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'Aztez': The bloody indie brawler that should've been big
Imagine: It's 2012 and Matthew Wegner is sitting at his desk in the back of a one-bedroom apartment in Tempe, Arizona, pounding away at a keyboard. It's night, but thick black drapes are pulled over the window; the room is suffused with dim yellow light, casting sickly shadows over the papers tacked to the walls. Most of them are emblazoned with the name Aztez, depicting bloody battles among ancient Aztec warriors. Wegner's fingers fall still as he closes a line of code and reviews his work. His computer hums, hot. A ball of blinding white light suddenly explodes in the middle of the room, shooting sparks to the ceiling and singeing the carpet -- Wegner jumps up and stares, wide-eyed, at the intrusion. As the glare fades, a familiar shape emerges. Wegner is looking at himself: a little older, a little more weathered, but definitely himself. "Don't do Aztez!" the second Wegner says, frantic. "I'm you from five years in the future. Trust me, stop working on this game. It doesn't go well." The original Wegner finds his voice. "But everyone says it's going to be great! We already have a lot of buzz." "It's a trap. Quit Aztez. Now!" The light returns and swiftly envelops the second Wegner before popping out of existence entirely. His final words reverberate around the tiny, smoking room. Wegner blinks and shakes away his shock. He pulls out his chair and sits down. Moments later, his fingers are flying over the keyboard again, coding combat combos into Aztez.
'Aztez' let me live my fantasy of being an Aztec warrior
When I heard someone had made a beat-em-up game based on the Aztec civilization and that I would be getting the chance to play it at this year's E3, I couldn't have been more excited. As someone of Mexican descent who's passionate about his culture, I can immediately appreciate a strategy side-scrolling brawler that turns you into an Aztec warrior on a mission to take down Spanish conquerors. In a nutshell, this is the idea behind Aztez, an indie title from developer Team Colorblind that's been in the works for about six years. The PC game, which is finally set to hit Steam in mid-July for $20, features a black-and-white theme with hints of blood-red every time your Aztec warrior slashes opponents.
Engadget at E3: Checking in on indie game development in 2017
The indie-video-game industry is massive, churning out mainstream hits and padding the marketplaces on Xbox One, PlayStation 4, PC, mobile and even Nintendo Switch. But the one thing that makes indie development so flexible, true independence from outside companies or investors, is also what makes it so unstable.
Watch a robot play Threes better than you can, live on Twitch
Threes is the adorable, addictive puzzler from Greg Wohlwend and Asher Vollmer, neither of whom are robots. Team Colorblind is the studio behind Aztez, the bloody beat-em-up in development for next-gen platforms and Steam, and no one in that group is a robot, either. Threesus, also known as Threepio, is a robot, and it's playing Threes live on game broadcasting platform Twitch right now - and it's doing a really good job. Matthew Wegner, one half of Team Colorblind, designed the robot playing Threes, while Way designer Walt Destler programmed the AI's logic. We enjoy Threes very much, but we've never reached the ridiculous numbers this robot can. A lot of other people haven't, either: Less than half of players have seen the tile 384, but Threepio has made it to the thousands. So far.
Stylish brawler-strategy hybrid Aztez coming to PS4, Vita [Update: Xbox One, Wii U and PC, too]
Indie studio Team Colorblind revealed that its current project Aztez is headed to the PlayStation 4 and PS Vita with a curious blend of bloody beat-'em-up gameplay and city-building strategy. Though its flashy monochrome style recalls Ska Studios' The Dishwasher at first glance, Aztez cites inspiration from varied sources. Combat artist and designer Ben Ruiz aims to infuse his upcoming game with "the feel and creativity of Bayonetta, the sensationalism and mobility of Capcom's Alien Vs Predator, and the precision difficulty of classic Devil May Cry." Aztez isn't just a straightforward brawler, though, as players will also have to manage their empire in Risk-like strategic sequences sprinkled throughout gameplay. A release date has not been announced. [Update: Team Colorblind confirmed that Aztez is also coming to the Xbox One and Wii U. Ports for Windows, Mac and Linux will be available via Steam.] [Image: Team Colorblind]
Phoenix Art Museum hosts indie game showcase on Sept. 21
The Phoenix Art Museum will be overrun with 20 indie games from local developers on September 21 from 10AM to 4PM, the final weekend of the museum's The Art of Video Games exhibition. The Arizona Indie Game Showcase is hosted by the Phoenix IGDA and Game CoLab, a productive collective of developers in the city. Scheduled for display at the showcase is a slew of high-profile indies, including Indie Megabooth participants Gravity Ghost from Ivy Games, Scale from CubeHeart Games and Aztez from Team Colorblind. Other developers include Kyle Pulver (Offspring Fling), Corey Nolan (Growing) and Abstrakt Games (Protein Pirates), with music madness in the hands of Adventureface. Connect with the Game CoLab and RSVP for the Arizona Indie Game Showcase on Meetup.
EVO 2013 Indie Showcase features Towerfall, Aztez, SpyParty, 6 more
EVO, the annual fighting game convention and tournament, packs an underground punch this year with nine games in the Indie Showcase, bringing in four new titles and five returning champs. The four new games are Towerfall, Treachery in Beatdown City, Samurai Gunn and Super Space ____ (pronounced "Super Space Blank"), and the repeat offenders are SpyParty, BariBariBall, Nidhogg, Aztez and Super Comboman. Towerfall caught our eye on the Ouya, Aztez has been creating buzz around conventions local and otherwise, and SpyParty has a special connection with EVO – its current No. 1 player first saw it at last year's convention. The EVO 2013 Indie Showcase is organized by Nathan Vella, President of Capy Games (Below, Sword and Sworcery), and the entire show runs from July 12 - 14 in Las Vegas. Aaaaand FIGHT.
Made in Phoenix indie game night was a cool party in a hot warehouse
On Saturday night one warehouse in downtown Phoenix was overrun with independent games, developers and players, backlit by bumpin' live music and an array of food and drinks. It was the first Made in Phoenix: Indie Game Demo Night presented by local indie game incubator, Game CoLab. Projected on two giant screens, party-goers played Ivy Games' Gravity Ghost and Team Colorblind's Aztez, while Retora Games' Oculus Rift project about exploring the surface of Mars lurked astride one wall. Other games on tablets and laptops littered the tables beyond, including Kyle Pulver's Offspring Fling and Abstrakt Games' Protein Pirates. Game CoLab established residence in this warehouse in May, offering game developers a place to create their dream projects while surrounded by inspiring people and ideas. Saturday night wasn't the last party planned for the space, Game CoLab founder Joseph Darnell told me. He saw Indie Game Demo Night as a success, and with a packed house, smiling players and games all around, it certainly felt like one.%Gallery-192780%
