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Indie dev gives game away, hackers steal 30,000 Steam keys overnight
Husband and wife duo Wadjet Eye Games started a giveaway yesterday, offering up Steam codes for Blackwell Deception to celebrate Halloween. The indie developer opted to cancel the adventure game giveaway today after discovering that 30,000 Steam keys were stolen by hackers. The problem was even bigger at first as founder Dave Gilbert discovered that, after issuing a press release to the media about the giveaway earlier this week, the generated keys unlocked Wadjet Eye Games' entire catalog. After sorting that issue out, Gilbert discovered that buyers were "ordering multiple copies of the game – hundreds at a time. And collecting Steam keys for reselling later," he told Red Door Blue Key. Gilbert asked his sales provider, BMT, to create an IP-detecting Steam code generator page, though it didn't stop resellers from masking their IPs to continue their thieving efforts. After removing the link to the Steam key generator, Gilbert returned today to find that because the generator itself still existed, some 30,000 keys had been stolen. He announced via Twitter that Steam has disabled the keys generated after midnight and that, per his request, no bans will be issued to those that redeemed the Steam codes. Blackwell Deception is the fourth game in the Blackwell adventure series, and was first made available on Steam in January 2012. The game can be purchased for $10, though Wadjet Eye Games is also offering a four-game bundle of the series to date for $20.
Go on a 2D adventure with your loser friends in Night in the Woods
Adventure/exploration game Night in the Woods achieved its $50,000 goal on Kickstarter after one day on the funding platform. The indie story-focused game comes from Infinite Fall, a two-person team composed of Aquaria developer Alec Holowka and animator Scott Benson. Night in the Woods has players exploring the town Possum Springs as college dropout Mae, a cat with recently-developed "paranormal abilities." Mae joins a ragtag group of "loser friends," including a bear named Angus, described as "that kid in school who wore ties and fedoras for no good reason." Mae's growing abilities grant her access to new parts of the town as the adventure wears on, including an area near Possum Springs' old mine where "something in the woods" resides. Night in the Woods is planned for PC and Mac, and is currently estimated to launch in January 2015. The Kickstarter project will close on November 22.
Free browser RPG Candy Box 2 is your next click-for-sweets addiction
Candy Box 2, the ASCII art-based sequel to the click-for-candy RPG is now available to freely play. Set up like other simple all-you-do-is-click games like Cookie Clicker and Clicking Bad, Candy Box 2 has players collecting pieces of candy in their browsers, trading candies in for items and equipment to aid them in quests. The game's blog describes changes to the formula introduced in the first game, noting that there are more items as well as hidden goods and fun Easter eggs; not every piece of equipment can be found in the text-based missions. French developer aniwey introduced an offline save system for Candy Box 2 so players can transfer their addiction progress to other computers.
Slender: The Arrival gets spooky on Steam October 28
Survival horror game Slender: The Arrival will launch October 28 on Steam. The spooky adventure will set players back $9.99, and will launch on consoles in 2014. Slender: The Arrival is a re-imagining of Parsec Productions' free indie game Slender: The Eight Pages. The game is written by the Marble Hornets team, a documentary-style webseries centered around the popular Slenderman mythos. Slender: The Arrival places players in the role of Laura, a realtor that is assisting her friend Kate in selling her house. Kate goes missing, leaving Laura to search for her with a camcorder in one hand and a flashlight in the other.
Sandbox survival game Eden Star powered by Unreal Engine 4
Flix Interactive recently launched its Kickstarter project for an Unreal Engine 4-powered, first-person adventure game called Eden Star. The developer is seeking £620,000 ($1,003,284) by November 29 to fund the project. Billed as a "sandbox survival-creation game," Eden Star has players gather resources from the hostile world of Pharus 7 to bring back to a desolate Earth, guarding their "Eden Kit" power source from imposing alien forces. In the project description, Flix Interactive put an emphasis on the game's physics-driven combat and "free-running movement system." The developer also opened a Steam Greenlight page to get the PC game on Valve's distribution service.
