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Xbox Live Indie Gems: Cthulhu Saves the World
Crowded as Xbox Live Indie Games is with farting massage simulators, it can be hard to find worthwhile titles. That's why we sift through all that rough to unearth a few gems. That way, you get the skinny on quality games and we get to indulge our secret passion for fart machines. This week, we take a look at the Zeboyd Games retro RPG romp, Cthulhu Saves the World. Let's just start with the premise of Cthulhu Saves the World: You take control of Cthulhu, the squid-faced, winged god created by H.P. Lovecraft. Cthulhu emerges from the sea after centuries of slumber only to find his dark powers immediately sealed away by a mysterious holy wizard. A narrator then informs the player that the only way to break the curse is to become a true hero. Quickly breaking the fourth wall, Cthulhu informs the narrator that he was eavesdropping and now knows how to break the curse. Thus begins his quest to become a true hero, but only so he can restore his world-rending powers and wash the earth in a tide of insanity and despair. Oh, it's also an RPG inspired by the 16-bit adventures of yore. %Gallery-112189%
XBL Indie Games Winter Uprising now on Xbox dashboard, Cthulhu Saves the World out tomorrow
After getting off to a shaky start, the Xbox Live Indie Games Winter Uprising may just get a shot in the arm thanks to Microsoft. The Indie Games promotion is now featured on the Xbox dashboard. We reached out to Winter Uprising coordinator, Robert Boyd, who tells Joystiq "the Winter Uprising dashboard advertisement is a great step in the right direction." Boyd added that he's hopeful Microsoft will continue to support Indie Games in the future, perhaps with similar ads on a more regular basis. He also noted that Microsoft has "shown a recommitment" to Indie Games recently, moving the service back under the Games & Demos section on the dashboard and making it more visible. Ska Studios' James Silva tells Joystiq, "I'm super happy to be on the Indie Games Winter Uprising; Robert put a ton of effort into pulling together the promo and the fact that it got on the dash is quite a testament to its success." He added that the reaction to Ska's Uprising title, ZP2KX has been "extremely positive" so far, and that he would "definitely support any future uprisings." In more Winter Uprising news, Zeboyd -- Boyd's own indie studio -- has announced that Cthulhu Saves the World should arrive on Xbox Live on Thursday, December 30 for 240 MS Points ($3). Cthulhu Saves the World is one of the final entries in the Winter Uprising promotion, and is the follow-up to Zeboyd's last title, Breath of Death VII, which is currently one of the top games on the Indie Games service. Watch a (very short!) trailer of the throwback RPG adventure after the break. %Gallery-112189%
XBL Indie Games Winter Uprising falls a little short
Though they may have had the noblest of intentions, organizers for the Indie Games Winter Uprising are admitting things didn't go precisely as planned. The idea had been to launch 14 games on Xbox Live Indie Games in the first week of December as a way of separating the wheat from the massage game chaff on the service. At the moment though, only eight of those games have made it out the door. "The way Xbox Live Indie Games are set up, it's difficult to release on a specific day," organizer Robert Boyd told Edge. "You can't get your game approved and have it come out later at a day of your choosing – once a game is approved it goes up automatically within 48 hours. Likewise, if you submit a game for approval and then find that you have to pull it for whatever reason, however small, you have to wait a minimum of 7 days before resubmitting." It's not all doom and gloom though, with first Uprising release Epic Dungeon moving over 6,000 units. The Uprising's still a great project, and we'd love to see the devs try again soon ... maybe even with a little help from Microsoft this time?
