Tag Archive

Super Meat Boy Forever Gets New Features On Mobile

Posted on January 16, 2024 by Rae Michelle Richards

The original Super Meat Boy was an indie darlings in the early 2010s. It’s been a mainstay for hardcore platform fans for over a decade, but the sequel hasn’t been as well received.

Last year Super Meat Boy Forever received an iOS and Android port, so that you too can enjoy hardcore dismemberment while on your way to work.

A new update has been made available for the mobile port adding procedurally generated levels and a vault of classic levels as well.

Here’s the lowdown on the new ways to play!

  • Say hello to “Meat Grinder,” which has two ways to experience levels in Super Meat Boy Forever
    • “The Daily Grind” is a randomly generated level that switches out daily. Get to the end as quickly as possible to top the leaderboards. Keep playing to beat your record!
    • “Quick Play” lets you play a level generated from all the “level chunks” in a chapter. Maybe you’ll see something new!
  • Forever Forge: Forever Forge is where we will showcase the best of user- generated levels. Our level creation tools were just released on PC, so check back for updates in the future. For now though, please enjoy a new chapter developed in-house called “Abattoir.” Ryan should really be fired for making these levels.
  • Support for Android-based folding phones

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I Made A Game About 2000s Instant Messengers Thanks To LoveJam

Posted on February 6, 2017 by Rae Michelle Richards

Developing video games isn’t something that I can confess to have a large amount of knowledge about but alas I’ve spent the past year or so learning the basics of Unity 3D and C#. This past weekend I took part in Love Jam, a 72 hour game jam that Simeoens, Mientje and Kenny Guillaume set up to not only celebrate the theme of love but also a friend’s upcoming marriage.

Here is how the organizers described their event:

“A friend of ours is getting married and asked us if we could make a game for the occasion. 
Loving gamedev and game jams we said yes without hesitation and agreed to use the first weekend of February to do so.  

 We didn’t think of it at the time, but we suddenly realized that this is very close to Valentine’s day and wondered if there would be any interest in a jam that had ‘wedding’ as a central theme. 

 In the end we decided that the concept of a wedding might put off people who don’t believe in the tradition and so decided to extend the theme to love in general, of any kind.” 

This game jam was the first game dev related collaboration with a time limit that I’ve taken part in and it helped me learn a lot about how to keep cool under pressure during a crunch. I decided to focus on the love of friendship for my entry for Love Jam – which I called Luv.IM. Taking place in a 2000s era Instant Messenger program inspired by the AOL Instant Messenger of yore, it is not only a story of two different people meeting online but also what it is like to discuss the problems that life can throw at you with someone you might not all that well.  I made the submission deadline with only 2 hours and change to spare and an audio glitch caused me to scrap the planned sound effects for this jam, also only after publishing did I notice that some of the texts gets slightly cut off of the screen. *sigh*, I suppose that is the nature of game jams.

LoveJam saw 10 different entries from over 30 developers. I highly recommend anyone reading this post check out the entries (not just mine) because there’s a little bit of everything on offer from visual novels, to platformers to interactive greetings card – all made in the name of love.

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What does the possible elimination of the NEA mean to video games?

Posted on January 27, 2017 by Meghan Kass

In the United States, there is a federal agency that goes by the name the National Endowment of the Arts. According to their website, they are “an independent federal agency that funds, promotes, and strengthens the creative capacity of our communities by providing all Americans with diverse opportunities for arts participation.”. On January 19th, a report from The Hill, and an unnamed source reported that the NEA was on the chopping block for budget cuts under the reasoning that taxpayers should not have to pay for such things such as plays, paintings, scholarly journals or other such works and that it was a “waste”. While it can be debated whether or not the NEA is necessary or not, what can not be debated are the numbers. The NEA and NEH (National Endowment of Humanities) would only be 0.0006 percent of the 2016’s federal spending, a minuscule amount for something that provides a lot of opportunities to so many Americans. This is also particularly disappointing as only as recently as 2012 was the NEA paying attention to the world of video games and funding such projects as Walden, a game and allowing what was once thought of as mere children’s toys to be seen as a serious medium for art. How will the elimination of the NEA effect the gaming community?

A Still From Indie-Cade 2015, a popular gathering of indie developers.

In 2012, $290,000 in grants were given to 4 video game projects. This opened the door to new types of video games and new creators. It was even inspiring non profit organizations such as the WITS (writers in the schools) to utilize grant money to incorporate video games into the education of students in reading and writing by using their inspiration and knowledge to make whole video game projects and stories. If not for the NEA, some creators may not have had the opportunity to explore video game creation and bring their ideas to life in this medium and with the NEA offering millions of dollars in grants each year, who knows what new creations could be made or what brilliant new artist could be discovered? If the NEA is eliminated, this could potentially hurt the progress of video games being explored and expanded as a medium even further, especially since it had only just gotten its chance to shine as a federally funded art form in America.

 

The freedom of indie developers mean that exploring with emerging technologies like VR is possible.

