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Steam Curator Curator helps find people finding good games
The Unofficial Steam Curator Curator collects related groups that have their own game lists on Steam under its new Curators program. For example, Steam Curator Curator has a group titled "Oddly Specific Curation," which includes one curator's list of games with skeletons in them, a list of games with animals and anthropomorphic characters, one of narrative-driven puzzle adventure games, and one with games that aren't actually games at all (according to the aggregators). Other curated Curator lists include "Curators That Wear Glasses," "Curators That Use Gabe In Their Image," "Curators With Beards" and "Oddly Un-Specific Curators." This is, of course, a very silly website run by the jokesters of Owlchemy Labs, developers of Snuggle Truck, Jack Lumber and Dyscourse. "To be clear, we think the new Steam curation system is pretty rad and is on a path to solving a variety of problems," Owlchemy says at the bottom of its Steam Curator Curator page. "A number of people have have already asked 'Who do I follow?' so it seems that better curation of curators would further strengthen the system." Owlchemy then asks anyone actually interested in a real Steam Curator Curator page to drop their email on the site. It's a wild idea, but hey, the world is a crazy place. See Joystiq's Steam Curator page here. We motion to be included in the "Curators Who Are Also Totally Rad People" list. [Image: Owlchemy Labs]
Twenty developers you don't know, but should
Between consoles, PC, mobile and everything in between, there are so many games released today that it's impossible to keep up with everything that's coming out – and it's even harder to keep up with the studios behind them. Even with a gaming public that's grown accustomed to following big developers like Valve and small studios like Double Fine, countless other studios slide under the radar. In the interest of sifting a signal from the noise, the Joystiq crew has selected 20 developers that deserve your attention. These studios are making games you should play, and their future work should be highly anticipated. This list is by no means exhaustive, and we invite you to share your own favorites in the comments!
Indie survival sim Dyscourse secures funding in final hours on Kickstarter
Dyscourse, the desert-island survival sim from Snuggle Truck developer Owlchemy Labs, has met its goal in the final few hours of its Kickstarter campaign, securing funding for development on Windows, Mac, and Linux. Owlchemy faced an uphill battle in the final week of its campaign, but crested its $40,000 funding goal with 36 hours to spare. Funding picked up steam following a barrage of updates from Owlchemy, during which the studio produced a mini-documentary and announced a bonus Dyscourse scenario that pits real-world indies against one another in a no-holds-barred struggle for survival. Dyscourse is due for release in September next year via Steam.
The first Dyscourse gameplay video shows how to not kill a boar
Dyscourse is a quirky survival game that developer Owlchemy Labs promises is heavy on narrative and player choice – and finally we can see what all of that means. The first gameplay video of Dyscourse follows Rita and a few crabby tourists as they attempt to survive in the wasteland where their plane crashed, narrated by Owlchemy founder Alex Schwartz. Dyscourse is looking for $40,000 on Kickstarter and has 13 days to go, with $19,000 in the bank. When Owlchemy launched the campaign, Schwartz told us that player choice in Dyscourse really, really mattered. Really.
Indie devs battle starvation, each other in Dyscourse bonus scenario
Who would be better-equipped to survive a week on a desert island: Double Fine head honcho Tim Schafer or Super Meat Boy developer Edmund McMillen? Would Vlambeer's Rami Ismail emerge as a better spear fisherman than Canabalt creator Adam Saltsman? Snuggle Truck developer Owlchemy Labs aims to answer these burning questions with "Indie Plane Crash," a recently announced bonus scenario for its Kickstarter-funded PC survival game Dyscourse. Indie Plane Crash finds out what happens when indie devs stop being polite and start getting real over the course of an extended stay on a deserted island. Starring cast members include Tim Schafer, Edmund McMillen, Octodad's Phil Tibitoski, Antichamber creator Alexander Bruce, World of Goo developer Ron Carmel, Journey producer Robin Hunicke, Dejobaan Games' Ichiro Lambe, Auditorium's Will Stallwood, Adam Saltsman, and Rami Ismail. Odds are good that some of these indies won't survive long enough to be rescued. As in Dyscourse's main story mode, players must make decisions and form alliances among fellow survivors in order to hunt, eat, and address emergent story details that unfold throughout. Dyscourse has 18 days left in its ongoing Kickstarter campaign, and has earned over $13,000 toward its funding goal of $40,000.
