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Mike Bithell took to the stage at EGX Rezzed earlier today to demonstrate his new indie game, a stealth-based little number called Volume.
Volume is going to be a simple game. The point of the levels is to sneak around each one, collecting all the gems to make the exit open up without getting spotted and caught by the patrolling guards (as the demo levels let us see that game over doesn’t trigger upon being simply spotted). To do this your character can press themselves against wall to take cover (ala Splinter Cell), disable forcefields that the guard NPCs can pass through but the player cannot, slide under some walls, whistle and use a number of items to aid their passage around without getting caught. Bithell has said that because he wanted it to be a true stealth game, none of the ‘gadgets’ you can find will kill, only distract and in the case of the blackjack render the enemy unconscious for about 5 seconds. This forces players to think of ways to use what they have to continuously avoid the guards who could be static or patrolling. And although the demo levels played during the presentation only showed one enemy type, Bithell confirmed that there will be at least 5 in the game when it’s finished.
Volume is to be a game that will both have an overarching story (although we only got a few hints on it – Volume is a military training tool and you are someone stealing from the rich then broadcasting it to the poor to watch) and thanks to the level editor Bithall hopes that the community will build for the game, manifesting in ‘community challenge’ levels being widely distributed and shared online to keep the game interesting for much longer than a single playthrough could do.
In the Q and A afterwards Bithell said that he felt indie was the better way for stealth games, as stealth he felt was a more ‘niche’ genre that AAA studios might have trouble handling because of their need to appeal to more people to make their money back on a game. Indie games with their smaller budgets could overcome this hurdle and sell it to the smaller number who are really interested in the game and the stealth mechanic of the game.
It’ll be interesting to see how this game develops and what it’ll look like closer to completion with the finished product containing the other enemy types as well as whatever else the game has that wasn’t shown off today.
For all things EGX 2014, stay tuned to Sanitarium.FM!
What happens when you mix old school Mega Man with a dash of insanity and a whole lot of explosions?
You get Explodemon from the makers of Stealth Bastard Deluxe.
You play as the title character, Explodemon, a rather dimwitted and sometimes outright insane “savior” of the planet Nibia. Faced with invasion at the hands of the Vortex, the planet calls on the help of the Guardians. Unfortunately, they are nowhere to be found. Given the choice of surrender, or releasing Explodemon from stasis, the elders choose surrender. Ironically, the Vortex invasion releases Explodemon at that very moment. Set loose in the world once more, our hero(?) must run, jump, puzzle and explode his way to victory.
Its this rather wacky setup that gives Explodemon much of it’s charm. The story is told through wonderfully stylized animated sequences that feel as if they might have been ripped from Ren & Stimpy. While there is no voice acting, the writing more than makes up for it with Explodemon spouting absurd gibberish in response to the questions of NPCs and the taunts of his foes. This is backed up by handsome 3d models set against gorgeous backdrops as Explodemon ventures across futuristic cities and ancient temples. The music, while nothing amazing, does a good job of being catchy and urging you forwards. But..what would a game called Explodemon be without some seriously good explosion sounds? Fortuantely, those deliver in spades, never failing to bring a smile to my face when I exploded multiple times in a row and brought doom to my enemies.
Its here that Explodemon really shines. This game hearkens back to the tough as nails days of old SNES games like mega Man X. Explodemon can’t shoot. Instead, he has a meter that fills up over time. Once charged, he can explode. This mechanic affects every aspect of the game. A well timed explosion after jumping will propel you to new heights. Need to throw a box across an area and onto a pressure switch? Exploding at the propr angle will get the job done. Enemies must be taken down with well placed explosions. It may sound like a button spamming gimmick, but there is real depth to it. Enemies take more damage the closer to the center of an explosion they are, fostering a risk reward mechanic. Do you get close enough to do maximum damage, but risk a potentially fatal blow if you mistime it? Or do you stay at a safe distance and chip away slowly? Add in to this the powerups that Explodemon gets from vanquishing bosses – a double jump that can be extended into something nearing flight with well timed explosions for example – and the depth on display is extremely satisfying. Furthering the depth of the game is an upgrade shop. Collecting currency found in the game world will allow you to purchase armor, extended dash capability and a longer explosion fuse for Explodemon. Add on top of that the ability to find items within each stage that allow you to level up Explodemon’s charge time and abilities for that specific level and there is a very complex meta game underpinning the seemingly simple mechanic of run, explode, repeat.