PSA: The Stanley Parable is out now, 20 percent off
The Stanley Parable is now available on Steam, and is 20 percent off ($11.99) until October 23. Originally a Half-Life 2 mod, the first-person exploration game centers on Stanley, employee number 427 of a nameless company, who pushes buttons on a keyboard at his desk as instructions appear on a monitor. Compared to the 2011 mod, The Stanley Parable "returns with new content, new ideas, a fresh coat of visual paint," and voice-overs by Kevan Brighting. The game's description underscores the "everything is not as it seems" nature of the game, as over time "meaning begins to arise, the paradoxes might start to make sense." Developer Galactic Cafe encourages players to check out the game's demo to learn more, which is also available through Steam.
Wave Goodbye to Deponia in this new trailer
Goodbye Deponia marks the end of the Deponia adventure game trilogy in the most appropriate way possible: By pitting likeable characters (and occasional sassy clones) against the apocalypse, in a world where the only silver lining happens to be free access to waterslides.
Cats-with-hats adventure Hot Tin Roof leaping to PCs in 2014
Hot Tin Roof: The Cat That Wore A Fedora isn't just an indie game with a cat-chy name, but it's now a Kickstarter success as its crowdfunding efforts concluded yesterday with $25,457. Described as a "side-scrolling adventure platformer," Hot Tin Roof places players in the shoes of Emma Jones, a private investigator inquiring into a "string of grisly murders" in a 3D city. The Glass Bottom Games-developed adventure will ship on PC, Mac and Linux for $15 in mid-2014. A project update noted that Cerulean Games will bring Hot Tin Roof to iOS and Android alongside the main version. Hot Tin Roof is seeking community approval to launch on Steam via Greenlight.
Vanished is a unique and compelling iPhone game
I'm not much of a gamer, but every so often one comes along that grabs my attention. Vanished for iPhone has a unique premise, clever execution, and until Oct. 1, it's free. Here's the scenario: You awake in a dark room and hear some noises. To make the effect complete, you close your eyes, and the game requires headphones so you can hear the directional clues. The game depends on your built-in compass. I heard a siren and walked toward it by moving my iPhone horizontally until the sound was centered, then tapped the screen to walk forward. As you move the phone, you can hear the sounds change. Don't get frustrated. You may have to do a lot of walking. Around me were some low rumbles and a hint of some evil-sounding entity. You will encounter some nasty beings, so you engage in combat by shaking the phone, which lets you use your knife. This is a very clever and original approach to gaming. It will take your full attention. The more creatures you kill, the more experience and strength you will have. If you are looking for fancy graphics and flashing lasers, this is not the game for you. It reminds me a bit of the Colossal Cave text adventure of long ago, but with sound instead of text. I applaud the creativity of the developers, who say more expansion modes are on the way. Vanished is iPhone only and requires iOS 4.0 or later. Your phone will need a compass, which means an iPhone 3GS or later. Vanished is worth a look, or really, a listen.
Sepulchre, a free indie horror game from Richard & Alice devs
There are a few reasons Sepulchre may be the perfect game to start off your week: It's a horror point-and-click from Owl Cave, the developers of the intensely emotional, four-star adventure, Richard & Alice It takes place on a train, starring a curious museum curator It's short It's free The two-man development team at Owl Cave proved itself with Richard & Alice, crafting a story of loss and survival that transcended the game's pixelated art style. Sepulchre is an adventure short, clocking in at under two hours of playtime, and it's a subtle brand of horror game, Owl Cave says: There are no jump-scare moments, but it's consistently eerie and contains moments of unexplainable, train-based unease. Sepulchre is out now for PC only, in the free version or a $3 Special Edition that includes the game, soundtrack, two wallpapers and a digital copy of Bright Lights and Glass Houses, a collection of short horror stories from Owl Cave writer Ashton Raze. Buy it (or just play it) here.
Monster Loves You on iOS and Android this October
Monster Loves You, Dejobaan Games' ferociously charming adventure game, will arrive on iOS and Android this fall. The game launched on Steam in March, and is available for $9.99. Dejobaan told Joystiq at PAX Prime that the studio is aiming for an October 10 release date for the mobile version of Monster Loves You. Describing how the game evolved on PC, Dejobaan Games' Ichiro Lambe said that the month Monster Loves You launched on Steam, it underwent changes from being a "life simulator" to a choose-your-adventure game, cutting a number of the game's elements out entirely. Choices made by players in the game affect different personality traits, from kindness to honesty, shaping the arc of the game's story, which Lambe said is a carry-over from its original life simulation ambitions.
