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Play Elegy for a Dead World the write way on Steam today
Elegy for a Dead World is available now on Steam for PC, Mac and Linux, 10 percent off ($13.50) through December 17. Elegy for a Dead World is a game about writing and a lesson in British Romantic poetry – players travel to far-off, alien planets and complete phrases about the environment, typing in whatever they wish to craft their own stories. The worlds are created in the vein of famed poets Percy Bysshe Shelley, Lord Byron and John Keats. The game offers 27 writing challenges across different landscapes, with a cast of characters ranging from archaeologist to thief. Players can share their completed stories and read other players' writings through Steam Workshop. Today's launch places Elegy for a Dead World ahead of schedule, as it was originally due to release in early 2015. Elegy for a Dead World is making its way into classrooms, featured in ESL, creative writing and game design programs at almost 50 institutions in 13 countries. The game comes from Dejobaan Games and Popcannibal. [Image: Dejobaan Games]
They sent a poet: Elegy for a Dead World due in early 2015
Elegy for a Dead World, a game that transforms players into British Romantic poets traversing a sci-fi landscape, is due out in early 2015 for PC, Mac and Linux via Steam, developers Dejobaan Games and Popcannibal announced on their Kickstarter page. Beta keys are due out for eligible backers in October (yep, the October that starts tomorrow). Elegy for a Dead World imagines the cracked, desolate planets of classic Romantic poets Percy Bysshe Shelley, Lord Byron and John Keats, and then asks players to explore the worlds' ruins and write about the symbols and archaeology they find. Players can then share the stories they've written with other people on Steam, or upload screenshots of their own tales to make personalized books via print-on-demand sites. "We created Elegy so that everyone can write," Dejobaan writes. "As you explore, the game helps you create the narrative .... Each world offers multiple sets of prompts, each intended to inspire you to write a different story about it. Elegy might ask you to write a short story about an individual's final days, a song about resignation or a poem about war. In the more advanced levels, you'll sometimes get new information halfway through your story which casts a new light on things and forces you to take your story in a different direction. We like to think of those as puzzles – writing yourself out of a corner, so to speak." [Images: Warner Bros, Dejobaan/Popcannibal]
Humble Flash Bundle features Aaaaa! creator Dejobaan
AaaaaAAaaaAAAaaAAAAaAAAAA!!! ...is what you might say upon learning that you can purchase the majority of Dejobaan Games' PC catalog for $8 as part of today's Humble Flash Sale. Pay any amount for the package and you'll get Dejobaan's skydiving sim Aaaaa! - A Reckless Disregard for Gravity and Katamari-like The Wonderful End of the World. Beat the average purchase price (currently $4.95) and you'll also get Aaaaa!'s Brutal Concussion DLC, sequel Aaaaa! for the Awesome, and Monster Loves You! Buyers who pay $8 or more will additionally receive a copy of Dejobaan's latest game, Drunken Robot Pornography. The bundle will only be available through tomorrow, so jump on it fast if you want a safe outlet for your screamy skydiving fantasies. [Image: Dejobaan Games]
Drunken Robot Pornography takes (it all) off on February 19
Drunken Robot Pornography, the high-flying robot shooter from Dejobaan Games, launches in full on February 19 via Steam and the Humble Store. DRP has been sitting pretty on Steam Early Access since the day that service launched in March, and next week it's finally ready for deployment. In the game, players don jetpacks to battle giant robots called Titans – Dejobaan started working on DRP two years ago, ages before that other game about titans showed up – and attempt to stop the metal beasts from destroying Boston with their fancy lasers, rockets, bullets and claws. It's a first-person shooter in a bullet hell (not Boston – that's just the game style). DRP will retail for $15, but it may come with a Steam discount on launch day. That's all outlined in Dejobaan's open marketing document, a Google Doc that displays the studio's launch plans, marketing strategies and hopes for the game's release, including the repeated phrase, "NOTE TO SELVES: None of this matters if we don't make a great game." This open marketing plan joins Dejobaan's public design document for Drop that Beat like an Ugly Baby as an example of transparent development in the indie world. Dejobaan will stream DRP in a Twitch marathon on February 20 from 10AM ET to 10PM ET, featuring a lineup of fellow streamers. And giant, drunken robots, of course. [Image: Dejobaan Games]
Transparent development tales from three indies baring it all online
With crowd-sourced development practices on the rise, indies are taking steps to more deeply entrench their fans in the game-creation process: Transparent development means pulling back the curtain and giving the audience a close look at the minutiae of making a game, including failed ideas, bad choices and awkward conversations – and hopefully some good moves, too. By opening up the development process, indies are molding the way players view the games they play. Game ideas change drastically throughout development; mechanics get cut and evolve; art styles waver; sounds shift from joyful to moody to dark and back to joyful again. Everything changes. Rather than a static, final product, players now have the option to see what a living, in-development game really looks like – and they're lining up around the digital block. Vlambeer, the team behind Ridiculous Fishing and Super Crate Box, draws in 25,000 to 30,000 viewers twice a week with live development streams of its next-gen roguelike-like (roguelove?), Nuclear Throne. Dejobaan shares its live design document for Drop that Beat Like an Ugly Baby, and months into it, random players still pop into the page's chat to ask questions about development. The ex-Zynga team at Proletariat Inc. streams its World Zombination review meetings every Friday and has learned that its audience is interested in some weird stuff. These are three stories of three different approaches to transparent development, from three different indie teams, but the audience, it turns out, is roughly the same: curious, nosy and extremely intrigued.
