average contributions have slacked off in the latest bundle, windows purchases continue to grow without a drop in the size of payments. For now it seems Windows purchasers have found their price, and the bundle continues to attract new customers. Growth was largest for Windows payments between the first and second bundle, at about $430.5K, slacking off a bit between the second and third to $280K, but bounce back by the fourth bundle to gain $341K. If this trend continues, we can expect to see on average an increase in Windows payments by a ballpark $300K. It looks like Jeff is right on that count: there is no sign of his bundle slowing down. If that's the case, then the market hasn't hit peak, and we still have more room for more packages. The year 2010 brought us two Cinderella stories in gaming: Minecraft,

and The Humble Indie Bundle. Their wild success, as well as the resultant press coverage, exposed a new audience to indie games. Both have produced spin-offs, but while Minecraft inspires imitations, those following in the footsteps of the Humble Bundle are quite unique. Some have a pay what you want system, some don't. Some games have been available on multiple bundles, and some bundles have entirely unique offerings. The Humble Bundle itself stands as a great testament- â&#x20AC;&#x153;Here there be inexpensive games!â&#x20AC;?- but each new package stirs up a good amount of press because each bundle is different from the last. The Humble Bundle is known and accepted. Other bundles are still striving for brand recognition. But is it profitable for these lesser knowns? The numbers are harder to come by for the humbler of the indie bundles, but Indie Royale sold seventy thousand bundles in one month, which may mean more for them than for bundles that lack a minimum payment restriction. In addition, Indie Royale has upped the ante considerably by offering one bundle every two weeks. Whereas it has been possible to miss the memo on past Humble Bundles, Indie Royale keeps a regular schedule. This produces a steady stream of revenue, less financial dependence on each bundle, and will probably build some loyalty with customers over time. I think they should be around for quite some time.

Jeff said the game market isn't a zerosum game. What I think Jeff may have missed is that very few people buy the same game twice, so it isn't the developer or the publisher competing for consumer dollars, but the retailer. With digital distribution, and bundles, the competition is a new game entirely. Steam has found a way to lessen the sting of paying for a game twice if you buy it again in a bundle by letting customers give away their extra copies to friends. The Humble Bundle offers its customers a steam key for their games, so this applies to them too. But this only eliminates competition if all bundles are available on all digital download services. The competition in this sense is real, and becomes a zero-sum game because the customer may elect to buy only from packages that offer games on their preferred digital distribution service. The same games may be available on one package or another at different times. Do you want to wait for a game to become available with a Steam key? If so, you aren't going to buy from a bundle that doesn't offer it. Fortunately, most bundles offer Steam keys for games available on Steam, and multiple methods of downloading the game. This doesn't mean there's no competition, but it does mean it's less of a problem. Even then there are some factors I'm overlooking; how many people actually use the gifting service? Does the low price of most bundles

mean this problem is irrelevant? It would take a good deal of research to determine, but I think it's safe to say that although games themselves are not really competing in the long run, packages, retailers, and distribution services are all in very real and very fierce competition for your gaming dollar, and as bundles begin to max out their market potential, the competition will intensify. Who Wins? As Mr. Rosen points out, the PC games market is in general not a zero-sum equation, and as such, there is room for a vast array of products and packages. On the other hand, there is a zero-sum game being played by some sellers to offer the best package with the best games at the best price. The Humble bundle has developed a reputation as the definitive platform offering a paywhat-you-want package of the best Indie Gaming has to offer. This may mean other packages struggle, but there are a lot of games out there, and though only one package can be the biggest, other packages will also get their piece of pie by offering different games. It isn't the package we're buying, but the games that come in it. I bought Humble Bundle 4 and love it. But I've been spending most of my time with two games from Little Big Bunch. I have played football only once in my

life, but New Star Soccer 5 has me hooked. And don't get me going about Frozen Synapse. My point is, the package with the best games wins, and in turn, so does the gamer. These pay-what-you-want deals offer the lowest prices on the most unique products in gaming today. The fact that they are bundles means you can pay a low price for the one game you want, then get a bunch of other games to boot. Conventional economics may apply in part, but the reality is more generous than that of the housing market. Competition is a factor, but it's not a zero-sum fight to the finish. Humble is the biggest and most profitable because it offers the biggest incentive to pay more, but the low price point means that if another package offers another game I want, nothing prevents me from buying it as well. Until the market peaks and profits stagnate without direct competition, the competition so far has been for media attention and for better games. As long as bundles continue to provide us with awesome games like Crayon Physics Deluxe and Gratuitous Space Battles, you'd better believe they're going to get my attention, and my dollar. - Seth Tipps