Neverending Nightmares Video Preview
Of all the things that developer Matt Gilgenbach could have created after Retro/Grade, a rhythm-based shooter in reverse, a horror game seemed among the least likely. Enter Neverending Nightmares, a horror adventure game inspired by the psychological themes of Silent Hill 2 and the defenseless tension of Amnesia: The Dark Descent. But Neverending Nightmares is also the result of a more personal inspiration, Gilgenbach's own struggle with mental illness. Diagnosed with obsessive-compulsive disorder and depression, Gilgenbach has woven many of his own experiences into Neverending Nightmares, infusing it with a genuine, sometimes jarring horror. See it for yourself (if you dare) in our video preview. Neverending Nightmares is slated to launch in late 2014, and a Kickstarter for the project is planned to launch soon. Those who want a firsthand look can check out the game later this month at PAX Prime, where it will be shown in booth 885.%Gallery-194694%
Daily iPhone App: You'll definitely want to take A Ride Into The Mountains
The iPhone -- even going back to it's original iteration -- has always been capable of visually impressive mobile games, and some of the latest titles for the iPhone 5 can rival console-quality visuals. But as any gamer will tell you, great graphics don't make a great game, and A Ride Into The Mountains is undeniable proof that a lot can be done with a comparatively small number of pixels. The very first thing you'll notice about the game is that it looks like a cross between an early Nintendo title and something from the Atari days. There are no jaw-dropping graphics and not a single polygon to be found, but the washed-out look of the ultra-basic visuals fits the zen-minded nature of the game perfectly. You play as Zu, a man living a solitary existence guarding a mysterious relic tucked away in the mountains. When a strange object falls out of the sky and dulls the relic's glow, you grab your bow, jump on your trusty horse and set off to investigate. The vague story doesn't do a lot to fill in the details along the way, but the game is so charming that you probably won't really mind. Soon after departing towards the mountains, you encounter dark objects and creatures bent on destroying you. Using a finger on the touchscreen to draw Zu's bow, you take out enemies one by one to progress. After clearing each set of enemies, you move on to the next, with environmental hazards like wind occasionally showing up to throw a wrench in your attack plan. A Ride Into The Mountains does a fantastic job of pacing your adventure, and despite the fact that your goal in most instances is to destroy your enemies, the entire experience is actually very relaxing. Many of the larger battles against boss creatures end up feeling very much like a puzzle, where a cool head is more important than a fast trigger finger. With its throwback art style, easy to learn gameplay and chilled-out mood, A Ride Into The Mountains is a great US$0.99 title that will leave you thinking about it for hours, or perhaps days after each play session.
Beautiful adventure game Candle seeking Kickstarter, Greenlight approval
Spanish developer Teku Studios is hard at work on its introductory game Candle, and is seeking $40,000 on Kickstarter by Friday, August 16 to pay for development costs. Candle is a platformer-meets-adventure game in which players guide a "shaman pupil" named Teku, rescuing fellow survivors of his village following an attack from a rival tribe. Teku Studios' project video shows off some of the hand-painted watercolor backdrops for Candle, and discusses the "dynamic graphic adventure" style inspired by games like Out of this World and platforming elements from games such as Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee. Teku Studios has raised $14,944 so far in its crowdfunding efforts, and is hoping to bring Candle to Steam through Greenlight. The developer plans to launch the game in January 2014 on PC.
Lone Survivor delayed to September
Point-and-click survival horror game Lone Survivor has been delayed to September, Curve Studios announced via Twitter. The game's designer, Jasper Byrne, recently noted that Curve Studios' port of the game to PS3 and Vita has led to "hundreds of tiny little changes and improvements." It was originally planned to arrive on Sony's consoles this summer. Since the game "has a lot of new hidden, dark corners" and "even looks and sounds pretty different," Byrne said the PS3 and Vita version will be known as Lone Survivor: The Director's Cut. Curve Studios said it would "rather release an amazing game later than a good game early."
