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XBLIG's Brand looks to be a cut above
We know it's hard out there for Xbox Live Indie Game developers, so we like to do our part by highlighting the grains of wheat in a proverbial sea of chaff. In that spirit, we're slicing off a first look at the 2.5D sword-centric action of Brand, coming to XBLIG from Nine Dots.
FortressCraft makes a million on XBLIG
Minecraft is such a successful formula that it's making money even for games that aren't Minecraft. Take, for example, FortressCraft, an Xbox Live Indie game whose title and gameplay are eerily similar to Mojang's indie megahit, almost as if that were the express purpose of the game. According to developer ProjectorGames, FortressCraft has become the highest-grossing XBLIG release ever, bringing in over a million bucks with approximately 350,000 copies sold. To be fair, the developer thinks of it more as an amalgam of Dwarf Fortress and Minecraft, and plans to add more divergent elements in the future, but we're not sure that's how the people buying it think of it. In any case, ProjectorGames should probably hang onto that million, because sales might slow a bit when it has to compete with for-real Minecraft.
Indie Games Summer Uprising gets new trailer, community voting begins
So, those eight games chosen to headline the Xbox Live Indie Games Summer Uprising, would you like to see some footage? No? How about footage set to the tune of Mega Man 2's first Dr. stage? Yes! We knew you would come around. Since you're here, you should also know that community voting for the final two games has begun. Check out the entries page on the Summer Uprising website and then head over to the Facebook page to cast your vote. We'd love to strong-arm our readers into voting for The Jump Hero, but what sort of example would that set for other responsible websites? The Summer Uprising officially begins later this month on August 22.
'They Bleed Pixels' brings low-res slaughter to XBLIG
"They Bleed Pixels is a fast-paced, gothic lo-fi, platforming beat'em up that drips, gushes and flows," explains the website for Spooky Squid Games' new XBLIG platformer. We'd be hard-pressed to come up with a more accurate, succinct description. Check out the above trailer and you'll immediately see every element of that loaded sentence in motion. They Bleed Pixels combines the tiny protagonist and enclosed, danger-filled platforming challenges of a game like Super Meat Boy or N+, with a one-button combo attack system that rewards skillful execution with checkpoints. They Bleed Pixels will be released this summer on XBLIG, featuring a soundtrack by DJ Finish Him "created using unconventional instruments and gadgets often not meant for musical use." You can find samples of the soundtrack at the official site.
XBLIG creators express disappointment with low sales
Xbox Live Indie Games might allow creative independence, but they aren't quite the path to financial independence just yet. As one piece of anecdata about the relative success of an XBLIG launch, Sequence creator (and ex-DS Fanboy writer!) Jason Wishnov described his experience to Ars Technica. Following a positive press reception, Sequence sold around 2,000 copies, a result Wishnov categorized as "a bit of a flop." He's looking at PC and mobile platforms for future projects; "It's not financially viable to do a larger-scale project and [not] expect with any certainty to make some money," he said. Zeboyd's Robert Boyd told Ars that his games, Breath of Death VII and Cthulhu Saves the World, sold around 50,000 and 16,000 copies each respectively, making them relative hits for XBLIG. "I think our games could sell a lot better than they did with a better platform and more visibility," Boyd said. He's testing that theory with a Steam release of both on July 13. The bundle will cost $3.
XBL Indie Games Summer Uprising developer voting begins, fan voting opens August 1
The Xbox Live Indie Games community is preparing for another self-motivated promotional outing, with its Indie Games Summer Uprising. Though the devs are doing all the marketing on their own, they still need your help in two ways. First, the organizers want you to vote on two of the featured games. Developer voting for eight of the Uprising slots is going on now; those games will be released at the rate of one per day from August 22 - 31 . On August 1-15, community voting will open up for two additional titles. These two games will then be released at the end of the Uprising, on September 1 and 2. You can follow the promotion on the new Uprising site. The second way you can help: buy some games when they come out. Obvious, really.
XBL Indie Games Uprising returns this summer, taking submissions
Following the "commercial and critical success" of last year's Xbox Live Indie Games Winter Uprising promotion, a new Uprising event has been announced for this summer. The clearly named Indie Games Summer Uprising is scheduled to kick off on August 22 and run through September 12, with two games planned to release each week. This time XBLIG developers are being called upon to submit their games ahead of time for consideration. Starting July 4, voting will begin to decide the final list of featured titles. There's already and impressive list of candidates, with over two dozen games submitted. You'd best hurry if you'd like your project considered: Submissions will only be accepted until June 24. We've included trailers for some of our favorite submissions after the break.