While the gaming industry is still going to be standing and even the indie community will still find its funding, especially with crowd funding as an increasingly viable option, the elimination of the NEA still destroys an opportunity for learning and growth for some and it is now more than ever important  for Americans to help support its gaming  community and its creators and continue to grow and evolve video games. Art, in any form, is essential to culture, building creativity, empathy and education and that most certainly includes video games.

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Kickstarter Games Festival: Ghost Arcade and the passion of Indie Development

Posted on November 9, 2016 by Meghan Kass

No matter the entertainment enjoyed, one of the most fun things about independent media are attending festivals and small events. Whether it’s and independent film festival, music festival or art gallery, such events leave an intimate, passionate atmosphere that is almost infectious. I recently had the pleasure of attending such an event for indie gaming, the Kickstarter Games Festival: Ghost Arcade, at Bric in Brooklyn. The experience of trying new games, meeting developers and playing with other indie fans was something truly unique and reminded me why I enjoy the indie game scene as much as I do.

The festival was split into video and tabletop gaming. While I played two very fun tabletop games, Heartcatchers and Illimat, most of my time was in the atmospheric video game arcade area. I sampled games that had either just recently been funded, still being funded or starting their campaign on Kickstarter in the near future. Ayo the Clown, developed by Cloud M1, was the first game I played in the arcade area, and piqued my interest almost immediately. This bright, colorful platformer about a clown in search of their pet was both challenging and had me smiling as I met various characters and completed 2 levels that were being demoed. This game showed a lot of promise and will soon be available on Kickstarter, but a demo can be played right now through their website. I had the pleasure of also playing Waynesaw, a mobile game in development by AmazingSuperPowers, that had reached its Kickstarter goal and is on its way to being released soon. This game is an endless runner featuring an “innocent chainsaw” that simply doesn’t know how dangerous he is. As far as endless runner mobile games are concerned, this was one I easily could see myself passing the time with during train rides and waiting in lines or relaxing in bed or on the couch with. The developers definitely displayed their sense of humor and showed great enthusiasm for their second game project. I also played Treachery in Beatdown City, developed by Shawn Alexander Allen who brought a unique combination of tactical turn based battle and a retro beat-em-up. Learning how to fight my opponent and how to combine moves in the menu based system was certainly something interesting to experience.

 

I also took the time to visit the Pixel Noir developers, SWDtechgames, that were displaying their successfully funded game, and got the chance to ask them why they chose to focus on indie development and what they found most different about from AAA development work. They explained there was a freedom and passion that they found in indie development and that it was much less restricting and enjoyable to be one’s own boss and work on projects that were close to them and be closer to the community. This resonated with me, because in the end, that is what I love most about indie development, passion and a sense of community through the good and bad.

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Rainbow Jam ’16 and how game jams help the industry

Posted on August 19, 2016 by Meghan Kass

As August continues, a number of game jam events are scheduled to take place.  These game jams are giving opportunities for smaller indie developers to showcase their skills and network with others in the gaming community, all while enjoying a fun atmosphere.

One such event in particular taking place is Rainbow Jam ‘16. This is a game jam, in the Scottish community, starting August 20th and continuing until September 4th. What makes Rainbow Jam special is their focus on the LGBT+ community and diversity in gaming. Their goal is promote safety in the gaming community and for developers to create freely and openly without fear. They also have a goal of creating future meetups and opportunities for communication locally in “various Scottish cities”

According to the itch.io page, the theme for this game jam was selected by getting suggestions from participants and then the top category was voted to be the theme used for the games created, this year the theme is “Identity”. The top games in each category will then be awarded prizes. To participate in the jam, you do not have to be a certain nationality, sexuality or gender; everyone is encouraged to join the celebration and use whatever skill they can bring to help create. Submissions are made through itchi.io and participants can work in teams up to four or individually.

The jam was started due to the feedback and discussion from the Facebook group Scottish Rainbow Game Dev. and they are looking for more sponsors and participants for the jam and possibly for future jams. You can join or learn more about this open game jam at the website https://itch.io/jam/rainbowjam16.

This game jam is just one example of how to encourage diversity and new talent in the gaming industry. New voices, ideas and styles can mean a breath of fresh air and more choices for not only publishers, but for consumers as well.

RainbowJamPortraitPoster

Image source: Rainbow Jam 2016 Facebook page

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Renee Gittins Featured in My Selfie Life

Posted on May 9, 2016 by Fionna Schweit

Renee Gittins is no stranger to struggle, she’s been fighting her whole life as a girl gamer, a female engineer, and now a female indie developer. Renee can now add to her list of accomplishments female TV star. Fusion brings her struggles to life as she wrestles with a male dominated world of game developers to get her game Potions: A Curious Tale into PAX Prime, to show it to the world. Follow Renee on her journey, and watch from her perspective as she tells her story this week on My Selfie Life (Fullscreen account required to view, but a free trial is available, episode will also air on Fusion TV later this summer).

My Selfie Life is a new production from the folks at Fusion which follows several people in their daily lives. Renee’s episode follows her journey in to the world of developing games as she rushes to get a playable build of her game Potions: A Curious Tale to PAX. Renee took some time out of from her Kickstarter to answer a couple of questions for me about how it feels to be coming to the world of live TV and the screens of the Fullscreen network.
My first time exhibiting Potions: A Curious Tale, at Power of Play 2015.

