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[Christian]

Looks good, thought isn't Wings supposed to be 3D instead of of 2D?

Nope, check the Devlog. 2D is correct. I was confused as well. That's why I asked the developer to talk a bit about the visuals for the Q&A

[Christian]

I have answers for five of the seven questions. Should I post what I have and just add the other two answers when the devs reply or should I wait for everyone's answer first?

[Christian]

TIGForum Devlog Showcase #1: Q & A

Wanted this up before July 4th, so I'll just post what I have and add the remaining answers later

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Devlog Showcase #1 | Q&A

Devlog Showcase #2 | Q&A

Devlog Showcase #3 | Q&A

Devlog Showcase #4 | Q&A

Devlog Showcase #5 | Q&A

Devlog Showcase #6 | Q&A

Devlog Showcase #7 | Q&A

HughSJ on his favorite build in Brigador:
"Heh, you're asking me to pick between all my darlings...

I'll have to preface it with a little background on how Brigador has evolved from its initial design. During the early development we focused almost entirely on direct combat-- moving, shooting, and sightlines. Enemies were immediately hostile, and so combat always turned into full on brawls with groups of enemy units. Which don't get me wrong, is very fun, but it wasn't until much later that we wondered if we could incorporate playable units that had an emphasis on stealth or speed instead of firepower. It took a little tweaking of the enemy behaviors and game objectives to accomplish it, but the answer has been a resounding yes. The result has been a class of vehicles that can zip through levels, but which can get you killed with a single mistake-- very high risk, high reward.

The most extreme of these, and one of my favorite designs, is the Troubador, a treadbike with a single small weapon mount but with one of the best mixes of top speed and acceleration. I find myself holding my breath during treadbike runs, and they seem to be among the most fun to watch as well.

Here's a video of it in action: http://youtu.be/O6EdB_Gise0?t=2m20s"

terri on developing the "six bullets only" mechanic in Heavy Bullets:
"Very early when making Heavy Bullets, I was playing with the idea of the weapon being a bow, and you could pick up arrows after you shot them, which is something I've seen a few times. I ended up not being too excited about having the slow and imprecise shooting style that goes along with it, so the big bullets seemed cool and made it work, your shots are fast and precise but then you have to run around picking up bullets afterwards. That really set the game in a direction where it's not about spraying bullets everywhere, and from then I found that adding a few more limitations made it tense and fun... so you get six bullets which is a full revolver chamber, and have to reload them one by one.

As you make progress in the game you can buy more bullets though, and upgrade your stats so you can reload more than one bullet at a time. Its useful later on when you got a bunch of flying turrets shooting at your face."

Garlicguy on characters he would have liked to include in Indie Action:
"Yes, there were several that I wanted to add, like Trilby, McPixel, Gish, Meat Boy etc...but I didn't have the available man hours to draw their sprites, or I couldn't come up with a move set that felt solid."

Michaël Samyn on exploring war and conflict in Sunset:
"We have never made conflict-based games. We're not into the whole competitive aspect. We think of videogames as a medium, not a sport. If videogames were like other media, combat would be rare, an exception. And that's how we treat it too. So for us to make a game that is not about combat is not an exception. It's what we always do.

And we wanted to talk about the life of people who don't actively participate in hostilities for similar reasons. Because this applies to most of us. The ones doing the fighting are the exceptions. Everybody else is a victim of the conflict they are engaged in. So, as always, we wanted to talk about real life. Because, even in dire situations, life is a wonderful, beautiful thing. And we want to explore it in as many ways we can.

But even though Sunset does not contain violent mechanics, it does offer an opportunity to think about violence. And it asks the question of when violence is justified.

The general aim of Sunset, however, is to portray a life that continues despite of a violent context. Yes, the characters are influenced by the conflict and do influence it to some extent. But apart from that, they still lead their lives. They think, they play, they love, etc. They are living beings first."

xdavidleon on the appeal of stealth in Twin Souls:
"A stealth game is a simulation in which you, as the player, are infiltrating a place where you do not belong. Before your character appeared, each NPC was going on with his life and its usual routine; you are a voyeur, watching the NPCs’ lives and possibly a click or two away from ruining their day. I think this feeling of power, having the upper hand and feeling like a predator watching from the shadows/heights, is what's most appealing from the stealth genre. It's also the sense of completing a challenge without being detected, feeling like a badass.

If you look at Assassin's Creed or any other "new" stealth game, they are mostly action games with some stealth mechanics. You never feel yourself in danger, as your character is a killing machine physically superior to any of your opponents. In Twin Souls: The Path of Shadows you will feel tense every time you enter a new place, you will fear for your safety, and will in fact use stealth as your main approach to progress the level. The Shadow Powers, superior mobility, and your cunning is what gives you the upper hand. It's really satisfying to teleport onto a roof, survey the scenario, mark your enemies and develop a plan of action. That's, I think, most of the appeal of the stealth genre."

