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Influential indie studio Vlambeer is shutting down after a decade
One of the most prominent indie studios of the 2010s is closing its doors.
Caught between Epic, Apple and Google, indie devs watch and wait
“Let them fight," said Vlambeer co-founder Rami Ismail.
'Nuclear Throne' and other Vlambeer games come to the Switch
Vlambeer hasn't really had a presence on the Switch, but it's rectifying that in very short order. The indie studio is bringing three titles to Nintendo's current console, starting immediately with Nuclear Throne. While the top-down wasteland shooter is largely unchanged from what you've seen before, that's not a bad thing if you like its Robotron-meets-post-apocalypse vibe.
Bite-sized, black-and-white game 'Minit' lands April 3rd
A crew of indie veterans, including half of notable studio Vlambeer, will release Minit on April 3rd for Steam (PC), PS4 and Xbox One. In the monochromatic Lo-Fi title, players rushing out their front door to do as much adventuring as possible before the day ends in a real-life minute due to an evil curse that must be undone.
Radioactive shooter 'Nuclear Throne' hits PS4, Vita today
Vlambeer co-founder Rami Ismail dropped a huge surprise during the PlayStation Experience keynote in San Fransisco on Saturday: Nuclear Throne is available now on PlayStation 4 and Vita, while the Steam version officially hits version 1.0. Nuclear Throne is an addictive, pixelated action game that's amassed a cult following of more than 100,000 players since its launch on Steam Early Access in 2013 -- and this community is about to grow (or mutate).
Nine indie developers on the secret to making multiplayer magic
Ten years ago, multiplayer-only games went through a severe identity crisis. More people than ever were gaming together, but they were increasingly playing online only. The small-stakes joy of twitchy experiences like Street Fighter II and Super Off Road, games meant to be played in short sessions preferably in the same room, weren't feasible anymore. Video games have always been expensive to make, so multiplayer modes had to either come packaged with other content -- consider Halo's famed multiplayer tucked alongside its single-player story -- to flesh them out or be custom built to serve hardcore players meeting up on the internet, a la Team Fortress 2, Valve's modern-day equivalent to the easy-access multiplayer of yore.
This art dealer wants to hang an indie game on your wall
Dutch art dealership and gallery Cook & Becker has been selling fine art prints from video games for a few years now. Thanks to partnerships with companies like Capcom, Naughty Dog, DICE and BioWare, it's offered artwork from critically acclaimed titles like The Last of Us, Mass Effect, Okami, and Mirror's Edge. Now, it's wooing indie developers into its ranks with a new initiative called the Cook & Becker Indie Program. The first fruits from the effort came last month with the release of artwork from Ronimo Games' Awesomenauts, and it's signed deals with both Vlambeer and The Astronauts -- Ridiculous Fishing and The Vanishing of Ethan Carter prints are coming soon.
Nuclear Throne owners to receive giftable copy in January
The gift-giving season will last until at least January 1, the day that developer Vlambeer intends to give one free copy of Nuclear Throne to "every single person that has ever bought [it]," according to Vlambeer's Rami Ismail. As Nuclear Throne's community has gotten "too damn good at this video game," the extra copies are meant to attract new, novice-tier players to help diversify the feedback Vlambeer receives from the game's community. The announcement video's text description explains that this will be a one-time gift and that date or timezone-related exceptions will not be able to be made due to logistics. Further terms and conditions will be tied to the gift, which Vlambeer will spell out in a future blog post (presumably for future posting to Nuclear Throne's Steam newsfeed). Nuclear Throne has received 57 updates since its arrival to Early Access, though Ismail noted that version 1.0 will "hopefully" launch sometime in 2015. [Image: Vlambeer]
Minimalistic Tennnes is a team sport at $20
Jan Willem Nijman, one half of the Nuclear Throne development duo Vlambeer, is now selling local multiplayer game Tennnes as a stand-alone download on his site. Originally part of NYU Game Center's No Quarter exhibition in 2012, the game is now available for a minimum cost of $20. The price may seem a little steep to some, but it comes with a bonus: Buyers will be able to distribute the game to their friends for free. Tennnes is a minimalistic tennis game that was previously gifted to backers of the Sportsfriends Kickstarter project, which concluded in December 2012. The friendly pricing structure makes sense for the game, as those with two controllers will get the most out of Tennnes. Nijman's disclaimer for the game notes that the PC game "can be played by/against AI, but that's absolutely not the intended experience." [Image: Jan Willem Nijman]
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.
