Joystiq

Diamond Trust of London now available outside of Kickstarter

JC Fletcher — Fri, 31 Aug 2012 23:59:00 EST

Jason Rohrer's virtual board game Diamond Trust of London was the first retail DS game to be crowdfunded via Kickstarter, and now it's followed up that achievement by being the first DS game to be available outside of Kickstarter after a successful drive. In other words, you can just buy a copy now.

Rohrer is selling Diamond Trust directly from his website for $30. A counter on the site shows that there are around 4,500 copies left as of writing, which doesn't seem like very many copies at all. While missing out would teach you a lesson about scarce resources, much like we're sure the game would, it seems like a less fun way to learn.

Diamond Trust of London now available outside of Kickstarter originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 31 Aug 2012 23:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jason Rohrer trusting Kickstarter for Diamond Trust of London pre-orders

JC Fletcher — Thu, 10 May 2012 12:00:00 EST

Jason Rohrer's DS board game, now known as Jason Rohrer With Music By Tom Bailey: Diamond Trust of London, was finally officially approved for publishing as of last week. With Nintendo no longer a hurdle, Rohrer is now seeking Kickstarter-based pre-orders to actually manufacture the game, a first for a retail DS game.

"As I faced Nintendo's large manufacturing minimum, a serious question arose: how many people in the world would want to play it?" Rohrer said in the explanation of his Kickstarter drive. "Kickstarter is a perfect way to answer that question."

To get the game, you must contribute at least $35. At $55, you get one of 1,000 limited-edition copies, with mysterious special items included. "I've decided to keep the nature of these special inclusions secret as a surprise," Rohrer said, "since every package will have a unique collection of special items in it." As always, the bonuses get ever more extravagant from there.

All you need, though, is one copy of the game. You can play multiplayer from a single cartridge using Download Play. "There is one minor benefit to playing with two cartridges," Rohrer noted: "both players can hear their own, separate, generated music (the music is too big to send to the downloading player during DS Download Play)."

Jason Rohrer trusting Kickstarter for Diamond Trust of London pre-orders originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 10 May 2012 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Capsized coming to iPad for free in January

Alexander Sliwinski — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 17:15:00 EST

Capsized will crash onto iPad in early January 2012 for free -- a price that seems almost alien. The game will support this exotic price point with a "robust in-game currency system," so players can make purchases and upgrades to weapons, skills and other stats.

The free action and exploration title has also been revamped for the touch-based device, and will retain more than a dozen non-linear levels. It also has the story-based campaign, along with other modes found in the for-pay versions.

Capsized is also expected to explore Xbox Live Arcade in December (for $10), along with PSN, Android and Mac platforms sometime in the first quarter of next year.

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Capsized coming to iPad for free in January originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 17 Nov 2011 17:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Capsized landing on XBLA in December

Ludwig Kietzmann — Wed, 05 Oct 2011 17:00:00 EST

Errant space explorers can only hope to wind up stranded on an alien planet as lush and beautiful as the one in Capsized -- though we'd understand if they also wished for a destination less deadly. The action-packed indie platformer, initially developed by Alientrap and now ported to Xbox Live Arcade by Koolhaus Games, is set to launch on Microsoft's service in December.

IndiePub set the new release window today, almost two years after we first learned of Capsized's XBLA ambitions. The game's hand-drawn blend of exploration, grappling, flight and puzzle solving has impressed critics since April, when it debuted on PC through Steam and Alientrap's website.

The Xbox Live Arcade version of Capsized isn't a straight port, IndiePub says, with enhanced graphics, exclusive levels and further downloadable content being readied for the console version. It's been a long wait, but it sounds like Xbox players are in for a $10 treat.

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Capsized landing on XBLA in December originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 05 Oct 2011 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Vessel preview: Don't forget to hydrate

Taylor Cocke — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 21:30:00 EST

You know how they say that water is the essence of life? In Vessel, water takes it one more step: It literally becomes life. Inventor Arkwright has invented what he calls Fluros, little creatures that attract any liquid around them and build them into a body. They're pretty great for doing work around his factory, especially because of their seemingly bottomless desire to step on buttons. Handily, Arkwright's entire factory seems to run on those little buttons.