Xbox Live Marketplace experiencing outages [update]
The Xbox Live status page (and our own abortive efforts to download stuff) reveals that the Xbox Live Marketplace is currently experiencing an interruption in service. According to the site, "users may experience difficulties" browsing Xbox Live Indie Games, the Games Marketplace, or the Games for Windows Live Marketplace from either an Xbox or a PC. It's more than "difficult" -- in our case, at least, the XBLIG page returns no results at all. Given recent history, it's tempting to jump immediately to topic of hacking. However, there's no evidence of that, so we're going to assume the blame lies with molemen instead. Molemen are stealing our Marketplace access. Update: Microsoft sent Joystiq a statement attributing the outage to "an internal operational error," which it is working to resolve "as quickly as possible." You can find the full statement -- which does not confirm or deny the involvement of molemen -- after the break.
Magicka sequel planned, first game and Vietnam expansion sold 'over expectations'
Arrowhead Studios' first game, Magicka, has been a runaway success. Publisher Paradox Interactive told Joystiq in a recent interview that the game "sold over 30,000 copies in the first 24 hours," and the five dollar Vietnam-themed expansion has moved "well over 100,000" copies since launching in mid-April. Even at just $5, that's plenty of extra ducats. Paradox CEO Fredrik Wester also confirmed a Magicka sequel on the books, though the folks at Arrowhead are still hard at work on the first game's PvP, set for a free release in the near future. "When we -- and I'm not saying 'if' -- but 'when' we are doing a sequel to this game, it's going to be done on a totally different technology," Wester explained, airing some of his company's grievances with Magicka's game engine, XNA Studios. "It was super buggy at release," he added, speaking to Magicka's less-than-perfect state at launch. "We addressed most of them in the first week, but there are still issues with laptops and a few other things. It's due to the engine that we produced the game on." As for the oft-requested console version of Magicka, Wester and his company are taking an all-or-nothing approach at this point. "We wanna do XBLA or nothing for the Xbox," Wester matter-of-factly stated when asked about the possibility of the game still heading to Xbox Live Indie Games. Beyond it being a smaller marketplace, he noted, "We looked into that, but it was not as simple as it seemed at first." PlayStation Network, thankfully, is an easier task. "PSN should be a no brainer, and I'm saying should because ... I can't really say anything more at the moment," he coyly added, noting, "I'll let you know as soon as I can say more." ESRB listings discovered earlier this year certainly indicate that something is in the cards.
Microsoft takes measure to counter alleged Indie Games ratings manipulation
Microsoft has disabled Xbox Live "Free" members' ability to rate Marketplace content on Xbox.com in an apparent effort to curb ratings manipulation. The announcement was made on the XNA Game Studio Team Blog and was specifically addressed to the Indie Games Community. "By implementing this change, we believe our customers will experience more consistent ratings and a significantly reduced potential for abuse across the entire Xbox catalog," said the statement. "We have also investigated rolling back suspect votes, however, we determined it will not be possible to do this." Several weeks ago, developers of some of the top-rated Indie Games suspected foul play when their games began to slide down the Top Rated listing after receiving, by one developer's count, "hundreds of 1 star ratings" in a single week. While the XNA Team conceded that it would be unable to take away such seemingly unwarranted ratings, it did add that "we are investigating users who may have violated their user agreement during this series of events." "Violating user agreements may result in actions up to and including banning from Xbox Live, removal of currently posted games, and loss of ability to post games in the future," the statement continued. A few Indie Games developers have expressed gratitude, as reported by Armless Octopus, for Microsoft listening to their concerns and taking action. (Historically, it's been a somewhat rocky relationship between the two sides.) While limiting rating powers on Xbox.com to paying Gold members would seem to thwart the most egregious attacks and manipulation of content, it does not solve some of the other issues with the system; most notably that a user need not play, let alone purchase, content to rate it.