Nuclear Throne update adds titular seat, final boss battle
After 33 weekly updates, Vlambeer's self-described "action roguelike-like" Nuclear Throne now contains an actual nuclear throne. According to the developer, the throne can be found at the game's climax, after players have battled their way from a lowly campfire, through the wilds, into the Palace, and past its many opulent, yet deadly foes. As you can see at the 2:50 mark of the above video, once you arrive in the nuclear throneroom, you'll find the throne occupied by a skeleton. Blast that pile of bones into dust, and you're faced with the game's final boss, the throne itself. Though the showdown with the throne marks the end of the game, Vlambeer claims it's only halfway through development on Nuclear Throne. Vlambeer offers no solid release date for Nuclear Throne, but reiterates that the game will appear on PC, Mac and Linux, before arriving on the PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4 and Vita platforms. If you'd rather not wait, you can try Nuclear Throne's Early Access version on Steam or by visiting the Humble Bundle website. [Image: Vlambeer]
You can now buy Nuclear Throne straight from Twitch
Developer Vlambeer is offering the option to purchase its latest game, Nuclear Throne, through Twitch, a first for the video game broadcast company. Purchasing Nuclear Throne through Twitch gives players access to the game via Steam Early Access, specialty Vlambeer emoticons, and a subscription to the official Vlambeer Twitch.tv channel, which offers exclusive streams and subscriber-only chat throughout the week. "If you're interested in learning about game development, this is where you should buy the game. 60 percent of revenue goes to us," Vlambeer's website says. Gamasutra points out that the revenue split through Steam is 70 percent to developers, while 90 percent of revenue goes to game makers when titles are purchased via GOG.com. Vlambeer continues to evolve its latest release. During PAX East the developer added a two-player co-op mode, which co-founder Rami Ismail said was "so crazy and insane that we're not so sure it's a good idea to have four." The crazier, the better!
Vlambeer mutates Nuclear Throne with co-op live from PAX East
From the show floor at PAX East 2014, Vlambeer has unleashed an update that adds co-operative multiplayer to Nuclear Throne. The game is currently available via Steam Early Access for $12.99. "We launched it about an hour ago, I'm uploading it from the show right now. We're updating the website to make sure it's ready. The goal for now was two players, and we're looking into the possibility of more than two players," Vlambeer's Rami Ismail tells Joystiq. "At this point two players is so crazy and insane that we're not so sure it's a good idea to have four." Ismail says that his team thought Nuclear Throne would be a fun single-player experience, but the community clamored for a multiplayer component. "We've been live streaming, we've been really open about our development, but we were worried about multiplayer. Since it was such a big deal though, we decided to do it between the live streams we did. When it was done, we realized it was good. Local multiplayer for two people. The build will be available in just a little while." [Image: Vlambeer]
'Awful,' 'intimidating,' 'complicated': Indie devs on the guilt of success
It's said that money can't buy happiness. In fact, for some indie game developers, an influx of money can mean just the opposite. In a New Yorker feature, developers like Rami Ismail of Vlambeer (Ridiculous Fishing, Luftrausers), Edmund McMillen of Team Meat (Super Meat Boy) and Davey Wreden of Galactic Cafe (The Stanley Parable) explain how the success of their games have, in some ways, made their lives harder, not easier. Ismail, for example, cited his feelings of guilt over making more money in a single night than his mother makes all year. "Ever since I was a kid I've watched my mom wake up at six in the morning, work all day, come home, make my brother and me dinner," Ismail said. Regarding his overnight success, he told the New Yorker, "It feels awful. I couldn't get rid of the image of my mother in her car, driving to work." McMillen