A Teenager's Experience with Xbox Live Indie Games As children we hear the saying "time flies" quite frequently; 2011 is the first year of my life where I can completely relate to these words. Throughout this year I turned 18, graduated High School and released two video games onto Microsoft's Xbox Live Indie Games platform. I can not even begin to write down all of the things that I've learned this year, but it all started with my first 3D game attempt. During 2010 I spent a lot of time working on my first XBLIG title "Honor in Vengeance". I was 17 at the time, and was hard at work studying the math involved with 3D programming so I could finally fulfill my dream of making a 3D game for the Xbox 360. Being a math drop out didn't help me much, but the way math was presented in school never made much sense to me. The way XNA is structured helped me A LOT with learning about matrices, vectors and so on. Eventually, I was confident

enough to start the game and by the end of 2010 it was completed. Due to the rules of XBLIG I was unable to submit "Honor in Vengeance" for publishing until I turned 18, which wouldn't be until January 3rd. After a few months of waiting, 2011 was here and my birthday was right around the corner. The minute I turned 18 I eagerly uploaded the game for approval. I never thought to upload the game to the "playtest" section (which I didn't have prior access to due to my age) to get feedback because I had just waited for what had seemed like forever to release this game, why waste more time on feedback? "Honor in Vengeance" was released later that January and from that point on my life was changed forever. My email inbox was getting slammed with emails from the press, partly due to the fact that the press release I had wrote was

featured on IGN and other websites. Before I knew it I was stopping by local radio shows, getting reviewed by game sites, featured on podcasts, getting talked about in forums.... I was very excited that something I had worked on was getting so much publicity; but as I soon found out, this would come at a price. I've always been a quiet kid at school, an extreme introvert if you will, so no one at school even knew I programmed until I had a big feature in my town's newspaper; there was a picture of me in it and everything. Wow! Now not only was I getting some cool publicity in the cyber world, but in the real world too! Politicians sent me letters in the mail congratulating me on my game, I got stopped multiple times by random people around town, and so on. What more could an 18 year old want? 5

+ Feature

Meanwhile, during all of this, "Honor in Vengeance" was getting mixed reviews and at times being totally torn apart by reviewers. I was getting an average of one positive and one negative review each day, but I'll never forget the day I checked my email to find a review that not only tore the game apart, but made several ad hominem attacks on myself. They had traveled to my message board and quoted me totally out of context to try and frame me as some type of "liar". Reading the review left me devastated, I just couldn't understand how someone could justify tearing apart something I had put my heart and soul into without any other reason than "It sucked so much, I couldn't even play more than five minutes," and then attack me as a person! As the days went on I found a few Youtube videos popping up making fun of my game (a couple of series specifically targeted towards new XBLIG releases), and I actually found them hilarious. I have no problem poking fun at myself, and figured it was all in good fun. That was until I read the comments and noticed that someone in a nearby town had seen the article in the newspaper and was talking about me! "This kid obviously has no friends, and lives a very lonely life. Everyone in my town has been talking about him for days, I'd be impressed if he actually made a good game!" I didn't say anything, but lo and behold if the next day this same guy messaged me on Facebook! "I read about you in the newspaper and just had to get in touch, do you need any help on your next game? I'd love to help out with music." Now here's the point in my story where I learned a valuable lesson: when you release something to a wide audience you're bound to attract some weirdos. While I like to look back at things like this and chuckle a bit, I really did learn some valuable lessons through my first release. The biggest thing I learned was that people will always have a 6

wide range of opinions to give you on your game, and that's the beauty of the entertainment industry; everyone likes different things. The second thing I learned was that, even though I'd rather my game get publicity and not me as a person, someone has to stand up and be a spokesperson for it. My experiences with talking to the press, getting tricked by the press, and helped by the press gave me some awesome new social skills! Finally, I learned that user feedback MUST HAPPEN prior to releasing a game. The mixed reviews were a result of me not getting feedback, and I proudly live up to this mistake, because I have learned from it. I spent the rest of my senior year working on and releasing "Honor in Vengeance II", this time listening to other's feedback and using my new social skills to promote the game the best I could. While I had a few disappointments such as being one of the last few games to get cut for the XBLIG Summer Uprising's top selection, I also had some successes. The game got a number of good reviews, the trailer was featured on the front page of GameTrailers, I got to talk and meet some editors of big publications, and I did financially above average for an XBLIG game (basing that off of what data has been shared). That's the great thing about indie development, every failure and success is mine; the success rewards me, and the failures keep me motivated to try and do better. You can always do better. Not only did I get some experience with releasing indie games this year, but I have also finally come to terms with who I am as a person. Ever since I was a kid I wanted to make music, movies, games... whatever I could to share with others; but as I got older the gaze of society made me think I had to work for someone else to be financially stable. This is not true. During the last month of development for "Honor in Vengeance II" I became extremely

depressed - I was working midnights at a grocery mart, and even though it took me forever to land this job due to the economy not being so hot, every minute I was there I felt like a slave. I wanted to be at home working on what I was passionate about, not here working for a monopoly that cares nothing for its workers and making hardly any money (after being forced to pay union dues, taxes, and gas I wasn't left with much). I quit my job to finish up "Honor in Vengeance II", and though it definitely didn't please my father at the time (we got into some very heated arguments about my resignation), I ended up making more money on XBLIG this year then I would have made staying at my part-time job. When reading about XBLIG you always hear negative stories, well, I'm here today to share my positive one. XBLIG changed my life, it's as simple as that. Developers that I look up to, such as Robert Boyd, have had a lot to say about the financial rewards of XBLIG, and I agree with them. It's impossible to make a living off of this channel in its current state, but on the flip side of that it's the best place for people to get their feet wet. I've had nothing but a positive experience with this platform, but that's because I'm a teen just getting started, and I have learned a ton. As 2012 approaches, I will begin work on "Honor in Vengeance III", and I have never been more serious about a project before in my life. I've come to realise that being financially stable as an independent developer isn't just a "wild idea", it's something that is totally possible if you can put in the work. If you would have talked to me last year, I wouldn't have thought any of this was possible. What made me believe? Xbox Live Indie Games. - Michael Hicks

Feature Twitter Talks: What is an indie game?

