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Multiplayer minigame collection Sportsfriends delayed on PS3
Die Gute Fabrik's local-multiplayer PS3 minigame compilation Sportsfriends will sail past its previously announced January release date, as its developers report that the final product is still several weeks away from completion. A backer-only Kickstarter update explains that the four included games are "basically done" and on-budget, but the team needs "some more weeks" to apply polish and fix lingering bugs. To keep PC backers happy, Die Gute Fabrik will release beta versions of Sportsfriends on Windows, Mac, and Linux immediately after the PlayStation 3 port hits the PlayStation Store. Previously, PC players who backed the campaign were promised a release several weeks after the PS3 version's launch. Sportsfriends met its crowdfunding goal of $150,000 in December of 2012, offering backers downloadable versions of J.S. Joust, BaraBariBall, Super Pole Riders, and Hokra. A PlayStation 4 port is also in the works.
Johann Sebastian Joust conquers Chicago
Johann Sebastian Joust continues its steady campaign of world domination with a stop in Chicago, Illinois, where random people in parks and subways join internet denizens in some light-based, non-screen video gaming hijinks, captured on film by RedPandaGamer.
Hang out with the Sportsfriends live stream tonight from Tumblr HQ
The developers of Sportsfriends, that cheerful quartet of quirky sports-esque games set to hit PSN, are showing off some sweet moves via a live stream from Tumblr central, tonight at 7:30 p.m. EST. The Sportsfriends games are J.S. Joust, Hokra, BaraBariball and Pole Riders, and if you haven't seen any of them in action yet, you're truly missing out.The live stream will be entertaining, yes, but it serves a greater purpose: getting eyeballs on the Sportsfriends Kickstarter project, which has three days to raise $70,000. Regardless of your donation intention, the Sportsfriends stream will be more entertaining than any prime-time programming you'd otherwise be watching tonight, guaranteed.Grab some buddies and check out the live stream on Twitch TV tonight at 7:30 p.m. EST.
J.S. Joust, Hokra, Pole Riders, and BaraBariBall unite as 'Sportsfriends' on PS3 and computers
Johann Sebastian Joust, the game of dueling Move controllers you may have seen at industry events, is officially coming to the PlayStation 3 and computers. And it's bringing friends.Sportsfriends is a collection of four indie games that all share a focus on local multiplayer and a capacity to draw crowds of spectators. Producer Doug Wilson, who also created J.S. Joust, told Joystiq he thinks of the downloadable collection as "a 21st-century reincarnation of Summer Games." Accordingly, it'll be released in "Summer/Fall 2013."The collection will be funded both by Sony's Pub Fund and through a Kickstarter, which will also act as a pre-order platform. Now let's make friends with the four new sports:
This year's PAX 10: JS Joust, Offspring Fling!, Puzzlejuice and more
The PAX 10, an illustrious group of indie games chosen annually to be spotlighted during PAX Prime in Seattle, have been selected. This year's rarified group include the likes of Johann Sebastian Joust, Offspring Fling! – a game we highlighted in length on the Super Joystiq Podcast – and hypnotic iOS darling Puzzlejuice.Other lesser-known titles include the latest from Cipher Prime, the studio behind Auditorium and Fractal, a Steam title called Splice, and puzzle games Containment: The Zombie Puzzler and The Bridge. Puzzle-platformer The Swapper is also represented, along with DigiPen's stealth-action game Deity and Catch-22. Turtle Sandbox's action-strategy hybrid Cannon Brawl rounds out the list of ten.All PAX 10 titles will be featured in their own special area at this year's PAX Prime, which goes down August 31 through September 2 in downtown Seattle, WA.
JS Joust creators respond to Papa Quash controversy
Johann Sebastian Joust developer Die Gute Fabrik deliberated over its response to inquiries about the similar iOS app Papa Quash for more than a day, delivering a comprehensive response on its blog last night. "To be clear, we've never given anyone permission to make a derivative version of any of our commercial products – existing or forthcoming," DGF said. "That said, the definition of 'derivative' is elusive. We generally don't believe that game mechanics themselves can or should be copyrighted or otherwise protected." "We've also never requested any studio to pull any of its products," the studio added, referring obliquely to Papa Quash's removal from the App Store. "We believe that game developers have the responsibility to decide for themselves what is "over the line" in terms of cloning vs. innovating (separate from legal obligations regarding copyrights, trademarks, patents, and other intellectual property rights)." As for the specific case of Papa Quash, Die Gute Fabrik demurred from outright calling it a clone – while still expressing disappointment about cloning in general.In an email to Joystiq, Die Gute Fabrik lead game designer Douglas Wilson provided clarification about the email conversation that took place between Papa Quash creator Sam Pepper and DGF."Sam Pepper did email me back in January," Wilson said. "However, I never gave him 'permission' to develop Papa Quash. In his emails, he told me about his general plans to make a motion control game, which he indicated was different from J.S. Joust. He never provided a well-formulated game/design, and as such, there simply was nothing to 'approve.'"According to Wilson, the decision to pull Papa Quash was not his. "I spoke with Steve Bittan from Ustwo last night, and I made it clear that the determination was theirs (and potentially Sam Pepper's) to make as to whether the game is "different" enough (separate from legal obligations regarding copyrights, trademarks, patents, and other intellectual property rights). I don't harbor any animosity towards Ustwo or Sam Pepper."
