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Achievements top on Xbox Live Indie devs' wish lists
Gamasutra rounded up six of the precious few standout developers of Xbox Live Indie Games (XBLIG) to discuss the continually promising but frequently embattled platform. Camille Guermonprez of Arkedo Studios praised XBLIG as "fast and easy to use" and Xona Games' Matthew Doucette noted that "development is essentially free in terms of fees" (just an annual $120 membership); before he warned that additional "developer and game content expenses can be massive to a start-up." Indeed, none of these indies has struck gold -- certainly not like the top devs are finding on the App Store -- and three of the six are at least temporarily abandoning XBLIG, while the others have expanded to multiplatform development. "[To] stay only on XBLIG makes no financial sense at the moment," Doucette said. When asked what improvements could be made to the platform, Luke Schneider of Radian Games' echoed the majority when he said that "the biggest issue is definitely Achievements" -- or lack thereof.
What's In A Name: Binary Tweed
Every once in a while, we bring you the story of how a developer or publisher settled on the name for their company. Today we bring you the harrowing tale of Binary Tweed, the developer behind Clover: A Curious Tale: My main aim in setting out writing video games was to try and reinvigorate some of the forgotten genres that I loved so much as a kid. I knew right away I wanted a simple and slightly cheeky tagline, and "New games that are a bit like old games, but better" was the first thing that popped into my head. Long-winded yes, but it gets across character whilst doing exactly what it says on the tin. I wouldn't be creating totally new off-the-wall games, so an enigmatic or futuristic name wouldn't do. I might be reinventing old things, but I'm thoroughly fed up of pop culture's obsession with retro. I wanted to avoid anything that suggested pixel art or chip tune music. %Gallery-48831%
Original Clover soundtrack available for free
Presumably doing a little early spring cleaning, the team at Binary Tweed have released the complete soundtrack to its original Xbox Live Indie Game Clover. For the low, low price of free, those who download the soundtrack will be treated to a piano assortment composed and recorded by Chris Chillingworth (he's got a MySpace, so he's legit). Clover is scheduled to make its PC debut with a new "longer, sexier" musical accompaniment on March 3 with Clover: A Curious Tale. Hopefully the new version doesn't disappoint. Download the free album here.
New and improved Clover coming to PC on March 3 (update)
If the Xbox-less among you have been jonesing to try Binary Tweed's independent platform-puzzler Clover, you'll get your chance to play a PC port of the game in the coming weeks. A press release from the studio has revealed the game will be released "via a range of download services" on March 3. No price point for the game was specified, though the 360 version of the game sells for 400, so we're guessing it'll be within spitting distance of five bucks -- just to be safe, we've contacted the developer to find out. As we've mentioned before, the PC version of the game has seen significant improvements over its Indie Games iteration, including tighter controls, English, French and Spanish dialogue tracks, an expanded soundtrack, and in-game text that doesn't make you want to claw out your own eyes. Sounds like this one's the version to get! Update: The game's developer just sent over the game's various international prices -- we're looking at a $9.99 price tag, while other territories will have to shell out £5.99 and €6.99. USD 9.99
Dialogue font in Clover PC no longer 'a hideous affront to humans with eyes'
Sometimes, all it takes to sully a good gaming experience is the implementation of an unattractive font. The merit of your game's well-written dialogue is lost when delivered in italicized, all-caps, 16-point Tahoma Impact -- a lesson recently learned by Binary Tweed, developer of the Xbox Live Indie Game darling Clover. Though the title was chock-full of charm, its dialogue was gruesome enough to sear the eyes right out of your head. Fortunately, Tweed has learned its lesson, and plans on adding a touch of polish to the dialogue in the game's upcoming PC iteration, Clover: A Curious Tale. Not only will the script be fully voice acted, and the dialogue paired with animated character portraits, but the font used in the game has been significantly gussied up. According to the developer's blog, it's no longer "a hideous affront to humans with eyes." We're guessing that means your cats will still find it fairly repugnant.
