next »

[GregWS]

Great seeing this posted, as I think Inel really deserves all the exposure he can get.  I played Where when it was posted on IndieGames and was astonished at how amazing it was, given that it's really just a maze game! 

[Ina Vegt]

You just have to feel sorry for the girl when it clumsily drops to the ground of exhaustion

it?

It's a Germanicism that English doesn't have anymore, and since Andreas is German.

Basically, the common translation of "Girl" to other Germanic languages ends in the dimunitive. Words that end in the dimunitive are grammatically Neuter, and use the Neuter pronoun. As such, the common translation of Girl to German uses the German equivalent of "it" as the pronoun.

[increpare]

Ah, I hadn't thought of that, heh.  I didn't know that it was the -chen ending that made it neuter; I guess I never thought about it too much.

In Irish, the word for girl, cailín, is masculine (though in scots-gaelic it's feminine  ).

[Cymon]

With the end of the 7DRL challenge I have committed myself to playing every finished game and critically reviewing them on my site. Then I remembered that I was actually going to submit these reviews for TIGS first. First one is up now. I've got a few more ready. Do you want to feature more like this here or could I ask for a front page nod in my direction? (I always feel so dirty when I'm asking something that could be construed as a bold faced promotion of my site.)

[Derek]

Sure, I'll link ya - let me know when there's an easy way to access all the reviews.  Like, a list of links or something.

[Cymon]

Sure, I'll link ya - let me know when there's an easy way to access all the reviews.  Like, a list of links or something.

Will do. Gotta finish the review first. There were 24 entries this year!

[Smithy]

too tired to write an article.
But steam is having another indie game sale. Looks like this time it's every indie game. Ten to thirty-three percent off.
Worth mentioning.

[Cymon]

Sure, I'll link ya - let me know when there's an easy way to access all the reviews.  Like, a list of links or something.

Here you go Derek:

http://cymonsgames.retroremakes.com/7drl-reviews/

Plus we're going to rank them. Yes, no more hiding behind "But I was just making a game for me and my mates," the whole world will get to tell you what they think.

EDIT: Thanks for the plug.

[Quasimodem]

Hey Derek, trying to stir up some publicity for my game engine and was hoping to get some front page space.  Here's a blurb if you need but I'd prefer a more un-biased perspective if you have time to check it out yourself.

<BLURB>
Orb is a new 2D game engine written by Quasimodem at http://www.chalicegames.com.  It's got lots of indie tricks like Box2D physics, OpenGL graphics, Lua scripting, plus a boss ninja Level Editor.  Orb is totally free too, free as in beer.
</BLURB>

Orb is at http://www.chalicegames.com/orb, there's a dev blog and wiki and such there too.  Such fun!  Thanks, Derek

[I_smell]

Here's some news to mention:

If you make browser games, you know the Flash portal Newgrounds. They've had their own embedded ads service since about May 2008, but now they've kicked it up a notch. Newgrounds now automatically share their ad revenue whether you sign up for the ads or not.

For example- I made a game recently and got it sponsored by a third party. The terms were that I wasn't allowed to embed any ads in the game. So I didn't, there are no ads in the game. Now Newgrounds will pay me regardless just because my game's on their site. Not just games either, ad impressions come from audio submissions, animations and even my damn userpage. I made 3 cents for having a blog. Thanks!

[Xion]

holy tits that sounds awesomesauce.

I'm gonna go lrn flash, brb.

[Melly]

That sounds pretty cool. How much revenue should that generate in, say, a month?

[Craig Stern]

Here, I just posted about this in the Indie RPGs You Want Covered on TIGS! thread.

[Article starts]
Word has it that Blossomsoft has confirmed a sequel to its well-received indie RPG Eternal Eden, creatively named Eternal Eden 2.

The original Eternal Eden is a JRPG take on the Eden myth from (you guessed it) the Bible. Although a straightforward RPG Maker game in many respects, Eternal Eden stands out largely because it encourages player exploration. There are no randomized battles--you can walk around to your heart's content without fear of being attacked, provided you're nimble enough. Enemies are visible as clouds of smoke wandering somewhat aimlessly across each area. So long as you don't walk into them, they will leave you alone. Additionally, items and loot are hidden in nooks and crannies all over the place, discoverable only by walking over them and pressing the space bar. The game informs you that it is essential to gather these in order to survive, and given how difficult some of the in-game battles are, I reckon that's correct. Between avoiding enemies and searching for pick-ups, Eternal Eden occasionally feels more like a slow-paced game of Pac-Man than it does a JRPG. This is a good thing--it helps keep Eternal Eden from feeling too same-y. (The game does encourage you to fight monsters, however, via special treasure areas that open up only when you've cleared an area of enemies.)

Eternal Eden is not without its flaws. It relies heavily on pre-packaged RPG Maker graphics, and the in-game writing is sometimes quite clumsy. For instance, while searching for someone you know near the beginning of the game, one of your companions helpfully suggests that you kill every monster in the area in order to make her appear. Why a person in the world of Eternal Eden (who, come to think of it, has never even seen monster-containing smoke clouds before) would think those two things are related, much less announce it aloud without prompting, is beyond me. Presumably, this dialog is in the game because no rational player would ever make that connection either.

In spite of its flaws, Eternal Eden is on the whole a well-produced game with some innovative features and an interesting premise. It seems that the sequel is going to have its share of twists as well. Blossomsoft has described the forthcoming EE2 thusly:

Eternal Eden 2 will focus on Japhee, a female protagonist who possess a mysterious clairvoyance gift. Thanks to her special ability, the player will be allowed to influence parts of the game by reading the future through special artifacts.

Influencing the course of future events by learning of them in advance could make for a really interesting gameplay mechanic. The way I imagine it, however, it would take some strong non-linear writing to make it interesting and non-gimmicky. I suppose we'll just have to wait and see how Blossomsoft makes it work. In the meantime, you can decide for yourself whether the original Eternal Eden is worth your $19.99 by downloading the demo, which lets you get as far into the game as you can in the span of an hour.
[Article ends]

[Derek]

Hey, Craig, if you add a short review or synopsis of the first Eternal Eden game (including why you thought it was good) to that I will post it.

[Bood_war]

ghostwoodgames.com

Lost Legends, an amazing First Person Rougelike (that's right FPR!)

[Tanner]

I think you've got the wrong thread, Bood.

[Craig Stern]

Hey, Craig, if you add a short review or synopsis of the first Eternal Eden game (including why you thought it was good) to that I will post it.

Sure!

EDIT: okay, I updated the article above. It's now a combination Eternal Eden 2 news piece / Eternal Eden game review.

[Derek]

Thanks a lot, Craig!  Very nice review.  The article is up now.

[ness io kain]

Egoboo needs coverage on TIGsource. It's kind of a shame that there's so little overlap between the "open source scene" and the "indie scene".
I really want to write something up, but I'm going to wait until the next version is released, because it's going to be a huge improvement. It should be out very soon.
However: Would it be awkward for me to write something about it, considering I'm on the devteam?
I just love the game to death (helping contribute was a natural progression of that) and am saddened by how generally neglected it is.
Not that I can't be objective or anything, of course.

On a similar note, I find it somewhat odd that Wesnoth has not been mentioned in ages, despite being on the site's list of the best independent games...
It's updated constantly and the updates often contain fairly newsworthy additions.

[Craig Stern]

Thanks a lot, Craig!  Very nice review.  The article is up now.

Thanks! Glad to help.