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TxK review: Tidal Tempest
Indie designer Jeff Minter has lingered on the fringes of the video game industry over the last few decades, producing refined versions of classic arcade games that reflect his quirky, bovine-loving personality. His latest game, TxK for the PlayStation Vita, feels essentially like a remake of Tempest 2000, Minter's groundbreaking arcade update that holds the dubious honor of being among the best games released for the unsuccessful Atari Jaguar console. Compared to Minter's follow-up, Space Giraffe (another Tempest-alike), TxK is a return to basics. Built on Tempest's foundation, TxK scales back Space Giraffe's complexity while incorporating many elements from Tempest 2000 for a refined and enjoyable – if overly familiar – look back at arcade gaming's past.
Tempest 2000 remake TxK blasts its way onto PS Vita today
TxK, Jeff Minter's remake of the Atari Jaguar game Tempest 2000, will be available on PS Vita alongside the PlayStation Store update later today. In TxK, players travel down a corridor while shooting obstacles; special musical bonus stages, which players cannot fail, are scattered throughout TxK. "We've tried to create something that is pure and beautiful in the same way as the old abstract vector-graphics arcade games, but vibrant and modern in aspect and effects as you play," Minter wrote on the PlayStation Blog. "You'll blast your way through 100 levels and 3 different game modes to keep you challenged whether you want a long session or a quick 5 minutes of gaming on the go." Minter's TxK was originally due to launch last year. A lengthy gameplay video of TxK, available here, should give you an idea of what to expect: an explosion of color set to a thumping techno soundtrack. And perhaps a llama or two. [Image: Llamasoft]
TxK, Jeff Minter's remake of Tempest 2000, on PS Vita this year
Earlier this month, Jeff Minter announced he was remaking Tempest 2000, the lauded Atari Jaguar game pictured above, for the PS Vita under the moniker TxK. Today, Minter has revealed TxK will launch this year on PS Vita."The new game – TxK – will draw on the spirit of the classic T2K, extending and enhancing it using the fantastic graphical power of the PS Vita system, resulting in what we hope will be a new modern classic arcade shooter," Minter wrote on the PlayStation Blog. He promises new terrains, bonus rounds, enemies, weapons and a completely redone soundtrack.Tempest 2000 launched in 1994 for the Atari Jaguar, itself a remake of the original arcade classic Tempest. Tempest is a fixed-perspective shooter – a player controls a ship skirting the edge of a geometric tube, shooting enemy ships and other obstructions approaching from the center of the screen.
Minter's 'TxK' is a new spin on Tempest for Vita
Jaguar killer app Tempest 2000 (pictured) is being updated by creator, and flashing-lights-and-colors enthusiast, Jeff Minter for Vita. TxK is a new version of his frequently iterated game, which sees players circling the periphery of a geometric prism, shooting down the sides into the screen."It'll be the pure, straightforward shooter that maybe you hoped for when you first saw Space Giraffe," Minter said on his blog. "We're not going to overload you with ultra psychedelia, but we will make it fluid and colourful and awesome-looking on the Vita's delicious, vibrant OLED screen.Minter was approached by Sony, presumably as part of the company's indie PSN push. He plans to keep a development log for updates on TxK, a game that he already promises is "going to be *awesome*."
Portabliss: GoatUp (iOS)
Did you know that you can download handheld games now? That's amazingly convenient! The only inconvenient part of it is finding the right games to buy -- and that's where we come in, with our Portabliss column. In each installment, we'll tell you about a downloadable game on the iPhone, iPad, Android device, DSi, 3DS, PSP, etc. Today: GoatUp. So I've been playing this game about a goat and ... why, yes, it is a Jeff Minter game! How did you guess? GoatUp, Minter's first platformer, is the expression of seemingly every Minter trope in one tiny, touch-controlled package. That means it's a score-based game with millions of incredibly random things happening all over the screen, flashing bitmap text everywhere, and items and areas that serve as references I'd surely find nostalgic if I had grown up playing European computer games. It's also the first iPhone platformer I've played in which the tilt controls are actually preferable to touch controls. The platforming is very loose, so that you can run and jump kind of haphazardly and still land on a platform. The default control scheme allows you to run left and right by tilting, and jump by tapping the bottom of the screen, which actually grants you enough precision to play successfully. And by "play successfully" I mean "make a goat climb a tower of grassy platforms, eating grass, picking up hundreds of items and spontaneously generating baby goats, who trail behind you after the fanfare of 'Congoatulations!'" GoatUp is available on iTunes for $1.99 for the iPad and iPhone. We're always looking for new distractions. Want to submit your game for Portabliss consideration? You can reach us at portabliss aat joystiq dawt com.