Each stage is well designed, and chock full of hidden collectibles. If you are a completionist, tackling some of the more mind bending physics based puzzles and nigh impossible to reach trinkets will eat up a ton of your time. To Explodemon’s credit, acquiring these hidden gems never feels like a chore. Instead, it becomes a challenge to master the timing needed to propel yourself into that tiny space high up on a wall. If I have one complaint with Explodemon and its excellent design, it would be that the sliding mechanic is a bit touchy. More than once, I would find myself sliding in the wrong direction, leading to a death by bottomless pit. A minor gripe, to be sure, but one that caused my demis on multiple occasions.
In the end, Explodemon is a quirky, funny, immensely satisfying throwback to the golden days of 2D platforming, shoot-em-up goodness. If you ever enjoyed Mega Man, Castlevania or Metroid during the SNES era, you owe it to yourself to pick up Explodemon.
EGX Rezzed is in full swing, and DayZ’s creator Dean “Rocket” Hall hit the stage today to talk about upcoming plans for the open world zombie survival game.
During his talk, Hall hit on several key highlights for the future of the game:
Refrigerators and cupboards that actually hold items
Improved path finding for Zombies
Animals
AK47s
Cars
64 Bit Compiling
These are the highlights, but much more was hinted at. So, lets breakdown the above items.
In an effort to improve the number of items on a server without bogging the game down, the team is implementing searchable refrigerators and cupboards. The goal is to make them part of the game world rather than just decoration. This is also going hand in hand with the improved pathfinding for the AI. Hall explained that the AI will soon see a voxel based version of the world and that the team is adding “walkable” polygons. In essence, this will tell the AI where it can and can’t go, eliminating those pesky zombies that phase through floors and hit you from inside walls. ANimals are also on the slate to round out the hunting and survival mechanics of the game. Be warned though, Dean also promises hostile animals such as wolves and bears. Lastly, he touched on the inclusion of the AK47 and vehicles stating that they are things that will take time to add and we shouldn’t expect them until the third quarter of this year.
The big news though was that the game is being compiled into a 64 bit version. While not a big deal for players, this will open up many possibilities for servers. The goal is to make the game as robust as possible while keeping server memory load to a minimum. The changes the team are making will allow the game to be updated for loot based on quadrants of the map, allow admins to speed up or slow down time, implement snow and wind effects that affect weapons ballistics…..and build barricades and even persistent structures. You read that right. DayZ plans to let you build your own buildings , barricade them and then hide in them while you slowly starve to death because you are to scared to go out and look for cans of beans. Which sounds awesome to me.
It seems the team has a lot in store for us, and some really exciting plans in terms of the meta game of DayZ.
For all things EGX 2014, stay tuned to Sanitarium.FM.
The Internet backlash over Facebook buying out Oculus has been varied to say the least. Ranging from those thinking that the extra investment can only speed progress of VR to those saying simply ‘Oculus is dead now – game over.’ One reaction though has gotten an awful lot of notice purely because of what it means and who was saying it.
Shortly after the announcement of Facebook’s purchase of Oculus, Notch the creator of popular sandbox game Minecraft tweeted that Minecraft on Oculus was now a dead thing. Not many people knew at that point that Notch had only two weeks earlier been at the Oculus offices talking about bringing a simplified version of Minecraft out that would be made specially to work with the Oculus Rift.
In a lengthy blog post on his website Notch outlined his joy at virtual reality becoming a feasible concept in the modern age and his trip to see the makers of Oculus.
“I felt like we were on the cusp of a new paradigm… I could be part of the early efforts to work out best practices, and while I have no doubt that in ten years we’ll look back at the problems with early VR applications in the same we look back at GUI problems with early PC games, it still felt exciting to me.”
But then he goes on to explain why he withdrew the offer of a Minecraft game for the Oculus after Facebook bought them out, stating that as a company he really doesn’t trust Facebook. He also points out that Facebook is about engaging users, building numbers and social media. Notch points out that while VR and social are a good match he doesn’t wish to work with social, but games; adding that he didn’t fund the Kickstarter for the Oculus Rift “to build value for a Facebook acquisition.“. He ended the post by congratulating both companies on the ‘business deal’ and stating his respect for the engineers and workers at Oculus. He also linked a mod for those who really needed their Minecraft fix in a VR setting.
While this is sad news, as a long-time Minecraft player I must admit for all my excitement at VR technology I can’t really see the sandbox game working well in VR. Not for me at least. And this might be a good thing, imagine your first VR creeper…
The official Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles trailer is here. I know, I know. You’re thinking “Gee thats great! I’ll watch that right after I get done cleaning my ears out with steel wool!” Well, put that wool away because the trailer will happily do all of that hard work for you!
It shows the new turtles in all their gritty, overly muscled detail. Plus you get to see Megan Fox and Will Arnett.
Ready to have your childhood ruined by Michael Bay once more?