likewise experienced an impact on his familial relationships. He said that after the release of Super Meat Boy and Indie Game: The Movie - a documentary in which he is prominently featured - he had experienced distant relatives and old acquaintances asking him for money. "This success has artificially elevated me; it's caused jealousy, even hatred," McMillen said. "The money has made relationships complicated." Wreden wrote on his studio's site in February that he was experiencing depression, and told the New Yorker that, with the success of The Stanley Parable behind him, he must now look ahead to creating its successor. "It's intimidating to think that we have enough time and resources to do whatever we want," Wreden said. For more on the developing, expanding indie scene, be sure to check out our in-depth feature report. [Image: Vlambeer]
Luftrausers dev responds to criticisms over Nazi-esque imagery
Luftrausers from Vlambeer is full of fiction. Its name is a made up word, and the game takes place in an alternate history, set some 10 to 15 years after World War II. The game's imagery, however, from its maniacal scientists and sharp-dressed military officers to its skull-emblazoned logo, are evocative of the very real Nazi party of the mid 1940s. This has made some players uncomfortable, which Vlambeer co-founder Rami Ismail addressed on the company's site earlier today. Ismail noted that, while he believes that no interpretation of a game is "wrong," he and his fellow developers did not intentionally place players into the role of a Nazi pilot. Instead, Ismail said the game was inspired by the period between 1900 and 1980 where opposing governments were "capable of determining whether an opposing military force was working on secret weapons, but not quite what those weapons were." The goal of Luftrausers, according to Ismail, was to have players take control of such a weapon. The only way for this to make narrative sense was to have players play the bad guys - someone we were spying on. "The player is part of an undefined enemy force that was not on 'our' side during the six or seven decades in which military intelligence was effectively telling us to prepare for a laser-equipped hoverboat assault," Ismail wrote. Ismail made it clear he was explaining the game's aesthetics, but not excusing them. Ismail and studio partner Jan Willem Nijman are natives to the Netherlands, which was invaded by the Nazis in 1940. "We are extremely aware of the awful things that happened," Ismail wrote, "and we want to apologise to anybody who, through our game, is reminded of the cruelties that occurred during the war." [Image: Vlambeer]
Joystiq Weekly: GDC 2014, Infamous, Metal Gear Solid and more
Welcome to Joystiq Weekly, a "too long; didn't read" of each week's biggest stories, reviews and original content. Each category's top story is introduced with a reactionary gif, because moving pictures aren't just for The Daily Prophet. We saw many great games and met with many great people during this year's Game Developers Conference in sunny San Francisco. Or did we? One of the biggest announcements of the show was undoubtedly Project Morpheus, the upcoming virtual reality headset from Sony, and during our hands-on demo, we felt pretty darn virtual. So now the question is: What if we didn't really attend GDC 2014? What if it was all virtual reality? Whoa, dude. Sony also gained news traction this week thanks to the release of PS4-exclusive, Infamous: Second Son. Meanwhile, Snake/Jack Bauer has come out of retirement (again) to save the world in Metal Gear Solid 5: Ground Zeroes, and a new cyborg ninja came to town with the release of Yaiba: Ninja Gaiden Z. You can read all about these games and more of the week's biggest and best after the break. [Image: Joystiq]
Luftrausers took nearly three years to make, profitable in just three days