Follow and Talk to Us @indiegamemag One of the most obvious questions we get asked in our field is "what is an indie game?" As much as we would love to be able to answer that question simply, it remains one of the great mysteries of life. Everyoneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s definition is slightly different but that's not going to stop us from questioning, pondering and attempting to decipher it for all eternity. As the line between indie and everything else blurs, the definition of an indie game gets harder and harder to define. So in an effort to advance towards a unanimous definition, we posed the question on Twitter. This was the result. @tiooonnn - Tion Bruton I think a game is indie when EVERYTHING is done by the creator (creators) DIY style. It stops when creators are contracted to certain publishers, and they no longer have control of the game or their proposals are rejected! @Icarus_Tyler - Matthias Zarzecki The motivation to make a good/fun/ meaningful game, not "money". Also, Spirit.

@TheAntwan Indie means for me auto-produced without the help from any world implanted companies (Micrsosoft, etc) @Dan_Tsukasa - Dan Tsukasa When it starts being funded by big companies I guess, though that's redundant as to me indie = creative control over things

@EddieBytes It's not the game that is 'indie', indie's the company that made it. The moment the company stops being indie, so does the game creators are contracted to certain publishers, and they no longer have control of the game or their proposals are rejected! With that out of the way, an indie company is something that hasn't hit mainstream. It's usually a one man show, or 3-4 ppl.

@Dan_Tsukasa - Dan Tsukasa See, some people say passion, but that's @Dan_Tsukasa - Dan Tsukasa stupid, many BIG companies have just as Also, a TRUE indie (apparently) = @shadesofsilver - Dan Silver much passion as indies. bedroom coder struggling to live, but My only definition of indie is "not owned or that's not true as then @notch wouldn't be funded by another company." Other than @LeadHyperion - Andy Esser indie that, team size/funding doesn't matter. We've discussed this in-depth at @ IndieCity_Devs. We class Indie as @UpsideDownGreg - Greg Michael @gamengineer - Robert Persaud someone who does not have a 'publisher' Indie = make the games you want without Many indie games embrace surrealism; or large funding needing a "green" light from a publisher They can afford to take risks without concern about market expectations @appletsauce - Matt @whimsical3d - Martin Schindler Independently developed games made by I consider a game being "indy" when it's @gamengineer - Robert Persaud people that used to like playing games in developed on the devs own dime AND In my honest opinion, games are indie their childhood? At least I hope so. self-published. Then it's truly indy. when it's small, under/self-funded studios developing them. Adding to that, indie @Zet237 - Hannes Gottschall games always tend to go against the developed by a small, well... independend grain of commercial trends. studio, creative ideas realized with mostly rather simple technology, cheap prices @design3video - Patrick Flannery small resources and teamsize, multifaceted production techniques from each teammember @Majig - Georg S. it means developing a game w/o any publisher connections - independent... this does not involve having more spirit or passion! @tiooonnn - Tion Bruton I think its the spirit of the game that counts. Graphics aside, you can still FEEL what an indie game is.

7 - Chris Priestman

+ Feature

Game of the Year 2011

Welcome to IGM's 2nd Annual Game of the Year Awards. Last year we got an awesome response to our reader's choice awards and polled over 750 readers. This year the votes poured in and more than doubled. Over 1550 readers voted for their favorite indie games and helped decide the best indie games of 2011. Here are the results.

Best PSN Game - Dungeon Defenders

With 31% of the Vote, Dungeon Defenders decimated the competition. Part tower defense and part 3rd person action game, Dungeon Defenders is a unique blend of game genres. Featuring 4 different character classes, this game was built for multiplayer mayhem.

Editors Pick - Gemini Rue

16%

Wadjet Eye Games have become synonymous with rich, story-driven point-and-click adventures. With Gemini Rue they took their signature pixel art and relatable characters and placed it within a moody, sci-fi setting that was not afraid to ask questions about humanity and even delve into philosophy. The sense of danger blended in perfectly with the tone and the dual narrative offered something more compelling and ultimately more intriguing than most stories in the medium offer. I was sold as soon as I realised it merged Broken Sword with neo-noir, the rest of the game provided a masterful weave of plot twists and awe-inspiring revelations. - Chris Priestman 15

+ Feature The Words and Works of Zach Barth

You’ve heard of Minecraft, right? It’s fairly popular round these parts. It’s a bona fide; zero BS, money-backguarantee hive of creativity and discovery. It’s introduced swarms of gamers to a whole new world of visual entertainment and has almost singlehandedly put an exclamation point on the potential mainstream fidelity of the indie gaming movement. But even the greatest works of art require inspiration. For Minecraft, that inspiration came from Infiniminer; the brainchild of a certain Mr. Zach Barth, the brains behind one of 2011’s breakout indie hits, SpaceChem. Needless to say, it was nothing short of a privilege to share a few words with Zach as he looked back on what has undoubtedly been a storied development career. “I wouldn’t say I’m flattered, but I definitely have no regrets or resentment,” comments Zach when asked about his reaction to Minecraft’s overwhelming commercial success. Given that Infiniminer’s block-based building mechanics shaped much of what ended up making its way into Minecraft, that’s a pretty resounding statement of Barth’s down-to-earth charm and endearing modesty. But is there any chance that, given Minecraft’s new-found eminence, we might see Infiniminer’s development revisited? Not on Zach’s watch. 16