Elegy for a Dead World turns players into poets
Dejobaan has a reputation for crafting obnoxiously titled, outrageous games such as AaaaaAAaaaAAAaaAAAAaAAAAA!!! and Drop that Beat like an Ugly Baby, but Elegy for a Dead World is different. Created with Girls Like Robots developer Ziba Scott, Elegy is a soft-spoken, experimental game that has players observe the ruins of lost civilizations and write down their histories to share with the Homeworld, the Steam Workshop. There, players can compare notes and rate each other's stories, poems and thoughts, Indie Games reports. Elegy is inspired by classic English Romantic poetry, and its three worlds pull from the works of Lord Byron, Percy Bysshe Shelley and John Keats. Dejobaan recently entered Elegy into IGF 2014, eventually slated for PC and Mac on Steam. Sit down with some poetry in its first teaser trailer and sole screenshot below.
Steam Controller in use: game developers sound off on the beta version's highs and lows, how it feels
We've only known about the Steam Controller for 24 hours, but it turns out a variety of developers already got a chance to put the controller to use ahead of the lucky 300 beta participants later this year. The devs we spoke with didn't use the final format of the controller, but instead used the non-touchscreen beta form seen above: four large buttons stand out in place of the clickable touchscreen panel (planned for the final version of Steam Controller). It's the version that will ship to those aforementioned 300 beta participants later this year, and it's the version that Valve is showing game developers ahead of anyone else. Follow us beyond the break and find out what they had to say.
AaaaaAAaaaAAAaaAAAAaAAAAA!!! for iOS on sale for a buck
Dejobaan's AaaaaAAaaaAAAaaAAAAaAAAAA!!! (Force = Mass x Acceleration) is dropping its price to $0.99.The universal iOS app, regularly priced at $2.99, is tossing its regular price "in honor of the 25th anniversary of the first successful base jump from the Eiffel Tower by a Ukrainian woman's alto choir." We'd fact check that but, frankly, our intern took the day off and it's taken us all day to figure out the k-cup machine.The Dejobaan crew will be at PAX this weekend as part of the Indie Megabooth. The team will show off new games Drop That Beat Like an Ugly Baby, Drunken Robot Pornography and Monster Loves You!
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.
'Aaaaa!!!' plummets onto iOS 'February 30'
Dejobaan's AaaaaAAaaaAAAaaAAAAaAAAAA!!! for the Awesome drops into the iOS App Store next week as AaaaaAAaaaAAAaaAAAAaAAAAA!!! (Force = Mass x Acceleration). The game will launch on March 1 as a $2.99 universal app. Meaning, you pay once and play it on your iPhone, iPod Touch or iPad.Having had some hands-on time with the mobile version recently, the iPad experience can be particularly intense. The tilt controls are super intuitive -- since you're falling and trying to avoid buildings -- and I found myself tilting my head to avoid scraping against buildings. The size of the screen and focus on the experience started making everything else around me fade away.For a less intense, but still enjoyable game, the iPhone version feels like guiding an object through space instead of yourself.%Gallery-148245%
'Aaaaa!!! for the Awesome' dropped on PC, Mac
Dejobaan Games and Owlchemy Labs have launched a "semi-sequel" to AaaaaAAaaaAAAaaAAAAaAAAAA!!!-- A Reckless Disregard for Gravity, entitled AaaaaAAaaaAAAaaAAAAaAAAAA!!! for the Awesome -- or just "Awesome" for short. With the original game's code rebuilt from the ground up, the follow-up adds a "new lighting system and fancy shader effects," along with 43 new levels and the 82 levels from the original game. It's available on Steam for $9.99. Officially, the game has only been announced for PC and Mac, but since Dejobaan teamed up with Owlchemy Labs on the project, the studio that created Snuggle Truck, an iOS version might drop in at some point.
