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Deepworld now available on the Mac App Store
Deepworld is a game that I've been covering since last year's GDC, when the three guys running the game came to tell me that they were putting together a 2D, multiplayer online sandbox title, in the same vein as Minecraft but with a steampunk twist. Last year, the game launched on Mac, and then it arrived on iOS. The latest news, as relayed to me by Bytebin at last week's GDC, is that the game is now out on the Mac App Store for free. Obviously, as the game was already available on the Mac, this isn't necessarily a big thing for current owners of the title. But being on the Mac App Store will provide some more exposure for the team, and make it easier for them to put out updates, of which there have been plenty. During our quick talk at GDC, Bytebin showed me one of their latest features, a "butler bot" you can build in the game that will dig out part of the game world for you, and perform various other commands (provided you can collect the resources to design and build it). There are lots of other systems and items they've included as well, and being on the Mac App Store will let them push any future updates out quickly and easily. Next up, they're working on building in even more functionality, including player-run guilds and even some player-vs.-player features. The team also wants to build out more goals and quests to chase after in the game, so we can look for that kind of thing coming soon. Bytebin also shared with me that they've got about 1,000 daily active users these days, which isn't a huge number but does mean that there's a solid player base there. In total, the game has about 40,000 players, and being available through the Mac App Store should help them find some more fans. Deepworld continues to be a very impressive title, and the team is clearly working hard on keeping it running and filled with new content.
Rise and Shiny: Deepworld
When I first got my hands on Deepworld, a new iOS sandbox MMO by Bytebin, I knew I was holding something unique. Sure, it took some cues from Minecraft and came from one of my least favorite schools of design -- steampunk -- but it was being built by a young team of indie developers who simply wanted to make a world that was free-form, open to a player's creativity, and multi-platform. After spending some time with the game, I'd say that they have mostly succeeded. There are some issues with the game, and I have played enough indie titles to know how rough games can be when launch rolls around. So far, however, the issues are relatively minor and could be easily fixed. %Gallery-174685%
Daily iPad App: Deepworld pulls off some very impressive multiplayer magic
Deepworld is a very impressive title, and I told the creators as much back when I met them at GDC earlier this year. In fact, it was so impressive that I kind of doubted they could pull it off. A full 2D server-based Minecraft multiplayer game, running on the iPad? Sounds good, but good luck, is what I essentially told the Bytebin team. But I'm happy to eat crow on this one, because they've done it. After releasing on the Mac earlier this year, Deepworld is now available on the iPad, and it's every bit the game that I was promised back at GDC. If you've played Minecraft, Junk Jack or any of the many clones in this up-and-coming sandbox style, you'll probably know how this all works: You get to guide an avatar around a world (in this case, a 2D and apocalyptic world), hacking away at blocks and collecting items of various types. The items you collect can then be crafted and combined into other items, and piece by piece you get to shape the world to your own ends, trying to fight off monsters and build a safe haven as you do so. Deepworld's biggest benefit along these lines, however, is the aesthetic: It's a very steampunk-style setting, so not only are you building candles and pickaxes, but you can put together pistols, turrets and even engines as well. I haven't figured it all out yet, but really industrious players can build things like portals, bombs and other fun gear. The other big bonus is that Deepworld was built from the ground up with multiplayer in mind (unlike the mobile version of Minecraft, which is getting it soon). So when you jump into a game, you can randomly be thrown in with the public, with you and other players picking your way across Deepworld's wasteland setting. A few of the devs behind the game are originally server administrators, and it shows: Multiplayer runs brilliantly, which is a feat in itself on iOS. Plus, Deepworld is available for the great price of free, with a premium membership and / or in-game currency available via in-app purchase. Do not pass this one up -- you'll need an iPad 2 or above (as this is a fairly intensive game), but Deepworld is an impressive undertaking, offers a really amazing world to experience and conquer.
DeepWorld is a 2D Minecraft-alike coming to Mac and iOS
If you threw a bunch of gaming catchwords in a hat and then pulled them out one by one and put them in order, you might have an approximate description for the upcoming Deepworld. It's a 2D, steampunk, post-apocalyptic sandbox MMO, with Minecraft-style creation, and block graphics that open up to a quite varied and vast game world. Deepworld is almost a game that sounds too good to live up to its promise, but its developers Bytebin (consisting of three guys who have a ton of experience in server architecture, but not quite as much in game development and design) understand they're promising a lot. But the version they kindly showed me at GDC last week definitely lived up to that promise, as least as just two of their characters wandering around the world together. Deepworld's graphics may not look great in screenshots (they're ... "stylistic", you might say), but as you explore more and more of the world, there's a charm there that can't be denied. Only after a makeshift shelter was built, complete with lanterns spreading pools of light, and a storm began in the background, with lightning flashing across the sky and acid rain coming down hard, did the game's beauty really make itself evident. There's a lot of beauty in the various mechanics, too, though. One of the devs describes the title as "a game based on a sort of scarcity," and that scarcity refers to all of the various resources in this originally barren world. As you dig down, lava can be found, which creates steam, which can then be transferred into pipes and used to power technology. There is a crafting system, but unlike Minecraft (where items have to be discovered and built), the game basically just offers up a menu of what's available to build from the various resources you've collected. The interface is nice as well -- you can build whatever you want just using the cursor on the Mac version, and while the iOS version is still under development ("There's a few kinks with touch," Bytebin says), being able to "draw" creations on the iPad's screen will be nice. The biggest issue with Deepworld probably isn't in the game, however: It'll probably be with keeping the servers up. The title is subdivided into 1200x800 block "zones," and the devs are hoping to limit those zones to a certain number of players (and maybe eventually even charge players to customize and save those zones). But there will be a metagame of sorts in "improving the ecosystem" of each zone, so it's not hard to see that Bytebin may run into trouble, if the game turns out to be uber popular, in keeping its servers afloat. Bytebin understands the concern (and again, the team's background is in running large servers for corporate software, so they have a fighting chance at least), but we'll find out for sure how they do when the game goes for an open beta later on this year. Alpha is set to take place "in a few weeks," and there's a beta signup for the game available now. Deepworld looks really fascinating, and it's a title we will probably be proud to have on Mac and iOS.