Snuggle Truck dev's 'Dyscourse' promises your choices truly matter
Dyscourse is Owlchemy Labs' most ambitious project to date – it's a survival title for PC, Mac and Linux that tackles groupthink, the futility of earning a degree in art, and branching narrative paths depending on each player's unique choices. Really this time, Owlchemy founder Alex Schwartz tells me. "Throughout the history of games, the claim has been made multiple times that player choice significantly affects gameplay," he says. I offer Telltale's The Walking Dead as one game that some players think promised too much control over the story. Schwartz says he loves that series but sees how voice acting and a big dev team pushed it to be a more linear story. Dyscourse doesn't feature voice acting, instead relying on text, and the game takes place in a "narrative playground," the island where main character Rita crash-lands with a ragtag group of tourists. Schwartz says Owlchemy's approach means each player will have a unique experience, tell a different story, and probably kill their companions in different ways. By accident, of course. "We're using some really interesting in-house tech to manage the writing process, but it's definitely a challenge," he says. "What it boils down to is attempting to write a large, multi-tiered narrative that can be approached from many different angles and a player simply only sees a small fraction when they play through a single time. Using variables to detect whether a player experienced or did not yet experience a certain dramatic moment – such as, 'Did the player find that hidden key yet?' or, 'Has the player uncovered the hidden backstory of one of the survivors?' – we can dynamically adjust the experience for each playthrough."
PSA: Oculus Rift support now in AaaaaAAaaaAAAaaAAAAaAAAAA!!! on Steam
VR fans that were making dinner plans ... STOP! Oculus Rift support for AaaaaAAaaaAAAaaAAAAaAAAAA!!! for the Awesome has been added to the game's Steam version, currently priced at $9.99. Developer Dejobaan Games announced last month it was collaborating with Owlchemy Labs to add support for the VR goggles, increasing the vomit quotient of its free-falling title by a factor of one bajillion. Your friends at Joystiq recommend waiting at least one hour after a meal before proceeding. You can trust us: we're not doctors, but we've been practicing.
AaaaaAAaaaAAAaaAAAAaAAAAA!!! for Oooooculus Rift
Prepare your body and vomit bags for AaaaaAAaaaAAAaaAAAAaAAAAA!!! for the Awesome in full virtual reality on the Oculus Rift, coming to the game's Steam version from co-developer Owlchemy Labs. For the Awesome is a free-fall simulator that tasks players with enacting stunts and hitting marks while dropping through obstacles at high speeds. Yeah, that's going to be on Oculus Rift. For the Awesome is a semi-sequel, graphical overhaul of AaaaaAAaaaAAAaaAAAAaAAAAA!!! A Reckless Disregard for Gravity, developed by Dejobaan Games and nominated for an IGF in 2010. Dejobaan and Owlchemy collaborated on For the Awesome, and now Owlchemy is throwing it off some cliffs on the Oculus Rift. There's no official release date for what Owlchemy calls AaaaaAAaaaAAAaaAAAAaCULUS!!!, but the team has been testing it in the lab and it should be out "sooner rather than later." Check out some Owlchemy astronauts giving the game a go on Oculus Rift in the Vine below. For the Awesome is discounted to $2.30 throughout the Steam Summer Sale, which runs until July 22. It joins other on-sale indies Monaco, Mutant Blobs Attack and Surgeon Simulator 2013, to name a few, and today's Daily Deals Antichamber and Don't Starve.%Gallery-193639%
Jack Lumber whittles away its price on Steam through May 7
Jack Lumber, the anti-tree iOS game from Owlchemy Labs, is now available on Steam, on sale for $5 through May 7. Mr. Lumber is a supernaturally powered wood-chopping fiend who holds a powerful grudge against trees of all kinds, and gameplay involves viciously slicing through logs of various shapes and sizes. Even better, Jack Lumber isn't afraid to employ a little harmless punning. "A tree killed his granny and now he is out for revenge," Owlchemy's description reads. "Meet Jack Lumber, the supernatural lumberjack who hates trees, loves animals, and hates trees. Did we say that twice? The guy really hates trees, and boy does he have an axe to grind." Don't lie – you laughed.
