By Simon Carless

Toy Robots Invade Shatter’s Amethyst Caverns

For those of you who can't get enough of Shatter's soundtrack -- we must have mentioned how great it is here at least half a dozen times already -- have a look at this music video for "Amethyst Caverns", one of several tracks from the PSN (and soon-to-be PC) game.

The scenes in the video really don't have much to do with the game, but it does feature an appearance from composer Jeramiah "Module" Ross halfway through. It was also shot and edited by Sidhe's lead artist Corie Geerders.

Again, you can stream for free or purchase/download Shatter's "electro rock and retro beats" soundtrack, which earned the game a finalist spot for the 2010 Independent Games Festival's "Excellence in Audio" award, at Bandcamp.

[Via Mario Wynands]

By Mike Gnade

On Trial: Anka

Erika: 7 The story begins with our young hero, Anka, whose goal is to free his mother from a crime she did not commit and find his missing father. In between this story, players are asked to solve brainteasers in order to progress through the game. Simple enough, but what this adventure-puzzle game lacks [...] Continue reading
By Simon Carless

Tale Of Tales Brings Graveyard To iPhone

Belgian indie Tale of Tales has ported The Graveyard, its short PC "game" originally released in 2008 and nominated for IGF 2009's Innovation award, to iPhone. As with the Windows/Mac versions, the mobile port has two editions, a Lite version available for free and the $1.99 full version, in which its possible for the protagonist to die.

In The Graveyard, players controls an elderly woman during as she hobbles around a cemetery toward a bench for her to rest. Once sitting, she sits and listens to a song, then leaves. In the full version of the game, there's a chance she dies while sitting on the bench.

"The Graveyard offers a player the opportunity to imagine themselves in a certain situation," explains creators Auriea Harvey and Michael Samyn. "It's not a game in the sense that there is a way to win or lose or a puzzle to solve, or even a story to uncover. But the interaction does immerse you in a virtual world filled with narrative, an equally powerful feature of the medium of video games.

The developers note that because the iPhone hardware is less powerful than a PC, they made several changes to the game's graphics, removing post-processing, real-time overlays, animated trees, and birds. Samyn adds, "Still, if you ask us, The Graveyard is one of the best looking and sounding games on the iPhone."

By IndieGames.com - The Weblog

Announcement: Shank Release Planned on XBLA, PSN and PC


The game is still some ways from being finished, but Klei CEO Jamie Cheng has today confirmed that the IGF-nominated Shank will be released on the Xbox Live Arcade, Playstation Network and PC when it is ready to ship.

EA Partners will serve as the publisher for Klei Entertainment's 2D brawler on all three platforms. Shank is currently competing for the Visual Art Excellence award in this year's IGF, and GDC attendees can get to play a special preview build of the game at the IGF Pavilion next week.

Shank: Klei signs with EA Partners for Shank
Gamasutra: EA Partners Signs Shank

By Mike Gnade

On Trial: Vitamini

Stew: 5 Vitamini’s website describes it as “Tetris with physics.” That’s giving it a bit too much credit. The core mechanic of the game can be described as bashing floating, spinning blocks into one another. The closest visible resemblance to Tetris is that blocks fall from the top of the screen and land on the bottom. [...] Continue reading
By Simon Carless

American McGee Shows Off Little Red Riding Hood Concept

American McGee posted this concept image, painted by two artists from the veteran developer's Spicy Horse studio in Shanghai, on his Flickr account to share a game idea he's hoping to sell: Little Red Riding Hood with an axe thirsting for wolf blood.

"[The artwork] depicts a scene from a game concept I'll be pitching at this year's GDC," explains McGee. "If we're lucky, an interested publisher will help us move it into production. It's an idea that [Spicy Horse art director] Ken Wong and I have been toying with for years."

This isn't the first time the Alice developer has thought of featuring Red in a video game; his 2008 episodic PC game, American McGee's Grimm, featured a chapter devoted to the fairy tale character. She's also appeared in several other video games in recent years, such as The Path, Fairytale Fights, and Little Red Riding Hood's Zombie BBQ.

McGee posted uploaded another concept art image for the Little Red Riding Hood idea last month while again mentioning that the game needed a home so that Spicy Horse could build it alongside Alice 2.

[Via Super Punch]

By IndieGames.com - The Weblog

Interviews: Kenta Cho, Tyler Glaiel, Hello Games and More

Krystian MajewskiLet's take a look at the latest interviews with indie game developers on the web. Highlights include: the continuation of Gamasutra's Road to the IGF series, DIYGamer's coverage on Student Showcase finalists, three more IGF award nominees featured on Rock, Paper, Shotgun, an interview with Hello Games about Joe Danger.

ZillionMonkey: Like a solitary spacecraft
"Japanese creators of shoot 'em ups - professionals and enthusiasts - are a well-respected bunch. This month we feature one of them: Kenta Cho. He is a freeware game maker with a day job, guest lecturer, arcade goer. He works alone."

Gamasutra: Road To The IGF - Limbo's Dino Patti
"In the latest Road to the IGF interview with 2010 Independent Games Festival finalists, Gamasutra speaks with Dino Patti, part of the team behind shadowy Excellence in Visual Art finalist Limbo."

Gamasutra: Road To The IGF - Closure's Tyler Glaiel And Jon Schubbe
"Tyler Glaiel and Jon Schubbe discuss their design and inspirations for Closure and the upcoming expanded version of the game's subtly sinister undertones."

Rock, Paper, Shotgun: IGF Factor 2010 - Closure
"I am working on Closure for another year. After Closure, I have some concepts for the next game. It's looking like it's going to be completely the opposite of Closure."

Rock, Paper, Shotgun: IGF Factor 2010 - Limbo
"Lead Designer Jeppe Carlsen explains what the team has been up to with Limbo and the studio."

Rock, Paper, Shotgun: IGF Factor 2010 - Trauma
"UK-based PC game site Rock, Paper, Shotgun speaks to Krystian Majewski, developer of Seumas McNally Grand Prize finalist Trauma."

DIYgamer: The Future of Gaming - Dreamside Maroon
"Three members of the Dreamside Maroon team from Digipen managed to wrangle their schedules to talk to DIYgamer. You can find the transcribed interview here."

DIYgamer: The Future of Gaming - Igneous
"Igneous follows a tiki totem as it rolls its way through the innards of an exploding volcano. Part racing game, part heart attack, this title is an impressive feat for student gaming."

This Is My Joystick: Hello Games - The Interview
"Following on from our feature on Hello Games, we were lucky enough to grab the four friends living their dream for an interview about the upcoming Joe Danger." Continue reading

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