Zombies and Pterodactyls 20XX (aka ZP2KX) is the latest Xbox Live Indie from Dishwasher dev
Dishwasher: Dead Samurai developer Ska Studios knows how to make a game stand out on the Xbox Live Indie Games marketplace; afterall, it's the same rule that applies to just about every successful video game in the history of the art form. Add zombies. Ska's Xbox Live Indie debut was I MAED A GAM3 W1TH Z0MB1ES 1N IT!!!1 which, despite its humble origins and unique spelling, managed to sell 308K copies as of last August. At $1 a pop, after Microsoft's 30% cut, that leaves a healthy $215K – not a bad take for the one-person shop. For his Xbox Live Indie Games followup, Ska Studios' James Silva is playing fast and loose. Gone are the old days when it was as simple as making a game with zombies in it. That's just not enough anymore. Enter: Pterodactyls. Zombies and Pterodactyls 20XX (or, as they'd like you to abbreviate it, ZP2KX) appears to be a multiplayer-focused title with staples such as jetpacks, capture the flag, deadly rainbows and Africanized bee-ammunition. And like Z0MB1ES, ZP2KX will be just $1 when it's released next week during the indie-organized (and seasonally co-opted!) "Indie Games Winter Uprising." Full press and trailer after the break.%Gallery-108144%
Xbox Live Indie Games to begin a Winter 'Uprising' next month
Xbox Live Indie Games have had a difficult time getting attention -- sometimes from Microsoft itself. But, that will (hopefully) change with a new developer-led initiative, called Indie Games Winter Uprising. Not unlike XBLA's Summer of Arcade and Game Feast series, this timed promo will highlight over a dozen "great games" on the service with "prices as low as 80 to 400 Microsoft Points." The promo will last for exactly one week, during the first week of December. With games from Ska Studios and Radiangames participating, this should certainly entice newcomers to the Indie Games section of the Dashboard. [Thanks, Zach D.!]
Xbox Live Indie Games store now falls under Games & Demos section
In a remarkably quick 180 (for the 360), Microsoft has moved its Xbox Live Indie Games channel back into the "Games & Demos" section of Xbox Live Marketplace. When the fall Dashboard update hit Xbox 360 last week, the Indie Games channel was swept into the "Specialty Shops" section, alongside Avatar clothing items rather than other video games. The folks most affected by the change -- Xbox Live Indie Game developers -- have taken to the Microsoft forums to celebrate the change, saying, "Microsoft ARE LISTENING! Indie Games are back in the games section! We ARE having an effect. The new placement isnt PERFECT - but its a huge step in the right direction. The icon feels very out of place being such a different style -- and in searches etc. it doesnt look like indie games are included - but we ARE in the games section." The original complaint forum thread has even been changed from "xbligs are not 'games' any longer" to "mourning is over!", giving an indication of just how important the re-categorization was to the XBLIG development community.
Updated Xbox Live Indie Games channel is 'full marketplace experience,' Microsoft says
Microsoft recently responded to complaints that the newly relocated Xbox Live Indie Games channel -- now somewhat buried in the "Specialty Shops" section of the Game Marketplace (seen above) -- has negatively impacted visibility and sales of the already-struggling platform. Speaking to Eurogamer, a spokesperson for the company said that the intent of the move was to give Xbox Live Indie Games a "full marketplace experience," one that offered "unique ways of sorting through that content." The update does seemingly improve browsing the Indie Games, including a bump up in the Top Rated and Top Downloaded lists from 20 to 50 titles. In fact, Microsoft expects Indie Games exposure to increase following the Dashboard redesign, thanks to the popularity of other types of content in the Specialty Shops, specifically the Avatar Marketplace. "Xbox Live members have made more than 290 million customizations to their Avatars' clothing, so we expect many people to regularly visit the Specialty Shops section," the spokesperson said. Microsoft's response drew heat from apparent Xbox Live users and Indie Games developers in the Eurogamer post's comments section. The counterargument is "a load of PR bollocks," said one commenter; while a self-identified Indie Games creator argued, "Users looking for a shirt for their Avatar aren't the same as users looking for a game." "We'd like to be considered games, thank you very much," the same commenter added. "This explanation is a joke."
Xbox Live Indie Games moved to 'Specialty Shops' on new Dashboard, devs not happy
The new Xbox 360 Dashboard Update makes the whole interface look smoother and cleaner, but it has rubbed one part of the community the wrong way. Xbox Live Indie Game creators are bummed over on the Microsoft Developer Network forums, as their creations have been relegated to the "Specialty Shops" section of the new Dashboard, hidden behind the Avatar Marketplace and away from most of the game and demo traffic. Most developers actually sound resigned to their fate, admitting that, while there are a few indie game breakouts, the category in general wasn't a big moneymaker for Microsoft, so it's not surprising it didn't get the spotlight when the update came around. But other devs say it's a chicken-and-the-egg problem, that indie games won't get the sales without the exposure, and hiding them away only dooms them to more failure. That said, there's no sales data yet off of the new Dashboard; we'll just have to wait and see what effect this new placement has. [Thanks, Richard!]