iOS game 'Papa Quash' looks remarkably JS Joust-like [update]
Johann Sebastian Joust, the game of players attempting to jostle one another to set off accelerometers, would work great on iPhone (if a bit dangerous), and in fact it looks like it does work great. Too bad developer Die Gute Fabrik wasn't the one to put it there.Papa Quash by developer ustwo looks exactly like Joust. Players walk slowly, deliberately around a space, trying to slap, push, or otherwise put each other off balance until only one winner is left unperturbed.It's just on iPhone instead of a computer using Moves, and has "wacky characters" and dubstep. Oh, and in-app purchases (it's otherwise free on iTunes). We've placed a video of Joust after the break for comparison. Either two people had the exact same incredibly creative idea, or some "inspiration" was taken from Joust.Of course, this isn't the first time an iOS clone has beaten an official indie game port to market. Radical Fishing developer Vlambeer found Ninja Fishing on iOS ahead of its own mobile version, and one game, One and One Story, was cloned on iOS from the original code.Update: Developer ustwo explained to Gamasutra that it was commissioned by Sam Pepper to develop that game. "We told him about J. S. Joust and he emailed them to OK it," marketing director Steve Bittan said. "After we got that assurance we did service work on it."JS Joust co-creator Douglas Wilson told Joystiq that the developer is "working on an official response." Die Gute Fabrik tweeted that "we have never and would never approve, give permission, or encourage anyone to clone of any of our games."
Fez, Johann Sebastian Joust win at the IndieCade 2011 awards
The 2011 IndieCade Awards were held in Santa Monica last evening and, in a pretty informal event, Phil Fish's Fez came away with the biggest wins of the night. It received two awards, one for Story/World Design, and the second for the Best in Show prize. Johann Sebastian Joust, a physical game that challenges players to hold PlayStation Move controllers still while getting audio feedback in musical form, also picked up two awards: one for Best Technology, and another award for Impact on the community. Tom Sennett's manic Deepak Fights Robots won the award for best Gameplay Design, Superbrothers' Sword and Sworcery EP picked up the award for Visuals, and Proteus, in which players are offered up a musical environment to explore, won for best Sound. Interaction went to German physical game Ordnungswissenschaft, and the Special Recognition award went to side-scrolling puzzler platformer The Swapper. The ceremony itself was short but wacky. Presenters like Samm Levine and Martin Starr (of TV's "Freaks and Geeks"), as well as web video stars Team Unicorn and Sandeep Parikh, cracked sometimes awkward jokes, while the indie developers themselves acted (unsurprisingly) indie. Joust's team used one of their awards speeches to silently demo the game, and Tom Sennett took the stage to simply announce, "I'm Tom Sennett, and I don't give a fuck!" Fish himself (above) laughed maniacally after winning his second award, and then joked that he thought the Canadian Sword and Sworcery team was going to win. "Take that, Toronto!" he joked. We'll be at IndieCade over the rest of the weekend, so stay tuned for more coverage.
Kickstart Boyer's 'Venus Patrol,' get new games from Superbrothers, Vlambeer, Adam Atomic, and more
IGF chair and former Offworld editor Brandon Boyer wants to start a new website called Venus Patrol. To raise capital for this effort, he's instituted a Kickstarter campaign -- one with bonuses that rival the Humble Indie Bundle. Even if you never read another website in your life, you'll probably want to throw some money over. Everyone who donates gets an exclusive wallpaper by Katamari Damacy/Noby Noby Boy creator Keita Takahashi and a set of Minecraft character skins by Pen Ward of Adventure Time. Pay more than $25 and you get exclusive new games from Adam Atomic (famous for Canabalt), Vlambeer (known for Super Crate Box), and Superbrothers (as in Sword & Sworcery EP). You also get the first release of Johann Sebastian Joust, a PlayStation Move-enabled PC game in which players annoy each other in slow motion, in an attempt to goad each other into moving their controllers. $75 gets you that stuff, plus a record of Sworcery remixes and hidden tracks by Scientific American, a copy of Mathew Kumar's exp. -3, a deck of "Monster Mii" trading cards designed by comic artist James Kochalka, and a patch of a Venus Patrol emblem. $200 throws a set of five "Great Showdowns" prints by Double Fine's Scott C. onto the pile ($300 gets you ten, plus everything else above). After the break, Boyer explains the concept of the website.