Jeff Minter's first platformer 'GoatUp' hits iOS
Jeff Minter has been surprisingly prolific on iOS, releasing his fourth Llamasoft game on the platform. GoatUp is, like most Minter games, both arcade-style and ungulate-themed -- however, as a platformer, it's actually a first for Llamasoft. It's a vertical jumping game in which you lead goats up a series of platforms, eating grass and kissing other goats to increase the size of your herd. It's not a strict technical platformer, as Minter explained on his blog. "I hate pixel perfect precision and that sphincter-tightening anxiety that goes with every move in such games," he said. "I wanted to be able to bounce around on my platforms like a tiny caprine nutter, not worrying that I might die if I fell more than two inches onto a lower platform or if my hoof hadn't been *right* at the very edge of the platform I just jumped off." Should you find yourself in the mood to bounce like a caprine nutter, the game is available for $1.99 as a universal app.
Jeff Minter bounces 'Deflex' to iOS
Psychedelic shooter designer Jeff Minter has followed Minotaur Rescue and Minitron 2112 with a third iOS game, with no minotaurs in sight. Deflex is a puzzle game in which players set down "bats," left- and right-slanted lines, off of which a ball bounces into on-screen items. Each time the ball connects, the bat changes direction, leading to a complicated strategy for success -- or, if you're like us, a lot of random placement and hoping. It's adapted from a 1982 Llamasoft game called Superdeflex. According to Touch Arcade's preview, the items and characters you seek out all have their own behaviors. "Many just sit there. Some move towards you. Some (like jiggly bananas) dart away from you. It's a bit chaotic. And the elimination of each character triggers the next note in a haunting piano melody." Neither Touch Arcade nor Minter provided a date for Deflex, but it appears to be done, and thus likely headed to the App Store soon. Check out a video after the break, and don't think for a minute that our description has prepared you for the weirdness.
Rescue minotaurs from the sun on iPhone/iPad with Jeff Minter
Jeff Minter has revealed another psychedelic, ungulate-themed shooter, this time for iPhone and iPad -- and it's not the iPhone game Minter showed off last year. Solar Minotaur Rescue Frenzy is an Atari 2600-looking take on Asteroids, in which your swipe-controlled, auto-firing ship must break apart space rocks to find the minotaurs within, and then rescue said minotaurs before they fall into the sun. Allowing too many asteroids to hit the sun turns it into a black hole. One variant removes that sun, while others, called "Tanks!" and "Jets!" provide competitive vehicle combat (like Atari's Combat) with minotaur rescuing elements. Minter hopes to have the game on the App Store in early 2011. If retro-inspired shooting interests you (and it does, since you're now at the end of a post that started with the words "Jeff Minter") check out the video interview between Minter and Retro Gamer's Darran Jones, featuring lots of gameplay footage and minotaurs.
Jeff Minter yaks about iPhone development, shows off shooter
After having a bad go of it on Xbox Live, ever-eccentric indie dev Jeff Minter has moved on to a smaller, greener pasture: the iPhone. Minter has been working on a multi-game engine for the device for some time, and has told Touch Arcade what makes it an appealing platform to him. "I enjoy working on the iPhone because it's capable and interesting and the ergonomics make you rethink things a bit," he remarked, adding that he wants to make "stuff that's playable with the accelerometers and uses touches appropriately but sparingly and in a way that doesn't upset the view too much." To that end, Minter's first, yet-untitled iPhone / iPod touch game is a multi-directional shooter that is played simply by tilting the device. As you can see in the video embedded after the jump, its visual style is a hard break from Minter's usual psychedelia, but we're sure he'll have the game shattering pixels and filling the screen with flying sheep in no time.
