THE INSOMNIAC ELF: SIRLONDON’S JAMES KOCHALKA-INSPIRED GAME
It started with a dream: comic artist (and Offworld’s Monster Mii / Superf*ckers Review creator) James Kochalka recently devoted one of his daily diary strips to a game idea he’d fixated upon during a feverish nap, only to find a week later that a fan called SirLondon had created a playable PC version called The Insomniac Elf in his spare time.
Mostly, anyway: while SirLondon’s version doesn’t seem to obey the letter of the node-path law (leaving a node in any direction is allowed, and other nodes don’t necessarily illuminate in the way Kochalka described), and he has added reams of new ideas to Kochalka’s framework, most admittedly quite clever, and some which still need tweaking.
Though still a work in progress (and much improved since the original v0.3 I’d originally played), the greatest thing holding it back is its masochistic difficulty and utterly opaque rules.
You’ll eventually discover, for example, that walking through nodes is necessary to advance to the next level, but 90 percent of the time offers nothing but punishment (more, faster snakes), and the default melee attack is so short-ranged and weak that it establishes a negative-double-whammy: new players are instead encouraged to wander aimlessly, avoiding everything until they accidentally stumble across the boss attack, which, at the first level, will typically kill you almost instantly.
Stick with it long enough to dig up powered up swords (the first of which should maybe be the default), new items (bombs, glasses), other members of Kochalka’s family, and various clever “bad luck” modes — the game truly is just a few difficulty-softening tweaks away from being the first best American Elf game.
The Insomniac Elf [SirLondon, original American Elf comic]
Previously:
Offworld: Monster Mii Archives
Offworld: Superf*ckers Review Archives
See more posts about: James Kochalka, Offworld Originals
DSI LAUNCH PARTY PARTNERING WITH I AM 8-BIT FOR T-SHIRT, PRINTS, STICKERS
The biggest reason I’m gutted to be missing Nintendo’s DSi launch party at Los Angeles’s Universal Studios’ Citywalk Gamestop: the company has very, very smartly teamed up with original game/art crossover show I Am 8-Bit to provide limited edition T-shirts, prints and sticker packs for attendees featuring Gabe Swarr, John Pham, and Matt Furie.
Above is Swarr’s print design as somehow procured by Siliconera featuring his take on a number of Nintendo icons. Swarr, Pham and Furie will be on hand to autograph the prints, and I will be any LA resident’s new best friend if someone procures at least an extra sticker pack to forward on to my Offworld home.
The launch party will take place tomorrow, April 4th from 9p-12a and will offer, you know, the actual DSi, as well (more on that next week).
This Is The Swag You Can Get At The DSi Launch Party [Siliconera, Nintendo DSi home]
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UNIQLO ADD RALLY-X, PHOENIX WRIGHT, DENSHA DE GO! T-SHIRT DESIGNS
Well spotted by Tiny Cartridge, the next three T-shirts in Uniqlo’s massive licensed game shirt series from Namco, with their smartly iconic Rally-X shirt, Taito with a very understated Densha De Go train simulator design, and Capcom with their excellent Phoenix Wright ‘Objection!’ design that probably would have put a dent in Way of the Rodent‘s own similar Wright design, except that it appears the Rodent store may be (temporarily?) missing in action.
Has anyone verified whether these shirts are making their way into the NYC based Uniqlo outlet?
ユニクロ UT: UT×Japan Game [Uniqlo, via Tiny Cartridge]
Previously:
Uniqlo unveils massive UT×Japan Game T-shirt campaign – Offworld
UNIQLO teases new games finery – Offworld
Offworld: Fashion Archives
See more posts about: Fashion, Offworld Originals
TO GIRL, WITH LOVE: CUSTOM NOBY NOBY BOY SNEAKERS
It really honestly doesn’t get much better than this: Kotaku reader ‘Tonks’ sent in his custom pair of Noby Noby Boy sneakers which, naturally, feature a BOY made of a lace threaded entirely through the shoe.
Attn: Namco licensing department — strongly consider official versions.
Sweet Noby Noby Kicks Give Me Nightmares [Kotaku]
Previously:
Only on Offworld: your first look at Panic's Noby Noby Boy T …
It's a stretch: Explaining Katamari creator's new Noby Noby Boy …
Keita Takahashi bringing Noby Noby Boy to the iPhone – Offworld
Offworld: Fashion Archives
See more posts about: Fashion, Noby Noby Boy, Offworld Originals
INDIE SPIRITS KEEP ME STRONG: WATCH MEGA64’S IGF/CHOICE AWARDS INTERSTITIALS
You may have already spotted these in low quality form via GameSpot’s streaming version of the Independent Games Festival and Game Developer Choice Awards shows, but now offered in full res, above is Mega64‘s highlight video of the night that (co?)incidentally captured much of the underlying unspoken tension and spirit of this year’s ceremony. The unpunched ‘uhhh’ is, of course, Alien Hominid/Castle Crashers artist Dan Paladin.
Also do not miss: their more traditional Metal Gear Solid 4 video in collaboration with series creator Hideo Kojima, and their spot on parody of Chris Dane Owen’s virally loved Shine On Me video, entitled Topher Great Payens “The GDC.”