XBL Indie Game Clover picked up by Blitz Game Studios for PC
That's right, Binary Tweed's watercolored Xbox Live Indie Game Clover is headed to the PC as Clover: A Curious Tale, courtesy of Blitz Game Studios. Developer Binary Tweed reports that the title is destined for digital distribution services and features a host of updates, including (direct from Binary Tweed's site): New animations - all characters are articulated, clouds move, flames smoke and glow, water splashes, cats snore (!); Completely voice-acted dialogue; A new sub-quest, and multiple endings; New puzzles, characters, and items (25% more items last time I checked); New context-sensitive controls - this means no clumsy inventory menu; Completely revised user interface; Better player handling, and less annoyingly fiddly jumps; Translations in French, Italian, German and Spanish; Reworked soundtrack - longer, sexier. Hopefully more people will be interested in the title on PC, because it didn't do too well on the Xbox 360. We'll let you know on price and on what digital distribution services you can expect to acquire it as soon as it's announced. [Via Casual Gaming]
Clover dev: Indie Games channel has a long way to go
Daniel Jones of Binary Tweed, developer of the Xbox 360 Indie Game Clover, has a few choice things to say about Microsoft's independent games service. Speaking to the UK's X360 Magazine, Jones just doesn't see a big enough audience in Indie Games to justify creating a game for it -- Joystiq readers will recall similar comments after Clover sales failed to set the world on fire."We're seeing even the best-selling Indie Games titles sell in the low five-figure numbers," says Jones, laying the blame on "lack of marketing from us developers, Microsoft, and also on the dirge of massage 'games' that dilute the brand's message." (Don't forget fart games!) He notes that the most popular titles on Indie Games are simple applications like music visualizers and digital aquariums, saying, "The marketing message clearly hasn't gotten to the people that want to play games, and so one has to question if there's any point making games for a service that gamers don't buy from."Jones believes that the upcoming user ratings feature will help "immeasurably," though he adds, "There's still a lot of work to do in educating LIVE users about [what] Indie Games is about."We're inclined to agree that the Indie Games channel needs a lot of work, especially if Microsoft ever expects it to become more than a Kodu delivery service.
Clover developer disappointed by poor sales
Developer Binary Tweed has admitted sales of its first Xbox Live Community title Clover have not met expectations. Speaking with Digital Spy, Binary Tweed community managing director Daniel Jones said his team "definitely won't recoup costs" from Microsoft's indie games service alone.Despite strong critical reception for the title, Jones says the Xbox Live Community Games market -- being re-branded 'Indie Games' in July -- is "prohibitively small to be financially viable." According to Jones, Binary Tweed may only use the Community Games market as an "an arena for proving concepts" in the future.While Clover has failed to capture much attention from gamers, Jones says having a salable product to showcase to publishers (rather than a demo) has helped open doors for the team's future. "Although I can't talk about specifics at the moment, Clover's critical acclaim has opened doors to Binary Tweed." Jones recommends Clover fans keep an eye on the developer's official site for news in the coming weeks. We recommend you stop playing with that XBLCG Fart app and check out Clover.%Gallery-42065%
Clover finally hits XBL Community Games
Clover, Binary Tweed's watercolor masterpiece heavily inspired by the old Dizzy games of yesteryear, is now available to purchase from the Community Games section of Xbox Live. Though it's a little later than anticipated, the game is now finally available in both the US and Europe for 400. A fair price, despite the stigma that's currently attached to the Community Games label. Not convinced? That's what the demo is for. Alternatively, you can check out the gallery below for more stylish, watecolor screenshots.%Gallery-42065%
Clover delayed by approval process (but releases new trailer)
Clover developer Binary Tweed has posted an update on the status of the upcoming Community Game. Unfortunately, the game has been delayed for at least another week thanks to a rule in the approval process. The game was submitted for peer review recently, when a small bug was discovered. The bug was quickly fixed by Binary Tweed, but all Community Games are required to wait seven days between peer review submissions. The game will be submitted again this Sunday.To make the wait a tiny bit more bearable, enjoy a new trailer of the game after the break.
