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Claymation puzzler 'Armikrog' comes to the PS4 on August 23
There's no rule that game animations must be done in a computer. The creators of Armikrog elected to use claymation, the painstaking stop-motion process beloved in such movies as Wallace and Grommit. The title raised $974,000 on Kickstarter and was released for PC, Mac and Linux last September, following several delays. The PS4 version was further held up, but we finally have a release date and price on the console: August 23rd for $9.99.
'Harold Halibut' brings back stop-motion video games
Remember the days when games were willing to experiment with stop motion characters and real-world backdrops, like Mortal Kombat or The Neverhood? They're back. Slow Bros. is working on Harold Halibut, an adventure game where both the characters and the environments are honest-to-goodness physical objects. As Harold tries to keep things lively for the rest of his fellow clay-animated crew members, he'll navigate a crash-landed spaceship made out of metal, wood and "carefully sewn textiles." As the teaser below shows, the result brings a uniquely imperfect style and depth that you can't quite get through all-digital animation.
Stop-motion adventure Dominique Pamplemousse sings on Steam, Humble Store
Stop-motion adventure game Dominique Pamplemousse is now available on Steam. The PC and Mac game is 15 percent off ($4.24), and the Deluxe Edition version is 17 percent off ($4.97) until March 18. Dominique Pamplemousse also launched on the Humble Store today, and is priced at $4.99. The indie adventure game's Deluxe Edition includes soundtrack and sheet music DLC, which is also half-off ($0.99) this week. Developer Deirdra Kiai confirmed the DLC's inclusion in the Deluxe Edition via Twitter, but warned that multiple reports indicate that some currencies "make it more money than separately." The developer also added the sheet music extras for Humble Store purchases. Dominique Pamplemousse is described as an "animated detective adventure game about gender and the economy," and is also dubbed a "musical" by Kiai, complete with singing characters. One of the characters, protagonist and private investigator Dominique Pamplemousse, is asked to find a missing pop star by a CEO of a record company and winds up framed for a crime. The claymation-style game launched on PC, Mac and iPad when Joystiq spoke with Kiai about the game at E3 last June. [Image: Deirdra Kiai]
Primal Rage 2 footage surfaces, breaks our heart
Primal Rage 2 is one of the more mythical cancelled games of yore. Plenty of rumors and legends surround its life and death, but there's very little in the way of concrete, verifiable information when it comes to what the game was actually like. Now though, thanks to some new off-screen footage captured from a working prototype version, we have a slightly better idea of what could have been.As shown in the video above, Primal Rage 2 maintained the claymation aesthetic found in the original game, though the character models and their various animations look much more fluid than Primal Rage's Harryhausen-esque staccato jitters. Furthermore, the combo system appears to have been improved and expanded, though to what extent is difficult to ascertain.Essentially, it looks like everything we ever could have wanted. Finding absolute proof that we're not living in the best of all possible universes wasn't really on our "To Do:" list today, but here we are. Someday we'll open a worm hole to the bubble universe where Primal Rage 2 was released, and it'll be so great. Provided everyone in that universe breathes oxygen, of course; alternate universes can get complicated.
Super Meat Boy claymation intro won't spoil, will dry out
If you were to remake the Super Meat Boy intro, what would you use? You'd need something squishy, that's a given. What's that? Clay? That's a brilliant idea. Unfortunately, YouTube users iheart2embalm beat you to it. Sorry to spoil your plans. Maybe you could use cheese or something?
'The Dream Machine' adventure game looks clay-mazing
We're currently basking in the warm, soft glow that commonly surrounds us shortly after discovering our newest game-crush. Thanks to Rock, Paper, Shotgun, the latest object of our affection is The Dream Machine, a Flash-based adventure game from Cockroach Inc. (composed of developers Anders Gustafsson and Erik Zaring). The reason for our admiration? All of the characters and environments were handcrafted in a style reminiscent of The Neverhood. Only, well, prettier. You can check out a trailer for the clay-and-cardboard indie title after the jump, or play through a brief demo on the developer's website. Should that snippet tickle your fancy, Cockroach is currently accepting applications to get in on a beta for the game's first complete chapter. We are so there.