Jack Lumber now available on Steam
Jack Lumber is an excellent game that arrived on iOS last year. It's reminiscient of Fruit Ninja, in that you drag your finger around the screen to chop through wood, though I think it's an improvement on Halfbrick's formula -- it's got a more complex meta game, and the mechanic is a little deeper as well (the action slows down when your finger touches the screen, allowing for different types of cuts and slashes). Jack Lumber is still available on iOS, but just in case you'd rather use a mouse than your finger, the game has just arrived on Steam as well. The Steam version will work on your Mac, or on PC or Linux as well, and it's SteamPlay-enabled, so if you buy for one platform you own them all. Currently, the game is on sale for just $5.02, and while there's no new content, the game has been re-tweaked to work with a mouse (though it will also work with a stylus if you'd rather do that). Jack Lumber is a great title, so definitely grab it on Steam if you're interested in that, or just give it a look on iOS if you didn't before. Update: I was wrong -- the game does have a new "Infinitree" mode to play. So go enjoy that!
Owlchemy Labs shares its formula to successful indie development
Alex Schwartz founded Owlchemy Labs in 2010, and since launch he's built a team of six and has developed a steady stream of indie games across multiple platforms, including Snuggle Truck and the recent release Jack Lumber. He's still in business, with more games on the way. The secret to Schwartz's success is simple: Don't expect your original IPs to make any money.Owlchemy funds itself by doing contract work that generates concrete revenue in between its original projects. A lot of indie studios attempt this system, but many of them fall into a common trap, Schwartz tells Joystiq at GDC."Be aware of contract work. You wake up in the morning and turn on your computer and you have two folders: One is the contract job and one is your original work. Which one are you going to open?" Schwartz asks. "It's always going to be the contract work because upfront gratification, instant money and having a client to appease always comes first."In order for the contract-original IP rhythm to work, it needs to be steady and studios have to make time for their own projects. Owlchemy has an A-B system: contract, original IP, contract, original IP, rinse and repeat. The two projects never mix and the team stays on the same page until it's completed. Owlchemy is now on its fifth rotation through this cycle.Diversifying platforms is also key, Schwartz says. Not porting games to Steam, iOS, Android and any other relevant platforms is "leaving money on the table," he says. Owlchemy develops its games in Unity to make this process smoother, and tailors each one to its unique platform. For example, Snuggle Truck is free-to-play on iOS, but costs $5 on Steam (on sale now for $2). Leading by example, Schwartz has a meeting with Sony tomorrow.
Shoot Many Robots available now on Android, coming soon to iOS
Demiurge Studios' Shoot Many Robots has gone mobile in an "endless gunner," with the battle against the chainsaw-wielding little jerks available now for free on Android devices. The iOS release will blast away in the "near future.""It's a simple, pick-up-and-play kind of game with unique features never before seen in an endless runner," says Demiurge CEO Albert Reed. The game was developed in collaboration with Owlchemy Labs (Snuggle Truck, Jack Lumber).Shoot Many Robots launched on consoles last year, finding a wider audience when it pulled the trigger on a Steam release.%Gallery-183254%
Thoughtful Bundle: Fieldrunners, Reckless Disregard for Gravity and more
Indie Royale's Thoughtful Bundle is live, and features five different PC and Mac games for a pay-the-minimum price, which is currently $5.46. Included in the bundle are Snapshot by Retro Affect, Cognition Episode 2: The Wise Monkey by Phoenix Online Studios, AaaaaAAaaaAAAaaAAAAaAAAAA!!! - A Reckless Disregard for Gravity by Dejobaan Games, Subatomic Studios' Fieldrunners and Snuggle Truck from Owlchemy Labs. Buyers that fork over at least $8 will also receive Night Animals, a chiptune album by Bright Primate.The Thoughtful Bundle will be available on Indie Royale's site until Saturday, March 23.