“While I definitely have a fascination with games that involve players creating things, I see no reason to revisit or remake Infiniminer. That would be the opposite of inventing new games!” Minecraft creator Markus “Notch” Persson has exercised little hesitation in admitting that Infiniminer was instrumental in shaping his approach to video games development. So you’d be forgiven for assuming that Zach would feel a shred of entitlement to a share of the million or two dollars that Notch has accrued over the last couple of years. Not so. “I stopped developing Infiniminer for the same reason I stopped developing Manufactoid, Ruckingenur, The Bureau of Steam Engineering, The Codex of Alchemical Engineering, KOHCTPYKTOP and all of my other games – because I was finished. Infiniminer was a little more complicated because I inadvertently leaked the source by not obfuscating my build, but I was bound to stop at some point because that’s how you make more than one game,” muses Barth. In the current economic climate, it’s rare to see this kind of creative pride overshadowing the pursuit of a quick buck, and maybe that’s why Barth’s comments come across as being so refreshingly grounded. But that’s not the only example of his nonchalance when it comes to those precious notes. His latest creation, SpaceChem, was part of a recent edition of the celebrated

Humble Indie Bundle, the frankly fantastic pay-what-you-like charity package fuelled by indie developers just like him. An easy decision? You bet. “We contacted them (Wolfire Games, head honchos of the Humble Bundle concept) to let them know we were interested and they fit us into a bundle when the time was right. It was actually quite simple!” quips Zach. And it wasn’t too bad for the thousands of people who came across SpaceChem through the Humble Bundle because it was, quite frankly, a Game of the Year candidate. Combining logic-based puzzles with exquisite level design and ample social media support, the game was met with glowing reviews from professional critics and regular fans alike. While it would be easy to take all the credit for SpaceChem’s success and ride off into the sunset, Barth credits the structural intricacies and collaborative cohesion within his development company, Zachtronics, as key factors behind the game’s high quality. “The SpaceChem development team consisted of a handful of contractors paid via profit-sharing agreements,” explains Zach. “This worked particularly well for SpaceChem, as it was a project done largely in our free time while continuing to work ‘real jobs’. With the success of SpaceChem I’ve been able to go full-time running the studio, which now includes a full-time programmer and full-time artist.”

Interview That’s not all either. Zach’s also quick to pay tribute to the contributions of the game’s extraordinary fan base through a stunning array of user-created content in keeping the game very much alive almost a year after its original release. “I think that the SpaceChem fan base is, quite frankly, amazing,” he exclaims. “We’ve published 144 user-created levels that are as good (if not better) than the puzzles I created for the core game. We didn’t build a global leaderboard system for SpaceChem, so someone went and reverse-engineered our save format and built one on their own. People have invented advanced techniques for solving puzzles that I never anticipated. This is clearly a game for smart people!” A game for smart people, indeed. Wouldn’t it be great to see it play a role in the educational development in children in the state school system, then? Perhaps not, although that’s not through a lack of trying on Zach’s part. “We’ve talked to a few teachers and professors who have used the game in their classrooms, but largely it’s a tough sell,” comes Zach’s response. “SpaceChem is a great way to teach problem solving, programming, chemistry and engineering topics. We’ve even written a guide for teachers,

but it fails to conform to any common curriculum for one of those subjects. The fact that most teachers lack the discretionary funds to acquire the game for their classroom, even at a steep educational discount, makes it even harder.” OK, but could it work in an ideal world? Again, Barth’s response is lined with scepticism. “For a game like SpaceChem to succeed in schools, I think that crosscurricular classes, centered on themes and not individual skills, are required. A class that teaches C++ can only teach C++; a class that teaches chemistry can only teach chemistry; a class that teaches problem solving, programming, chemistry and engineering can teach with SpaceChem.” A hard sell, then, but it is food for thought nevertheless. But what else could be on the horizon? A SpaceChem sequel, perhaps? “Although we have some neat ideas for it, we’re definitely not working on a sequel to SpaceChem right now. Creating new IPs is the best part of making games. Why would I want to pass up that opportunity?” comes the reply, further solidifying Zach’s ongoing focus on creativity over commerciality.