'Starlight' XBL Indie Game gets all shifty
It can be difficult to sift through the many, many Xbox Live Indie Games, but every once in a while one manages to catch our eye with unique presentation. Enter Starlight, a game that unites quirky, hand drawn graphics with an interesting mechanic that has players shifting between parallel worlds.
Xbox Live Indie Game 'Leucistic Wyvern' looks familiar
Can't remember the name Leucistic Wyvern? Try "that one Xbox Live Indie Game that looks suspiciously like Panzer Dragoon." Mukagosoftware Development's XBLIG rail shooter is reminiscent of Sega's classic not only in that it's about a dragon shooting multiple types of projectiles as it flies across the countryside -- but also in that it looks like a Saturn game. The low-budget visuals (a staple of Mukagosoftware games; see Blaster and Morion and Sizonphase) result in savings that are passed on to the player. Leucistic Wyvern sells for just 80 Microsoft Points ($1). Check out a charmingly low-quality trailer (made by pointing a camera at a TV) after the break.
Microsoft's XNA Creator's Club is now 'App Hub'
If you fancy yourself an Xbox Live Indie Games developer, you might have noticed a change to the XNA Creators Club today. In conjunction with the unveiling of Windows Phone 7, it appears that Microsoft has quietly changed the Creators Club to the much more generalized "App Hub." The site purports to offer resources for developers to create applications for both Windows Phone 7 and Xbox 360, though the site currently seems to favor the former. In fact, the Education Roadmap section -- which introduces would-be programmers to XNA Game Studio -- only offers tutorials for Windows Phone 7. Of course, it's understandable that Microsoft would want to recruit as many programmers as possible for its new baby. There are still examples and code snippets for Windows and Xbox 360 programming, but hopefully we'll see some more robust introductory tutorials in the future. [Thanks, Niko]
Explosionade dev delaying release until XBLM 'is less broken'
If you've been waiting to get your hands on Explosionade on Xbox Live Indie Games, you're going to have to wait a bit longer. Already delayed once to fix a last-minute bug, Mommy's Best Games has delayed the game again until "Xbox Marketplace is less broken." Speaking out on the Mommy's Best Devlog, studio head Nathan Fouls claimed that the Xbox Live Indie Games' "Top Downloads" section on XBLM is broken, frequently failing to update properly. According to Fouls, the Top Downloads section is often "stuck for days, sometimes over a week." With a broken Top Downloads section, said Fouls, Explosionade could miss out on the potential sales boost that featured games receive. He added that gamers may stop paying attention to the Top Downloads section altogether if they realize it doesn't update on a regular basis. Explosionade has been delayed until Microsoft addresses the alleged problem. "If Top Downloads keeps getting stuck," said Fouls, "it's going to eventually impact developers and gamers and the [Indie Games] channel will suffer."
Explosionade side-scrolling into Xbox Live Indie Games this week
It's just like Mom always said: When life gives you explosions, you make Explosionade -- and then release it on Xbox Live. Maybe that wasn't what she said (we weren't listening most of the time), but Mommy's Best Games took that advice, because its 2D side-scrolling shooter is coming to Xbox Live's Indie Games platform sometime this week. The title will have "dozens" of challenge rooms to play through, two-player co-op, online high scores and, as you can probably tell from the name, lots and lots of things blowing other things up. MBG previously released the popular indie title Weapon of Choice, so this should be one to look for. Plus, sales of this game will contribute towards the release of Grapple Buggy, a title that MBG has been seeking a publisher for so it can land on Xbox Live Arcade actual. There's no word on Explosionade's price, but you can look for it on the XBLM by sometime on Saturday night. It's just like Mom always said: Support your indie developers. She did say that one, right? Maybe not.
Privates deemed too sexy for Xbox Indie Games
In a not-so-stunning turn of events, it seems that the battle to release Zombie Cow's genitalia-based shooter Privates on Xbox Live Indie Games has been lost. Zombie Cow announced as much this morning, saying, "The guys at Xbox have been amazing. They've been really helpful and supportive throughout, but ultimately have advised that the game wouldn't pass the Indie Games Peer Review process." Given the previous warnings saying as much, Zombie Cow wasn't exactly blindsided by this news. "It's a shame, but it's something we'd always pretty much assumed would happen," says ZC's Dan Marshall. He also assured fans that, since releasing the game on PC, the studio has been "improving it and getting it running on as many different systems as possible" as to fix various bugs. For its part, Microsoft told Joystiq, "This game has not been approved for distribution on Xbox LIVE Indie Games. We have guidelines in place that closely track requirements of content ratings boards worldwide and, among other things, prohibit the publication of strong sexual content."
