Oft-blogged indie devs Flashbang have kicked off a new Friday feature web-casting the office goings on which, from what I’ve seen so far, has included live banana eating and further discussions of lunch. But! The team promise some blurry looks at what they’re building in there:

Fridays with Flashbang! We’re going to run a webcam every Friday for your amusement. Fridays are actually our experimental days, so people will be working on all kinds of random stuff.

Drop by and give them an Offworld hullo via a live chat on the blog, and be sure to pester them relentlessly about what secret project ‘sweetarenashooter’ might be.

Flashbang/Blurst Offices on Live Webcam [Blurst]

Previously:
Gimme Indie Game: Minotaur China Shop, happiness in shattery …Riding the iPhone's Raptor Copter – Offworld
Flashbang let loose a little Blush – Offworld
Things We Lost In The Snow, pt 4: Raptor Copter hit the iPhone …

Putting to rest the mystery behind their recent tease of a game inspired visually by flight404’s gorgeous generative squid, Minotaur China Shop makers Flashbang have given us the first look at the end result, Blush.

The team haven’t revealed much beyond that, other than their terse Pong-instructions-like guidelines: “destroy enemies and collect their powers to increase your own.”

So, we’re happily slotting that in a category vaguely along the lines of Spore‘s initial stage or Thatgamecompany’s fl0w, then, but have no doubt Flashbang have more twists to add in the coming weeks, ahead of its projected March 1st release date.

Announcing Our Next Game: Blush

Previously:
Flashbang Relentless-ly tease new game – Offworld
Gimme Indie Game: Minotaur China Shop, happiness in shattery …
Things We Lost In The Snow, pt 4: Raptor Copter hit the iPhone …

Flashbang’s latest tweet on via their official Blurst account is my new maddeningly opaque “what are they building in there” tease: the company says flight404’s generative and rhythmically pulsing beast, which bursts into a jet black flock of ravens on every kick, is apparently “one of many visual inspirations” for their next game, which makes me wonder if they’ve actually kicked the “mythical/extinct creature plus outlandish physical activity/heavy machinery” habit.

[Relentless, The REV, via Blurst]

Previously:
What's he building in there: Introversion's Subversion – Offworld
Gimme Indie Game: Minotaur China Shop, happiness in shattery …
Riding the iPhone's Raptor Copter – Offworld

As is probably clear by now, my holiday break was surprisingly (and happily — one less device and one less charger in the luggage) dominated by the iPhone, and Flashbang’s Raptor Copter made up a good part of that. Copter promises nothing more than it delivers: a time-limited high-score trial to snare and package as many raptors as possible, with bonus points for stylish acrobatics.

Its tilt-control (with an additional thumb slider for altitude) combined with Unity’s physics engine make it one of the most satisfying side-scrolling experiences on the platform, and while I’m easily lost to the tug of its one-more-go quickrounds, I’m just as lost in its all-time high score table. Seriously, people, I’m struggling to break even 75k and you’re up in the millions? Someone really needs to share video of whatever high-wire magic devilry you’re working, because there’s clearly a massive gap in my technique.

Previously:
Riding the iPhone's Raptor Copter – Offworld

Raptor Copter Released! [Blurst, iTunes link]

Minotaur China Shop might not be Flashbang’s most accessible game (that prize would have to go for the much more parent-friendly puzzler Splume), but it is its funniest. It’s not just the latest blog entries from the overly defensive Minotaur himself, though that helps, or that in-game, Flashbang have played everything perfectly, wryly straight, even when the pegasus in leopard print walks in and desires the ‘fancy plate.’ It’s also the more subtle joke that, at heart, China Shop is a subversion of and a gentle dig at the current casual game glut of Diner Dash clones.

But it’s also that, played “right,” Flashbang have perfectly pegged that ever-present anger-management underlying tension. You get that from the Minotaur’s stiff bipedal wobble (who you “drive around” more than “make walk”), as well as the precariousness of the shop packed tight with breakables, and the absurdity of the beast choosing a new profession so dainty at its core (that’s made the juxtaposition an apt cliche from the start). All together, there’s never any doubt that you’re only one misjudged turn away from havoc.

And, smartly, Flashbang have tuned that havoc into just as lucrative an option as playing straight: once the Minotaur has let his rage get the best of him, insurance kicks in and compensates you for every broken item, though you’ll obviously lose your customer base and have to deal with security firing arrows to keep your aggression in check.

Set in five separate days over which you can tune and upgrade both the happiest and angriest play styles as you wish, Minotaur lends itself perfectly to experimentation and replay — exactly what you’d want from a web game — and has instantly rocketed itself to the top handful of our 2008 indie game list.

Minotaur China Shop [Blurst]

Following on our earlier post on indie dev Flashbang’s amazingly literal Minotaur China Shop (which we’ve heard well-placed whispers might be crashing about some time next week), the developer has shown a quick preview of their first fully 3D iPhone game, Raptor Copter.

As it sounds, the game will see players snaring raptors with a hooked ball hanging from a transport chopper (in a very similar manner to their PC title Off-Road Velociraptor Safari, just on a different axis) and depositing it in proper raptor receptacle, via, we’d be willing to wager, a tilt-sensitive interface and Flashbang’s signature focus on physics-enhanced play.

The game’s set for a December release, with pricing and more details promised shortly.

Raptor Copter Teaser [Flashbang]

One of the most charming things about indie developers Flashbang is their no-nonsense approach to both game design and game titles. Both Off-Road Velociraptor Safari and Jetpack Brontosaurs deliver exactly what they say on the tin, and both extremely adeptly, using 3D browser plugin Unity for a near console-like experience (obligatory achievements and all) from the comfort of the web.

Following a brief diversion to the iPhone, Flashbang says its latest 3D browser game — Minotaur China Shop — is nearly ready for beta testing, and again looks from the above trailer to be — brilliantly — exactly what it sounds like.

All of Flashbang’s works available on their portal Blurst are based on playful physicality — Splume‘s physics-enhanced Puzzle Bobble-alike play, Velociraptor‘s vehicles, Jetpack‘s jetpack, and Minotaur‘s precariously placed racks of valuables.

Plus, huge bonus points to Flashbang for scoring Minotaur‘s trailer with blip-maker E*vax, one half of the excellent duo Ratatat and a perennial Offworld favorite.

Minotaur China Shop, Twitter Reminder [Blurst via IndieGames]