Wednesday, June 19, 2013

[EMBED]

• 0:13 - Hotline Miami 2
• 0:49 - Dark Matter Kickstarter/Greenlight
• 1:30 - Thunder Wolves on XBLA, PSN
• 2:19 - Deadfall Adventures New Screenshots

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• [WATCH] [YouTube] Hotline Miami 2 Trailer
• [LINK] [Kickstarter] Dark Matter

Indie Festival Kickstarter, Keynote

Today in gaming: there's a group of guys up at MIT who are looking to create a new independent games festival on the east coast of the U.S. similar to the Independent Games Festival out in San Fransisco. They tried last year to host their very first event on the campus, but it was so popular (over two thousand attendees) that the thing quickly became overcrowded.

As a result, they have turned to Kickstarter to create an actual indie game conference with proper equipment in an appropriately sized convention space. They are 80% of the way to their goal with 14 days left.

To up the ante a bit, the project's leaders have announced that Robin Hunicke -- executive producer of the multi-award-winning game Journey on PSN -- has been scheduled as the keynote speaker.

As I live in Philadelphia and want to go to this thing, I am asking all of you to consider donating to their cause. This is a great opportunity to further enhance public awareness of the indie game scene.

Currently, Hunicke is building up a new game studio. The 2nd annual Boston Festival of Indie Games is scheduled for Saturday, September 14, 2013 at MIT.

• [LINK] Kickstarter: 2013 Boston Festival of Indie Games
• [LINK] Boston Festival of Independent Games Home Page
• [LINK] Boston Indies Community Page
• [LINK] MIT Game Lab

Kickstarter: PGI 14

Today in gaming: eInfoGames.com is an on-line video game HUB that is looking to conduct a massive on-line survey of gamers and then turn the results into a full-length documentary. Specifically, they are looking to address some of the obvious problems within the video games industry -- things like sexism and studio reaping.

Based out of Great Britain, the company is looking to include opinions and voices from all over the world. And their funding level of 20K GBP is attainable for a documentary project and will go to obtaining the equipment, film, etc. required to make the film plus the expenses of conducting the survey.

As part of the project, they've given you the viewer some homework to do. If you are so inclined, they want you to sit down in front of a camera or put together a video of some kind that addresses a problem in the video game industry that you think should be addressed by 2014. Then post the video on-line (YouTube, Dailymotion, etc) and invite your friends/subscribers to comment on it. Be sure to include "PGI 14" in the title and #PGI14 if you use Twitter.

The idea is that this is going to be a viral documentary -- a new concept practical only as a result of today's emerging global information age.

I hope you will consider participating and/or donating to the cause.

• [LINK] Kickstarter: PGI 14
• [LINK] eInfoGames.com: PGI 14
• [LINK] Facebook: PGI 14

Funding - TinyKeep

Today in gaming: I found a really cool project on Kickstarter. It's a 3D rogue-like adventure game where you play as a banished prisoner held deep within the bowels of a prison who one day gains his freedom and must fight his way out of the dungeons. I think this is a great game and I spoke with the designers about the concept and their level generator -- which allows you to play the game perpetually without playing the same dungeon twice.

• [LINK] Kickstarter: TinyKeep
• [LINK] The Dungeon Generator (click the refresh button in top left corner for new maps).

Kickstarter: Flowstorm

Today in gaming: Flowstorm is an on-line 2D space-shuttle racing and combat game that you can play right now (link below). However, the duo who brought you the game -- Joachim Holmér and Jenny Nordenborg (aka the Neat Corporation) -- have launched a Kickstarter campaign to add some key features to the game. What do they want to do?

• Release a stand-alone version of the game (currently in alpha)
• Release a level editor so you can make your own courses (currently in pre-alpha)
• Add new kinds of ammo
• Add an achievement system
• Multiplayer, including lobby, leaderboards, and team stuffs
• Get the game ready to go for Steam

This game is crazy addictive, mostly because they have ghost images of people who have done better than you and you spend your time trying to stay in front of those who came before.

• [LINK] Flowstorm Kickstarter Page
• [LINK] Play Flowstorm Right Now

Kickstarter: Theme Park Studio

Today in gaming: I found a simulation game on Kickstarter today that looked awesome.

The game is called Theme Park Studio and it allows you to build your own roller-coaster filled theme park from the ground up. You can choose items from an extensive library of prefabricated templates or design your own.

The Kickstarter is currently active. It has plenty of time -- 37 days left to go. I highly recommend this title and I encourage you to consider donating to their cause.

• [LINK] Kickstarter: Theme Park Studio
• [LINK] Pantera Game Studio Home Page

IndieGoGo Project: Netherworld

[LINK] View the Project Home Page for this Title

Today in gaming: I found this brand new project on IndieGoGo.com that was really cool. The idea behind the game is that there is an imbalance in the netherworld and you have to fix it by crafting spells.

The game creates a unique universe every time you play the game, so it will last you a while. And the game doesn't have one set way to beat it, allowing you to use your creativity and skill to determine your own path to victory.

This looks like a really cool game and I encourage all of you to have a look and contribute if you think so too.

Kickstarter - Floating Dice

I know that I normally promote video game crowd sourcing projects, however these things were too cool to pass up. This guy has a metal dice idea that is just awesome. I want a set of these die in my life and I need your help to make my dreams come true. I plan to keep them in a velvet-lined case and produce them at friends houses to inspire fear and concessions.

By the way, why are concession stands called "concession" stands? Who's conceding what? Is it just a misuse and the real word should be "consignment"? Think about it.

[LINK] Kickstarter: Floating Dice

Scullgirls Raises $829,829

[LINK] Kotaku's Report on Lab Zero's Successful Campaign

Today in gaming: Kotaku.com has an article about the final tally for the Skullgirls crowd-sourcing campaign. Lab Zero Games -- the developer of Skullgirls -- used IndieGoGo.com to raise a whopping $829,829 to add a slew of new game features to their title, including four new characters.

IndieGoGo: Divergence Online

[LINK] Indie Go Go Project: Divergence Online

Today in gaming: IndieGoGo has a video game project that I think is really cool and has a lot of potential. It's called Divergence Online and it's the brainchild of creator Ethan Casner. The game has a serious science fiction bent, and allows you to play as one of five human species. The non-sapien versions of people each have a different genetic-engineering-related back story as to how they came into being.

And for $1,000US, you can buy your own island in the game. How about that! You can find out all the details in the link below.

Kickstarter Review: Big Blue

[LINK] Big Blue Kickstarter

Today in gaming: Ed Annunziata and the other members of the original Ecco the Dolphin team have reunited and launched a Kickstarter campaign to make a new underwater action-adventure video game called The Big Blue. This ambitious project takes you into the ocean one million years into the future to interact with it's creatures.

This is an amazing concept filled with stunning visuals and what will eventually be an epic, fully-scored soundtrack. I highly recommend checking this out.

Kickstarter: Guns of Icarus Online

Kickstarter: Guns of Icarus Online

Today in gaming: The designers of the on-line game Guns of Icarus are looking to add an additional game mode to their title. This game is a crazy steampunk airship game that actually launched last year after a successful Kickstarter and these guys have a great track record when it comes to delivering on their promises.

The actual game mode is pretty in depth. You can click on the link for more information.