The Joystiq Indie Pitch: Blockey
Ray Bracey has a knack for naming things. First, there's his nigh-cubist Xbox Live Indie hockey game Blockey (get it?); then there's his game's URL, simply http://blockey.isgreat.org. It's direct, and we like that. Oh, and have we mentioned his development team is called Walking-Talking Grilling Bear Studios? In this latest edition of the Indie Pitch, we talk with Ray about the origins of his game and his design career, though not about his facility for naming stuff. Shame on us. What's your game called, and what's it about? The game is called Blockey. It is a 2-vs-2 hockey game with goalies and lots of block-men hitting other block-men. It was designed to be retro: simple and fun. I made it using XNA for release on Xbox Live Indie Games.
Paper Wars rated for DSi, Wii, Xbox 360 and PC
Crap of Defense -- in spite of declaring itself to be the "worst game ever" -- is making the jump to pretty much every platform out there. Like the PSP version, the game is being re-branded as Paper Wars: Cannon Fodder, but will (presumably) feature the same sloppily drawn visuals and rather cheap-sounding audio. Like Angry Birds, this game simply cannot be contained by the iPhone. Already available as a PSN Mini in Europe, the ESRB has rated additional versions of the game for DSi, Wii, Xbox 360 and PC. Considering the simplicity of the game, we're unsurprised by how quickly the developer has been able to make so many ports. Watch the distressingly cheap trailer for the iPhone original after the break.
I MAED A GAM3 W1TH Z0MB1ES 1N IT!!!1 sells 308K copies, now on Rock Band Network
While there are some that would write off Xbox Live Indie Games as just the domain of hobbyists, a handful of games have proven that the service can be lucrative for developers. Ska Studios' I MAED A GAM3 W1TH Z0MB1ES 1N IT!!!1 is easily one of the most well-known examples, routinely topping the Indie Games sales list each week. Now, the company has announced that Z0MB1ES has sold in excess of 308,000 copies and is expanding into some new territory. First, the game's incredibly super-catchy theme song is now available on Rock Band Network. And yes, it's just a dollar. Furthermore, Z0MB1ES apparel will be sold in Hot Topic stores starting next month. Presumably for more than a dollar. Xbox.com: Add ZOMB1ES full song to your Xbox 360 download queue ($1)
Monsters (Probably) Stole My Princess now (definitely) on Xbox Live Indie Games
Mediatonic has announced that its PlayStation Mini, Monsters (Probably) Stole My Princess, has finally made the move to Xbox Live Indie Games. The vertical platformer can be had for 240 MSP ($3). If you're squeamish about killing (likely) guilty monsters, a free trial version is also available. If you're unfamiliar with the Duke and his incredible jumping prowess, check out a trailer after the break.
Kinect-enabled XBL Indie Games still up in the air
Would-be Kinect Indie Game developers out there should prepare for some bad news. Speaking to Digital Spy, a Microsoft spokesman stated that currently "only developers with established contracts with Microsoft" are allowed to develop projects for Kinect. Only those developers that Microsoft has "partnered with for the launch" will release Kinect games at first. That's not to say that budding XNA developers will never get their hands on the Kinect. The spokesman acknowledged that Microsoft would "consider" the possibility for the future, though he added that "no plans can be confirmed at this time." Here's hoping Indie devs get Kinect support sooner rather than later. The creative possibilities are definitely there and, besides, where else would we get Kinect-enabled fart simulators now that support for Fable 3 has been delayed?
The Joystiq Indie Pitch: Retrofit: Overload
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 Will Storer of WAM! Games. Joystiq: How did you and your company get started? Will Storer: Martin Stone and I were both working freelance after several years at large studios. We both worked together on MotorStorm for the PS3 and we used to chat about games a lot on the way home from work. We then went our separate ways into various other jobs and freelance gigs but kept in touch. We literally decided one night at the pub, lets make a game of our own, something simple, something small, just to see if we could actually make a complete game by ourselves. About five months later Pegzo was released.
