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'Children of Morta' and the power of modern pixel art
Children of Morta made me incredibly happy, scared, sad and fiercely determined, all within the span of 10 minutes and using only pixel art -- plus a few modern bells and whistles. It comes from Dead Mage and publisher 11 Bit Studios, and it's an isometric hack-and-slash game starring the Bergsons, a family of fierce fighters on a mission to save their home mountain from an evil corruption. Each family member has a special skill, and for my playthrough at GDC, I chose to battle as the youngest daughter, a fire mage.
‘This War of Mine’ drops first episode of its story-driven DLCs
Games about war, though insanely popular, do little to illustrate the hardships faced by soldiers and civilians. With its stark design and focus on survival, This War of Mine (TWOM) set out to change that. The indie game from the devs behind the Anomaly series struck a chord, becoming an instant hit and going on to reap awards. Three years later, it seems the title still has some life left in it, with 11 Bit Studios releasing the first chapter in a TWOM DLC series.
'This War of Mine' studio reveals a dystopian steampunk PC game
11 Bit Studios made a name for itself with This War of Mine, a powerful game about the civilian casualties of war, and now the company is back with a second experience that peers into the heart of humanity. Frostpunk is a dystopian look at society as it exists on an Earth that has completely frozen over. Humans rely on steam-powered machines, fighting the cold world with heat, and society as we know it has evaporated. People focus on survival, at times disposing of morality in order to continue existing. Frostpunk asks whether this societal change makes people stronger or weaker, more or less human.
Anomaly 2 coming May 15
11 Bit Studios has announced that Anomaly 2 now has an official release date. The game will be available for the Mac (along with Windows and Linux) on May 15. Anomaly is, of course, a popular iOS game these days, though the series started on the PC and it's returning there for the sequel. Previously, the game was available through a "secret pre-order," but there's a new bonus for a regular pre-order right now: If you get the game before it comes out for US$14.99, you can get a second copy to give to a friend for free. The new version of the "tower offense" series has more levels, more units and more power-ups to play with, as you guide your troops in and around alien towers on a multitude of levels. The game also adds multiplayer into the mix, where one player can control units, and a second player can lay down towers, each trying to collect the most resources before the game ends. Anomaly 2 looks like a lot of fun, and there's even a new trailer to prove it. We'll look forward to the game's release on May 15.
11 Bit Studios' 'secret game' is... Anomaly 2
A few weeks ago, 11 Bit Studios (the creators of Anomaly: Warzone Earth and Anomaly: Korea) announced a "secret game" deal, that offered a special deal and bonuses towards an unannounced game for a small amount of money. Today that game has been revealed...and it's Anomaly 2. 11 Bit has returned to the Anomaly well and created a full-fledged sequel to the popular "tower offense" series that has you guide a convoy of vehicles around enemy towers, defending your crew and taking down the structures as you go. As you can see from the announcement trailer, Anomaly 2 ups the ante with vehicles that can turn into full war mechs, very active alien opponents and one really big addition: multiplayer. Plus, the game looks better than before, and units seem much bigger and more detailed. Sounds good to us (I bought the secret deal when it was available, and I'm glad I did). 11 Bit Studios hasn't yet announced what the "extra gaming gift" is yet, but presumably it's coming. Anomaly 2 will initially be available for PC, Mac and Linux in the second quarter of this year, but given how popular the series has been on iOS, you have to think it'll make its way to the App Store eventually, too.
Anomaly Korea creators tease secret game, which you can preorder now
The last time we spoke with the guys from 11 Bit Studios (right before Anomaly Warzone Korea landed), they had plenty of plans for a huge desktop game they were working on (to be available for PC, Mac and Linux). And now, it appears they've announced the title ... sort of. They haven't actually said what the game is, but they have released this secret game page, that features a very short teaser trailer hinting at what they're working on. "Hinting" is about right -- there's really nothing to see, except for some troops rolling up on a weird object that seems to be alien and dangerous in some way. That's it. But if that has somehow convinced you, then we have even more news: You can preorder this secret game, sight unseen, right now. That's right -- for just US$7.49 (half off from $14.99 at the moment), you can preorder a game you know practically nothing about, and you'll get access to the game's multiplayer beta, a full copy of the game when it arrives and even an "extra gaming gift" from 11 Bit Studios. So a secret gift in a preorder for a secret game? Apparently. The game itself will be announced in full on February 28, but the sale will be over then, and the price will go back up to $14.99. So basically, they're asking you to bet $7 on whether the game will be good or not. 11 Bit is the studio behind the great (award-winning) Anomaly Korea titles, and the excellent Funky Smugglers, so hey, tossing in the $7 for whatever else you get is probably not a bad deal at all. We'll keep an eye out for just what the secret announcement is on the 28th, and let you know then.