DoorKnobHandle on 2D visuals in Wings of Saint Nazaire:
"So, Wings is a 2D game in the sense that while we are using a 3D engine, the vast majority of the artwork displayed is pre-rendered, placed on simple flat planes. That makes most of the art 2D. The source is of course 3D assets, but they're 3D assets rendered in such a way as to resemble mid-nineties dos-era games."

PureBredGentleman on his favorite moment in We Need To Go Deeper:
Coolest emergent thing that happened during some of our early tests of Deeper, probably was the discovery that it's easy to INCIDENTALLY recreate an entire scene from Disney's 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea- practically beat for beat. Ya know, that scene where a crew member sees that the ship is being tailed by a giant squid, who scream at their crew members "Giant Squid on our tail! Increase engine power!" at which point the crew scrambles to change power, but the squid has already attached itself to the ship, and the crew has to fend off its tentacles as water rushes into the ship. This is a pretty basic thing that can happen often in our game, yet it manages to recreate the experience of one of the most memorable scenes in film history.

[gambrinous]

Interesting! This is a nice little extra snippet beyond a screenshot.

Maybe it could be paired with the screens?

[karlozalb]

Good work , following!!

[xdavidleon]

Great job Christian!!

[Christian]

Interesting! This is a nice little extra snippet beyond a screenshot.

Maybe it could be paired with the screens?

Well I didn't want the Showcase post to be that cluttered, and doing the Q&A separately means I can bump the thread when I post.

I already have the second Showcase done and formatted, and the games chosen for Showcases 3 and 4. Now I need to think of questions
I'll probably post the third and fourth Showcase on the same day because I'm going on vacation last week of July

[ink.inc]

stickyd

[Christian]

stickyd

Cool, thanks!

[Christian]

Added HughSJ's reply about Brigador

[William Chyr]

Hey Christian: It's awesome to see you doing this! Looking forward to future updates.

[Christian]

Hey Christian: It's awesome to see you doing this! Looking forward to future updates.

Thanks for the kind words! I spend so much time reading here, might as well as help out to give the projects the attention they deserve

Was reading through the older issues from 2012/2013. It's great to see so many are still in development, or released...and disappointing to see how many were abandoned

[Franklin's Ghost]

This is great to see especially after the magazine stopped again. Also like the Q&A you've added as a feature.

[Ninja Dodo]

Oh nice. Will be following this!

[JP (@JTown_)]

Glad to see someone pick up the torch

[Christian]

Added PureBredGentleman's reply about We Need To Go Deeper to the Q&A

Thanks for the answers, guys! I appreciate it

[Christian]

Think I'm going to stick with posting these Showcases early in the week rather than waiting till Friday

[Christian]

TIGForum Devlog Showcase #2 (7/7/2014)

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Devlog Showcase #1 | Q&A

Devlog Showcase #2 | Q&A

Devlog Showcase #3 | Q&A

Devlog Showcase #4 | Q&A

Devlog Showcase #5 | Q&A

Devlog Showcase #6 | Q&A

Devlog Showcase #7 | Q&A

This week, the games featured include:

• Freaking Meatbags
• Heart Forth, Alicia
• Heptych
• Return of the Obra Dinn
• Shadowcrypt
• Super III
• Vane

Freaking Meatbags
Devlog | Site | Steam Page | Twitter | IndieDB
Status: Alpha available to purchase, on Early Access
Humorous tower defense/offense, augment useless humans as you gather resources and fight wild robots


Heart Forth, Alicia
Devlog | Site | Kickstarter | Steam Greenlight | Twitter | IndieDB
Status: 7 years in the making, successful Kickstarter (funded in a day!), Greenlit, 2015 release
Gorgeous Metroidvania inspired by RPGs of the 90s


Heptych
Devlog | Site
Status: Early in development, a demo/prologue planned within 11 months
Hack n slash with roguelike elements, deep combat in an abstract art-deco/brutalist world


Return of the Obra Dinn
Devlog | Site | Twitter
Status: About 3 to 6 months from completion
First person mystery aboard a 19th century merchant ship


Shadowcrypt
Devlog | Site | Steam Greenlight | Twitter | IndieDB
Status: Greenlit, out now on itch.io
Challenging action platformer, emphasizing tactical combat and precision to survive the deadly catacombs


Super III
Devlog | Site | Twitter
Status: About halfway done, Kickstarter planned for early August
Action platformer with teleporting and screen wrap, from the devs of Frog Sord


Vane
Devlog | Site | Twitter
Status: No release timeframe at the moment
Explore, solve puzzles, and uncover the secrets of a strange and dangerous land

[William Chyr]

Wow. Vane looks beautiful. Really hope that's what gameplay looks like, as opposed to just concept art.

[Christian]

Wow. Vane looks beautiful. Really hope that's what gameplay looks like, as opposed to just concept art.

You won't be disappointed. Looks just as good in-game