With such a keen eye for new horizons, it sounds very much as though the life of an avid developer is as full as full can be. Do the rigours of games development get in the way of any opportunities to savour the best of the other indie products on the market? Not at all, reports Zach. “I bought Orcs Must Die in the Steam Autumn Sale and I can’t stop playing,” he laughs. But behind the philosophical rhetoric lies a long-term gaming fan and it’s this love for the industry that adds particular weight to his words of advice for the developers of the future. His tips for the wide-eyed youngsters are threefold:

1. “The only way to get better at making games is to make lots of games!” 2. “Always be mindful of your project’s scope. It’s fine to “design big” as long as you cut the weak aspects aggressively.” 3. “Obfuscate your compiled binaries!” So, there you have it, boys and girls, three simple steps to gaming enlightenment. If Zach’s tale can teach you anything, though, it’s that without creative pride, there’s no fulfilment. A humbling truth, yes, but a wise truth nonetheless. - Richard Glenn

+ Reviews

Stealth Bastard - www.stealthbastard.com - PC Glorified flash games, purgatory, a novel form of self abuse. Call them what you will, but ultra-punishing 2D platformers are quickly becoming an emergent genre in their own right, with titles such as VVVVV and Super Meat Boy leading the vanguard. But despite what the waves of positive critical reception might lead you to think, they truly are the Marmite of gaming whatever way you look at it. You’re either a masochist who manages to thrive off the constant cruelty that these games dish out, or you’re a rational human being the sort of person who yields after the first dozen or so times in a row your avatar shuffles off the mortal coil. Nevertheless, Stealth Bastard manages to widen that rather narrow target audience by asking for a bit less in terms of split-second twitch skills, and a lot more in puzzle solving and good old-fashioned patience. If you only saw it at a glance though, I wouldn’t blame you for passing it over. These days it’s pretty hard for any indie game that uses pixel art for its visuals to stand out from the crowd, especially when everyone and his dog has “referenced” that art form into oblivion the past couple of years. But Stealth Bastard takes on a unique and interesting element of the style that’s seldom utilised, if not ignored entirely: lighting. Rather than having all the illumination already “drawn into” the environment, the game has a fully fledged real-time lighting system that constantly changes in a mostly realistic and understandable way. It fills the gameworld full of broad shadows and gentle auras, creating environments that would have otherwise looked somewhat bland and generic. But it’s not all just to look pretty; correct usage of those shadows is integral to the titular Stealth Bastard not being burnt, crushed, vaporised, grinded or whatever else the current level’s devices have in store for 18

the little guy. Patrolling guards and security cameras all need a clear line of sight on Mr Bastard before they can bring him to an untimely end, forcing you to sneak around in the (relatively) secure shadows if you literally want to stay in one piece. This allows for a much slower and far more accessible pace of play than you often see in similar games, one that rewards you (i.e. doesn’t murder you quite so quickly) for progressing slowly and carefully instead of just running in all guns a blazin’. You’re still expected to show a bit of platforming chops on-top of all this, but it never really descends into a Castlevania style pixel perfect jump challenge apocalypse. Your main objective on each level, other than staying alive for more than a few nanoseconds, is to activate a number of specific switches in order to open up the level’s exit. Reaching this objective in turn requires all manner of other switches to be flipped and couple of block puzzles to be solved, often with the looming threat of instantaneous death from any number of sources. As much as that might all sound rather formulaic on paper, Stealth Bastard’s continually evolving environment keeps things interesting by regularly revealing hidden passageways, completely rearranging the lighting scheme, spawning new hazards and other such potentially fatal tomfoolery. It gives each moment within Stealth Bastard an air of slightly unnerving unpredictability; a breath of fresh air in an age where, seemingly by law, every scripted event has to be neatly telegraphed to the player beforehand. However this in itself goes a long way to undo much of the game’s accessibility factor by requiring the player rely on a huge amount of trial and error in

order to make even the slightest hint of progress. You never really know what kind of crazy shenanigans you’re about to unleash until you already have, at which point you have approximately zero seconds to figure it all out before you end up as a pile of meaty chunks beneath whatever hellish scenario you just set into motion. And then you have to do it again. And again, and again, until you finally last long enough to get to the next event trigger and start the process all over again. I can’t really say for sure whether such a recipe is “good” or “bad” game design; some people seriously dig games treating them like dirt, but for others it’s just going to generate major aggro even with Stealth Bastard’s forgiving pace. This isn’t exactly helped by checkpoint system. Admittedly the fact it even has checkpoints at all lowers the difficulty significantly over stuff like Super Meat Boy, however more often than not their rather haphazard placement sees you repeating the same menial tasks multiple times in order to get the the actual hard bit you were having trouble with. However this in itself goes a long way to undo much of the game’s accessibility factor by requiring the player rely on a huge amount of trial and error in order to make even the slightest hint of progress. You never really know what kind of crazy shenanigans you’re about to unleash until you already have, at which point you have approximately zero seconds to figure it all out before you end up as a pile of meaty chunks beneath whatever hellish scenario you just set into motion. And then you have to do it again. And again, and again, until you finally last long enough to get to the next event trigger and start the process all over again.

