JeffMinter
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Atari taps Jeff Minter to resurrect classic coin-op ‘Tempest’
As seen in this 1981 commercial, Tempest was one of Atari's flagship coin-operated arcade games. But unlike Space Command or Centipede, Tempest sent players down geometrically fractal tunnels in an advanced -- and vibrantly psychedelic -- semi-3D adventure. Atari thinks it's high time this title was revived for current consoles, and it's tapped celebrated game designer Jeff Minter to do the job.
Daily iPhone App: GoatUp
GoatUp is a surreal game made by Jeff Minter, the game developer behind Xbox Live's Space Giraffe and a number of other colorful (and often abstract) retro games over the years. GoatUp has you, as a goat, jumping up a series of platforms while eating grass and collecting various items. The gameplay is often wild, as the series of worlds you go through features homages to the various ages of platforming games. It's always crisp and interesting, with excellent retro graphics, finely tuned controls, and a fun set of mechanics. Everything is backed up by a plethora of gaming references, from the silly to the extremely subtle. GoatUp is a simple title, but it's a lot of fun, and it shows just how much joy the iOS platform seems to inspire in a very experienced developer like Minter. The game features both OpenFeint and Game Center integration, and it's available from the App Store as a universal app right now for US$1.99.
Jeff Minter tweaking Gridrunner++ for XBLA
Jeff Minter, cuddler of sheep and designer of psychedelic shooters, has updated his Stinkygoat blog with a mention of his latest endeavor: Gridrunner++ for Xbox Live Arcade. The original scrolling shooter, which requires you to survive numerous waves of enemies in increasingly disorienting levels, will have its graphics and controls overhauled to better suit the Xbox 360. Minter hopes it'll make for a "more involved game" and is first focusing on "getting all the gameplay working first." That's just as well, given the polar reactions his Space Giraffe galloped and/or flew into. [Via X3F]
This Wednesday: Space Giraffe and Street Trace light up XBLA
As proof that Jeff Minter is no longer tweaking, Space Giraffe is set for release on Xbox Live Arcade this Wednesday, August 22nd, for 400 MS Points ($5). If the term "tunnel shooter" doesn't help you visualize Llamasoft's unhinged experiment in visual excess, picturing a Tempest of rainbows vomiting on your screen should get you halfway there. And that's not even considering the steady stream of mixed up gaming memes it spouts at you -- we just found out our giraffe is in another castle. Also releasing this week is Street Trace: NYC, a futuristic hoverboard racer where your board's "emissions" can grant speed boosts to competing players. Mid-air jostling, upgradeable vehicles and online multiplayer all add up to 800 MS Points ($10) and a stirring memory of the Dreamcast's TrickStyle. %Gallery-6129% %Gallery-6128%
Jeff Minter: artist, developer, friend of sheep
Gamasutra interviews eccentric Welsh developer Jeff Minter, who created such retro-inspired classics as Tempest 2000, Llamatron, and Attack of the Mutant Camels. Now under contract with Microsoft, Minter spills the psychedelic beans on his forthcoming Space Giraffe for Xbox Live Arcade, reveals whether he'll ever develop for anyone other than Bill Gates again, and cuddles a sheep for the camera. (See above.)
Trippy Space Giraffe video is "giraffetastic!" [update 1]
Let's be honest, Jeff Minter's Space Giraffe is nothing more than an updated Tempest 2000 (also Minter's creation), itself a remake of 1981's Tempest. The upcoming XBLA rail shooter brings to mind Geometry Wars and Rez in a big way, and this work-in-progress video includes licensed music and intentional Engrish. There isn't much about Space Giraffe that is original or innovative ... but still it looks like insane fun. Let none of that stop you from enjoying some ultra-trippy video, set to the tune of Aphex Twin (Warning: NSFW). The YouTube video is pretty shoddy in quality, so we recommend going to Xboxyde for a slightly crisper experience. "Congraturation! You success! A winner is you! But our giraffe is in another castle!" [Via Xbox 360 Fanboy] [Update 1: So, as it turns out, Richard David James has yet to multiply himself through meiosis or any other similar process. Ooopsies, singularity has won.]
Jeff Minter bringing space giraffes to XBLA
As if Geometry Wars doesn't provide enough trippy, vector graphics action for Xbox Live Arcade, Jeff Minter and the boys at Llamasoft have posted some extremely psychedelic pictures (warning, some NSFW language) of their new XBLA game, tentatively titled "Space Giraffe." Jeff doesn't reveal many gameplay details in the post on his blog, but he does say that the game will be a rail-based shooter in the tradition of Minter's Tempest 2000. Leave it to the creator of the Xbox 360's lightsnyth, to come up with a game that looks like a bad acid trip. [Via K1lla's Xbox Domain]