Xbox Live Indie Games ratings are being manipulated, devs say
If you thought jocks versus nerds was a war you left behind in high school, we've got some bad news: It's followed you to a new, less predictable battleground. Yup, Xbox Live Indie Games. Seemingly provoked by a harmless call to action by the developers behind College Lacrosse 2011 on their Facebook page -- they even said, "Please remember to not rate other games low to help CL11" -- some developers have noticed a drastic drop in their XBLIG rankings. "After hanging out around the #6 top rated slot for a month or two, our game's rating started to drop very quickly," Cthulu Saves the World dev Robert Boyd wrote on Microsoft's App Hub Forums. "In less than a week, we went from being #6 top rated to our current spot of #11." And how are the lacrosse games doing? "In contrast, the Lacrosse games which were in the middle of top 20 best rated (I don't remember the exact positions) are now ranked #4 & #5," Boyd observed. For its part, Microsoft's XNA Creator's Club has acknowledged the possibility of manipulation, tweeting, "We are investigating a possible misuse of ratings on #XBLIG titles. We'll announce more information here as it develops." The real issue is how easy it is for a group of individuals (take the 177K fans of College Lacrosse's Facebook page) to influence the popularity of games on the service: Users can rate games on Microsoft's website without owning an Xbox, purchasing a game, or even playing a demo. When download numbers are as tied to rankings as they are on the Indie Games marketplace (just like on the iOS and Android marketplaces) this issue is really critical in maintaining the fairness of that ecosystem.
Achievements top on Xbox Live Indie devs' wish lists
Gamasutra rounded up six of the precious few standout developers of Xbox Live Indie Games (XBLIG) to discuss the continually promising but frequently embattled platform. Camille Guermonprez of Arkedo Studios praised XBLIG as "fast and easy to use" and Xona Games' Matthew Doucette noted that "development is essentially free in terms of fees" (just an annual $120 membership); before he warned that additional "developer and game content expenses can be massive to a start-up." Indeed, none of these indies has struck gold -- certainly not like the top devs are finding on the App Store -- and three of the six are at least temporarily abandoning XBLIG, while the others have expanded to multiplatform development. "[To] stay only on XBLIG makes no financial sense at the moment," Doucette said. When asked what improvements could be made to the platform, Luke Schneider of Radian Games' echoed the majority when he said that "the biggest issue is definitely Achievements" -- or lack thereof.
XBLIG facts: Nazi-killing a no-no, revenue a yes-yes
During the Xbox Live Indie Games panel at GDC, a who's who of XBLIG developers (James Silva, Nathan Fouts, Robert Boyd and Ian Stocker) talked about their experiences, successes and failures self-publishing on the service. Perhaps of more use to budding XBLIG developers are some facts about the service, including the revenue split between Microsoft and the developer, as well as some gameplay restrictions. For anyone who publishes an Xbox Live Indie Game, Microsoft takes 30 percent of the revenue, leaving 70 percent for the game maker. Even more interesting are some of the restrictions for games. James Silva of Ska Studios said it's impossible to have an XBLIG title where the player kills nazis, for example. "That's like an inherent human right that's been taken away from us," Silva said. "We grew up on killing Nazis." Silva then went on to provide an anecdote about a game concept he had, about a burly mountain man who hunts people, but it turns out XBLIG isn't murder-friendly, either. We've followed up with Microsoft for some more information on the guidelines of Xbox Live Indie Games.
XBL Indie Games Winter Uprising falls a little short
Though they may have had the noblest of intentions, organizers for the Indie Games Winter Uprising are admitting things didn't go precisely as planned. The idea had been to launch 14 games on Xbox Live Indie Games in the first week of December as a way of separating the wheat from the massage game chaff on the service. At the moment though, only eight of those games have made it out the door. "The way Xbox Live Indie Games are set up, it's difficult to release on a specific day," organizer Robert Boyd told Edge. "You can't get your game approved and have it come out later at a day of your choosing – once a game is approved it goes up automatically within 48 hours. Likewise, if you submit a game for approval and then find that you have to pull it for whatever reason, however small, you have to wait a minimum of 7 days before resubmitting." It's not all doom and gloom though, with first Uprising release Epic Dungeon moving over 6,000 units. The Uprising's still a great project, and we'd love to see the devs try again soon ... maybe even with a little help from Microsoft this time?
Xbox Live Indie Games store now falls under Games & Demos section
In a remarkably quick 180 (for the 360), Microsoft has moved its Xbox Live Indie Games channel back into the "Games & Demos" section of Xbox Live Marketplace. When the fall Dashboard update hit Xbox 360 last week, the Indie Games channel was swept into the "Specialty Shops" section, alongside Avatar clothing items rather than other video games. The folks most affected by the change -- Xbox Live Indie Game developers -- have taken to the Microsoft forums to celebrate the change, saying, "Microsoft ARE LISTENING! Indie Games are back in the games section! We ARE having an effect. The new placement isnt PERFECT - but its a huge step in the right direction. The icon feels very out of place being such a different style -- and in searches etc. it doesnt look like indie games are included - but we ARE in the games section." The original complaint forum thread has even been changed from "xbligs are not 'games' any longer" to "mourning is over!", giving an indication of just how important the re-categorization was to the XBLIG development community.