Reviews Even if/when you do manage to succeed at whatever seemingly insurmountable task had been irking you, the game only offers 28 (21 not including semi-tutorials) levels and no narrative to speak of, therefor you have to really want to go back and beat your best completion times in order to get the most out of the experience. You can add a bit of extra longevity by playing fan-made levels (or building your own with the fairly robust level editor) although rather predictably most users have elected to construct nearly impossible stages that require godly amounts of precision and timing that few players will be able to muster. I don’t mean to understate how enjoyable this game can be; in spite of its simplistic mechanics it provides a diverse set of challenges that constantly keep you on your toes in a way that few modern games can. I do however wish to give ample warning that, brother, this still be some pretty hardcore stuff goin’ on here. With that in mind, at a respectable price of zero Pounds Sterling/ U.S Dollars it’s hard to argue that Stealth Bastard isn’t at least worth a casual peek. Even more so if you’ve found its cousins slightly beyond your skill level, but still want to get in on the action! Stealth Bastard is currently available for PC and can be downloaded for free at the official site. - Gerrard Winter

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

7 9 8 6

Score: 70%

Grade

C-

Minimum Games - Maximum Fun If you’re reading this, you probably have a thing for indie games. And what is more “indie” than a single person designing, programming, and developing on their own? That’s a lot of work for one person. Meaning the game would probably be on the small side… perhaps 4KB? Sound a little too small? WRONG! Java4K is a website dedicated to the independent development of games programmed in Java. However, there is a catch- the games cannot exceed 4KB in size. “Minimum games, maximum fun” as they say, something I think we here at the Indie Game Magazine can appreciate. And this slogan is fulfilled by the vast assortment of games available to play instantly and, more importantly, for free. The website is a thriving community of programmers dedicated to getting the most out of their language. They are generally a helpful bunch, and many of them have even opensourced the code for their games to help newer programmers get on their feet. Anybody, from a young kid with a knack to a seasoned professional, can make and upload a game for people across the world to play and enjoy. Should you need help along the way, simply ask and you shall receive. There are tons of programmers itching to test their skills and knowledge on the problems you present to them. There is even an official wiki page with tips and tricks to better implement your code and keep it within that pesky 4KB limit.

But wait, there’s more! Java4K is not just a site for cool indie Java games to come together and hang out. It is also a place for them to compete! You read it right- every year, there is the annual and much-anticipated Java4K competition! Developers can submit their games to be graded by a panel of experienced judges on things like originality, innovation, smoothness of control, ease of understanding, replay value and overall fun-ness. Games will also face a trial by fire of their peers, as registered users can play and vote on their favorite (or least favorite) games. And before you ask, no, there are no prizes for the winners. These people do it simply for their love of gaming and to test their skills against others. This, as you might imagine, leads to some pretty cool stuff being developed. This competition has been going on since 2002 and has spanned across many sites and locations, changing hands a couple times in the process. The first ever competition was held on Sun Microsystem’s very own official Java forums. The Java4k version was kick-started back in 2007 and has been going strong ever since. This year’s competition opens for submissions on December 1st, and continues through the end of February. So whether you have some mad Java skills you’d like to show off or you’re just up for a little 4K fun, head on down to www.java4k.com and join the fray! - Sarah Bishop 19

+ Reviews

2nd Opinion: Bastion - www.supergiantgames.com - XBLA - PC For those not familiar with the word, a bastion is a projected section of a fortified wall that allows outward fire in defense of the walls and adjoining bastions. If you’ve seen a castle, you’ll recognize them as large, outward-jutting dimples in the ramparts. The intent of such a structure is to allow for a more active defense by an occupying force. In the case of Bastion, by Supergiant Games, the word carries the additional definition of the hope of an entire world torn asunder by hate and self-interest.

voracious fauna, and prickly flora to find survivors. However, after a brief time at the bastion, old quarrels surface between the inhabitants leading to new conflict leaving the bastion in ruins and you to resolve the argument before another, different, calamity happens. More than anything, the story and characters are intended and designed to be poignant in the extreme, so if you don’t find yourself succumbing to a deep melancholy at several points throughout, then you’re not playing it right.

After waking from a deep sleep, “the kid” sees the world looks like it’s been blown up by a magic atom bomb, except for the room he’s in. Stepping off the mattress, he walks towards the door to see empty space outside the door frame—at least until he takes another step. A few chunks of earth rise up to form a path. Setting off, the kid finds a few weapons to fight the monsters blocking the way: his trusty old war hammer, a repeater crossbow, and some tonics for health and special attacks. There’s plenty more a-coming, too.

Combat in Bastion is fast-paced and has a tangible depth. The kid is highly mobile except when blocking, and can attack from a distance or at close range with his various armaments, many of which have secondary uses. RPG elements enter the game when you begin to repair the bastion. Buildings will appear from which you can apply upgrades to: your weapons through materials that you find lying around, your passive abilities through various liqueurs, and the levels through shrines to the gods. In invoking various deities, you can add challenge and increase the rewards levels give you by adding modifiers to enemy strength which come with bonuses to the experience and money that you earn

Now, read that last paragraph again, but imagine a drawling Morgan Freeman speaking the words. Congratulations! You just experienced a facsimile of Bastion‘s ever-present narration without moving a finger. The narrator, Rucks, is alone when you meet him at the titular bastion, a haven from “the calamity”—a world-rending devastation that left chunks of ground powered by magical crystals suspended far above the earth. Your job as the kid is to go to these places and retrieve said crystalline energy cores to expand the bastion so that more people can join you. Starting with fairly run-of-the-mill melee weapons, you soon find bows, guns, a sword, a spear, and more to fight your 20 way through the gas-filled monsters,