Daily iPhone App: Anomaly Korea polishes the award-winning Anomaly series even more
Anomaly Korea is, right out of the gate, one of the most impressive titles I've ever seen on iOS. Developer 11 bit Studios' Anomaly: Warzone Earth won an Apple Design Award for the way it looked and played, and as a rep from the studio told me recently, they decided to up the ante, adding even better graphics, with lots more flares, particles and other really great-looking visual elements. The core gameplay here is the same -- you're in charge of a convoy of vehicles heading through an alien tower-infested warzone, and you guide those vehicles down a path of your choice, supplying them with almost constant support power-ups as you do so. And because that gameplay didn't change very much, 11 bit was able to really polish and refine it, adding in a few new power-ups, and making the old ones even better. This isn't really a sequel to the first title, but it is all new content, and the real draw here is that 11 bit was able to make a game that was already great even better. The one issue I really have with this game is that it's not quite as direct as I'd usually like -- you are basically supporting your units, rather than actually playing as them. But 11 bit has even taken that note to task, and made the choices you make while moving around the map even more important than before. This is a great game -- odds are that you've already purchased quite a few this week, given all of the big sales and releases, but it's very hard not to still recommend this one at the launch price of just $2.99.
Daily iPhone App: Sleepwalker's Journey
Sleepwalker's Journey is a game that arrived a few months ago from 11 Bit Studios, the creators of the popular Anomaly: Warzone Earth (that's set for a sequel very soon). But while that game is a reverse tower defense title with military stylings and lots of gunfire and explosions, Sleepwalker's Journey is very different. It's a physics puzzle game, of sorts, with a cute, sleepy character and some gorgeous storybook picture graphics. The idea is that the sleepwalker is traveling along a 2D stage, and it's your job to lift up platforms and pull down switches as it goes, allowing him to grab stars and moons to be collected for points. The game is actually very similar to Anomaly, in that you don't have any direct control over the players, but instead you put various things in or out of their path to guide them. Sleepwalker's Journey is fun, but the aesthetic is the real draw here -- the graphics and the music are really top-notch. I think the upcoming Anomaly Korea will be very impressive as well, but if you want a taste of 11 Bit's work before that one arrives, Sleepwalker's Journey is available right now for US$0.99.
Anomaly: Warzone Korea coming soon from 11 Bit Studios (and more on their future)
11 Bit Studios is a developer based in Warsaw, Poland that's probably most famous for releasing last year's great Anomaly: Warzone Earth, a sort of reverse tower defense game where you control and support a group of vehicles moving through streets filled with hostile alien towers. The game originally released on Steam for the PC, but 11 Bit has found its home on iOS and Mac instead -- the game has sold best on the iOS platform, and won an Apple Design Award for the Mac release. After Anomaly, 11 Bit followed up with a game called Funky Smugglers, which didn't do as well, but still showed a lot of polish and quality game design. And now, the studio is heading back to the well with a new title called Anomaly: Warzone Korea, a sort of expansion/sequel to the first game. 11 Bit's Senior Writer Paweł Miechowski recently met with me here in Los Angeles to show off the upcoming game, and talk about what 11 Bit is planning to do for the future. "We treated the first mobile version as a kind of a side project," said Miechowski. But the sales, especially on the iPad, quickly changed 11 Bit's minds. After the team sold about 5,000 copies, "it was, oh my god, this is a great platform." One of the biggest selling points with the first game was the graphics, so for Korea, 11 Bit has emphasized that part of the game, adding in as many special lighting and shadow effects as Apple's mobile device can handle. The game does look terrific, with high-resolution textures on the units reflecting lots and lots of different particle and shadow effects. The core gameplay is generally the same -- you line up a series of vehicles, and then guide them through a map, making tactical choices along the way about when to use certain powerups and where to turn at road intersections. But Miechowski said that while the first game's development time was mostly taken up by just creating the game and its mechanics, this game is more about content, so there are new vehicles, new powerups and lots of new features