CUSTOM KIT: MEZCO’S NAKED LITTLE SACKBOYS
With pre-orders for Mezco’s official LittleBigPlanet Sackboy toys due to open on March 23rd, ToyCyte has managed to catch a few behind the scenes looks at the line-up being lovingly crafted.
The exciting bit here? In addition to the fully detailed figures, Mezco will be officially releasing a blank version, with “interchangeable parts and accessories let you make SackBoy your very own.”
Little Big Planet Figures Behind the Scenes Exclusive [ToyCyte, Mezco LBP home]
Previously:
I'm your puppet: Media Molecule/Sony reveal official Sackboy toys …
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OFFWORLD AT SXSW: COME SAY HELLO
As the throngs descend on Austin, a quick note to say that I will indeed be wandering around the city at various interactive, film, and music events over the coming week (including next Wednesday’s DataPopParty, which cruelly was scheduled against the Anticon/Ghostly showcase I’d like to duplicate myself to also attend [if you’ve never seen the one-man tender looped madness of Andrew Bird drummer Dosh, do not miss this show]).
I’ve already talked to a few of you about meeting up at some point, but if you’re in town and would also like to talk things Offworld-ly, show me the amazing iPhone game you’ve been toiling on for the past several weeks, or anything otherwise, you can drop me a note via brandon@offworld.com, via twitter @brandonnn, or use the handy pictorial equation above to spot me in a crowd and just wander up to say hello.
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HAPPY PILLS: FEZ, AQUARIA DEVS COLLABORATING ON NEW IPHONE GAME
As everyone gears up to touch down at next week’s Game Developers Conference, Heroes & Villains creators Infinite Ammo are showing off their promotional wares for the show a– hold on, what’s this?
Peeking out ever so innocently from their studio lineup brochure is Power Pill, an iPhone collaboration with Fez creator Phil Fish, accompanied by an image identical to the layered-paper-caverns in his Polytron studio’s own upcoming game teaser, which I so brilliantly deduced might be titled “PP”.
More Polytron love to look forward to at the show, then, just slightly edging out the multi-rainbow flavors of their new Fez buttons.
Previously:
Polytron affirm essential awesomeness – Offworld
Happiness is a warm Fez: prepare for wonderful – Offworld
Annabelle Kennedy joins Fez creators Polytron – Offworld
The latest look at Infinite Ammo's iPhone puzzler Heroes …
We could be thrilled: in-depth with Infinite Ammo iPhone puzzler …
Infinite Ammo tease iPhone puzzler Heroes and Villains – Offworld
See more posts about: Infinite Ammo, Offworld Originals, Polytron
TAKAHASHI CONFIRMS LOCAL MULTIPLAYER FOR NOBY NOBY BOY
In his latest missive to Sony’s official PlayStation blog, Noby Noby Boy creator Keita Takahashi confirms that local multiplayer is coming in a near-future update, but you’ve known that for a while now, and have even already seen it in action.
He adds, plaintively:
There have been many reviews/criticisms since Noby Noby Boy released. I totally understand as this is such a unique game and I expected those reactions. I don’t mean to make any excuses. That being said, I do get depressed from time to time as I want users to enjoy the game as much as possible. But at the same time, this is what I wanted to create…
It’s going to be quite a long journey to Mars. Please be patient. This is Takahashi.
Noby Noby Boy Update Coming [PlayStation.Blog]
See more posts about: Noby Noby Boy, Offworld Originals
LISTEN: MOBIGAME’S FREE EDGE SOUNDTRACK
I’ve mentioned it casually a few times, but haven’t yet given it its proper due — either way, Mobigame’s retro-futuro-cubist iPhone platformer Edge hasn’t dropped off my “page one” assortment of iPhone games since its original release.
But at this point you don’t need me to convince you: Mobigame has just released a Lite version [iTunes] of the game (alongside an update to the full version [iTunes] with 17 new levels and a global ranking leaderboard) to let you try it for yourself.
To celebrate, they’ve also released the full soundtrack to the game as a free download. The game’s up for an IGF Mobile award for best audio (and both the audience and judge awards for best game), and truly is something special: the needle wavers nicely between C64-euro-chiptune nostalgia and approaches all-out Ed Banger-type dirty disco-punk in its best moments.
But, if nothing else, you should get it just for the amazing sugar-cube version of the game that graces its cover, as above.
Edge home [full version App Store link, Lite version, soundtrack]
Previously:
Touch me I'm slick: the shape and the sound of Steph Thirion's …
Fieldrunners, Edge top 2009 IGF Mobile finalists – Offworld
Offworld: iPhone Archives
Offworld: Music Archives
See more posts about: Listen, Music, Offworld Originals
LISTEN: TREE WAVE’S HACKED-UP HARDWARE SHOEGAZE
During the Q&A that followed last night’s showing of Reformat the Planet, I noted a few questions that asked whether (as Lewis just reminded me) there was any slower chiptune material that wasn’t quite as, well, chipper, and acts that focused on something other than Game Boys.
Producer Paul Levering made special note of (I was happy to hear) one Dallas act in particular that I think fits both criteria: Paul Slocum and Lauren Gray’s Tree Wave, who list their MySpace ‘sounds like’s as: My Bloody Valentine / Stereolab / Lali Puna / M83 and Postal Service, and I can’t say it much better. Above is their video for their best track, Sleep.