Mega 64 home [MP3 of ‘The GDC’ also over here]
Previously:
GDC video: Watch the 2009 Independent Games Festival Awards – Offworld
GDC video: Watch the 2009 Game Developer Choice Awards – Offworld
See more posts about: Offworld Originals
NICE SHOT: OLLY MOSS’S ‘SHOOT THE BADDIES’ NOW IN PRINT
Before designer Olly Moss made a name for himself around these parts for his retro Penguin Classics inspired videogame cover art series, one of his most viral designs was this ‘Shoot the Baddies’ print, featuring a series of shooting range cutouts of enemies so iconic that I probably shouldn’t even have to name them.
After bringing the design in wearable form to Threadless, Moss has just mentioned that it’s now available as a hangable print from design shop inPRNT, in three sizes and alongside two excellent other designs. Head there for pricing and availability details.
Print of Shoot the Baddies by Olly Moss [inPRNT]
Previously:
Moss gets modern: GTA's most wanted America – Offworld
Olly Moss brings a touch of class to Black Mesa – Offworld
And then there were four: Olly Moss takes on Silent Hill – Offworld
Olly Moss's Man With The Golden Gear – Offworld
Olly Moss's Penguin-inspired Videogame Classics covers – Offworld
See more posts about: Offworld Originals, Olly Moss
TEA AND CHEESE’S “8-BIT WATER SLIDE… IN REAL LIFE”
Created for a UK waterslide-themed competition, Tea and Cheese’s adorable 8-Bit Water Slide video needs little exposition or explanation, apart from saying that the duo apparently “desperately” needs your vote. So, as Chunnel did, I’ll add a link for you to do so.
8-BIT Waterslide in REAL LIFE! [via Chunnel]
See more posts about: Offworld Originals
FREE TRIP INTO THE RAINBOW VEIN: REALITY-ENHANCING IPHONE APP RJDJ FREE WITH SOCIAL UPDATE
Though clearly not explicitly a game, one of my all-time favorite iPhone apps, RjDj, is celebrating its latest update — which concludes a long undertaking to bring more social elements to the app — by giving away both the full RjDj Album app [iTunes link] and its motion-sensing RjDj Shake followup [iTunes link] for free for a limited time.
What’s RjDj then? Allow me to cut and paste a bit from my pre-Offworld blog post:
Pick apart the acronym — Reality Jockey, as much as Disc Jockey– and it shifts a bit more into focus: it’s a compilation-album-like framework divided into song-like “scenes” (each with its own cover art and individual composer), but as opposed to passively listening to each, RJDJ acts as a reality-altering real-time audio processor that modifies and enhances your surroundings.
Frank Barknecht’s Gridwalker, for instance, generates harmonious bleeps not entirely far off from Eno’s Bloom, but modifies their intensity based on the volume of the input. Sit quietly and Gridwalker slowly drips out its subtle tones, but move into a noisy crowd and it responds in kind with a more hyper pitched composition.
What’s genuinely surprising is just how potent its comparatively mild hallucinogenic powers are, particularly the ’scene’ from New Zealander (and former Sidhe staffer!) Damian Stewart. I’m (mostly) sure it’s not just the latent techno-hippie in me that’s suddenly shot into full bloom, but taking it for a test drive with a late night cigarette break was a revelation: his ‘Eargasm’ transformed every exhale into a glittering swirl of reverberating air and distant suburban dog barks into sudden colorful bursts. Essentially, if you’ve ever wanted to live directly inside that warm nostalgic analog echo that molasses-drips from every Boards of Canada album, your magic key is an App Store download away, as witnessed by this demo video above.
RjDj’s latest version allows you to open your own personalized RjDj.me homepage and share your recorded songs directly with the website, and will soon connect with social networking services like Facebook and Twitter and support blog widgets for spreading your creations.
The RjDj team will also soon support iPhone 3.0 for in-app purchases of new ‘scenes‘, and frequently host new “sprints” to build a new community of scene creators and artists.
All in all it’s a brilliant undertaking from one of the original founders of web-music mainstay last.fm, and couldn’t come more highly recommended. Be sure to share your creations with us!
RjDj home [RjDj Album iTunes link, RjDj Shake iTunes link]
Previously:
RjDj: Live ambient soundscape generator for iPhone, which is way …
See more posts about: Offworld Originals
NEWS GAMES: THE CROOPIER’S WEEKLY EXPERIMENTAL PROCESSING MINI-GAMES
Abelardo Gil-Fournier’s “independent game situation archive” The Croopier is an experiment in creating weekly Processing-driven games which starts innocently enough: pathfinding a ninja across various obstacles, riding cherry blossoms as an ant, or tracing a clockmaker’s imaginary and vaguely Vib-Ribbon path, inspired by the discovery of a message inside Lincoln’s pocketwatch (right).
Move into the archive more deeply, though and Gil-Fournier attempts to take on much headier and more timely subjects: Venezuelan constitutional amendments as pachinko, the movement of money through tax havens as a rhythm game, and a reflection on the bombed home of Palestinian astrophysicist Suleiman Baraka as a constellation making game.
The Croopier [via digitaltools]
Previously:
Secret message hidden in Lincoln’s pocketwatch – Boing Boing
See more posts about: Offworld Originals
S’RATH INVADERS: NGMOCO SHOW OFF IPHONE STAR DEFENSE CINEMATIC
The latest trailer for ngmoco’s upcoming 3D spherical tower defense game Star Defense might not show off any overt gameplay, but I bring it up here because it may be the highest/first near-console quality cinematic we’ve seen for any iPhone game thus far, don’t you think?
Star Defense home [ngmoco]
Previously:
Attack on B612: ngmoco's Star Defense in motion – Offworld
Ngmoco tease spherical 3D tower defense iPhone game Star Defense …
See more posts about: Offworld Originals
