jdodson1

Joined 01/23/2012

I'm an Engineer and built the video game community Cheerful Ghost and text based mini-MMO Tale of the White Wyvern.

2757 Posts

I heard about Solar 2 from the recent Humble with Android Bundle 5. I picked up the bundle and decided to give Solar 2 a spin from Linux. First off the game plays perfectly from Linux with the keyboard and my USB controller. Valve has really done a good job getting the Linux client working and I also give mad props to the developers that make cross platform games. Its a cool trend I hope keeps trending upward.

Solar 2 is a hard game to describe but essentially its a game about the lifecycle of planetary bodies... I know that sounds strange but the above video can show you a bit more of it in detail. Basically you start the game out as an asteroid and you need to slam into other asteroids to gain enough mass to become a dead planet. As you evolve to a dead planet you must suck up more asteroids to evolve life on your planet. From that point the life forms put a shield on you and launch little fighters to protect you and attack other planets. The life forms fighters are totally uncontrollable by you so you need to know how they operate and work with them. From the life bearing planet stage you suck up further asteroids as you evolve into a Star.

From the Star stage you can suck up other planets to orbit you and evolve them to have shields and attack other stars with planets. Essentially you do this until your star evolves into a Black Hole and then you finally finish the game by sucking up all the matter you can and then the Black Hole explodes and you start over again as an asteroid.

The game also features a few quests you can do to break up the pace of celestial advancement. I really enjoyed the quests where you had to steal other Stars planets because they contained a "key card" someone needed. The game works within its game mechanics yet adds fun quests that keep the game fresh.

At the end of the day I am really impressed with Solar 2's simple mechanics and beauty. The score entirely captures the games mood and is one of the best accompaniments of music to this kind of game I've heard in a while.

If you get the latest Humble Bundle, and you totally should the first game you should play is Solar 2, its a beautifully stunning game that deserves your attention.


Back this on Kickstarter!
Planescape Torment is a really well regarded RPG so when inXile Entertainment announced its successor as a Kickstarter project its no surprise it was funded in hours. In fact it has blown WAY past it $900k goal to land on $2.3 million in backing. If that doesn't bode well for the final product, I don't know what will.

Its awesome to see these kinds of projects being funded so thoroughly as most game studios wouldn't touch it because its not yet another shooter. Kickstarter + the awesome Indie push is really going to create an awesome 2013 in gaming.

Oh right and the Kickstarter video may very well be the best ive seen yet. Funny, quirky, sarcastic and genuine. inXile is a good showcase for how to run a good campaign for shit people love.


http://i.imgur.com/F8GMgLm.jpg
The image above is pretty interesting in that if you compare it to the final state of our Terraria game, its a pretty awesome how far it progressed! In keeping with tradition, here is the world file for all of your archival needs:

https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B1oRZK7IvLFZd0Fwa21sV2xKeEk/edit?usp=sharing

I want to thank everyone for playing and it was the best run yet!


Studio Pixel is dropping the curtain on its newest game called Gero Blaster. Featuring a Frog adventuring on other planets this game looks to bring more retro fun to your phone.

http://www.polygon.com/2013/3/8/4078818/gero-blaster-screens

The Hammerwatch team recently released a playable demo on Steam and I seriously recommend you all try it out. It contains a good portion of the game and access to the survival mode as well.

http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/updates/122788084/1362567721

Bethesda released a beta Skyrim patch adding new epic levels and fixing a ton of bugs. More Skyrim for free is always a good thing.

http://www.bethblog.com/2013/03/04/now-on-steam-skyrim-1-9-beta-update/


"As a trope the Damsel in Distress is a plot device in which a female character is placed in a perilous situation from which she cannot escape on her own and must then be rescued by a male character, usually providing a core incentive or motivation for the protagonist's quest."

This is part one in a video series by Anita Sarkeesian from her successfully funded Kickstarter about "The Tropes vs Women in Video Games." This first video is very well done and I found myself looking at these old games from a different perspective.


Kind of ends on a cliff hanger.