Xbox Live Indie Games moved to 'Specialty Shops' on new Dashboard, devs not happy
The new Xbox 360 Dashboard Update makes the whole interface look smoother and cleaner, but it has rubbed one part of the community the wrong way. Xbox Live Indie Game creators are bummed over on the Microsoft Developer Network forums, as their creations have been relegated to the "Specialty Shops" section of the new Dashboard, hidden behind the Avatar Marketplace and away from most of the game and demo traffic. Most developers actually sound resigned to their fate, admitting that, while there are a few indie game breakouts, the category in general wasn't a big moneymaker for Microsoft, so it's not surprising it didn't get the spotlight when the update came around. But other devs say it's a chicken-and-the-egg problem, that indie games won't get the sales without the exposure, and hiding them away only dooms them to more failure. That said, there's no sales data yet off of the new Dashboard; we'll just have to wait and see what effect this new placement has. [Thanks, Richard!]
The Joystiq Indie Pitch: DETOUR
Being a giant, beloved video game site has its downsides. For example, we sometimes neglect to give independent developers our coverage love (or loverage, if you will) as we get caught up in AAA, AAAA or the rare quintuple-A titles. To remedy that, we're giving indies the chance to create their own loverage and sell you, the fans, on their studios and products. This week we talk with Geoff Keene, CEO of Sandswept Studios, about his upcoming XBLIG release, DETOUR. First things first, who are you and what do you do? My name is Geoff Keene, I'm 19 years old, and I'm the design director/project lead for DETOUR. I'm mainly in charge of keeping everything moving and moving smoothly within Sandswept Studios. Sandswept is a team of incredibly talented artists, programmers, writers, and I think at least one of our guys rides a motorcycle. We are currently working on the PC and Xbox LIVE Indie Game DETOUR, set to launch early 2011.
The Joystiq Indie Pitch: Prismatic Solid
Being a giant, beloved video game site has its downsides. For example, we sometimes neglect to give independent developers our coverage love (or loverage, if you will) as we get caught up in AAA, AAAA or the rare quintuple-A titles. To remedy that, we're giving indies the chance to create their own loverage and sell you, the fans, on their studios and products. This week we talk with Yoichi Hayashi, whose Prismatic Solid took home third place in this year's Dream.Build.Play contest. How did you get started in game design? I started developing games using BASIC from the early '80s when I was in junior high. Books and magazines were my teachers since there was no internet at that time.
XBL indie Explosionade from Weapon of Choice dev delayed by last-minute bug
Nathan Fouts, former Insomniac designer and now-head of indie dev Mommy's Best Games, has tweeted that his latest game, Explosionade, has hit a small snag. Originally expected on the Xbox Live Marketplace by the end of the day tomorrow, a last-minute bug discovery has made it necessary for Fouts to resubmit the game for peer review. Fouts told site Nukezilla "the game has to wait at least 7 days before it can resubmit" and that "we're shooting for next weekend at this point," putting the release on (or slightly before) October 3. We can't think of a better way to pass the time than playing MBG's previous XBLIG releases, Weapon of Choice and Shoot 1UP. Xbox.com: Add Weapon of Choice to your Xbox 360 download queue (400 MSP / $5) Xbox.com: Add Shoot 1UP to your Xbox 360 download queue (80 MSP / $1)
The Joystiq Indie Pitch: Blockey
Ray Bracey has a knack for naming things. First, there's his nigh-cubist Xbox Live Indie hockey game Blockey (get it?); then there's his game's URL, simply http://blockey.isgreat.org. It's direct, and we like that. Oh, and have we mentioned his development team is called Walking-Talking Grilling Bear Studios? In this latest edition of the Indie Pitch, we talk with Ray about the origins of his game and his design career, though not about his facility for naming stuff. Shame on us. What's your game called, and what's it about? The game is called Blockey. It is a 2-vs-2 hockey game with goalies and lots of block-men hitting other block-men. It was designed to be retro: simple and fun. I made it using XNA for release on Xbox Live Indie Games.
