Igrorama in English

Puppygames, interview

2011-04-03T02:53:00.003+02:00

Today, we will be talking to people from Puppygames, the studio behind Revenge of the Titans. You had the chance to watch a review of the game, and now you will find out something more about it's authors. This is archive copy only. Original article in Serbian can be found here.

- Hello. Would you be so kind as to introduce yourself to our readers,
and tell us a little bit about your team?

Hi, I'm the unlikely-named Caspian Prince, and I program games under

the guise of Puppygames, and game design and testing. I also do most

of the email support, forum support, interviews, business dealings,

accounting, and other tedious drudgery that makes up the part of indie

game development that you rarely hear about.

The other half of Puppygames - for there are indeed only two of us -
is Chaz Willets, whom I have known since we were at school, and he
does anything arty or webby that we need to do for our games, and lots
of design work for them.

We have a lot of friends who do music for us. Please don't offer :)

- How did you get to be a part of the Humble Indie Bundle project? Are
you satisfied with it's results? Would you recommend future projects
of the same kind to other independent authors?

I spend a lot of time "networking", or as my girlfriend says, "wasting
time nerding on internet forums". However, over the many years I've
been doing it, I've made a lot of virtual friends (and met quite a few
of them in real life!) Eventually I got to know Jeffrey Rosen, who is
an all round brilliant guy, and he asked if we'd like to bung one of
our old games into the Humble Indie Bundle #2. And I said, well, why
don't we release our brand new game on it instead? And he was really
enthused by the idea - it was quite a coup I suppose. I like to think
that maybe Revenge was the start of the Humble Bundle but that's not
very humble ;) We hope to develop a special relationship with Humble
Bundle, Inc., ongoing, and it's worked out very well for us.

- Are you planning on expanding the offer for Revenge of The Titans?
We've heard you're intent on adding Steam achievments. Have you
thought about releasing a modding tool or map editor?

Yes, we have a few things in the works. The next patch to v1.80.11
introduces basic modding capability for the brave and foolhardy (you
will need to be proficient with XML and maybe Java). I'm working on
Steam API integration in the background - I plan to support Steam
Achievements, and hopefully the Steam Cloud.

The maps are pseudo-randomly generated right now, but I did think that
the addition of a way to load ascii-based map files would be
interesting. We have a planned expansion of a few more fun buildings
at some point in the future, and would like to add a sandbox game
mode. It's all up in the air right now as we decide how to spend our
time, as cash is tight and time is limited.

Puppygames: Caspian i Chaz

- All of your games have been made with appealing retro graphics, and
the details are full of references to olden platforms, like ZX
Spectrum. How did you decide on using this style in the entire series
of games? Do you think that there still are people who gladly remember
the time when pixelised sprites were the best there was, in terms of
graphics? Are your next games going to continue this tradition?

Chaz: "They're easy to draw :)"

There are a few people who look through rose-tinted spectacles at
low-resolution graphics of yesteryear, but actually copying those
graphics rarely looks good. Usually it just looks like a programmer
who can't find an artist to do good graphics for his game. Puppygames
"retro" graphics are actually quite cunning in that they're really
very, very modern graphics which give a very good impression of being
retro (so good, ahaha, that people often mistake them for graphics
that could be done on old computers or even in Flash. Oh, no, you
can't!)

We're probably going to continue with the theme for the foreseeable
future as it's quite a recognisable style. And, as Chaz says, it's
easy to draw, hehe :)

- Although there are lots of free flash-based tower defense games,
there aren't too many commercial games of this kind. How much did the
undersaturation of the market affect the decision to make such a game?
What was your motivation?

As usual we didn't really think about that, which historically has
probably been why we have been so unsuccessful. In fact the original
game was based on Storm the House, a free Flash-based game that is
nothing to do with tower defense. One reason it took us over 3 years
to finish Revenge of the Titans is we kept on getting quite far with
it, and then deciding it was rubbish, and starting again. We
eventually hit upon a design that's a little bit like the RTS / tower
defense hybrid you see today. Then in January 2010 we decided we'd
target Steam in particular, which meant massively expanding the game
and really serious polishing - it took another year before it was
Steamworthy. Hopefully the production values are so beyond what you
find in a Flash game they'll never catch up with us!

In reality it's not a tower defense game at all, it's a real-time
strategy game, but one where most of your units don't move. It's hard
to pigeonhole into any particular category, which I like - it makes
the game pretty unique.

- Revenge of The Titans is also available on GNU/Linux. Do you see a
viable market for commercial games on this free/libre operating
system?

Viable enough, though hard to reach without some cunning. It's mostly
viable these days thanks to the Mac, rather strangely: if it weren't
for the Mac making the underlying Unixness more familiar, and the fact
that the Mac uses OpenGL graphics, probably there'd be almost no Linux
games at all out there. In fact the only reason we support Linux, or
even the Mac, is that I didn't have to do any porting work to get it
to run on them. I'm just not that clever!

- What are your plans for the future? Are you thinking about a new game?

We desperately want to make a new game. We've been working on Revenge
for over 3 years now and frankly we're bored stiff with it! We want to
make a multiplayer game next.We get quite a few requests to make
Revenge multiplayer but it's not going to happen - that's for a new
game. The next game.

- What would be your one golden advice for all the potential indie dev
teams in Serbia?

Stay in Serbia where it's cheap to live! I really envy development
teams who can live somewhere that cheap. England costs a fortune but
I'm stuck here because that's where all my roots are.