Desert Bus classic gets an iOS port, for charity's sake; AaAaAA!!! coming too
Penn and Teller's Smoke and Mirrors is one of the weirdest cult titles in all of video gaming -- it's an old game for Sega CD that was more of a prank than anything else. While it did teach you to do a few tricks, the most famous minigame in the entire package is called Desert Bus, a weird little game that's designed to more or less accurately replicate a bus trip between Tucson and Las Vegas. In other words, you need to drive a bus along a highway at 45 mph for about eight hours, at which time you get a point, and can opt to drive back for another one. It's silly and kind of mean and very strange -- all the things you expect from Penn and Teller. Every year around this time, a group of folks actually plays this game, streaming it live on the Internet for charity, and this year they're going one step further: the title's actually been released as a port for iOS, and all profits from the game itself will go straight back to Child's Play, a group that helps put video games in hospitals for sick and recovering children to play. I don't actually recommend buying the title for anything but charity: the bus lists to one side as you play, so you literally have to "drive" for eight hours if you want to beat the game. But it's only a buck for a universal version, and since all of the proceeds go to a good cause, I recommend it anyway. In other, more traditional port news, the really excellent but strangely titled AaaaaAAaaaAAAaaAAAAaAAAAA!!! - A Reckless Disregard for Gravity is also getting an iOS port -- and yes, that is its name. The game has you falling through space, trying to hit various objects and miss others, and it was a whole lot of fun when it came out on the PC a couple of years ago. There will be new features and content, but the developer hasn't announced a release date yet, so stay tuned. AaAaAA!!!, as it's called in shorthand, has a weird title but is a lot of fun, so we'll keep an eye out for it on iOS.
Aaaaa! devs holding art contest for 'semi-sequel'
Dejobaan Games is creating a follow-up to its brilliantly titled BASE jumping simulator, AaaaaAAaaaAAAaaAAAAaAAAAA!!!-- A Reckless Disregard for Gravity, and it needs your help to make it perfect. The studio is holding a contest for fans to create billboards out of public images and clever catchphrases, and submit them before this Friday, September 30. The winner will not only win a copy of the heretofore unannounced "semi-sequel," their billboard will actually appear in the game. You can find out more details about the contest on Dejobaan's site. Frankly, we'd be more interested in a contest to come up with a name for the sequel -- we'd probably go with AaaaaAAaaaAAAaaAAAAaAAAAA TwoOoooOo: Gesundheit!
AaaaAAaa! Dejobaan announces '1...2...3... KICK IT! (Drop That Beat Like an Ugly Baby)'
Indie dev Dejobaan Games, best known for AaaaaAAaaaAAAaaAAAAaAAAAA!!! - A Reckless Disregard for Gravity, has officially announced its next game, the less difficult to spell, easier to remember: 1... 2... 3... KICK IT! (Drop That Beat Like an Ugly Baby). The studio tells us that Kick It! is the result of the "very strongly prototyped" Musorqua project, which creates levels based on your MP3 library. Kick It! is currently in alpha testing and available to purchase for $9.95 (33 percent off), with an official release date expected in the next six to nine months. The studio will continue updating the game free of charge for those who purchase now. Dejobaan is also seeking feedback with "crazy-ass ideas" while they continue to polish the game. Speaking of crazy, drop on by past the break for the game's non compos mentis trailer. %Gallery-110314%
Sign up for Dejobaan Fan Club, receive free game
Indie studio Dejobaan Games, best known for AaaaaAAaaaAAAaaAAAAaAAAAA!!! -- A Reckless Disregard for Gravity, is giving out a free game when folks sign up for its "Free, Sexy Dejobaan Fan Club." The studio tells us that the fan club, for which over 1,000 have registered since PAX East, will also grant participants access to future alphas and betas. Because, if you're a true fan, you'll help with the bug testing process for free and love the studio anyway. In addition to the free game, those who sign up will also receive a song by studio founder Ichiro Lambe. Although the studio hasn't announced its next "real" game yet, it is currently "very strongly prototyping" the Musorqua project.
