The latest in artist Dan Paladin’s video showcases looking behind the screen at how Castle Crashers‘ big boss battles were born, this time, “the Necromancer… [his] level, his resurrection attack, and flying animation.”
Over at Boing Boing Gadgets, Joel’s done a fantastic job looking both back and forward at the fate of the PSP from a nuts and bolts perspective, which really hots up in its recommendations for what Sony needs to do with the PSP2.
The saddest part, though? So much of what Joel recommends (the GPS, the browser, the camera, the over-air downloadable games store) has been hinted at, hacked together and somewhat available over the PSP’s lifespan across its various iterations (we’re up to the 3000 now), but Sony seemingly continually lack the internal clarity and singular focus (especially across its various regions) to say, “This is it, this is everything it can do, and it does it all beautifully,” as Apple was able to do.
I do still think that, particularly with the addition of the on-device PSN, that the PSP now has the best chance it ever had to reinvent itself and make itself indispensable, so long as it can continue to find third party support from developers other than the RPG hardcore (currently the device’s last holdouts).
Heading off any backlash that Left 4 Dead‘s upcoming DLC might have under-delivered with a promise to “simply” unlock the two remaining campaigns that aren’t currently playable in Versus mode (alongside it’s still not quite transparent Survival mode), Valve has just sent word that — like the continuing evolution of its Team Fortress 2 — the new modes will be free for both PC and Xbox 360.
First announced last week, the DLC will contain the extra multiplayer modes and that Survival mode which, to date, we only know will see your team struggling to survive as long as you can against a continual undead onslaught “across 12 maps.”
The spring release of the DLC will also see a new ‘Critic’s Choice’ retail package containing the original game and its new modes, and a PC SDK to let the mod community create new maps and custom game campaigns.
As I lamented in early January, the future of the PSN was essentially off-limits from prying eyes outside a few notable exceptions (including thatgamecompany’s just-released Flower [more on that soon]), but
Sony have just let loose with a number of upcoming game announcements that will see us through the end of Spring.
There’s the obvious ones: I’m sure I don’t need to reiterate that Keita Takahashi’s Noby Noby Boy is due for a release in less than a week after endlessly pumping videos through the site for the past several days. There’s also the self-explanatory ones — Jeopardy needs little introduction — and the ones announced well ahead of time: Capcom’s brilliant looking Flock (YouTube) and multiplayer arena shooter The Punisher: No Mercy from Zen Studios.
And then there’s the rest, which I’ll break down here. (more…)
Via UK TV writers (and Mitchell & Webb, Peter Serafinowicz collaborators) the Dawson Bros., via Robert Popper, co-creator of Look Around You and more fantastic UK comedy hits than I could possibly mention here.
When last we heard from Infinite Ammo and their upcoming iPhone game Heroes and Villains, all we had to go on was their claim that the game would be “Lemmings meets [Blizzard platformer] The Lost Vikings meets Awesome.”
What did that mean? Now we’ve got a clear answer: the team has uploaded an extensive early look at the alpha version and it’s looking quite smart. The long and short of it, your team of Heroes (and/or Villains) are on a mission to — as you’d expect — keep the freely wandering citizens of the city (un)safe (Lemmings), and do so by swapping out characters for their individual powers (The Lost Vikings) like portal shooting, flight, seductive attraction, and super-stretchiness (awesome).
The video is necessarily rough, and Infinite Ammo make no bones about showing it off at this “pants down” stage, but have also uploaded newer screenshots showing the metropolis in more textured form, and adding to the excitement for what looks like, with all due continued spit polish, a fantastic addition to the iPhone library.
As I mentioned at Offworld’s launch, one of my goals for the site was to see artists and illustrators from outside the games industry have more influence within, as it’s been in those moments that we’ve seen some of gaming’s most memorable experiences.
That’s why I’m tremendously pleased to be the one to announce that culture magazine/shop/gallery Giant Robot and upstart gaming label Attract Mode have partnered to bring four Giant Robot artists and four of indie gaming’s best developers together to create four new games for this year’s Game Over II exhibit at San Francisco’s GRSF gallery.
A follow-up to last year’s debut Game Over exhibit, this year’s show will cap off the end of the Game Developer’s Conference with a March 27th opening that — in addition to the return of Giant Robot’s curated games-related artwork — will have the newly created games on display for attendees to play.
