the-graveyard
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Tale of Tales' Bientôt l'été launches on PC
Tale of Tales is known for developing obscure, sometimes creepy games such as The Path and The Graveyard. Its latest game, Bientôt l'été fits with the developer's track record, though it appears to be much more subdued and thoughtful in its tone compared to the aforementioned games. From what we gather, players walk around a beach while gathering chess pieces and phrases to make use of in the nearby café. It appears there's even a button for closing your player's eyes in the game, which leads to some interesting visual effects that are apparently more mechanical in nature.Bientôt l'été is now available for PC and Mac for $10, with an "Extravagant" version available for $40 that includes the game's soundtrack and an eventual "special build" with higher res textures and uncompressed sound.Tale of Tales drew inspiration for the game from novels by Marguerite Duras, specifically Moderato Cantabile, which provides the basic setting for Bientôt l'été: "a man and a woman meet in a seaside café." As for everything else going on in the trailer, we're as lost as you likely are. %Gallery-173500%
Tale of Tales' The Graveyard begins life on a new platform, Android
Some games are so different, deep and beautiful that they just won't die -- Tale of Tales' The Graveyard is one of those games, as it has just been ported to Android, available for download right now through the Android Market. It's nigh impossible to think about the finite nature of human existence too much -- it's been pondered for millions of years and no one's yet come up with a better answer than "42" -- and now you can guide an old European woman through such questions in a gorgeous graveyard whenever you'd like. The Graveyard comes in two flavors, the free trial version, or the full game for $1.99. There's only one difference between the two types: You can't die in the trial, while every time you play the full game, there's a distinct possibility you will die. Much like life, which makes the trial more like the great-great grandmother to Limbo. Literally.
Tale of Tales' The Graveyard now on iPhone
Apple's platform has lately become the premiere place to find Tale of Tales' unique brand of art games. Just recently, the studio released its meditation on morality, Veritas, to the App Store, and it's following that up today with a port of its debut game, The Graveyard, for $1.99. If you're unfamiliar with the two-year old title, it's a small black-and-white piece in which you control an old lady walking through a graveyard. The only difference between the full game and the free version that will also be released soon is that, in the full version, the little old lady can die. We can't tell you how many times we've been waiting for a bus or elevator and thought, "Boy, we wish we could meditate on our inevitable death, like, on the go." Thank goodness technology has finally made that possible. The Graveyard ($1.99):
IndieCade: International Festival Finalists #21-26
All week, Joystiq will be revealing the 25 finalists for the IndieCade: International Festival of Independent Games, set to take place October 10 through 17 in Bellevue, Washington. The winners will be announced on October 11.The Graveyard (website)The casual gamer might get bogged down by the protagonist's walking speed, but the cheerful and macabre song at the end more than makes up for it. And should you buy the full game -- there's a twist.%Gallery-32813% Psst ... there's more after the break.
Joystiq hands-on: IndieCade games galore
One of the things we made sure to do at E3 this year was to spend a significant amount of time with the IndieCade folks. Then we sat on that info long enough for some of these games to get picked up, have a successful release, come out with sequels, spawn movies, novels, comic books, become part of the general pop culture bloodstream, and then fade into nostalgia, and for that we apologize. Actually, I'll apologize, I did it.But in all seriousness, a lot of the more fun and innovative stuff we saw at E3 wasn't actually being churned out by big studios and publishers, but being worked on by small groups with tiny budgets and just a love of gaming. Read on to find out all about the IndieCade games that we saw on display, and why you'll want to be playing them now.%Gallery-28162%
Check out indie art game 'The Graveyard'
We're of the sound opinion that not enough games let you control feeble old women on the verge of death. Thankfully, here comes The Graveyard, an art game by IGF-winning developer Tale of Tales, which places players in the role of an elderly woman visiting a cemetery.The game is incredibly short and simple, but gorgeously rendered, and features a somber, original song as an interlude to the "gameplay." The free version is only a trial, and you can pay a measly five dollars USD for the full game. The only difference? In the full game the old woman may die. [Via TIGSource]
