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Humble Android Bundle 4 adds Canabalt, Cogs, Swords & Soldiers HD and more
In typical Humble Bundle fashion, the initial lineup of great games included in Humble Android Bundle 4 has had even more great games piled on top of it. Five more games are now included to previous purchasers and those who pledge more than $6.25 from here on out – Canabalt, Cogs, Swords & Soldiers HD, Zen Bound 2 and Avadon: The Black Fortress.Avadon: The Black Fortress is a tablet-only, class-based tactical RPG from Spiderweb Software; Cogs is the acclaimed 3D puzzle game from Lazy 8 Studios where players must move pieces around on a 3D cube. Swords & Soldiers HD is Ronimo Games' casual-friendly side-scrolling strategy game where you manage unit spawning and steamroll everything in your path.Zen Bound 2 is an artistic 3D puzzler where players are tasked with wrapping as little twine as possible around wooden objects to complete beautiful, simple sculptures. Finally, Canabalt is Adam Saltsman's excellent free-runner about standing up to the government and hating boxes. Oh man does that game make you hate boxes.And as with the original lineup, each of these new games also include their respective soundtracks.
Lazy 8 on the Cogs behind BioShock Infinite: Industrial Revolution
Independent developer Lazy 8 launched steampunk puzzler Cogs on PC in 2009; that same year Cogs was an IndieCade finalist. In 2010, the game snagged an IGF nod and won $100,000 in the Indie Game Challenge, and in 2011, Cogs was released for Mac gamers. Three years later, Cogs is still picking up steam and its quality is the reason Irrational Games approached Lazy 8 to assemble BioShock Infinite: Industrial Revolution."The BioShock Infinite team at Irrational was already aware of Cogs, the award-winning puzzle game that we launched in 2009," Lazy 8 founder Rob Jagnow tells Joystiq. "They knew they wanted to create something similar – challenging puzzles in a steampunk style – so they approached Lazy 8 Studios in the hope that we could help design a puzzle game with the same level of polish."Turns out Lazy 8 could do just that. Industrial Revolution is available now, for free, with pre-orders of BioShock Infinite. It's a flash puzzle game that has players fight on the side of BioShock Infinite's warring factions Vox Populi or the Founders, and generates in-game goods for next year's full Infinite release. Industrial Revolution comes with its own innate depth, however: The choices players make on the first playthrough are permanent and the game can't be replayed with different allegiances."It's true that Industrial Revolution is designed to be played only once, and while you're playing, you'll be offered choices about which factions you want to support. Not every player may realize it, but the choices you make will impact how the story is told to you. And once those choices are made, you can't go back and make them again. They're permanent. While that may not make everyone happy, I think it makes for a really compelling player experience. It gives a lot more weight to your actions and their consequences."
The Potato Sack Reunion Tour kicks off on Steam today
Last April, Valve launched a guerrilla marketing effort for Portal 2 and promotion on select indie titles. This week Valve remembers its ARG campaign with the Potato Sack Reunion sale, which knocks half off the price of 13 individual indie titles.Games include Super Meat Boy, The Ball, Cogs, Amnesia: The Dark Descent and many more. You can either buy each individually for half-off, or grab the whole bundle for $20.
Humble Bundle for Android #2 brings Canabalt to Android
If you have an Android phone, you've probably been eagerly awaiting this day: the day when Semi Secret Software's auto-runner Canabalt jumps through a window and lands on Android. Not only is it out today, it's part of a new Android-focused Humble Bundle.Other games in today's pay-what-you-want charity collection include Zen Bound 2, Cogs, and Spiderweb's Avadon: The Black Fortress. Those who pay over the average also get Swords & Soldiers.Though it's an Android bundle, buying it gets you access to all the games across PC, Mac, and Linux as well, plus soundtracks for everything but Avadon. And, of course, you get the positive feeling of contributing to charity or whatever.