Gridrunner+++ set to release on XBLA in April
According to Videogaming247, Jeff Minter's Gridrunner+++ is set to release on the XBLA at the end of April, after a long wait from the Llamasoft developer. In mid December, Minter unabashedly called Microsoft out, telling Eurogamer that Gridrunner+++ had been submitted "months ago" and Microsoft was simply "sitting on it." For those keeping score at home, Minter previously lamented the slow sales of his original title, Space Giraffe, and was flabbergasted when an XBLA remake of Frogger outsold his first XBLA release by 10 to 1. "OK, we get the message. All you want on that channel is remakes of old, shite arcade games and crap you vaguely remember playing on your Amiga," Minter exclaimed in response to the news of Frogger's success. Thankfully for Minter, Frogger 2 was released months ago and poses no threat to his latest arcade offering. Probably.
Minter: Microsoft 'sitting on' next Llamasoft title
In an interview with Eurogamer, Llamasoft head and Space Giraffe developer Jeff Minter explained that he is ready to release the next iteration of Gridrunner to the Xbox Live Arcade, but that Microsoft is "sitting on" the game. "We sent it off to [Microsoft] months ago, but they've just not said anything" admitted Minter, adding "they're just sitting on the demo we sent them three or four months ago." And it sounds like Minter's patience is wearing thin, because he also makes it clear that if he doesn't hear from Microsoft soon that he'll just carry on with the PC version of Gridrunner+++. Sounds to us like a bad case of communication and a touch of hesitation to release the title, possibly because of Space Giraffes' less than stellar sales success. Hopefully Minter can get things straightened out and hopefully Gridrunner+++ can end up selling more than Frogger.[Via GamesIndustry.biz]
No more dev blogging for Jeff Minter
Following last week's sour rant about the poor sales of Space Giraffe, and more importantly after the response to said rant, Jeff Minter has announced that he will no longer use his LiveJournal blog to chronicle game development. Minter has a new set of harsh words for those that felt the need to disagree with his rant, while he has words of gratitude for those that encouraged him. He also reassures the masses that he is not giving up game development, and is in fact halfway through his next project. Furthermore, Minter notes that there are "a couple of reasonably quick games" in the works, which he believes is "the way to make it work out" for Llamasoft.So there you have it folks, the world hasn't heard the last of Jeff Minter. Frankly, we're glad to hear it.[Image (minus the caption) via Gamasutra]
Poor sales of Space Giraffe make Jeff Minter sad
Jeff Minter, head of Llamasoft, is apparently a bit upset about the sales of his Xbox Live Arcade title Space Giraffe. Upset enough, in fact, to post a disparaging message to his Livejournal blog, insinuating that he means to stop making games altogether. Prompting this reaction were apparent Live Arcade statistics, revealing that in one week Frogger on XBLA outsold Space Giraffe. Minter is clearly taking the lack of his game's success a bit hard, but we hope that he doesn't let the sheer popularity of retro titles push him away from any future development. Minter's angry ranting was posted at 1:45 am, his time. In the event that he sobers up and removes the post, we've copied his frothy words for your perusal. Check out all the anti-retro spite after the break. [Via CVG]
Space Giraffe to be cleansed with title update
Sometime this week the psychedelic XBLA game Space Giraffe will be starting fresh with a new title update and a leaderboards reset too. The title update is set to fix two gameplay elements and will now restrict players from indefinitely holding the power zone at its maximum or allow for the ability to indefinitely juggle enemies. We're sure these two indefinite exploits caused some crazy large Space Giraffe high scores, so we guess it's only fitting the leaderboards get a recent too. Watch for the title update to roll out in the next few days and please be safe when playing, because seizures are real kids ... seizures are real.
