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Rise and Shiny recap: A Tale in the Desert V
A Tale in the Desert V is a non-combat crafting paradise. That might sound a little strange, but the developers encourage players to work together to accomplish bigger and better things, making them feel as though they are part of a community. I have tried the game at different times over the years but never really became more than a visitor. I was glad to be given the opportunity to check it out, but even after a week I still feel like I have barely scratched the surface. I have emerged from the tutorial a smarter citizen, but I know that around the corner, greater challenges wait. The game is not without its flaws, however, although many of the issues might fade as systems and controls become more apparent. Still, I found myself a little frustrated when the game asked me to sit and literally watch grass grow. I did it, though, and found an odd game, filled with mysteries. In a good way, of course.
Where in the Champions Online world is Carmel Santiago?
That is the big question in Champions Online. Ring any bells? Community member Mr. Funsocks began this contest yesterday and plans to continue it on a weekly basis, offering up a pretty nice prize in exchange for your time. Just meet up at Club Caprice at the appointed time and pay your 50n entrance fee. The money goes into a pot along with an additional 5g from Mr. Funsocks. The first person to find this strangely familiar person wins the pot. There are a few rules, including "no excuses", that you can read in the forum thread along with details on where, when, and how. The contest thread sparked an interesting discussion exploring copyright, fair-use, parody, and Cryptic's wishy-washy policies regarding these issues. It will be interesting to see how that conversation plays out, but in the meantime big thanks and kudos to Mr. Funsocks for creating what looks like a great community event.
Xbox Indie Games get new pricing structure, improved update system
Microsoft announced plans yesterday to change a variety of XNA Creators Club features in the coming weeks. First and foremost, the recently renamed Xbox Live Indie Games will get a new pricing structure: games will start at 80 ($1) and cap off at 400 ($5). Second, the renaming of the service will take affect on Xbox Live and at the XNA Creators Club website. Additionally, games on the Indie Games Channel can now receive automatic updates (a la Xbox Live Arcade and Xbox 360 games). Perhaps the most interesting piece of this update is the inclusion of 50 "tokens" for each creator per game; meaning that developers can now send out review codes of games to press (wink, wink), as well as giveaway copies of the game to fans. Interestingly, this is the same number of free codes that Apple grants its App Store developers. Well played, Microsoft.[Via Xbox Indies]
Dishwasher dev defends Xbox Community Games
After Clover developer Binary Tweed made its disappointment in the game's sales clear, it laid a portion of the blame at the feet of Microsoft and its Community Games platform (soon to be renamed Indie Games). James Silva -- head of Dishwasher developer Ska Studios -- has posted something of a rebuttal on his company's blog. His comments aren't directed expressly toward Binary Tweed, but rather toward any developer that thinks the service is an instant goldmine.Silva points out that, even with its faults, Community Games has many advantages over a Windows release, namely visibility, easy payment processing and piracy protection. Addressing complaints that Microsoft doesn't do enough to market Community Games, Silva notes that many games simply won't fly on the Xbox 360, as there are already better versions available for the platform. Paraphrasing Silva, putting a tower defense game on Community Games is "a step down" from other strategy titles available. Meanwhile, all the music generators and ridiculous massage applications really have no competition from Xbox 360 retail titles, allowing them to address an untapped market.Of course, none of that matters if a Community Game lacks the most important factor: fun. Silva encourages developers to "make better games," saying, "All of this blaming nonsense just hurts everyone, and tragically generates more blogroll buzz than any yay-XNA articles do."
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.
Celebrate July 4th with adorable Kodu fireworks
Today is the day of independence for Joystiq readers in the United States, which also means it's a day full of aerial explosions of light. You know, fireworks. For those not lucky enough to be in an area where one can witness this colorful spectacle, we figured we'd bring the explosive excitement to the internet, for all to share, with the help of the recently released Community Game, Kodu.Enjoy the show and have a boom-tastic July 4th!
Video Tour: Kodu, Microsoft's DIY game builder
Microsoft released its Kodu Game Lab yesterday, giving gamers everywhere the opportunity to create their very own games. Just for you, we snapped up the tool and set to work creating the Next BIg Thing in video gaming. Well, either that or we created a dinky little 2D shooter. Still, it's hard not to feel some pride after creating a real, honest-to-goodness, functioning game. And we did it all without laying a finger on a standard keyboard.Check out our video tour and see what created.Add the trial version of Kodu Game Lab to your Xbox 360 download queue
PSA: Kodu Game Lab is now live
Just a quick reminder from your friends at Joystiq, if you wanted to try your hand at the totally cool visual game programming of Kodu Game Lab, the title is now available on the Xbox Live Marketplace (though you'll have to navigate over to the Community Games section to find it).For just 400 MS points ($5) you can build your very own game from the ground up, all the while being reminded that no matter how hard you work at it, Sparrow still owns you. If you manage to make anything cool (though admittedly never as cool as what Sparrow makes) let us know in the comments below.