'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%
Snuggle Truck downloaded 1.3 million times in 9 days after going free
Owlchemy Labs' Snuggle Truck dropped its price to free on the iOS app store last week, and has been downloaded 1.3 million times in the past nine days. In a developer post discussing the success, we see the move earned the app serious goodwill in iTunes reviews, resulting in over 4,000 new levels made using the in-game editor. China has downloaded the game nearly a quarter-million times since the switch. We asked Owlchemy founder Alex Schwartz if the company had earned more revenue in the past nine days than it did with Snuggle Truck as a $2 app. "Even though less than one percent of our players are buying anything [using the in-app store]," he said, "we have been able to make more revenue over the past nine days than we totaled the previous month. "Making more money is great for us as a company, as it enables us to continue making games, but the pride factor of having over a million new players playing a creation you've put blood, sweat and tears into certainly rivals the positives of making money." Schwartz told us the most popular in-app purchase item has been the zoo truck skin for $0.99. Owlchemy is looking to bring more customization to the game, including some DLC that isn't exactly in-game based. "Our friends at Dejobaan Games joked about creating an in-app purchase that awards the buyer with 'a no-expenses-paid trip to Boston and the unique opportunity to buy the developers dinner,'" Schwartz said. "I'm curious what would happen if we put that in our next title. NO REALLY. What would happen? Maybe we need to make this happen in order to find out?"
'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.
Snuggle Truck now free on iOS App Store
Indie studio Owlchemy Labs' Snuggle Truck, the eleventh-hour artistic reinterpretation of Smuggle Truck for the App Store, is now free for iOS devices. Launched in late April, with a robust level editor added a few months later, the free version includes the full game in exchange for some easily-dismissed ads every few levels. If the ads drive you absolutely truckin' crazy, the game can be purchased -- making it ad-free -- for $5 (there's also a $10 option for hardcore Owlchemy supporters). For those who found the original $1.99 price too steep to pick up this charming title, there's no excuse to not get on the snuggle truck for gratis.%Gallery-122407%
Smuggle Truck now Snuggle Truck on iOS after Apple rejection, PC/Mac version includes both
Content trumped context after Smuggle Truck was rejected by Apple for distribution on the company's iOS App Store, but Owlchemy Labs reworked some art to launch Snuggle Truck for iPhone and iPad. "The changes made to the game consist only of minor art changes and some swapped sound effects. Gameplay remains exactly the same," Owlchemy's Alex Schwartz told Joystiq. "Essentially, instead of smuggling immigrants over the border, you're now bringing animals from the wilderness into the comfort of a zoo, where they are provided plenty of food, water, shelter, and state of the art health care." Schwartz explained that Snuggle Truck was the developer's way of still bringing "the fun and silliness" of its original game to the iOS platform. Due to contractual reasons, he couldn't tell us the details of Apple's rejection. Mac and PC players don't have to compromise, as they'll be able to switch between Smuggle Truck and its cuddlier counterpart with the press of a button (as shown in the video after the break). Snuggle Truck is available now on the App Store for iPhone ($2) and iPad ($3). Smuggle Truck (with Snuggle Truck) is $5 from SmuggleTruck.com. %Gallery-122406% %Gallery-122407%
The Joystiq Indie Pitch: Smuggle Truck
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 Alex Schwartz, founder of Owlchemy Labs about his driving game, Smuggle Truck. What's your game about? We're working on a game called Smuggle Truck. It's an over the top physics-based driving game for iOS, Mac and PC, which was created to poke fun at the woefully inadequate legal immigration system in place in the United States. You can choose to wait 19 years for your visa in the "Legal Immigration Mode," or you can take the truck and try to deliver all passengers safely over the border. The main gameplay involves stunt driving, tilting, rocketing, catching babies, and collecting medals to unlock future levels. Who's the greatest smuggler of all time? It's gotta be Han Solo, right? Han Solo is high up in my list, but the greatest smuggler(s) of all time would go to the Greek delivery crew who dropped off the Trojan Horse. Pushing the Trojan Horse; that's a win in my book.
Smuggle Truck adds 'Legal Immigration' mode
Owlchemy Labs' Smuggle Truck has added a "Legal Immigration" mode in response to critic's knee-jerk reactions to the satirical game. Developer Alex Schwartz showed us a placeholder screen at PAX East, but told us that Owlchemy had an actual screen they would be adding shortly, he sent us the new screen (pictured above) today. The Legal Immigration mode can be accessed through the game's main menu and is a screen with a 20 year countdown. Why 20 years? "Well that's the greater than 10 years it takes for someone to obtain a green card," Schwartz guesstimated. "Plus the multiple occurrences of 'lost paperwork' that are bound to happen during the process." Owlchemy has a FAQ on its site about the game's themes and the studio's decision to produce a title on the topic of illegal immigration. Smuggle Truck will be submitted shortly to Apple and is expected to be available on the iOS App Store in April.
