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Tim Keenan's paper prototypes invade the PAX East tabletop summit

Jessica Conditt — Tue, 02 Apr 2013 20:15:00 EST

A Virus Named Tom developer Tim Keenan stepped out of his comfort zone during PAX East - literally - to set up shop in the tabletop gaming summit, with two paper prototypes of ideas for his next big project. At the end of a long row, in the heart of tabletop territory, Keenan demonstrated the mechanics behind Scavenger, a top-down, rolling tower defense game set in space, and Chess the Gathering, which played exactly how it sounds and definitely won't have that name if it enters official development.

Chess the Gathering featured an iPad showing off the game's digital prototype, including a level editor. The gameplay is a spatial representation of Magic the Gathering, on a chessboard and with a myriad of creatures and "twins." For a rundown of Chess the Gathering, check out Keenan's YouTube playlist, and sign up to get an early (digital) prototype here.

Keenan convinced a pair of Magic fans to play Chess the Gathering, and as we talked, they remained riveted on the rudimentary gameboard, cards and characters. When they finished, they concluded that they loved it. "If this were a board game, I would buy it," one of them said.

Scavenger tells the story of a Han Solo-esque character as he travels the galaxies looting spaceships, attempting to pay off his debt to vicious collectors. It's a top-down, tower defense game where the protagonist sits in his spacecraft and sends out drones to infiltrate the victim ships. The player defends his own ship from enemies, while directing drones throughout the other ships, in search of money. See the Scavenger playlist here.

Keenan has a third game in the works, an action title that he said wouldn't work well as a paper prototype. He and his wife, Holly, plan to ask the community which project sounds best, and then launch a Kickstarter to develop that game under their studio, Misfits Attic. Currently, the Misfits are working on the Vita port of A Virus Named Tom.

Check out the paper prototypes for Scavenger and Chess the Gathering in the gallery below.

Gallery: Tim Keenan (PAX East 2013)

Tim Keenan's paper prototypes invade the PAX East tabletop summit originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 02 Apr 2013 20:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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A Virus Named Tom coming to Vita, PlayStation Mobile this summer

Jordan Mallory — Sun, 17 Feb 2013 18:00:00 EST

Adorably insidious indie puzzler A Virus Named Tom will leave the confines of the home and infect various pocket devices sometime this summer, as Misfits Attic has announced both PlayStation Vita and PlayStation Mobile-enabled thingamabob ports of its previously PC-only pet project. As of yet, further information regarding pricing and other details is unavailable.

To celebrate the announcement, Misfits Attic has placed the Steam version of A Virus Named Tom on sale until Friday, February 22, meaning that you can discover why our own Jess Conditt loved this game so much for a smooth Lincoln.

A Virus Named Tom coming to Vita, PlayStation Mobile this summer originally appeared on Joystiq on Sun, 17 Feb 2013 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Best of the Rest: Jess' picks of 2012

Jessica Conditt — Tue, 01 Jan 2013 19:00:00 EST

Joystiq is revealing its 10 favorite games of 2012 throughout the week. Keep reading for more top selections and every writer's personal, impassioned picks in Best of the Rest roundups.

FTL: Faster Than Light
I find tremendous pleasure in games that allow me to name my characters, humanize them and create their unique, intricate backstories, for the sole purpose of making me watch those beloved little guys burn to death on a cramped space ship. No game does this better, or more often, than FTL: Faster Than Light.

Another alluring aspect of FTL is that it's an indie game that looks indie. The game's strength lies in the incredible interstellar journey the player takes with her crew, and the graphics do everything they can to stay out of the way of these space battles and indiscriminate deaths. It's a mental game, high-energy in synapse rather than the screen - much as I've heard the original X-COM described. And like X-COM, playing FTL isn't just a wonderful experience today, but it promises greater, better things to come from Subset Games.

Continue reading Best of the Rest: Jess' picks of 2012

Best of the Rest: Jess' picks of 2012 originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 01 Jan 2013 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Snapshot: A Virus Named Tom (PC)

Jessica Conditt — Thu, 30 Aug 2012 18:30:00 EST

There are so many games out there we couldn't possibly review them all. Welcome to Snapshot, where we highlight games that might fall outside our usual coverage but are still something we think you should know about. Today: A Virus Named Tom for PC.

A Virus Named Tom developer Tim Keenan of Misfits Attic makes a point to mention the uniqueness of his game's 54 local multiplayer levels to every potential reviewer, in almost every email.

He has good reason to do so.

A Virus Named Tom is a tile-flipping exercise in cartoonish hacking simliar to Pipe Dream, but with a Jetsons-like futuristic twist. As the single-player campaign ramps up in difficulty, it becomes a challenging, stressful and exhilarating test of dexterity and logic - but A Virus Named Tom is better as a multiplayer game, if only so you don't feel so idiotic for failing to solve yet another grid-based puzzle on the first try.

After all, failing with a friend is always better than failing alone. Take those suckers down with you.

Continue reading Snapshot: A Virus Named Tom (PC)

Snapshot: A Virus Named Tom (PC) originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 30 Aug 2012 18:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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A Virus Named Tom looks pretty adorbs, downloadable now on Desura

Jessica Conditt — Sat, 14 Apr 2012 19:30:00 EST

A Virus Named Tom is one of those under-the-radar indie titles that we've been secretly following for a while now, and we finally have a valid reason to talk about it. A Virus Named Tom is an action-puzzler from Misfits Attic following a mad scientist attempting to destroy civilization with a -- wait for it -- virus named Tom. Check out the intro trailer above.

A Virus Named Tom is now available for pre-order and beta download on Desura, and is set to launch in full version soon on Steam, OnLive and, of course, Desura.

A Virus Named Tom looks pretty adorbs, downloadable now on Desura originally appeared on Joystiq on Sat, 14 Apr 2012 19:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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