Resident Evil presented in clay
It's a bold choice to present the Resident Evil story entirely in clay, you'll get no argument from us. RE is a series known for horror, and it's surprisingly difficult to build tension when you know severed limbs could be re-attached with nary a fingertip's worth of pressure.But we'd argue that the bolder choice is casting the most relaxed dude ever as Chris Redfield. Somehow, when he can't even be bothered to modulate his pitch for a giant man-eating python, he becomes even more badass. It's like Matthew McConaughey joined STARS. See for yourself right after the break.[Via Capcom-Unity]
Mortal Kombat's Goro, actual size
On screen, Mortal Kombat's top-knotted, four-armed Goro was a menacing, scary figure, towering over our hapless Sub-Zeros and Raidens. This vintage picture from Mortal Kombat creator Ed Boon's Twitter, reveals that, in real life, Goro was just a li'l guy.Of course, we knew the stop-motion model for the character wouldn't be fully human-sized, because that would be a ridiculous expense and effort for absolutely no payoff. But we're still delighted to see the actual sculpture used in the game, in all its diminutive glory. We also like how "homemade" the studio looks -- actual Mortal Kombat images were lit by a desk lamp taped to a cookie tin taped to some other stuff.[Via Giant Bomb]
Ba-dum! Taiko No Tatsujin Clay Anime
We already knew Taiko no Tatsujin's characters are pretty darn cute from playing the games, but this clay anime series, officially produced by Namco, makes sure we'll never forget it. Though it's supposed to be a show for children -- it originally aired on Japan's Kids Station channel, if that's any indication -- we've found ourselves totally drawn into the adventures of Wada Don, Wada Katsu, and their clay friends.A total of 26 episodes were put out over two seasons in 2005-2006, and the first seven are subtitled and available to watch on Youtube. Like the clip above, each Taiko No Tatsujin Clay Anime episode is only four minutes long, so you could feasibly watch the entire collection of translated videos in the time it takes you to watch a single episode of a much less interesting anime.On the topic of Drum Master, Siliconera has an excellent preview and walkthrough of Taiko no Tatsujin: 7 Islands' Adventure, which shipped to stores in Japan just last week. Combine that with these menu translations, and you've got nothing stopping you from importing the rhythm game![Via GameSetWatch]
Super Gumby Bros. Brawl trailer
They haven't yet invented a number that accurately estimates how many times we've watched the Super Smash Bros. Brawl trailer that debuted at last year's E3 event. 15 bazillion? 32 robillion? 299 karmakarmakarmakarmakarma-chamelion? Nay, these numbers do not even begin to scratch the surface! Sgsugar's claymation remake of the trailer is more of a homemade project than a high-value production, but its stop-motion action is no less awesome. The misshapen models, amateurish sets, and inconsistent lighting only serve to increase the video's plasticine charm. Solid Snake's absence is disappointing but easily forgotten when the two-minute clip is filled with scenes like Pit firing an oversized arrow from his malformed bow or Wario's flatulent send-off. Jump past the post break for Sgsugar's clay-animated adaptation and Nintendo's original Super Smash Bros. Brawl trailer.See also: Super Smash Bros. Brawl gets hand-drawn and hilarious
PSP's greatest hits: now in claymation
This is certainly one of the strangest things we've seen so far at PSP Fanboy. A member of the PlayStation forums, psp-frog, has created various claymated shorts of his favorite PSP games using Chotto Shot. While it may not have the same production values of, say, Wallace & Grombit, it's fascinating to see his dedication for Sony's handheld produce something so unique. Check out the following videos, after the cut: Loco Roco, SOCOM, Killzone, and Ape Escape.