Saelee Oh, like many Giant Robot collaborators, is an LA-based artist whose delicate organic sculptures and illustrations have been shown across the country in both GR related group and solo shows as well as the Poketo-curated benefit for McSweeneys non-profit 826LA.
Anna Anthropy, also known as dessgeega or auntie pixelante, is the “freelance scratchware game creator, critic, and all-purpose pervert” behind recent indie low-res fast-draw Calamity Annie and “definitive chubby little dyke gimp platformer” (!) Mighty Jill Off.
For some years now, Deth P Sun‘s work has focused on a “mythological quest of anthropomorphic cats”: storybook scenes cut from stories never written that’s spread across his print, zine and gallery work. His latest output can currently be seen at Oakland’s Rowan Morrison gallery and in various Bay Area group shows.
Souther Salazar‘s work carries a childlike innocence that can be seen across all his output from his dreamscape collages, clay sculptures and even the work he did for recent abovetheinfluence anti-drug ads (!). You can see recent examples of all of the above via this FecalFace studio visit, as he prepares for his latest exhibition at NYC’s Jonathan Levine Gallery.
Finland’s Petri Purho needs little introduction as the developer behind recent IGF winning PC and iPhone hit Crayon Physics Deluxe. Prior to that, Purho had given himself the challenge of continually coming up with new 7-day game ideas (from which Crayon Physics sprang) at his Kloonigames blog, creating a portfolio of games from Jimmy’s Lost His Marbles to Jimmy’s Lost His Toilet Paper.
Hellen Jo is the artist behind the recent Sparkplug Comics debut Jin & Jam about “two unlikely companions that meet and forge a friendship stronger than nicotine addiction,” and had her work featured in Giant Robot’s December Post-It Show, where artists created new art on post-its affixed to the wall, which patrons could then buy and directly take home. Aside from her comic, you can see some of her fantastic watercolor illustrations via her blog.
Derek Yu is another indie dev whose renown has grown exponentially lately with the release of his brutally difficult and brilliantly rewarding rogue-like platformer Spelunky. He’s also best known as one of the co-founders of premier indie gaming community TIGSource, and as part of the Bit Blot team behind underwater Metroid-esque adventure Aquaria.
Let’s Have A First Look:
While the teams are still working to put together their respective games for the show, Offworld does have the first look at Saelee and Anna’s collaboration, which highlights the strengths of both artists (Saelee’s painterly backdrop overlaid with Anna’s signature expressive pixels) and gives you an idea of what kind of mash-ups magic we’ll be seeing.
Offworld will continue to cover developments as the show approaches, and be sure to check both Attract Mode and Giant Robot for their own respective Game Over II coverage. For more information on the GRSF gallery, contact them at (415) 876.4773, or drop by at 618 Shrader St., San Francisco CA 94117.
Though I wasn’t given any accompanying media, I feel I must dutifully report that Rolling with Katamari — Namco’s isometric mobile phone version of the game everybody loves — is receiving a free downloadable level starting today.
The level will feature special Valentine’s items to roll, including “Jewelry (wedding rings, bracelets, necklaces), Chocolates, Cows with heart-shaped markings (one is called ‘Wild Thing’ and the other is called ‘You Moooove Me’), Teddy bears, Roses, and Conversation hearts.”
The iPhone version, however, (despite recently getting its own Exquisite update) has been left to wander lonely as a rolling star, though the fact that Namco is continuing to support the mobile game with new content makes me hopeful its iPhone version will also see continual updates in the future.
This is certainly one of the most potentially interesting surprises I’ve heard in some time: NetworkWorld is reporting that 19 year old Richard ‘Fantastic‘ Henry, creator of Twitter expletive-tracking web-app Cursebird, has been hired by Call of Duty 4 developer Infinity Ward to create another “Twitter-related project.”
What could this be? Something similar, perhaps (or inspired by, even?) to friend of Offworld Tom Armitage’s Left 4 Dead Twitter-bots? In-game messaging brought directly to your mobile/desktop?
No one’s talking quite yet, but it looks like the wait won’t be long: Henry tweeted just yesterday that the project is ‘hopefully launching this week.’