Spot Gen3 outdoor beacon adds more robust tracking options, improved battery life
It looks nearly the same as it did in 2007, but Spot's outdoor beacon has evolved quite nicely on the inside. Now in its third incarnation, the Spot Gen3 is designed to help wandering argonauts keep their loved ones informed of their location for an even longer period of time. Engineered to be worn by those intentionally heading off of the conventional grid, the Spot Gen3 adds unlimited tracking (enabling wearers to pre-set the device to send tracks every 5, 10, 30 or 60 minutes), motion activated tracking and longer battery life. According to the company, this guy will last nearly twice as long as prior versions, and you can also power it via battery or USB. The downside, of course, is that you'll need to pay $149.95 for the unit itself, along with a required annual subscription plan that starts at $149.99 per year. No one ever said adventuring was a poor man's sport, eh?
Zelda-like indie adventure Ittle Dew out now on PC, coming soon to Steam and Ouya
Ittle Dew, a cartoony, classic adventure game that uses a Zelda-like dungeon formula, is available now for $13.99 through developer Ludosity's official site. The game includes online leaderboards and a number of shortcuts, so it is designed to encourage speedrunning. Purchases through the site will be redeemable for PC, Mac and Linux, both DRM-free and via Steam, which it will launch on at the end of July. Ittle Dew should have launched on Ouya this week as well, though the developer noted on Twitter that it is still in review before being pushed to the storefront. It will come to iPad, Android tablets and Wii U sometime this fall or winter, according to a recent release schedule blog update by Ludosity. %Gallery-193263%
Cubeworld launches into paid alpha
Cube World, developed by Picorama, is billed as a voxel-based, randomly generated, action-adventure RPG with borderless worlds and infinite character progression. It's not exactly an MMO, but it's pretty darn close: It also has a crafting system, PvP combat, and cooperative play via LAN or the web. If that sounds like something you would enjoy, you're in luck: Cube World's paid alpha phase has officially begun. Well, sort of. In order to get into the alpha, you'll need to pay for the game via the Picorama shop. In order to use the shop, you'll need to register. And thanks to what the developer claims are regular denial-of-service attacks, registrations are currently disabled. Foiled again. In the meantime, you can get an extremely limited taste of the game's looks by checking out its mini demo.
Super Chibi Knight, a 2D adventure game from dad and daughter
Nick Pasto and daughter Bella have set out to create a video game together in Super Chibi Knight, a sequel to Pasto's original Flash game, Chibi Knight. He most recently programmed the excellent Abobo's Big Adventure. With Super Chibi Knight, Pasto is not only interested in offering his daughter a taste of his childhood gaming through a retro-inspired side-scroller, but also wants to teach her (and us) a bit about gender equality in games. "The idea for the original Chibi Knight kind of sprang from having a daughter and seeing a world where girls are slightly pigeon-holed into what they're supposed to like and not like," Pasto tells Joystiq. "I wanted to make a game that would be accessible to kids (but still fun for adults) but that would be slightly subversive about gender roles and make the player wonder whether the hero is a boy or a girl (the gender in Chibi Knight 1 is obscured by a knight's helmet, but the voice is feminine) and then hopefully ask themselves if it really matters." Pasto says people still ask him whether Chibi Knight is a boy or girl. %Gallery-192884%
Daily iPhone App: Home is a creepy but well-constructed tale
Home probably isn't for everyone, but a certain type of audience will really love it. The game is an indie title originally put together for the PC by a developer named Benjamin Rivers, and it's in the horror-adventure genre. The controls are very simple: You walk left and right by tapping on either side of the screen. You can look up by tapping up, and you can interact with objects in the environment by double-tapping on them when you're close. That's it. But Home works its magic in other, weirder ways. Early in the game, your character finds a flashlight, and most of the game just involved wandering around a creepy house, slowly finding photos and items that reveal just what the experience is all about. Text appears when you interact with items, but it's all in the past tense, so you're playing out a story that has already happened, and the choices you make are part of the story being told. It's a fascinating experiment in storytelling, and while it can get a bit macabre at times, this is an indie experience that does a whole lot with relatively little. Home is available for US$2.99 on the App Store now, and though the award-winning indie title already has its fans on the PC, it's a solid addition to Apple's iOS lineup.
