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Waking Mars plants itself on Steam
Waking Mars has now made it all the way through the Steam Greenlight gauntlet, going from community-supported addition to actually available game. Tiger Style's self-described "action gardening" game, about the discovery and subsequent management of a subterranean ecosystem on Mars, was officially chosen as a Greenlight release at the end of November.The game costs $9.99, and supports SteamPlay on both Mac and PC. For more information about the PC release of Waking Mars, check out our podcast interview with creative director Randy Smith.
Waking Mars travels to alien lands of PC, Mac, Linux, Android next month
Waking Mars, the iOS game that we thought was out of this world, is coming to PC, Mac, Linux and Android on November 6, via the Humble Android Bundle and the Humble store on the game's own website. This version of Waking Mars has been revamped with full voice acting and higher resolution, along with keyboard and mouse support.Waking Mars follows the trials of Liang, a researcher adventuring deep into an underground cave on Mars, where he must harvest seeds from the various flora in the hope of finding his lost AI buddy. We called it "one of the most successful 'big' games" to be found on iOS.Below we have a gallery of the new (dare we say alien?) Waking Mars, along with some shots comparing it to the iOS version.%Gallery-169342%
Portabliss: Waking Mars (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: Waking Mars. Waking Mars, a new iOS action-adventure game by Spider dev Tiger Style, does a great job of putting a console-style narrative experience on phones, matched to a simple method of gameplay that ensures easy touchscreen control and uncomplicated pick-up-and-play design. In short, it's one of the most successful "big" games I've played on my phone.The game (formerly known as Lost Mars) is based on an extraordinarily unlikely combination: Martian cave exploration and gardening. Just ... stare at that sentence for a second. Enjoy the cognitive dissonance.%Gallery-149229%
Waking Mars lands on iOS March 1
Waking Mars, the IGF finalist formerly known as Lost Mars, has been approved for human consumption and will be available on Apple's App Store come March 1, according to developer Tiger Style's Twitter account. The action-gardening platformer will set you back a solid $4.99, is both iPhone and iPad compatible, and as we discovered last September, looks "stunning."The game's name change was a preemptive precaution inspired by Mojang's legal trouble over Scrolls: "We were paying attention to the silliness surrounding 'Scrolls' and 'Elder Scrolls' and we talked to our lawyer and decided that it was best to go with a name we absolutely can own," said Tiger Style's Dave Kalina in a statement on the developer's blog. As that old, interplanetary gardener's saying goes, it's better to plant stuff on Mars than to get planted by Martians. Or, something.%Gallery-148462%
Lost Mars preview: Red planet meets green thumb
I experienced the first segment of Tiger Style's new iPhone/iPad adventure Lost Mars in what might have been my most unintentionally auspicious demo ever: after the developers finished their presentation at Juegos Rancheros, and set out iPads for demos, I took the only available system: the one on stage, hooked up to the projector. So everyone in attendance got to watch me jetpack through a network of caves, and learn the science of xenobotany.%Gallery-132050%
Tiger Style's 'Lost Mars' debuts at Juegos Rancheros this weekend
Determined to start a war of jealousy between the Joystiq staffers who live in Austin, Texas and those who don't, Juegos Rancheros will debut yet another new indie title this weekend. The game is titled Lost Mars and comes from Tiger Style, developer of Spider: The Secret of Bryce Manor – A.K.A. the top-rated iPhone game of 2009.We don't know much about Lost Mars, apart from a handful of appropriately red and dusty screens. If you're in the Austin area, you can check out Lost Mars at the Highball this Sunday at 4pm. Oh, and if you see any Joystiq editors there, tell them to stop bragging so much.%Gallery-132050%