Space Giraffe and Street Trace release
Fresh for the picking and ready for download off the XBLA are two new gems; the psychedelic Space Giraffe and the hovering Street Trace: NYC. Space Giraffe is available for 400 Microsoft points and includes 100 levels of lsd visuals with Street Trace being a little more spendy around 800 Microsoft points and featuring eight player hoverboard racing. As always, trial games are free, so be adventurous and give them a try. Read - Space Giraffe Read - Street Trace: NYC
This Wednesday: Space Giraffe and Street Trace light up XBLA
As proof that Jeff Minter is no longer tweaking, Space Giraffe is set for release on Xbox Live Arcade this Wednesday, August 22nd, for 400 MS Points ($5). If the term "tunnel shooter" doesn't help you visualize Llamasoft's unhinged experiment in visual excess, picturing a Tempest of rainbows vomiting on your screen should get you halfway there. And that's not even considering the steady stream of mixed up gaming memes it spouts at you -- we just found out our giraffe is in another castle. Also releasing this week is Street Trace: NYC, a futuristic hoverboard racer where your board's "emissions" can grant speed boosts to competing players. Mid-air jostling, upgradeable vehicles and online multiplayer all add up to 800 MS Points ($10) and a stirring memory of the Dreamcast's TrickStyle. %Gallery-6129% %Gallery-6128%
Space Giraffe And Street Trace: NYC on XBLA twofer [update 1]
Hot off the wire is that this week is that we're in for another Xbox Live Arcade twofer this Wednesday, with the release of Space Giraffe, as well as Street Trace: NYC. The former of the titles is from Llamasoft, and designer Jeff Minter, featuring 100 levels of gameplay, and completing them unlocks a new game mode (as long as you have a high enough anal score). On the Street Trace side of things, you get get your fill of arena battles and racing across the futuristic wastelands of New York City, Marty McFly style. You have your choice of up to 8 player multiplayer over Live or 4 player splitscreen locally across the four arena stages. Space Giraffe will run you 400 MP and Street Trace clocks in at 800 Microsoft Points, and will be available 9:00 AM GMT or 2:00 AM PT and 5:00 AM ET. Update: Fixed price point for Space Giraffe.
Jeff Minter vents about the XBLA cert process
It wasn't that long ago that Xbox Live Arcade releases were few and far between. Oftentimes, delays to our favorite titles were blamed on Microsoft's certification process. Unfortunately, that's really all we ever heard about it. Jeff Minter, creator of Tempest 2000 and the upcoming Space Giraffe for XBLA, has solved that problem by venting about the certification process on his personal blog. In doing so, Minter has also given us the most detailed explanation of the cert process that we've seen. It seems that Microsoft's certification process is a long and drawn out affair. According to Minter, he now considers the Microsoft certification process to be the most stressful thing he's ever done in the game industry: "I used to tell how final test on T2K for Atari was the most stressful thing I'd ever done in the biz. I now wholeheartedly rescind that. Final test at Atari was a holiday, it was a finite process with an end that occurred in just a few weeks." Suffice it to say, Minter has few kind words for the cert process. He does have plenty of curse words though. Here's hoping Space Giraffe hits its mark and Minter can regain some of his sanity.
Rumor: Space Giraffe nears release
Our pals over at Game Stooge are reporting that Xbox Live Arcade game Space Giraffe is done and will be released in the coming weeks. According to their anonymous tipster, Space Giraffe is done, has been handed off to Microsoft's certification team, and should be releasing in a few weeks. True or false, we already know Space Giraffe will be hitting the Arcade sometime this year and are very interested in seeing what it has to offer. Heck, at the very least one has to be excited about the game's "anal score". Yeah ... don't ask.
Space Giraffe finished, Minter still tweaking
What better way to celebrate April 20 than with belated news of Space Giraffe's completion? Earlier this week, eccentric game developer Jeff Minter dragged himself from the meadow and logged into his LiveJournal page to write, "Well the game's finished". Minter's still tweaking the final code, most recently implementing a results graph so that players can compare gameplay sessions to their overall high scores and a predetermined "good" score, but expect the psychedelic shooter to be shipping off to Microsoft for certification any day now. Let's hope it makes it through the pipeline and onto Xbox Live Arcade faster than other high-profile titles... Anyways, congrats Jeff -- can't wait to light one up and play! Of course, we'd ask you to join us for a celebratory cigar ... but we hear you're off the nicotine. How about a carrot instead?