This is not to say that Bastion’s challenge needs tweaking; the difficulty curve is very smooth and sufficiently shallow to allow for steady progress with few retries. After finding a new weapon, for example, you’ll have a chance to try it out immediately in an appropriate setting for that weapon. Later, there’ll be challenge level where you can test your skill. Even if you can’t hone your abilities to a razor’s sharpness, there are also wave challenge levels that also supplement the story through reflections on different character’s history. If all of this sounds overwhelming, believe me when I say that it isn’t. The world

being as brightly colored as it is, it’s easy to navigate unless you’re being mobbed. Furthermore, the interfaces for managing your inventory and bonuses are simple and easy to navigate. If you happen to miss Rucks explaining something, you can find the missing information easily. Even if you do miss a detail or two, pray that your eyes don’t miss a single pixel or your ears a single note of music. Bastion‘s visual theme is gorgeous. One could describe it simply as a hybrid of steampunk and fantasy with a watercolor palette and anime-esque style. The soundtrack is well executed, consisting of hybrids again, but this time between folk guitar and light electronic sounds, with world music sensibilities. As a canvas, Bastion is beautifully painted and could barely leave a better audiovisual impression. - Doug Walter

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

9 9 9 9

Score: 90%

Grade

A-

Reviews

Dungeon Defenders - www.dungeondefenders.com - PSN -XBLA - PC Dungeon Defenders is one of the most unexpectedly gleeful and satisfying gaming experiences of 2011. But what does it do so right? Well, for starters, it’s a game that can be played on several different – ahem – levels. If you’re a lone ranger content to voyage into the beleaguered realm of Eternia solo, Dungeon Defenders has you more than catered for. Playing as one of four separate classes, it’s up to you to defend your revered Eternia Crystal, a relic that serves as a somewhat contrived target area, yet one that does the job, from ever-increasing waves of mythical creatures of various shapes and sizes. In many ways, it’s the classic tower defence formula in action, with considerable importance placed upon the strategic positioning of a range of turrets and defence mechanisms. That’s only half the story, though. The game plays out through a thirdperson viewpoint, and the player must also rely upon his or her own physical might and prowess to succeed and become bastion saviour of Eternia. That’s right; you’ve got to take on the enemy head-on, making optimum use of your weapons, armor and magic in order to take them down. This, of course, necessitates a clear focus on equipment and weaponry, a quandary that’s solved admirably by the ample loot drops that occur when defeating enemies and searching through the numerous treasure chests that litter the impressively varied level maps. Think Diablo meets Plants vs Zombies and you’ve got a good idea of what to expect, and it’s pleasing to see how well it comes together in making for a relatively smooth, intuitive experience. As you’d expect from a decent tower defence title, strategy is integral to

success. It’s amazing to see how a seemingly minor tactical adjustment can make a profound difference to your chances of victory, and there’s also a noticeable element of uniqueness attached to each of the playable classes that plays effectively into this strategic emphasis. Admittedly, this can make for more than a couple of frustrating moments after a lengthy skirmish turns sour as a result of poor planning, and the RPG-esque level-up process through which your characters go can often make early progress seem like a plodding grindfest, but these are but minor quibbles in a much bigger, much prettier picture. Dungeon Defenders’ picture is prettiest, however, when played with friends. While the single-player campaign is simply engaging, the game’s fourplayer co-op mode is the real piece de resistance. It’s during a collaborative session of monster slaying that you really gain an appreciation of how much of an impact each character class can make towards the fantastical war effort, and you’d be hard pressed to find something much more satisfying than overcoming seemingly insurmountable odds with a small group of chums. It’s all wrapped up in a pretty little package too. Dungeon Defenders utilises a vibrant cel-shaded art style that suitably complements the game’s quaint, surreal atmosphere. It’s a bit of a shame that the limited range of sound effects and forced narrative cutscene voiceovers don’t quite match the game’s visual exuberance, but the high-pitched wails of delight emanating from the player characters are at least a little amusing, if nothing else.

Dungeon Defenders may have emerged on the back of another solid tower defence title, but that’s certainly no reason to overlook it. Once you’ve finished the single-player mode, you can always plough through the various unlockable bonus challenges, ranging from survival quests to the complete removal of mountable turrets, which should last you many a happy hour as the dark winter months draw close. Play it with other human beings, however, and you might just be playing for years. - Richard Glenn

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

8.5 9 8.5 9

Score: 88%

Grade

B 21

+ Review

Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet - www.fuelcellgames.com - XBLA Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet is a sublime if short experience. The game is so excellently designed that you will undoubtedly be left wanting more. Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet (ITSP) is a great adventure game that simplifies the “Metroidvania” genre by eliminating the platforming elements and focusing on exploring a bizarre alien world. The game’s story is simple; a dark malevolent force has entered and taken over your alien homeworld, so you have to hop into your UFO and figure out how to stop it. The story is told through amazing and stylized cinematics, but there’s no narrator here. This isn’t Bastion. I really respect the storytelling in ITSP and think it’s cool to tell a story solely through these visuals. It allows the player to imagine their own backstory. It also helps that the visuals in ITSP are absolutely gorgeous. Your alien homeworld may be infected by some malevolent parasite, but it still looks amazing. The planet is brought to life with terrific animation and incredibly stylized visuals. Artist, Michel Gagne has crafted a game that looks brilliant both still and in motion. ITSP is as much a work of art as it is a game. The game’s blog describes the game way better than I could. Its creators aptly describe ITSP as a fusion of art, animation and gameplay. I couldn’t agree more and found myself absorbed in the graphical detail, colors and subtlety as much as the game itself. The 22 game’s sound design is equally

excellent and features archetypal scifi beeps and bloops alongside some excellent atmospheric effects and music.

is not much left to do and not much inherent fun replaying the same puzzles and levels over and over again.