April Fools: 'AaaAAAaaa' dev announces '14. Drunken Robot Pornography'
Dejobaan Games is giving into the financial realities of being an indie developer and has announced its next project: 14. Drunken Robot Pornography. The developer of AaaaaAAaaaAAAaaAAAAaAAAAA!!! -- A Reckless Disregard for Gravity will have 14DRP revolve around an idea that gamers can really support, thus, making the small studio buckets of moolah. Players take control of a giant robot designed to destroy humanity, but, because this is an indie title, you know there has to be some academically-pretentious niche twist. Sure, you destroy buildings and kill people, but the idea is to ruin the life of Penelope Raindance, "a young girl who wants to grow up to be a neurosurgeon. She's a promising young first grader, now -- but if you do things right, you can do away with her nuclear family, leaving her homeless and starving. Don't crush her. Crush her dreams. ... You win!" The game will release in the third quarter of 2015 on PC and requires Windows 2K/XP/Vista; a 3.5GHz processor; 6GB system memory; a 3D card with 16MB video memory; and Microsoft DirectX 12.0.
Dejobaan looking to branch out to other platforms, strongly prototyping Musorqua
AaaaaAAaaaAAAaaAAAAaAAAAA!!! -- A Reckless Disregard for Gravity developer Dejobaan Games is looking to take a "derivative of Aaaaa" to other platforms. Studio founder Ichiro Lambe told us at DICE, "Over the course of 2010, we want to investigate branching out both to mobile, we're talking about iPhone and Android, and also Wii and Xbox development." One of those titles taking the multiplatform walkabout would likely be Musorqua, which Lambe describes as a game the studio is "very strongly prototyping." He explained, "If that works, that's the direction we're going to take if people are excited, if the press is excited about it, if it excites us. If not, we're going to tweak that a bit." He also said that they'll "definitely" be showing it off at PAX East next month.
'Aaaaa' creator announces music game, 'Musorqua'
Dejobaan Games, developer of AaaaaAAaaaAAAaaAAAAaAAAAA!!! -- A Reckless Disregard for Gravity, has announced a new game with a somewhat less nonsensical title (and one that, should it ever be released in a physical format, would fit much more easily onto a CD case's spine: Musorqua. The game, built on Aaaaa(etc.) technology in its prototype form, evokes Rez, involving shooting at different items to create musical sounds. Each musical track is represented by objects of a certain color, and bonuses are awarded by "kissing" buildings of the same color by brushing against them. You can see footage of the prototype after the break. It's pretty abstract! No release date or platforms have been named, making even the idea of this as a playable product abstract. [Via Shacknews]
AaaaaAAaaaAAAaaAAAAaAAAAA!!! coming to Steam on Sept. 3
AAAaaAaaaAAaaAAAAaaaAA!! No, that's not the name of the game -- don't you remember the spelling lesson we gave you when the title was first announced? That's just an excited exclamation we howled upon seeing this terrific piece of news: Dejobaan's BASE jumping simulator/recipient of Joystiq's Title of the Year 2009 award, AaaaaAAaaaAAAaaAAAAaAAAAA!!! -- A Reckless Disregard for Gravity is coming to SteaaaAAAaaAaam on September 3. If you're hoping to get the jump (nailed it!) on the game's release, you can pre-order the title now and get 10 percent off the game's $14.99 price tag. In addition, pre-orders will receive Dejobaan's earlier title, The Wonderful End of the World, for free. It looks like a fairly competent Katamari Damacy clone -- though its moniker could definitely use some work. Seriously, it doesn't even have any seemingly random capitalization or exclamation points. Boo-riiing.
Title of the Year: Dejobaan's AaaaaAAaaaAAAaaAAAAaAAAAA!!!
Now, for the sake of clarity, we should explain what we mean when we say "title of the year". Dejobaan's upcoming BASE jumping simulator, which resembles a mash-up of Mirror's Edge and Pilotwings (check out a gameplay demo after the jump), doesn't really look like GOTY material (or GOTW material, for that matter). However, the game's moniker is pure brilliance: AaaaaAAaaaAAAaaAAAAaAAAAA!!! -- A Reckless Disregard for Gravity. The game's designers suggest that the press truncate the title to a mere Aaaaa! but we won't be doing that. AaaaaAAaaaAAAaaAAAAaAAAAA!!! is set to drop (har) in Q3 2009 on PCs. We probably won't pick it up (our preferred sports rarely get more extreme than ping pong) but we'll defend that title to our graves. Get it straight people -- it's one big "A", four little "a"s, two big "A"s, three little "a"s, three big "A"s, two little "a"s, four big "A"s, one little "a", five big "A"s and three exclamation points. It's not that hard to remember.