to find. One of the new powerups is a "boost" icon, that makes your vehicles' weapons stronger for a short period of time. That is aimed at making the action a little more dynamic and offensive, rather than just protecting your trucks for as long as you can. Fans of the first game said that the voiceovers were one part where the quality was lacking a little bit. So 11 Bit has targeted that as another place for improvement, hiring professional voice actors and translators to make sure everything is authentic and immersive. The art of the game is being scrutinized also. Originally, 11 Bit's designs tended to embrace a Japanese aesthetic rather than a Korean one, just because that's what the team was familiar with. But of course those are two very different cultures and countries, so the game was revamped a bit to be more authentic to the setting. Chillingo is still publishing for the company, having published both the first Anomaly title and this upcoming one. 11 Bit apparently appreciates having Chillingo on board, rather than going it alone, and while Chillingo these days has quite a few hits of its own (not to mention that it's owned by EA), it's probably nice to have another gem in the crown like this one. Anomaly: Warzone Korea is almost ready to go -- 11 Bit wants to have it out sometime this month, and while the price hasn't been decided yet, Miechowski said it will likely be comparable to the first game, which sold for US$3.99 on arrival. The game looks great -- we'll keep an eye out for it on the App Store very soon. As for what 11 Bit is up to next, Miechowski told us that there are four teams currently working at the company, including one targeted specifically towards mobile development. There's also a big PC title in the works, though Miechowski declined to say exactly what was being made. He did say the PC team is the biggest, however, so it'll be interesting to see what the plan is there as well. 11 Bit's doing some great work, and they are a company that seems completely sold on the iOS platform and its potential for great games. There should be a few more interesting titles coming out of the studio in 2013 for sure.
Mac Game of the Week: Funky Smugglers offers funky fun
Funky Smugglers continues the trend of bringing iOS games back to the Mac. The game is from Polish developers 11 bit Studios (who also made the Anomaly: Warzone Earth series). It's a somewhat silly, but still addictive, arcade game, where you have to use an airport scanner to try and grab offensive and dangerous items off of (mostly) reasonable air travelers. The really killer part of this one is the presentation. Not only does the app kick off with a hilarious bit of live action video, but the funky sounds and songs of the game are really terrific. And then, as you move into the actual game itself, the graphics look great and clear on the Mac's bigger screen, and 11 bit smoothly ramps the gameplay up as you play through flight by flight. There's not a lot of complexity here -- you essentially just need to move your mouse through as delicately as possible. But the game's mission-based progression (and that seriously awesome funk soundtrack) keep you moving forward through the stages. Funky Smugglers is a great title. I don't know that it's one I would have picked out of a lineup to bring over to the Mac from its iOS version, but I'm glad 11 bit did port it over, because that soundtrack just begs to be played out of something better than the iPhone and iPad's speakers. The game's available on the Mac App Store for just 99 cents right now, so definitely sneak it through security the next time you need something to play.
Anomaly: Warzone Earth coming to Mac, iPhone and iPad
Anomaly: Warzone Earth is a tower defense game with a twist -- instead of placing towers to take down attackers, you actually control attackers, trying to navigate a convoy in between alien defenses. Through both a 14-mission story/campaign mode and a few endless options, you command your squad using deployables like Smoke and Decoy, various unit types that can be upgraded and tweaked, and whatever strategies you can dream up. The game is a nice mix of strategy and action, constantly driving your convoy through alien turrets while planning out the best and safest route to take. The game has already been announced for the iPhone, iPad and the PC, but this post serves as the official announcement that the game is coming to Mac as well. It is scheduled for an early 2011 release, and we're told that the Polish developer, 11 bit studios, is planning to bring the game to the Mac App Store, though a price hasn't been determined yet. We'll keep an eye out for the game when it releases -- in the meantime, feel free to browse through and check out these exclusive shots of the game's Tokyo level in the gallery below. %Gallery-114617%
