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Humble Indie Bundle 6 devs ask you to ask them anything on Reddit
A few of the developers with games in the rather fantastic Humble Indie Bundle 6 are hosting an AMA on Reddit right now.In attendance is Runic Games co-founder Max Schaefer, representing Torchlight (and Torchlight 2, it seems); programmer Matt Bush and composer Terrence Lee of Dustforce's Hitbox Team; Jan Achrenius and Sampsa Lehtonen of Recoil and Rochard; Mario Wynands of Shatter's Sidhe, co-founders of MinMax Games Andrew Hume and Richard with Space Pirates and Zombies; and John Krajewski of Strange Loop Games representing Vessel.Already the developers are discussing the likelihood of their Linux games on Steam, the benefits of being in the Humble Indie Bundle, and answering programming and gameplay questions galore. If you want to know what engines these guys use, how they handle physics or what those space pirates are doing hanging out with zombies in the first place, head on over to Reddit.
The Joystiq Indie Pitch: Vessel
Indie developers are the starving artists of the video-game world, often brilliant and innovative, but also misunderstood, underfunded and more prone to writing free-form poetry on their LiveJournals. We believe they deserve a wider audience with the Joystiq Indie Pitch: This week, Strange Loop Games explain how Fluros flourish in Vessel, a liquid-physics puzzler for PC. What's your game called and what's it about?Our game is called Vessel. It's about a man with the power to create life, and all the consequences that ensue. As far as gameplay, it's a liquid-physics puzzle platformer.How would you describe the style of Vessel – steampunk? – and why did you decide to use that template?It's a mechanical world. Steampunk is the closest pop culture reference, but we don't really call it that because steampunk brings to mind so many other connotations that aren't accurate for our game. We wanted to create a world where the machinery of the world was very exposed, meaning you could see the inner workings of all the machines, how things tick, grind and whir. The goal was to put the Fluros in this nice little mid-point, a contrast between Arkwright, the main character, and the machines of the world. Fluros are the bridge between them.
Indie Megabooth devs let anyone ask them anything
At PAX East this weekend, 16 popular indie developers (plus one "bonus" developer) will congregate into a super-giant indie creature in the first-ever Indie Megabooth. Developers include Ska Studios, Strange Loop Games, Retro Affect, Dejobaan Games, Fire Hose Games, DrinkBox Studios, Pocketwatch Games, Carbon Games and the rest -- to get the indie love flowing, the previously mentioned developers are running an "Ask Me Anything" thread on Reddit, right now. So far, we've learned that each developer gets 99 bitches a day and that most of them cried while playing Journey. Andy Schatz of Pocketwatch Games, Eitan Glinert of Fire Hose and Retro Affect's David Carrigg have also offered differing perspectives on the possibility of indie development for the Wii U, or any Nintendo system in general. Said Glinert: "We're not. I don't know any small third party companies that make any serious money there. Nintendo sadly isn't serious about supporting non-Nintendo companies, and so it's not worthwhile for us to spend the time and effort bringing our games to their platform. Sad face." Schatz disagreed with the doomsday sentiment: "Speak for yourself Eitan! I haven't announced platforms for Monaco yet, but WiiU is still a possibility! Nintendo is slow to change (which is weird given the crazy innovation on their software side), but the boulder is finally starting to move wrt their digital sales storefront."Carrigg said Nintendo's eShop is "far behind" the XBLA and PSN competition, but Retro Affect has been talking to Nintendo and would "really like to work with them. I would not be surprised to see a Retro Affect game on a Nintendo platform sometime in the future."James Silva of Ska Studios addressed the lack of deadly dishwasher games on PC, saying he wants to make PC titles, but for now that would be a problematic process. The AMA is ongoing (as of this posting) so head on over and uncover some you-specific bits of information from this mega-group of indies.
PSA: Vessel available on Steam and dev's site now, 10 percent off
After a long development process that began in 2010, the debut title from indie developer Strange Loop Games, Vessel, has been released.Nominated for an IGF award in Technical Excellence -- which is an award we win daily -- Vessel is available both on Steam and via the developer's own site.To sweeten the watery deal, Vessel is available for 10% off its regular price. Purchasing the game from the developer will net you a DRM-free version and a Steam code. The promotion, which drops the game down to $13.49 from its original asking price of $15, ends on March 8. Act fast because ... uh, something, something sink or swim? Vessel is liquid-based, so the joke holds water.
Vessel transforms from liquid to Steam on March 1
Indie studio Strange Loop Games has been working on Vessel since at least 2010, when it was nominated for the IGF award in Technical Excellence and was a finalist in the Indie Game Challenge -- and the game hadn't even been officially announced then. Vessel is now set to launch on Steam and through Strange Loop on March 1, and it has gameplay videos showing off its liquid-loving mechanics, as seen above and here.Vessel follows inventor M. Arkwright as he explores an altered world of his own creation, where liquid-based Fluro machines work tirelessly across all industries. Strange Loop Games was founded by three former EA employees, John Krajewski, Martin Farren, Mark Filippelli, and a veteran visual artist, Milenko Tunjic, so you can bet nothing about Vessel will appear, ahem, watered down.
Vessel preview: Don't forget to hydrate
You know how they say that water is the essence of life? In Vessel, water takes it one more step: It literally becomes life. Inventor Arkwright has invented what he calls Fluros, little creatures that attract any liquid around them and build them into a body. They're pretty great for doing work around his factory, especially because of their seemingly bottomless desire to step on buttons. Handily, Arkwright's entire factory seems to run on those little buttons. Relying on the little guys probably isn't the best idea, though. If Fantasia taught us anything, it's that employing vaguely magical automatons to do your dirty work always goes awry. Soon, the Fluros have taken over the factory and start wreaking havoc, breaking down a variety of large machines that the good inventor needs to keep things running smoothly. So, obviously, he must go on a 2D-platformer adventure to solve that not-so-little issue. %Gallery-132067%