Slocum’s a hardware hacker/music maker of some renown, in addition to creating Atari 2600 SynthCart and its C64 equivalent CynthCart, he’s also firmware hacked the Epson LQ500 dot-matrix printer you hear/see in the song as a programmable instrument (and created the excellent dual-paddle Monkey Ball/Marble Madness-esque game Marble Craze for the 2600).
You can order the duo’s debut EP Cabana via AtariAge, which it also appears has hit archive.org as a free download, albeit in abridged form (and without the hi-res version of the video above).
Tree Wave home [MySpace, qotile.net]
Previously:
Offworld: Music Archives
See more posts about: Listen, Music, Offworld Originals
THE SUPER MARIO BROS. DRAG AND DROP LUA HACK
With LUA scripting included in the latest version of NES emulator FCEUX, Rusted Logic blogger Xkeeper has woven some black magic into Super Mario that gives you full keyboard/mouse control over your surroundings.
No word on when they’ll let loose the scripts to the rest of us, but Xkeeper’s got more LUA hacks hanging out around YouTube.
SMB1 + mouse control [Rusted Logic, forum thread on the hack, via Tiny Cartridge]
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FOR LOVE AND MONEY: DEUS EX:IW DESIGNER’S HUMANISTIC IPHONE BOARD GAME KARMASTAR
Last September at the Austin Game Dev Conference, I broke a little tidbit of news that former Deus Ex: Invisible War designer and then newly-hired Arkane producer Harvey Smith was working on an iPhone game for the studio, which he described then simply as a “casual strategy” card game.
That game, as it turns out, was just announced by stateside Cooking Mama publisher Majesco (an unexpected pairing) as KarmaStar, the first move for both Arkane and Majesco onto the device.
Majesco describes the game as a multiplayer strategy game, but the goal, wonderfully, is focused on sharpening and developing personal traits — Health, Mind, People, Love, and Money — by working with or against your opponents. Says the publisher:
By taking small, calculated steps, players have the ability to build these traits, or live dangerously and see where a little deviousness can take them. Each game takes no more than 10 minutes, so players must waste no time in mapping out either a constructive or combative strategy and then pursuing their chosen path in order to achieve their life goals.
Due for release by the end of March, even if it ends up coming across as entirely casual/quirky/light board game fun (and it’s too soon to say based off the handful of screenshots released so far), I love the idea of a game predicated on personal/inter-relational conflict and growth: real, everyday stuff, as opposed to the usual manufactured conflicts.
Even for all its loony grinning spacemen — it seems like natural stuff from a designer who in all his recent developer sessions and extended interviews has dealt heavily with personal introspection and issues of identity in and through games (he’s certainly the only developer I’ve ever seen drop the name Judith Butler).
Majesco / Arkane [via witchboy]
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VINYL ARTIST MICHAEL LAU DOING METAL GEAR CROSSOVER?
If you’ve never heard his name, a little introduction: Hong Kong artist Michael Lau is one of the progenitors of the urban/vinyl toy scene, having curated his line of Gardeners for over a decade now, and remains one of the scene’s most original and influential artists.
His yearly CSBOOTH exhibit at his personal HK gallery always ends up spawning at least one completely wicked design (see: CSBOOTH15’s 2001: A Space Odyssey crossover fig), and it’s looking like CSBOOTH16 is going to be no exception.
The flier at above right has recently been making the rounds, showing an unmistakably Metal Gear-ish motif, followed by that pixelated preview which, shrunk down (via crazytoyz), is starting to snap into focus as what would appear to be one of his miniature Square figures in Snake’s signature Metal Gear Solid 3 alligator-mask.
That’s all we’ve got to go on for now, but CSBOOTH16 will open a week from Saturday, and all will be revealed.
Michael Lau fansite [michaellau-art, via crazytoys0709]
Previously:
Play Snake: new Metal Gear toys inbound – Offworld
Offworld: Toys Archives
See more posts about: Offworld Originals, Toys
ACTION MEN: SONY’S FULLY ARTICULATED RAG DOLL KUNG FU: FISTS OF PLASTIC FOOTAGE
Slightly ashamed to admit this: I don’t know if it was the excessive bloom of the earlier video footage of Tarsier‘s PS3 remake of Rag Doll Kung Fu (created by Mark Healey just prior to co-founding Media Molecule), but it was only just now that I realized how perfectly plastic each of its fighters are.
Or, really, how perfectly it’s evolved from the paper-cut manual-drag look and feel of the original to this action-man scheme which, I’m guessing from the video, combines a hint of the digital puppetry of LittleBigPlanet‘s Sackboy with triggers mapped unleashing your articulated kung-fu-grip attacks.
I’m also happy to see that customization’s made it back in, even if to a lesser degree than the PC’s draw-your-own cutout skins: look quickly enough and you’ll see that even a fully jointed version of Sackboy has made it in.
Sony says the game will be released for its April 9th PSN update, but you can gently lower yourself into the physicality of its world with a demo of the PC version via Steam.
Rag Doll Kung Fu: Fists of Plastic Punches its Way to PSN April 9! [PlayStation.blog, original PC version home]
Previously:
The Offworld Guide to Sony's Spring PSN Lineup – Offworld
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