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Vessel is the first project from Strange Loop Games, a Seattle-based studio founded by two Pandemic Studios Brisbane veterans, John Krajewski and Martin Farren. We recently had a chat with John to find out more about the IGF 2010 Technical Excellence award nominee, and he accomodated us with some very revealing answers on why this game should be on everyone's radars in the coming months.

Hi John, can you provide a little background on Strange Loop Games and your upcoming release, Vessel?

Strange Loop Games is what we're calling the new studio that I'm starting with my partner Martin Farren. The idea behind our studio is a game company that puts the power of modern hardware towards gameplay, not just graphics, and Vessel is our first game with that idea in mind. It's a 2d action/puzzle game set in a physically simulated universe, meaning everything is maximally interactive. One of the unique things we're doing is our fluid simulation, and the way we form characters out of this simulated fluid.

What is the story in Vessel about?

The game will be about a lot of things, but at the most surface level it's about an inventor named Arkwright who has created this new device, the mechanized-fluid automaton (known as Fluros for short) that has revolutionized the world by providing free labor. Those are the fluid creatures you see in the trailer. That's where the game starts, and through the course of the game two major things are happening - the Fluros are beginning to grow minds of their own, evolving and turning on their owners, and Arkwright is developing his next great invention, The Device. These plotlines intertwine and merge, as Arkwright uses the evolutions of the Fluros in development of his invention, leading up what will hopefully be a grand conclusion. Continue reading

You might have seen Strange Loop Games's Vessel in Monday's IGF 2010 Main Competition finalists announcement, shortlisted for the Technical Excellence award. Up until now, though, there's been little media available for the game, leaving many scratching their heads over what about Vessel it so great.

With its IGF finalist nomination, Strange Loop Games uploaded this new trailer to show off the 2D puzzle platformer, as well as its impressive physics and fluid simulation. The game follows Arkwright, a tinkerer whose "mechanized-fluid automatons" are running amok at different industrial sites, as he collects the creatures while running around with a device that looks and acts a lot like Super Mario Sunshine's FLUDD squirter.

Vessel is the first project from the Seattle-based studio, which was founded by two Pandemic Studios Brisbane veterans, John Krajewski and Martin Farren. Strange Loop Games hasn't announced a release date for the title yet, but says its planned for "console and PC".

[Via IndieGames.com]

Yet again, we're ending another week, so it's time to go through the top full-length features of the past week on big sister site Gamasutra, plus some GameCareerGuide features of the week.

There's some pretty interesting stuff in this set - including a great interview with Sony Worldwide Studios' Shu Yoshida, the folks at Blizzard talking about Starcraft II, a great article about feedback in games, and many more things besides.

Go go go:

Sony's Software Strategy: Shuhei Yoshida Speaks
"Sony Worldwide Studios president Shu Yoshida took over from Phil Harrison last year with a strong mandate -- Gamasutra talks to him about strategies for the motion controller, relationships with third parties, changing attitudes for PSP game support, and much more."

A Holistic Approach to Game Dialogue Production
"How do you organize and structure the creation of dialogue for video games, "perhaps the single most important aspect of video game audio"? Game audio veteran Bridgett (Prototype, Scarface) examines the key issues and possible solutions."

Ancients Reborn: Launching League of Legends
"As Riot Games' League Of Legends launches, Gamasutra talks to co-founder and president Marc Merrill and lead creative designer Shawn Carnes on the company's business model, usability concerns, breaking free of the grip of publishers, and more."

Sponsored Feature: Fluid Simulation for Video Games (Part 2)
"This sponsored feature, part of Intel's Visual Computing site and written by Dr. Michael J. Gourlay of the University of Central Florida Interactive Entertainment Academy, continues a multi-part series that explains fluid dynamics and its simulation techniques."

Staying Power: Rethinking Feedback to Keep Players in the Game
"In this in-depth article, Microsoft Game Studios user research expert Phillips looks at a simple but vital problem - why people stop playing games, and what feedback we can give them to encourage them to continue."

The Design of StarCraft II
"StarCraft II lead designer Dustin Browder talks in-depth to Gamasutra on the inevitable difficulties that come with updating a 10-year-old game while trying to steadfastly avoid feature creep, as well as the state of the PC platform and a plethora of design tuning specifics."

GCG: Game Narrative Review: Chrono Trigger
"In the latest in a series of student-penned narrative reviews, Michael Brannan examines the engaging storyline that powers Square Enix's time-traveling epic Chrono Trigger."

GCG: Making the Most of U. Time: Academic Paths to Working in Games
"In a classic article, we speak to notable developers including ThatGameCompany's Jenova Chen and Portal's Kim Swift on their move from university straight into the leading edge of the game industry."