Relying on the little guys probably isn't the best idea, though. If Fantasia taught us anything, it's that employing vaguely magical automatons to do your dirty work always goes awry. Soon, the Fluros have taken over the factory and start wreaking havoc, breaking down a variety of large machines that the good inventor needs to keep things running smoothly. So, obviously, he must go on a 2D-platformer adventure to solve that not-so-little issue.

Gallery: Vessel (XBLA / PSN / PC)

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Vessel preview: Don't forget to hydrate originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 31 Aug 2011 21:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Portabliss: Connectrode (iOS)

JC Fletcher — Wed, 27 Jul 2011 20:30:00 EST

Did you know that you can download handheld games now? That's amazingly convenient! The only inconvenient part of it is finding the right games to buy -- and that's where we come in, with our Portabliss column. In each installment, we'll tell you about a downloadable game on the iPhone, iPad, Android device, DSi, 3DS, PSP, etc. Today: Connectrode!

Connectrode has become my zone-out game of choice recently, allowing me to spend a few minutes at a time in an oasis of entirely stress-free puzzle gameplay. Two aspects of the game lend themselves to this sublime mellowness:

There's no timer, and no falling blocks. You can take as long between turns as you want to.
Even if you have no idea how to correctly complete a stage, you can force your way through it

These two principles combine to make a game that I can look at whenever I have a second to play, and which is guaranteed to give me a feeling of accomplishment even if I haven't done a particularly good job.

Connectrode tasks the player with using "connector" blocks to connect two same-colored (and cute-faced) "circuits," being careful not to block the path to other circuits. So you put one green piece down between two other greens, and all of them disappear, or you build a chain of red pieces to connect two distant red blocks.

There seems to be a right "strategy" for clearing a stage -- a proper order in which to clear blocks, in order to make the best path to clear the stage in the fewest moves -- but I haven't really concerned myself with that. I'm content to brute-force my way through each stage, something the game acknowledges by giving you the option to auto-complete the last move instead of tediously placing connectors between the last two (potentially distant) blocks.

Eventually, the strategies will "click" for me and I'll discover a new level of play -- but I can spend my time playing Connectrode until that happens. When it does happen, the game offers four difficulty levels with more blocks and more challenging arrangements.

Connectrode is available from the iOS App Store for .99. We're always looking for new distractions. Want to submit your game for Portabliss consideration? You can reach us at portabliss aat joystiq dawt com.

Portabliss: Connectrode (iOS) originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 27 Jul 2011 20:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Portabliss: Kona's Crate (iOS)

Ludwig Kietzmann — Tue, 26 Jul 2011 19:15:00 EST

The contents of Kona's crate are left up to your imagination. Given the inelegant mechanism with which you're meant to deliver it, and the celerity with which you'll catapult it into walls, you're best off imagining the crate full of teddy bears, hair extensions and French designer duvets -- nothing that can break. Thinking of it as a vital supply of fruits and vegetables for a remote village will put you on a sad path, straight to some famished children, licking at the disgusting smoothie seeping out of a wooden container.

Kona's Crate is a test of patience that you will routinely fail. You need to keep your jet-propelled delivery platform level by independently igniting a pair of rockets on the bottom, and tapping either side of the iPhone's screen to adjust your balance. Veer too much from a horizontal position and you'll head in the wrong direction, or get stuck in a loop of overcorrection as you try to keep the crate from sliding off.

With just a little bit of patience and consideration, you might be able to gently tilt the platform and levitate your cargo all the way through each hazardous maze. But you won't, because there's a timer and it's easier to just feel out the physics, improvising as you go. If you've played Trials HD, you're already familiar with the kind of failure foresight that comes with these balancing games. Your brain will recognize an imminent disaster a split-second before it truly happens, and you'll hit a button for an instantaneous retry.