No, seriously, Clover is coming soon
If you've been holding it in for fear of missing out on Clover's Community Game debut, do us all a favor and take a bathroom break. The artsy platformer's imminent debut was held back recently by what Binary Tweed's Daniel "Deejay" Jones describes as a pair of "performance bugs," one of which saw load times crawl along for nearly a minute and a half. Oy vey!According to the managing director, the issues have since been fixed, and the team is currently making some "last-minute emergency sound fixes" in the road up to the game's "peer review" on Wednesday. Jones recently told Joystiq of his high hopes for the game, and assuming all goes well players will able to judge for themselves when Clover puzzles the marketplace this Friday.
Binary Tweed: Clover release imminent
Binary Tweed has announced that its upcoming puzzle platformer, Clover, could arrive on the Xbox 360 Community Games service very soon. Managing director Daniel "Deejay" Jones notes that the game will hopefully be submitted to peer review over the weekend, meaning it could be available on Xbox Live "as early as next week."Clover garnered some publicity recently when it ran over Microsoft's 150MB size limit for Community Games, forcing the developer to remove features like an unlockable art gallery. In an interview with Joystiq, Jones stated that he hoped Clover would help convince people that there are worthwhile games on the Community Games service. We suspect he's never heard of Rocket Fart.%Gallery-42065%
Pick some fresh Clover screenshots
click to enlarge Binary Tweed has released some brand new screenshots for its upcoming Community Game, Clover. The new screens feature a redesigned version of lead character Sam, who was altered as a result of community feedback. Also featured in the screenshots is a new, dynamic sky-blending system. According to the Clover website, this system assures that the "player's view of the game world is constantly changing." Regardless of what that means, we're digging the watercolors-meet-South-Park visual style of the game. Check out the screens in the gallery below.%Gallery-48831%
Joystiq Interview: Binary Tweed talks 'Clover' file size problems, Community Games
click to Dr. Manhattanize Indie developer Binary Tweed revealed that it has hit the Community Games size limit ceiling for its upcoming game, Clover. First on the strike list? Unlockable art; however, the developer mentions it may "have to make some compromises on the audio side too." Unlike the murky size-limit waters that surround Xbox Live Arcade titles, Community Games are stuck in a strict 150MB sized pool.We wondered if this meant Clover's Q1 2009 release would change and where the developer hopes to go once its freshman entry is available to play -- so we asked. Joystiq talked with Binary Tweed's managing director, Daniel "Deejay" Jones, and picked his brain about the recent file size issues, the Community Games platform and how the industry is reacting to the indie game push.%Gallery-42065%
A poor man's Braid: Clover on Xbox Live
Click for more watercolors! We know, you can't always judge a book by its cover -- a game by its screens. But "Braid clone" was the first thing that came to mind when we saw Clover, a forthcoming Xbox Live Arcade, no, "Community Games" title. And let's face it, the Community Games channel is still the playpen for the bastard children of Xbox Live. It's like a pet shop window: you glance at it, feel an inkling of "Should I?" and then proceed on down the street to the Arcade.But a closer look at that doggie in the window, Clover, reveals a game worth considering. Developed by indie outlet Binary Tweed Ltd., Clover is, in the words of its British maker, "a plot-driven platformer in the style of classic titles such as Fantastic Dizzy that sees the player solve logical puzzles by collecting items, talking to a diverse cast of characters and exploring artistically realised environments." It follows Binary Tweed's motto -- "New games that are a bit like old games, but better" -- by injecting modern trends like autosave and the dissolution of lives and health into the game's traditional framework. Still, Clover promises to be very much about death, as the orphaned player must deal with the sudden demise of the in-game mother and the larger political themes at play. A heady romp for a mere 400 ($5) when Clover releases in Q1 2009 (that's soon!). %Gallery-42065%