The end of another seven days, so it's time to go through the top full-length features of the past week on big sister site Gamasutra, plus some GameCareerGuide features du jour.

These would include some genuinely interesting interviews with Randy Pitchford (about Gearbox and Borderlands) and Rex Ishibashi (about his work heading up EA Japan), as well as pieces on Osiris and game design, the necessity to iterate in game creation, making games for Android, and several other neat GCG pieces.

Here we go:

EA Takes Japan: An Interview With Rex Ishibashi
"Publishing giant Electronic Arts is getting more aggressive in Japan once more, thanks to Eastern-targeted games such as Tsumuji, and Gamasutra speaks in-depth to EA Japan veteran and head Rex Ishibashi on the market and the company's plans there."

Making Better Games Through Iteration
"Though it may seem self-evident, rapid iteration is a great tool for creation small games, and Mobile Pie's Will Luton discusses how his team made iPhone title B-Boy Brawl iteratively, after initial failure through too much rigidity."

Sponsored Feature: Fluid Simulation for Video Games (Part 1)
"This sponsored feature, part of Intel's Visual Computing site and written by Dr. Michael J. Gourlay of the University of Central Florida Interactive Entertainment Academy, begins a multi-part series that explains fluid dynamics and its simulation techniques."

The Birth of Collecting: The Osiris Archetype In Games
"Jason Johnson looks to the mythological Egyptian god Osiris to draw an inconspicuous parallel between the story of the supernatural being and the practice of collecting objects in video games."

Developing Games for Android
"Amid the iPhone game development gold rush, developer Derek James checks out the hooky, Java-based Android OS from Google, discussing advantages and disadvantages."

The Illusions We Make: Gearbox's Randy Pitchford
"Gearbox boss Randy Pitchford knows what he likes and what he does not. Here, the outspoken designer describes the studio's latest game, Borderlands, as the game he's 'been wanting to make for 10 years.'"

GCG: Educational Fantasy
"Lindsay Grace discusses the challenges facing educational game design, and how the practical matters of education intersect the enveloping fantasy we expect from games."

GCG: Postmortem - Lies and Seductions
"In this postmortem, Petri Lankoski discusses the making of Lies and Seductions, an adventure game inspired by the novel Dangerous Liaisons."

Finishing up the last seven days, it's time to recap the top full-length features of the past week on Gamasutra, plus extra features from sister edu site GameCareerGuide - and there's some rather smart stuff in here.

It's headed by a look at innovative casual/indie game design and a pretty neat piece on mixing audio for games, as well as a Shane Kim interview and Matt Matthews' customary NPD analysis goodness, as well as a couple of GCG pieces topped by a postmortem of good-looking Xbox Live Community Games title Trino.

Cha cha cha:

Gamasutra Features

Innovative Casual Game Design: A Year in Review
"Originally presented to acclaim at GDC 2009's Casual Games Summit, Nick Fortugno and Juan Gril's review of casual game design looks at the biggest innovations and trends in accessible casual and indie games over the last 12 months."

The Game Audio Mixing Revolution
"Where's game audio heading? Veteran audio designer Bridgett (Scarface) gathers mixing case studies on titles from LittleBigPlanet to Fable II<, and concludes by looking at the next 5-10 years in the field."

The Necessity Of Interactive Animation For Games
"In this in-depth article, Arkane and Streamline Studios animator Moleman discusses why he believes that body language and facial expression are the keys to making our games feel more vibrant."

Sponsored Feature: Multi-Threaded Fluid Simulation for Games
"In this Intel-sponsored feature, part of Gamasutra's Visual Computing section, Intel engineer Froemke describes a multi-threaded fluid simulation system created to make virtual smoke or water for application into games."

Microsoft's Future Begins Now: Shane Kim Speaks
"Gamasutra talks to veteran Microsoft VP Shane Kim about its Xbox plans for the rest of 2009, how he sees Project Natal as a relaunch for the Xbox 360, new socially oriented titles Joy Ride and 1 Vs. 100, and much more."

NPD: Behind the Numbers, May 2009
"Gamasutra's industry-leading analysis of May 2009's U.S. console hardware and game sales gives some perspective on the startling industry slump, also discussing Wii hardware slowdown and PSP Go pricing."

GameCareerGuide Features

Postmortem: CMU ETC's Trino
"In this special student postmortem, Carnegie Mellon's Entertainment Technology Center students discuss the making of the arcade-influenced XNA Community Games action title Trino."

Thesis: Game Design and Architecture
"Can game design improve the process of designing real-world architecture? For his Masters thesis, Chris Totten explores the question with a little help from Valve."