It's that kind of game. You'll repeatedly rush to the end, spin out of control and idiotically pin the crate to the floor with your rockets. The process of getting this vehicle under control is equally hilarious and frustrating, but never off-putting. The only thing I'd advise against (for sanity's sake) is trying to get three stars for every delivery.

By the time I'd gotten halfway through the game's sixty levels, it sufficed to just fling that stupid crate at the waiting Tiki chief and consider it a job well done. He's got other things to worry about anyway, like which of those sixty crates holds the crowbar he ordered.

Portabliss: Kona's Crate (iOS) originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 26 Jul 2011 19:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jason Rohrer's Diamond Trust of London coming this fall

JC Fletcher — Tue, 24 May 2011 03:05:00 EST

Zoo Entertainment has officially announced its intention to publish Jason Rohrer's DS strategy title Diamond Trust of London. The board game-esque title, which is about the conflict diamond business, was originally to be published by Majesco. Zoo's IndiePub label " rescued Diamond Trust of London from a year-long holding pattern," Rohrer said in the press release announcing the deal.

Zoo plans to sell the game this fall. There's only one thing left to do before that goal can be achieved: make Diamond Trust of London. " Development of Diamond Trust of London is scheduled to begin shortly with an anticipated limited edition release this fall," the press release notes.

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Jason Rohrer's Diamond Trust of London coming this fall originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 24 May 2011 03:05:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Physics puzzler Storm headed to PSN, XBLA, PC this summer

Richard Mitchell — Fri, 20 May 2011 02:00:00 EST

IndiePub has announced plans to bring physics-based puzzle game Storm to PSN, XBLA and PC later this year. Developed by Eko Software, Storm tasks players with guiding seeds to "fertile ground" using the "weather elements" of wind, rain and lightning. The game is scheduled to be released this summer for $10. Check out screens in the gallery below and find a trailer after the break.

Gallery: Storm (XBLA, PSN, PC)

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Physics puzzler Storm headed to PSN, XBLA, PC this summer originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 20 May 2011 02:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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GLiD wins Independent Propeller Award at SXSW

JC Fletcher — Sun, 13 Mar 2011 18:50:00 EST

During an awards ceremony on SXSW's Day Stage, hosts Meredith Molinari and Adam "Atomic" Saltsman revealed the winner of IndiePub's Independent Propeller Award -- GLiD, also an IGF Student Competition finalist. The creators received $50,000 (in novelty check form) and a publishing deal from sponsor Zoo Publishing -- and a trophy.

Other developers won awards sponsored by Intel and Unity, and subcategory awards worth 25,000 damn dollars each. Find the full list of awards handed out after the break.

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GLiD wins Independent Propeller Award at SXSW originally appeared on Joystiq on Sun, 13 Mar 2011 18:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Deep Sea: The scariest game ever

JC Fletcher — Sat, 12 Mar 2011 20:30:00 EST

I don't even know if Wraughk Audio Design's Deep Sea is intended to be scary, but it's more effective at generating real fear than any game I've ever seen. And it does so with no graphics at all.

The Independent Propeller Award finalist is daunting from the outset: first, the player is helped into the gas mask contraption seen above, with blacked out eyes. Then, noise-canceling headphones are lowered onto your face, and your hand is guided to a flight-stick style joystick.

The game is simple: you use recorded audio direction from an AI character, and directional audio cues, to locate enemies underwater, then "ping" them with your sonar to target them. You'll get feedback from the AI commander character when you ping: things like "It's far to the left," essentially. And that's it!

What makes it terrifying is the combination of instant claustrophobia due to the oppressive mask, and the helplessness of total sensory deprivation. Being scared to death actually makes the game harder, as it tracks your breathing and plays exaggerated "breathing" sound effects over the audio, drowning out commands. I've never considered myself a claustrophobic person, but panic set in immediately upon playing this game.

This seems like one of those games best suited for a proof of concept, or an experience to be had at events. I doubt Wraughk is going to be selling blackout gas masks to anyone. I hope that doesn't happen.

Deep Sea: The scariest game ever originally appeared on Joystiq on Sat, 12 Mar 2011 20:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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