seaven-studio
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Opening the valve: Steam Curators rule the front page
Ask a hundred independent developers what impacts their sales most and you'll likely get a hundred different answers, but among the more popular ones will be the topic of discoverability, the ways in which prospective buyers are able to find lesser-known video games. Platforms like the App Store and Steam see a lot of foot-traffic in their featured sections, and even brief visibility for independent developers can make for a massive difference in their bottom line. As more games have made their way to Steam via regular release, Greenlight and Early Access, it's become vastly more difficult for a new game to be discovered. Enter Steam Curators, Valve's means of placing the weight of game recommendations on those outside its walls. The service launched this week and allows any person or brand (such as your friends here at Joystiq) to compile lists of games their followers should play, shifting the scope of the store's front page to include recommended games and a section for popular curators. Given Steam's incredible popularity and its status as a "must-have" piece of PC gaming software, Steam Curators is a major step for the service, and developers hope that it might heavily influence independent game sales.
Inside My Radio laying down extra tracks for official release
Action platformers might be second nature to you after years of practice, but how many have you played that demand a knack for rhythm for everything but basic movement? You can add Inside My Radio to that shorter list once Seaven Studio finishes helping TurboDindon expand the build that won the Overall and Audio prizes during 2012's Lundun Game #23 Jam. Inside My Radio follows a little grinning square as he tries to fix the boom box he lives in. While players can freely move left and right, dashes and jumps must be done in unison with an area's beat. Different sections of the stereo will be backed by different styles of music, with the existing build featuring electro and disco-styled stages. Visuals shift to accommodate each genre, complete with our protagonist swapping headphones for a poofy hairdo between the electro to disco-driven dance floors. The game's website lists a "when it's done" arrival for the finished version on PC and consoles, but if your interest is piqued and you're running a PC, you can try the Lundun build right this minute. Your clicks don't have to match a beat as you make your way to the download link, but it might prepare you for what's ahead. [Image: Seaven Studio, TurboDindon]
Boombox beats and a winning smile in rhythm platformer Inside my Radio
Mixing a kind of digital grafitti style with synaesthetic visual effects, Inside my Radio is a rhythm platformer with a modern, colorful look. Also, we can't take our eyes off its cubic hero and his look-at-me smirk, the cheeky devil. The Ludum Dare 23 game jam winner is all signed up for a fully-fledged release, courtesy of original creator TurboDindon and Ethan: Meteor Hunter dev Seaven Studio. Seaven says paying attention to the rhythm is critical to negotiating Inside My Radio, and it chastises anyone who dares to play the game muted. It's obviously disappointing when a rhythm platformer doesn't lose much with the music turned off, so hopefully that's a good sign. While the trailer lays down electro beats, each of Inside My Radio's worlds revolves around a particular musical style, including - jump on it - disco! There's isn't a release date yet, but Seaven says the game's coming to PC and consoles "when it's done." [Image: Seaven Studio]
Ethan: Meteor Hunter chases space rocks to Vita on April 15
Following the announcement of a Vita version of Ethan: Meteor Hunter earlier this year, developer Seaven Studio has unveiled an official release date: April 15. Ethan: Meteor Hunter centers on a rat who strayed too close to the sorts of falling heavenly bodies that can cause a mammal to develop special abilities, specifically the telekinetic power to stop time and move objects. Now, Ethan uses these powers to hunt down more meteorites, in his ultimate quest to take revenge on the fiend who destroyed his house. It's not Dostoevsky (or even Stan Lee), but the premise does offer ample reason for players to hop through Ethan's world. New to the Vita game are optional touchscreen telekinesis controls, though otherwise it's identical to the game currently available on both PC and PlayStation 3. On debut, Ethan: Meteor Hunter will bear a $10 price tag. [Image: Seaven Studio]
Timey-wimey platformer Ethan: Meteor Hunter is coming to Vita
Ethan: Meteor Hunter is a tricky PS3 and PC platformer with time-stopping mechanics, and it was made by the self-described "bastards" at Seaven Studio. It was only in December the French team was lamenting some woeful sales numbers, so it's good to see it's persevering by bringing the game to Vita sometime "soon," in addition to Steam on February 7. Seaven credits Reddit with getting the game past Greenlight, after users there backed it in the wake of the dispiriting sales. As for the Vita version, one change-up is that players can use Ethan's telekinetic powers to move objects in stasis using the front and rear touchscreens, a feature that Seaven's Olivier Penot said "just made sense." No word on a release date for Vita, but Seaven is nonetheless ramping up the platformer's second coming with plenty of promos. PS3 users can try out a demo this week, with that version on sale at $7, or $5 for PS Plus users - the game will be Cross-Buy, so getting it on PS3 will unlock the Vita version when it arrives. Meanwhile, the Steam version will be 20 percent off at launch, coming in at $8. [Image: Seaven Studio]
Ethan: Meteor Hunter post-mortem laments poor sales, Greenlight woes
Ethan: Meteor Hunter is a punishing 2D platformer made by the "bastards" at Seaven Studio, and has been available for just more than a month on PC and the PlayStation Network. During this time, the game sold just 127 units on PC. A post-mortem on the Seaven Studio website cites issues with Steam Greenlight, translating the game into too many languages and that "good value and focus on gameplay are not appealing." The post also notes that releasing the game a month after the release of GTA5 - one of the best-selling games of all-time (probably) - and a month before the PS4 launch and Xbox One launch - which were also two of the highest-selling console launches - might have contributed to the game's lack of sales. The game is also not yet available on Steam, having only recently gotten 96 percent of the votes it needs to break into Greenlight's top 100. The post asks if gaming is in an "indie bubble where one-good-but-normal-game ([i.e.] not Stanley Parable) can only sell with sales and bundles, not full price." It also asks commenters to voice their reasons why they didn't buy the game so that "next time, if we manage to have a next time," they don't make the same mistakes.
Ethan: Meteor Hunter, telekinetic mouse, ensnares a release date
Tricksy puzzle-platformer Ethan: Meteor Hunter lands on PlayStation Network and PC on October 22, a day later for PS3 owners in Europe. Both versions come in at around the $10 mark - for some reason the PC one is a whole 9 cents cheaper. Should that push you over the edge, you can nab it via developer Seaven Studio's website. The game is built around rodent hero Ethan's telekinetic powers - he's able to pause time and move objects around in stasis. I went hands-on with a preview build recently, and found it a much more challenging proposition than it looked at first. Check out my extended thoughts here, as well as the story of the French indie outfit behind the game.
Ethan: Meteor Hunter - The super-tough PSN, PC game made by 'bastards'
"If there's one thing you have to know about this game and us, it's that we're bastards." So said Seaven Studio Producer Olivier Penot as I died again in his 2D platformer, Ethan: Meteor Hunter. Penot didn't seem a bastard as we chatted, smiley enough in the midst of a four-day public expo. Then again, his game looked friendly, too.
Ethan: Meteor Hunter follows the trail to PS3 this summer
French indie outfit Seaven Studio is working on Ethan: Meteor Hunter, coming to PS3 this summer. In this puzzle-platformer, titular star Ethan is hunting down meteorite fragments across 50 levels spanning three different worlds. Ethan is no ordinary bipedal mouse – he can freeze time and manipulate objects through telekinesis, thanks to being struck by a meteor himself. Ethan: Meteor Hunter is also vying for a Steam launch through Greenlight right now. Though it may be the studio's first game, Seaven Studio's seven employees originally worked at Hydravision Entertainment, helping to produce Obscure, Obscure 2 and the Wii and PS2 ports of 2008's Alone in the Dark reboot.
