dungeon-smash
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Dungeon Smash breaks into XBLIG
Dungeon Smash is a monster-fighting twin-stick shooter with local co-op for up to four players. It's available now on Xbox Live Indie Games for 240 MS Points ($3), along with a free trial for those who like to research their dungeons before jumping in. Dungeon Smash comes from Haiku Interactive, a team previously published on XBLIG with games such as Space Police on Super Highway 9, Crate Expectations and AvaGlide. We got a sneak peek at Dungeon Smash on Sunday with Haiku co-founder Jock Findlay, with an Indie Pitch. Findlay discussed publishing on XBLIG and the benefits of going indie. "I worked for nine years for a few established companies and I learned a lot and really enjoyed it," Findlay said. "Developing independently I have the freedom to explore ideas and learn new skills that I wouldn't have in a company. For example, I've done animation, (technical) artwork, sound editing and sound recording on each of the XBLIG games."
The Joystiq Indie Pitch: Dungeon Smash
It's not that there are too many indie games; it's that there aren't enough hours in a day to play all of them. The Joystiq Indie Pitch curates the best indies to play now and watch out for in the future. What's your game called and what's it about? Dungeon Smash is about being a heroic champion, surviving insurmountable odds, rescuing the princesses, vengeance, love, duty, lust for power, forgiveness and bringing peace to the kingdoms. The story begins with our champions accompanying their wards, the princesses of the war-torn five kingdoms, to the neutral city of Overkalix to sign a peace treaty. On the eve of the signing of the treaty, Overkalix is attacked by demons and the princesses are abducted. The players take on the roles of the princesses' champions and set off toward the Dark Isles to rescue the princesses. Each player is presented with an individual back-story which may influence how they play the game. Why develop for Xbox Live Indie Games, rather than PC or other platforms? It's relatively easy to get published to a potentially massive market and the hardware is fixed so you only really have to cater for two screen resolutions. Dungeon Smash is a twin-stick shooter and you really need a controller for that. However, development has been stopped on XNA and Microsoft is being coy about self-publishing on the Xbox One80, whereas Unity on the PlayStation 4 is sounding pretty attractive.