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%
Kodu gets creative on Xbox 360 June 30 [update]
Update: Microsoft got back to us with the following: "We are going through the same peer-review process that every other developer has to go through, so there isn't any way to determine when the game will actually post, but we hope that it will be somewhere near or on June 30." So, everyone is trying their best to make sure Kodu makes the June 30 release, but don't consider that date chiseled in stone.When the official Kodu blog mentioned that the title would be available this month, it apparently wasn't lying. Xboxic is reporting the game will be available for download on the last day of this month, June 30, for a reasonable 400. Oh, and if you're scratching your head due to Microsoft's penchant for Humpday releases, remember this is an Xbox 360 Community Game Indie Game, and not an Arcade release. For clarification's sake, we've put in word to Microsoft to confirm and will be sure to get back to you with what we find.
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.
Finally: The Xbox Live Community Game Index
File this one under "Absolutely Fantastic Idea." An enterprising netizen by the name of Nick Gravelyn has created the Xbox Live Community Game Index (or XBLCG if you prefer). Seemingly answering our prayers, the site organizes Xbox Live Community Games, details important information for each one and, more importantly, allows users to rate each game. That's right, it took a community developer to implement functionality that Microsoft should have had on day one.Want to find out which games are worth a look? Easy, just filter your results by games that are rated 70% or better. If you'd like to rate games yourself, all you need to do is sign in with your Windows Live ID -- we take personal pride having lowered Rocket Fart from 15% to 14%. You can also filter results by release date, features and even price. Welcome to the internet, XBLCG, we're sure this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship.[Via Binary Tweed]
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.
Joystiq interview: Halfbrick Studios
We recently fired off some long-distance questions to Halfbrick Studios, an independent developer located in Brisbane, Australia, about itself and its projects in the pipeline for Xbox 360 -- more specifically, for XBLA and XNA Community Games. Lead artist Matthew Knight generously accepted our assault and blasted back with his answers. Warning: Stepping into our friendly exchange just might hit you like a ton of (half) bricks ...
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%
The Guide: Community Organizing
Welcome to The Guide, an editorial feature in which former Xbox 360 Fanboy lead Richard Mitchell looks at issues important to Xbox fans. The opinions expressed here belong to the author and don't necessarily reflect those of Joystiq, Weblogs Inc. or its affiliates. The Dishwasher: Dead Samurai came out this week. It's a very good action game and I'm playing it as much as I can. Over the last year and a half or so, I've had the opportunity to talk with Dishwasher's creator, James Silva. You may remember that Microsoft devoted a hefty chunk of last year's GDC keynote to Silva, touting the fact that he created Dishwasher entirely on his own using XNA. Microsoft used The Dishwasher as an example of what could be accomplished with XNA and, by extension, Community Games. Thus far, we haven't really heard that much about Community Games -- apart from less than impressive sales.Playing Dishwasher, I started to wonder why. And then I found Rocket Fart.
The brighter side of XNA sales
We brought you a lot of doom and gloom on the day that XNA Community Sales numbers were initially released, but some more positive accounts have arrived in our inbox, and we thought we'd share them. For instance, we got a note from Zoomaroom developer Four Bros., which said that its game had nabbed 4,700 trial downloads and around 400 purchases, good for a 8.46% conversion rate.Adam Holmes, the man behind Ocean Scenes, was pleased with his 2629 sales, though they came from around 48,000 trials. And, finally, there was Blue Rose Games of Dr. Popper fame, which wrote it sold 2,200 copies of its game at a 12 percent conversation rate, and that it was "happy" with how the game had done.Things are looking up for some of you out there, and we're glad to hear it. Of course, it looks like there are still plenty of ways to improve Microsoft's service and pave the way to those XNA riches.
Xbox 360 TV Calibration app pops up on Community Games
For most of this month, one of the top 10 ranked Community Games on Major Nelson's list hasn't been a game at all, the TV Calibration app is a 200 point ($2.50) tool loaded with plenty of test patterns to make sure your video setup is configured perfectly. There's also a free trial, so we loaded it up and can say it does exactly what it says it does. Most games have at least some PQ optimization helpers, but it's unlikely you'll be able to get this detailed information about pixel mapping and test color patterns with a Gears of War disc, and hey, you gotta make sure those Netflix streams look their best on your HDTV. Other calibration tools may have a few more tests and work on more than one device, but for the price it seems to be a good value. Check out the gallery to see a few of the patterns included, or download it from the marketplace and give it a try.
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%