The gameplay is simple but original. The controls will be instantly familiar to shooter fans. You move your UFO with the left stick and aim/ shoot/use your gadgets with the right stick. ITSP takes these simple omnidirectional shooting controls and introduces exploration and adventure into the genre. There are a variety and diversity of gadgets to discover throughout the adventure. Early on you will acquire an arm that will allow you to pick-up and move objects such as boulders that block your progress. The pace at which you discover new gadgets is perfect and keeps you playing and exploring the bizarre and twisted world of the game. It keeps things incredibly fresh and makes the game fly by.

ITSP is an awesome game experience. It is another great example of games as art. As long as you don’t go into ITSP expecting hours upon hours of gameplay, you will not be disappointed with this charming game. It is not a time-consumer. It is much more like Braid or Limbo than Minecraft. Insanely twisted Shadow Planet is an incredible fusion of visuals, sounds, and interactivity. The game is so well-conceived and designed that you will leave wanting more. The brevity of the game may sting, but that’s only because of our urge to spend more time in such a beautiful and bizarre alien world.

ITSP is a short game, but that is not a negative, it just can’t be ignored at around 5 hours. There is nothing worse than grinding through repetitive levels and the same gameplay mechanics. Like World of Goo and other great indie games before it, ITSP is so well designed that your enjoyment will never wane throughout the campaign. The game expertly introduces new environments and gameplay mechanics throughout the adventure so that you are never bored and nothing is ever repeated. The most critical thing that I can say about the game is that the core fun of the game is discovery. After playing through the campaign, there

- Mike Gnade

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

9.5 10 10 7

Score: 91%

Grade

A-

Review

Minecraft - www.minecraft.net - PC It is difficult to talk about Minecraft in such small terms since it now encompasses so many things: a genre-making game, a fresh subculture for jaded Lego collectors, a medium for artistic expression, and more, all in a single package. Just to touch on the bare essentials, Minecraft is a procedurally-generated sandbox game that combines exploration, construction, crafting and supply management; all with the promise of creative expression as the glue holding the bricks in place. Minecraft‘s quintessential elements are mining or otherwise acquiring materials before making whatever you like out of them. The sheer volume of content in Minecraft is brain-meltingly huge, and the possibilities for activities are as limitless as the blocky horizons. On that note, yes, the graphical quality of Minecraft is laughable, but, then again, Super Mario Bros used the same bitmap size for the Mario sprite, and we can’t pan it for that. The terrain has its own organic feel that transcends the voxels of its composition, and the algorithms forming it can produce some breathtaking vistas. The look of Minecraft does take some getting used to, as does practically every other element of the game, and if that was completely intended then more props to Mojang. If desperately fighting to stay alive isn’t your cut of meat, then perhaps you’d prefer the softer side of Minecraft – the Creative Mode. Invention is inherent to the premise of the game, which could explain why this mode has exactly the same appeal as Garry’s Mod – that of messing around with the game’s mechanics and possibly making or discovering something cool. Here,

you have unlimited access to all of the blocks, tools, and items contained in Survival Mode, plus invulnerability and the ability to fly. Given all of that, you could theoretically create a replica of the USS Enterprise, or the Twin Towers, or the Taj Mahal, or something equally as awesome of your own devising as long as you don’t mind playing catchup. Catching up is something of a must, since Minecraft has technically been available to play and test since May of 2009. Markus “Notch” Persson and his crack coding team have been adding more and more content since the first experimental alpha build, and more is to come. The 1.0.0 version that was warmly celebrated at the MineCon release party is by no means the final one. This is likely the most noteworthy point to be made at the moment about Minecraft: it is a work in progress. Despite the recent inclusion of more monsters, item enchanting, potion brewing, the Nether and End areas to explore and conquer, and a final boss fight; Minecraft is still unfinished. More features are in the works, a list of which would be tedious to go through. As if all of this isn’t enough, both Survival and Creative modes can be played with friends. Multiplayer servers exist for every game type, and a number of games have been invented within Minecraft, allowing players to compete with others and to test their knowledge of the game. To further enhance the experience there is also a significant pool of mods. The selection is already quite broad, and there are plenty worth trying. Even more so once Mojang finishes its planned mod API, allowing for easier integration.

At this point I realize that I have only just began to touch on what Minecraft truly contains. The rabbit-hole runs deep indeed, or rather, the mineshaft. Even if you don’t see a reason to try it on the PC, fear not. Ports are on the tracks and scheduled for arrival within the year — an Xbox Live version is promised, while iOS and Android versions are in early release. Minecraft is without a doubt worth the purchase, and even if you don’t immediately see the appeal and decide to go do something else, Minecraft will still be around in the future, with more goodies in its already gargantuan backpack. - Doug Walter

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

9.5 10 10 10

Score: 98%

Grade

A 23

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