Humble Bundle brings Canabalt and more to Android
January saw the release of the first ever Humble Bundle for Android, and now the organization is back with a first of another sort for the platform -- five of them, in fact. The second mobile-focused Humble Bundle sees five games making their Android debut, including iPhone favorite Canabalt (now with a two-player mode and Android-exclusive 3D option), plus Zen Bound 2, Cogs, Swords and Soldiers and Avadon: The Black Fortress HD (the latter specific to Android tablets). Along with those comes a beta version of Humble Bundle's own app (up from an alpha release before), which makes it a bit easier to download the games and check for updates since all of this is handled outside of Google Play. As with all Humble Bundles, you can set your own price for the bundle, with an amount of your choosing going to the Child's Play charity and the Electronic Frontier Foundation, and you'll also get desktop versions of all five games for Windows, Mac and Linux. A Steam key is included with all purchases over $1 as well (although it doesn't yet include Canabalt), and they've even thrown in soundtracks for three of the games for good measure.
Humble Indie Bundle adds five more games (and their soundtracks)
There's "value" and then there's "you're insane if you don't purchase this." The latest Humble Indie Bundle falls into the latter and is easily the best bundle yet. That's right, we said it. Humble Indie Bundle 4 has added five new games to its lineup -- a selection of titles from Humble Indie Bundle 3, to be exact. If you pay more than the average now (or already purchased the bundle) you can snag Crayon Physics Deluxe, Cogs, VVVVVVV, And Yet It Moves and Hammerfight on the house. And you know how the fine bundle folks sweetened the deal by adding free soundtracks last week? Yup, you'll also get the soundtracks to these five latest additions. Agree with us now? Yeah, we thought so.
Humble Indie Bundle 3 rakes in $500K in 17 hours
At what point does the Humble Indie Bundle become so successful that it can officially stop being so darn humble? We're not sure if there's a set limit, but we think that the recently launched third edition of the indie game compilation has cleared the bar: In its first 17 hours of availability, Humble Indie Bundle 3 has been downloaded over 105,000 times, pulling in more than $500,000 for the five games included therein. Keep in mind, these impressive figures were accumulated in less than a day -- we can't wait to see how much cheddar these worthy titles (alongside Child's Play and the Electronic Frontier Foundation) can nab during their full two-week run. Of course, first, we're going to have to find out the latest dollar-to-cheddar currency exchange rates. We're pretty sure it's $3.09 per brick, but that ratio might be a tad outdated.
Humble Indie Bundle 3 packs VVVVVV, Crayon Physics Deluxe, And Yet It Moves, and more
The Humble Indie Bundle, the wildly successful, DRM-free pay-what-you-want charity game collection curated by Wolfire Games, is back ... right now! The Humble Indie Bundle 3 includes Crayon Physics Deluxe, Cogs, VVVVVV (now with a level editor and a new level by Minecraft creator Notch), Hammerfight, and And Yet It Moves -- all playable natively in Linux, OSX, and Windows. Some of the games are newly ported specifically for this purpose. As always, you'll be able to pay whatever amount you like for the bundle, and you'll be able to specify how much of that payment goes to the EFF, Child's Play, the developers, or Wolfire itself (to offset the costs of hosting the Bundle). The bundle will go away in two weeks, so you have that long to decide how much to chip in, and to whom. We assume you've already decided to buy it.
US Navy explains basic mechanical principles of a fire control computer -- in 1953 (video)
Bits, bytes and silicon transistors? Boy, you have it good -- back in 1953, state-of-the-art computers were made of gears, sprockets, chains and cams, and we trusted them to accurately wreck lives with ginormous naval guns. If you're wondering how that could possibly work, you don't have to go far -- a series of seven videos after the break show you how it was done, and which might even ingratiate you with the grizzled old neighbor who desperately wants you off his lawn.
TUAW's Daily App: Cogs
Cogs is a 3D puzzle game that was originally released on iOS over a year ago, but it has just arrived on the Mac App Store. It's a good one, featuring a completely "mechanical" interface and sliding tile puzzles that build various contraptions of varying difficulty. The app is US$4.99 on the Mac App Store, but it's even cheaper on iOS; it's completely free on the iPhone right now, and it's $2.99 on the iPad as Cogs HD. Unfortunately, even at those prices, the Mac App Store version is probably your best bet, as it comes with all 50+ levels unlocked and ready for play, while the iOS versions require separate level pack in-app purchases to get access to everything. Still, the free version comes with 10 levels anyway, so if you just want to test out the gameplay, you can. Unfortunately, there's no Game Center integration at all (the app was originally released before that), but maybe now that the Mac version is live, we'll see an update in the future. Whatever happens, if you haven't played this one before, it's definitely worth a look today.