Renee’s first time exhibiting Potions: A Curious Tale, at Power of Play 2015.

One of the most difficult things faced by Renee on any given day is how much the world of game development is seen as a man’s world.  Renee has always faced discrimination, as a major player of online MMO’s she has often written about how attitudes change when other gamers find out she is female. Now a bit of that struggle will be shown to the world thanks to Fullscreen. Follow Renee as she talks about how her upbringing has helped her to overcome obstacles, how being self taught affects her work, and her day to day rush to get her game to PAX!

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Renee demos her game, Potions: A Curious Tale, to a publisher at PAX Prime in her My Selfie Life episode.

Q: Renee What is it like to have your whole life put out there on TV? Something like a million people will see this video which contains details of your personal life do you fear it will effect your future or your safety?

It was pretty intimidating, actually. I was scared of giving people ammo for harassing me or saying I am somehow unqualified due to what they would see.

Q: Do you think that this video which specifically talks about harassment will provoke even more reaction from your internet trolls? I mean you have even had death threats before.
Yes, I think it’s a deep, personal look into my life that’s going to be getting a lot of attention. The more attention it receives, the more trolling I will have to deal with. I’m actually a bit scared about it, because I expose a lot of personal self-doubts in it. While I’ve talked about them in the past, I feel like it’s different seeing me break down in front of a camera.  I never want to have to experience the harassment that some women in the industry have, with people sending them pictures of their front doors and calling the workplaces of their friends and family members to start trouble. I always want to feel safe in my own home.
A girl plays Potions: A Curious Tale at PAX Prime in My Selfie Life.

A girl plays Potions: A Curious Tale at PAX Prime in My Selfie Life.

Q: So your big push the Kickstarter is almost done, what do you think it will feel like when its finished? will you be sad if it fails, or will you just be relieved that it is over?
It’s hard to say. I really, really want to be successful, but I know that 45% of funding in 40 hours is going to be a really hard task. Still, with over 700 backers, it helps to know that there is interest and support out there. I tend to expect a lot out of myself and would probably take unsuccessful funding pretty harshly at first, but I know that I’ve come such a far way that there’s nothing to be ashamed of.
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Q: In the video you come to tears at one point over how much of this game is your heart and soul, and how afraid you are of the world judging you about Potions, and how no one might show up at PAX, with PAX long behind you and another watershed moment approaching, how are you feeling now? Are you to the its all over but the crying phase? Or have these last 40 hours made you ever more resolute to reach your goal?
I’ve cried a number of times over the last month, I’ve really even barely slept for most of it. I’m putting myself and my game out there, not only for people to judge, but for them to support. Without their support, I lose my dream, and that’s really, really scary. Potions: A Curious Tale is so much a part of me, even more the longer I work on it. It is part of my soul and I’ve put thousands of hours into its development, it’s really a part of me at this point. Yet, even though I’m scared, I know how to push forward, even if it’ll be through tear-blurred eyes.
Indie games are place that anyone should be allowed to play in and Renee is out to prove that’s true. I personally hope you will follow her on that journey, and please consider helping out in the final 40 hours of her Kickstarter. Renee has put her soul on view for all of you out there to see, because she wants you to see that you too can do it, go out there and follow your dreams.

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Want To Make Your Own Game? Have $15? Clickteam Fusion 2.5 Is 85% Off On Steam!

Posted on December 25, 2015 by Rae Michelle Richards

There’s no secret that the games market, especially on PC, has been experiencing in indies boom for the last few years. Games like Titan Souls, Mini Metro, Axiom Verge and others have shown us that there is still a large player base for smaller 2D titles inspired by the 16-bit era but infused with more modern mechanics.

If you’ve dreamed of creating your own game but like me don’t have much in the way of programming knowledge then Clickteam Fusion 2.5 on Steam might interest you. Developed by longtime game creation software veterans Clickteam, this development suite gives you a nice & tidy interface to create your very first indie title with no programming. In the place of traditional programming Fusion 2.5 uses CT’s tried and true grid based Event Editor – allowing aspiring developers to plot out their game’s logic in an organized and visual fashion.

Fusion 2.5 isn’t just aimed at beginners, sensed professionals have produced indie games that have been published on multiple platforms. You might have played games like Five Nights At Freddie’s, The Angry Video Game Nerd Game, Knytt Underground or the more recent Not A Hero – all of them were developed using Fusion 2.5 or its predecessor Multimedia Fusion 2.

During the Steam Winter Sale Clickteam has discounted the Standard Version of Clickteam Fusion 2.5 to just $15 USD – down from its regular retail price of $100 USD! Out of the box you’ll be able to create limited HTML 5 games as well as full stand-alone Windows games and applications. If your dreams of game development take you into the mobile space CT Fusion 2.5 also supports a number of optional exporters that allow you to develop for Android, IOS and soon Mac OS X.

I’ve used their software for years, and although my ventures into indie development have not bore any fruit maybe you, dear reader, will more success. At $15 it is a hell of steal and I’d highly recommend Clickteam Fusion to any aspiring developer who has a dream but has been too afraid to get their feet wet.

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