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Atmospheric bounty hunter White Space explained in dev diary
Curve Studios Design Director Jonathan Biddle discussed the alpha version of his latest game White Space in a new developer diary video. In it, bounty-hunting players fly from one pretty, polygonal, procedurally-generated planet to the next to take down their targets.
Stealth Inc bringing its sneaky platforming to iOS
Stealth Inc – A Clone in the Dark (formerly known as Stealth Bastard) is bringing its charming blend of stealth and platforming action to iOS. In a feature over on Pocketgamer, developer Jonathan Biddle said the iOS port is already underway. There is no timing for iOS port right now, though Biddle said it's proving difficult due to the different resolutions for all the iDevices out there. "The different screen resolutions and aspect ratios have meant creating three different versions of each of the game's 80 levels – iPad, widescreen iPhone and 4:3 iPhone," he said. "Testing the iOS version of the game now means playing it through three times every time the levels are changed." Stealth Inc has already found success on Windows PC, Linux, Mac, PS3, PS Vita and Android.
Curve Studios director spills about Fluidity's inspirations, origins
On December 6, Nintendo and Explodemon developer Curve Studios released Fluidity for WiiWare, an unusual platformer in which you tilt the level to guide a puddle of water through puzzles, changing it to ice or vapor as necessary. This is framed as taking place entirely within the "Aquaticus," a sort of magical, living encyclopedia about water. Design director Jonathan Biddle explained the evolution of the concept to Joystiq. "Early on, we were pursuing a more scientific presentational style that focused on teaching the science of water," he said. "We liked the idea that the game was an interactive school book from the future that taught you by letting you play it. As the game dropped its scientific slant, we retained the book presentation – since we still thought it was fresh - but took it in a much more colorful direction." That direction now involves guiding a small amount of water through the landscape of the book, picking up "Rainbow Drops" and clearing away the evil Influence -- an ink spill. %Gallery-109311%
Explodemon prototype videos reveal explosive gameplay, Bangai-O inspiration
Remember Explodemon? If you don't, don't blame yourself -- the title was revealed back on April Fool's Day and hasn't been heard of since. While its core concept -- a superhero powered by self-detonation -- may seem familiar after the XBLA release of 'Splosion Man, these prototype videos show a very different direction for the upcoming PS3/PSP/Wii platformer. Perhaps an analogy would best sum up our impressions: Explodemon : Mario :: Splosion Man : Sonic (the good 2D kind, mind you) Jonathan Biddle, design director at developer Curve, recently wrote about the various inspirations of Explodemon, a design that has been four years in the making so far. According to Biddle, players are encouraged to get as close to enemies as possible when exploding themselves, a mechanic ripped from Dreamcast's Bangai-O. "It's risk/reward in a distilled form, and is pure Treasure genius." You can see it in action after the break.