Cogs gears up on Mac app store, discounted on Apple platforms
Award-winning, steampunk-inspired indie puzzler Cogs is available now on the Mac App Store. The game, which is sure to grind your gears at higher difficulty levels, has also been discounted across all Apple devices it's available on for a limited time. The iPhone/iPod Touch version is currently free, while on iPad it's $2.99. On Mac, the 50 percent discount puts it at $4.99. Honestly, the Mac version is probably the best idea -- far less chance of throwing an entire computer across the room in frustration.
Codename bringing original indie games to PlayStation Home
Sony has announced a partnership with upstart independent game label Codename that will see a variety of games from indie devs released on PlayStation Home, beginning with four revealed today that are due over "the course of the next several months." The group includes Dueling Gentlemen from Odd Gentlemen (Misadventures of P.B. Winterbottom) which, as its title suggests, will see Home inhabitants squaring off one-on-one in a classic battle of honor. The hook: Duels will take place live on stage in Home's Central Plaza. Addiitonally, Lazy 8 Studios is bringing its unique 3D puzzler Cogs to Home as a Central Plaza spectacle, complete with multiplayer. Super Awesome Mountain RPG -- a board game/RPG mash-up from Codename itself -- and Minor Battle, Peanut Gallery's Indiecade award-winning, team-based platformer round out what we here at Joystiq HQ are calling "The Most Excited We've Been About Home in Forever Collection." The official announcement is posted after the break.
Cogs, Gear win first annual Indie Game Challenge at DICE
Although they sound like they came from the same mechanical naming bin, Cogs and Gear (two totally different games) have won the first annual Indie Game Challenge at the conclusion of DICE. Sponsored by the AIAS, GameStop and The Guildhall at SMU, the winners will receive $100,000 to build more games ... or to go on the most epic Blueberry Muffin Tops consumption bender in history. Cogs, which won in the professional studio category, also took the $2,500 prizes for Achievement in Art Direction and Achievement in Gameplay. Designed by Lazy 8 Studios, the addictive (and challenging) puzzle game took the prize for its original PC incarnation, however there's a version of it available on iPhone and team lead Rob Jagnow tells us that an iPad and Mac port are planned. Jagnow also informed us he's "staying on the Cogs train for a while," but the studio's next project will be a "foray into social gaming, maybe a Facebook game." Winning the non-professional category, Gear was designed by Digipen students Josh Maiche, Brian Lee, Andrew Hill, Ben Frazier and Mike Halbrook. Most of the members have several years of school still ahead of them. Asked if they'd drop out if they'd won, the team agreed they'll stay in school -- except for Halbrook, who recently graduated and is looking for a job. To check out all the winners and nominees, head on over to the Indie Game Challenge site.
Puzzling IGF finalist 'COGS' releases in pieces for iPhone
With GDC 2010 and the Independent Games Festival just around the corner, Lazy 8 Studios has released an iPhone version of COGS, its unique 3D puzzle title that's up for an IFG award for Excellence in Design. The tile-sliding game is not only unique in that it's played on the sides of a cube, but its tiles feature working gears, pipes and other mechanical pieces which must be connected in order to complete a functioning gizmo (like the jack-in-the-box above). Chillingo, the game's publisher on iPhone, has also taken the increasingly popular approach of releasing COGS for 99¢ and then offering additional puzzle packs that, if purchased via the App Store or in-game, bring its total price up to about five bucks. From what we've played so far, we'd say the initial investment is more than worth it -- we haven't downloaded any additional content as we're still getting through the included puzzles. (It's tough!) Find out more at the handy-dandy App Store link below. COGS (Chillingo / Lazy 8 Studios, 99¢): [Via GameSetWatch]
Cogs for iPhone, a mechanical puzzle game
Cogs is a brilliant game that's had an award-winning run on the PC, and it's due out on the iPhone any day now, say developers Lazy 8. If you like puzzle games, you'll probably see in the trailer above why this one is so fascinating: it takes the old idea of slide puzzles (moving a grid of pieces around one by one) to form actual machines of all kinds, from pipes that blow up balloons to actual gears that run simple engines and even more complex mechanical designs. The core gameplay is simple -- just move those pieces around by switching them -- but you're always building towards an overall picture that pays off with a nice mechanical reward. Good stuff. The game is apparently up for approval right now and will be out very soon. There's no word on price yet -- the PC version of the game sells for about $10 as a digital download, but we've contacted Chillingo to see how much they'll be charging on the iPhone. We'll keep our eyes out for it and try to get you a hands-on review when it releases.