Lufrausers sales outstripped the game's budget within days, making its two-and-a-half year development cycle a swiftly profitable one for developer Vlambeer. Let's not forget, it's been a bit of a journey for Luftrausers: The arcade shooter was yet another Vlambeer game to be opportunistically cloned before release, leading the two-man team to start live-streaming its development process in a bid to make clear they had their ideas first. Oh, and co-founder Rami Ismail even lost his backpack at last year's E3, which contained "pretty much my entire company" in his words, although he had everything he needed backed up. Still, maybe the Ridiculous Fishing studio should ironically name its next game Plain Sailing. Luftrausers is out now on PS3, Vita, Windows PC, Mac and Linux, and we gave it a sky-high four-and-a-half stars in our review this week. In the words of Sam Prell, "even at its most infuriating, it's hard to stay mad at Luftrausers. The sense of flight and weightlessness is as intoxicating as the build-what-you-want nature of the game's war machines. And besides, dying is just an excuse to try out a new combo of parts, and I'm mighty curious to see how an armored, cannon-firing airplane with an underwater engine would handle." [Image: Vlambeer]
TowerFall, SteamWorld Dig headline PSN's Spring Fever event
A slate of high-profile indie releases will hit the PlayStation Network during Sony's Spring Fever event this month, bringing games like Luftrausers and Towerfall to the PlayStation family of consoles. The promotion kicks off with tomorrow's launch of an upgraded PlayStation 4 version of Ronimo Games' 2D MOBA Awesomenauts Assemble, and the PS3 debut of Wales Interactive's sci-fi adventure game Master Reboot. Ouya-ported multiplayer combat game TowerFall Ascension (PS4) and Strange Loop's puzzle-platformer Vessel (PS3) continue the promotion on March 11, while Image and Form's mining-themed adventure game SteamWorld Dig (PS4, PS Vita) and Vlambeer's aerial dogfighting sim Luftrausers (PS3, PS Vita) follow on March 18. The event wraps up on March 25 with the release of Polytron's Fez for the PlayStation 4, PS3, and PS Vita. All featured games are available at a launch-week discount for PlayStation Plus subscribers. Sony additionally revealed that Tomb Raider and Dead Nation: Apocalypse Edition will launch tomorrow as the month's first free PlayStation Plus games. [Image: Sony]
Vlambeer's Luftrausers debuting for PSN, PC March 18
Indie developer Vlambeer (Super Crate Box, Ridiculous Fishing) announced that its 2D aerial combat game Luftrausers is gunning for a simultaneous release on the PlayStation Network and Steam later this month. Luftrausers will hit Steam on March 18, bundling ports for Windows, Mac, and Linux. The game is now up for pre-purchase at 10 percent off of its regular price of $9.99. The PlayStation 3 and PS Vita versions of Luftrausers will premiere as part of this month's Spring Fever PSN promotion, and PlayStation Plus subscribers can pick up a copy for $7.99 during its debut week. Luftrausers is a Cross-Buy release, and buyers will receive both the PS3 and Vita editions with purchase. [Image: Vlambeer]
Destiny, Monaco, BioShock Infinite talks round out GDC 2014 panels
Interesting art talks looking at character customization and animation workflow for Destiny will be hosted by Bungie at this year's Game Developers Conference, which goes down in San Francisco next month. Irrational Games (what's left of it, anyway) will provide a breakdown of how Elizabeth's AI-controlled movements were created for BioShock Infinite and a panel from Monaco designer Andy Nguyen will address how developer Pocketwatch Games completely streamlined its game post-launch after poring over player data. If you've ever wondered how Bethesda created your favorite dungeons in Skyrim and Fallout 3, a panel on iterative level design will attempt to provide insight. A panel from two-man team Vlambeer will offer a behind-the-curtain look at the life of Nuclear Throne, which went from game jam prototype to early access offering and, later this year, full product launch. Another potentially interesting talk, headed up by Sean Vanaman, may finally give us our first glimpse at what Campo Santo is working on. These are just a handful of the dozens of interesting engagements going down at this year's GDC, held in San Francisco from March 17 - 21, 2014. A full list of the panels and workshops have been published online for all attendees – if you're interested in attending, you can purchase passes through GDC's website. [Image: Bungie]