/rimshot


http://i.imgur.com/4fo7xNJ.jpg
Sometimes things happen that seem like the world is giving you a high five. Today was such a day in that Hidden Path Studios announced that they were releasing Age of Empires 2 HD. Yes folks, one of the the most amazing Real Time Strategy of all time is being re-released for modern systems on Steam!

Take a moment... breathe... this is really happening.

A bit of the press release:

"In Age of Empires II: HD Edition, fans of the original game and new players alike will fall in love with the classic Age of Empires II experience. Explore all the original single player campaigns from both Age of Kings and The Conquerors expansion, choose from 18 civilizations spanning over a thousand years of history, and head online to challenge other Steam players in your quest for world domination throughout the ages. Originally developed by Ensemble Studios and re imagined in high definition by Hidden Path Entertainment, Microsoft Studios is proud to bring Age of Empires II: HD Edition to Steam!"

Key Highlights:

* Re-mastered for high resolution displays 1080p+.
* Enhanced visual engine with improved terrain textures, water, fire and ambient lighting effects.
* New Steamworks features: Achievements, Leaderboards, Matchmaking and Cloud support.
* Share user created content with Steam Workshop support.

One of the things that suck is upgrading your OS and having awesome games break. Age of Empires 2 was one such game that was totally busted for LAN such that, the RTS gaming staple my friends and I played most often was removed from our lives. Now that Age 2 is finally getting the HD treatment for modern systems all is right with the world once more.

Oh right and it will only be $20 a launch and is currently marked down to $17.99 on Steam pre-order.

http://www.hiddenpath.com/
http://store.steampowered.com/app/221380/

Its as if a million geeks cried out in Joy and were not silenced.


Back this on Kickstarter!
Delver's Drop was successfully funded a bit ago to much acclaim. It moved into its stretch goals for a day one Linux port and now just hit another goal for a new game level and playable class. They are 15k away from another stretch goal of 4 player deathmatch and horde mode, something this game NEEDS.

Really excited to see this funded and get even MOAR AWESOMERRR! 5 days to go, so if you want to act, act soon.

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/pixelscopic/delvers-drop

My interview with Pixelscopics Ryan Baker:

http://cheerfulghost.com/jdodson/posts/1022

If you want more information on gameplay, they have released an extensive PDF:

http://delversdrop.com/downloads/DelversDrop_GameMechanics.pdf


Back this on Kickstarter!
"Another Castle combines classic platforming gameplay with the randomness of a roguelike. You play as Andy, a dude who's looking for a random item, whether it be a kick ass magical sword, a wizard hat, or royalty. To find the item you must run, jump, and fight your way through a randomly generated castle. When you beat the game, you sadly won't get the item, as it's always in another castle. Instead, the item is now unlocked and can be found in future playthroughs of the game."

As I scour the depths of Kickstarter I want to bring you guys the best bits I find and "Another Castle" looks to be one of the better looking games. I like the idea of a Retro roguelike 2D sidescroller with procedural levels and loot. Plus it also looks like quite a lot of fun!

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/uncadedave/another-castle


http://i.imgur.com/vkf4MAU.png
"Super excited to announce the release of CORPOREAL - a 4 song EP featured in the award-winning game, Sound Shapes by Queasy Games for PS3 and PS Vita. The EP consist of music taken from the CORPOREAL level which saw Jim Guthrie teaming up with superbrothers (for the first time since Sword & Sworcery) to create more video game magic (if I do say so myself!)."

I picked it up today and listened to this 4 song EP a few times. Overall its a good addition to your Jim Guthrie fan catalog and will mix in very well with your Video Game music library. If you don't have a video game music library, I recommend you also nab the Sword & Sworcery & Indie Game: The Movie score on Jim's band camp page as well.

http://jimguthrie.bandcamp.com/album/corporeal
http://www.jimguthrie.org/news/2013/3/5/corporeal-ep.html

Oh and Jim is releasing a solo album not at all related to video games. A few tracks are up for listening in his site here:
http://www.jimguthrie.org/news/2013/3/5/takes-time.html