IndieCade 2009: The finalists
IndieCade 2009 was held in Culver City, CA this past weekend, and the local art galleries and restaurants were filled with independent games and their developers from all over the world. The festival billed itself as the "video game Sundance" and lived up to this self-made reputation, putting 29 different indie games on display, both throughout the weekend and during a Thursday night opening ceremony MC'd by Uncharted 2's Richard Lemarchand (shown above with festival founder Stephanie Barish).We've rounded up the festival's finalists in the gallery below. You may be familiar with a few of them, including Twisted Pixel's The Maw and a selection of well-known iPhone titles, but all of these titles deserve your attention -- and a playthrough!%Gallery-74606%
Cogs spinning its way to iPhone
Lazy 8 Studios' Cogs is a clever indie puzzle game that released on PC earlier this year ... with one little issue: the numerous puzzles seemed better suited for a pick-up-and-play mobile platform. Clearly, we weren't the only ones who thought so, as the studio has officially announced the title is in the works for iPhone/iPod touch. Lazy 8's Rob Jagnow tells us that he has the Cogs engine running on the iPhone and estimates it'll be "at least" two months before the game is stably running on the platform. We'll remain patient and calm until it arrives -- qualities that Cogs has beaten into us with some of its more nefarious puzzles.
Direct2Drive's Best of Indie bundle is a great deal
If you've yet to take that first trepidatious step out of the mainstream and into the world of indie gaming, Direct2Drive's got a great starter kit for you. For just $17.75, you can pick up five indie gems that would have normally run you around $78.Though we're not intimately acquainted with Cogs, Democracy 2 or Defense Grid, we think Zeno Clash is worth $18 on its own, not to mention the singular experience of The Path. Yes, that's the same The Path that we described as like getting punched by a centaur. Are you honestly saying you wouldn't want to try that?
Tinkerfest begins in EverQuest II
You have to give the gnomes of EverQuest II some credit for their devotion to all things mechanical. If you're going to be creepily obsessed with something, it's probably better to go all out than to half-ass it. With their love of machinery in mind, the gnomes have brought back one of their favorite holidays, Tinkerfest. The special occasion was ignored for the last 500 years, which probably stressed out the gnomes immensely, but no longer! The festivities began yesterday and will continue until the 3rd of August. Those looking to get involved with Tinkerfest should head to the places that you might expect to find gnomes en masse, including Gnomeland Security Headquarters in the Steamfont Mountains, Baubbleshire in Qeynos and Temple Street in Freeport. To get into the Tinkerfest mood, head past the break to see a video that demonstrates how a simple cog can totally change your life.
Around Azeroth: The many cogs of Azeroth
Reader Zhyane of House of Marama on Medivh sends in this screenshot highlighting all of "the little cogs of the game are working and how insignificant what the player base wants is." And, admittedly, looking down on the Tinker Town section of Ironforge makes me feel awfully small. (A player could easily get crushed in those giant gears -- and for my part, I'd blame the gnomes.)Do you have a unique shot of Azeroth or Outland that you'd like to show off to the rest of the world? Tell us about it by e-mailing aroundazeroth@gmail.com! Or perhaps you'd just like to see more of your pics from Around Azeroth. %Gallery-1816%
