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Lazy 8 on the Cogs behind BioShock Infinite: Industrial Revolution
Independent developer Lazy 8 launched steampunk puzzler Cogs on PC in 2009; that same year Cogs was an IndieCade finalist. In 2010, the game snagged an IGF nod and won $100,000 in the Indie Game Challenge, and in 2011, Cogs was released for Mac gamers. Three years later, Cogs is still picking up steam and its quality is the reason Irrational Games approached Lazy 8 to assemble BioShock Infinite: Industrial Revolution."The BioShock Infinite team at Irrational was already aware of Cogs, the award-winning puzzle game that we launched in 2009," Lazy 8 founder Rob Jagnow tells Joystiq. "They knew they wanted to create something similar – challenging puzzles in a steampunk style – so they approached Lazy 8 Studios in the hope that we could help design a puzzle game with the same level of polish."Turns out Lazy 8 could do just that. Industrial Revolution is available now, for free, with pre-orders of BioShock Infinite. It's a flash puzzle game that has players fight on the side of BioShock Infinite's warring factions Vox Populi or the Founders, and generates in-game goods for next year's full Infinite release. Industrial Revolution comes with its own innate depth, however: The choices players make on the first playthrough are permanent and the game can't be replayed with different allegiances."It's true that Industrial Revolution is designed to be played only once, and while you're playing, you'll be offered choices about which factions you want to support. Not every player may realize it, but the choices you make will impact how the story is told to you. And once those choices are made, you can't go back and make them again. They're permanent. While that may not make everyone happy, I think it makes for a really compelling player experience. It gives a lot more weight to your actions and their consequences."
Cogs gears up on Mac app store, discounted on Apple platforms
Award-winning, steampunk-inspired indie puzzler Cogs is available now on the Mac App Store. The game, which is sure to grind your gears at higher difficulty levels, has also been discounted across all Apple devices it's available on for a limited time. The iPhone/iPod Touch version is currently free, while on iPad it's $2.99. On Mac, the 50 percent discount puts it at $4.99. Honestly, the Mac version is probably the best idea -- far less chance of throwing an entire computer across the room in frustration.
Codename bringing original indie games to PlayStation Home
Sony has announced a partnership with upstart independent game label Codename that will see a variety of games from indie devs released on PlayStation Home, beginning with four revealed today that are due over "the course of the next several months." The group includes Dueling Gentlemen from Odd Gentlemen (Misadventures of P.B. Winterbottom) which, as its title suggests, will see Home inhabitants squaring off one-on-one in a classic battle of honor. The hook: Duels will take place live on stage in Home's Central Plaza. Addiitonally, Lazy 8 Studios is bringing its unique 3D puzzler Cogs to Home as a Central Plaza spectacle, complete with multiplayer. Super Awesome Mountain RPG -- a board game/RPG mash-up from Codename itself -- and Minor Battle, Peanut Gallery's Indiecade award-winning, team-based platformer round out what we here at Joystiq HQ are calling "The Most Excited We've Been About Home in Forever Collection." The official announcement is posted after the break.
Puzzling IGF finalist 'COGS' releases in pieces for iPhone
With GDC 2010 and the Independent Games Festival just around the corner, Lazy 8 Studios has released an iPhone version of COGS, its unique 3D puzzle title that's up for an IFG award for Excellence in Design. The tile-sliding game is not only unique in that it's played on the sides of a cube, but its tiles feature working gears, pipes and other mechanical pieces which must be connected in order to complete a functioning gizmo (like the jack-in-the-box above). Chillingo, the game's publisher on iPhone, has also taken the increasingly popular approach of releasing COGS for 99¢ and then offering additional puzzle packs that, if purchased via the App Store or in-game, bring its total price up to about five bucks. From what we've played so far, we'd say the initial investment is more than worth it -- we haven't downloaded any additional content as we're still getting through the included puzzles. (It's tough!) Find out more at the handy-dandy App Store link below. COGS (Chillingo / Lazy 8 Studios, 99¢): [Via GameSetWatch]
Cogs for iPhone, a mechanical puzzle game
Cogs is a brilliant game that's had an award-winning run on the PC, and it's due out on the iPhone any day now, say developers Lazy 8. If you like puzzle games, you'll probably see in the trailer above why this one is so fascinating: it takes the old idea of slide puzzles (moving a grid of pieces around one by one) to form actual machines of all kinds, from pipes that blow up balloons to actual gears that run simple engines and even more complex mechanical designs. The core gameplay is simple -- just move those pieces around by switching them -- but you're always building towards an overall picture that pays off with a nice mechanical reward. Good stuff. The game is apparently up for approval right now and will be out very soon. There's no word on price yet -- the PC version of the game sells for about $10 as a digital download, but we've contacted Chillingo to see how much they'll be charging on the iPhone. We'll keep our eyes out for it and try to get you a hands-on review when it releases.
Cogs spinning its way to iPhone
Lazy 8 Studios' Cogs is a clever indie puzzle game that released on PC earlier this year ... with one little issue: the numerous puzzles seemed better suited for a pick-up-and-play mobile platform. Clearly, we weren't the only ones who thought so, as the studio has officially announced the title is in the works for iPhone/iPod touch. Lazy 8's Rob Jagnow tells us that he has the Cogs engine running on the iPhone and estimates it'll be "at least" two months before the game is stably running on the platform. We'll remain patient and calm until it arrives -- qualities that Cogs has beaten into us with some of its more nefarious puzzles.