- Thank you for answering our questions. We wish you the best of luck
in your future endeavors.

No problem! I like to talk so I can get out of doing work.

This is archive copy only. Original article in Serbian can be found here.

Different Pixel, Interview

2010-09-17T23:55:00.002+02:00

Today, we will be talking to people from Different Pixel, the studio behind Vizati. You had the chance to read a review of the game, and now you will find out something more about it's authors.

Igrorama: Hello, and welcome. First of all, could you introduce yourselves to our readers?

Different Pixel: Hello, we are a very small team, composed by David Amador and Rita Silva, a programmer and a graphic artist. We joined forces for making websites back in 2006 but we recently decided to start game development and Vizati is our first game.

Igrorama: How come you've decided to use graphics that have obviously been inspired by the naive drawings of children? Were you simply going for the unique look and feel, or is there more to it, in terms of storytelling and atmosphere?

Rita: When we decided the concept of the game, I ended up drawing what I felt, what I would love to see in this type of game. If this game is challenging and if there’s a chance of making someone nervous or angry, so the environment should cause the opposite effect. It would help to keep the balance. The music came up to help and to give life to the rest of the environment.

When the first scenario was finished and we started to play the first 15 levels, we thought that we could do a little more besides a static environment, so I created night, day, Ben, Julie and all the other characters. All the scenarios of the arcade mode are related to the scenarios and story of story mode, it´s like the beginning of what happened to the cube. Everything may be a little abstract but with a meaning and a combination of love, art and of course, a puzzle game.

Igrorama: Was it your goal to make a playable game, or were you trying to merge art and game design together?

DP: When the idea for the core game play of Vizati came up to our heads we decided to go to a more artistic path instead of making it a traditional puzzle game.

Our main goal was to experiment art with a simple game, something that everyone could immediately understand backed up with beautiful art. The idea was to create a relaxing environment for every player. We tried to avoid the most common features in traditional puzzle games as much as possible; the idea wasn't to create another “bejeweled” but something with a personal touch.

Igrorama: When talking about game design, would you say that there's more space for art in the narrative, or in the visual/audio expression?

DP: Game design is an important and present part in both narratives as visual expression. I don’t think one of them is more important than the other, it’s important to have a well-designed narrative and game progress but sound expression is also a key part. Most games rely on sound and visual feedback to give some information to the player; together they are a powerful tool.

Igrorama: Artful games have mostly been made with no regard for interactivity. What's your take on interactivity?

DP: Most games tend to compensate a slowed paced game-play with rich art, this helps creating an immersive experience, when the action is more fast-paced small details tend to not matter much. We think most artful games tend to go the least interactivity possible to give you the same feeling that you can have by looking at a painting, you can watch it but don’t move anything, you’ll ruin it.

On Vizati we give some interactivity to the player but not too much, just the essential so they can have the experience we intend, in this case operating the cube. Depending on the type of game it may be hard to balance what the user can do, they might feel cheated or the game may come up too complicated. In the end it’s all about how much love you put in making the game, I think that’s way there are very beautiful games in the indie scene, most do it out of the love of making games, like Braid, Ancient Trader, Aquaria, Machinarium.

Igrorama: Do you like the concept of "Chic Meets Geek"? (a movement which tries to join members of the cultural elite with the tech-community)

David: We were unfamiliar with that concept but it’s a good movement, people tend to put labels like geek just because of gaming on technology which is a wrong thing. Gadgets like PSP, and mostly iPhones/iPads are closing the gap a little, it’s not geek to play on an iPhone, or read a book on an iPad. Many consider reading a book in public socially wrong; most people will watch and go “he has no friends”. So in this case geek gadgets are helping non-geek ones. There’s a revolution happening.

Igrorama: How do you feel about the Portuguese indie scene, seeing that for a long period of time, no games came from Portugal?

DP: The Indie scene in Portugal and the gaming scene in general are staggered. There are only a few companies that invest in gaming, and even fewer that see it as something else that just a business and invest in something fresh and original. When the iPhone explosion happened, many saw the opportunity to make money, and although investment must start from somewhere, most just want to copycat what’s making success. They may still make money but no one is coming out of the shade. We have some groups working on PS3 and XBOX360 games so hopefully then can bring some coverage to Portugal.

It’s almost impossible to find investment for the PC market and most people don’t consider this as a job but as kid’s play.

Igrorama: Do you find your Portuguese cultural inheritance is an advantage in producing artful indie games?

DP: Culture is all around us. We have movies, TV, art books, games, we can travel all around the world, and we can get an amount of experiences that can be helpful for developing our creativity. Being or not Portuguese is part of our culture too. In order to create and share we need to have an open mind, and every work that involves creativity requires people who are able to learn and develop their skills.

Everywhere we go, every experience and decision that we make, people we meet, makes us grow and make us be who we are, and all our experiences and culture will be reflected in the way we act, interact, in our work, and in our life.

When we create something, we create based in something we really want, and when we want something we fight for it and, for that culture and experience is never enough.

Thank you for taking the time to answer our questions. We wish you the best of luck in all your future endeavours.

Original text in Serbian can be found here.

F1 2010, Screens

2010-09-17T12:54:00.002+02:00

Indie Games Sale

2010-09-17T12:53:00.000+02:00

After offering us six games for pocketmoney Wolfire showed with his Humble Indie Bundle that it was a good sales pitch for indie teams. Similar action ensued. New sales is titled Love Is All You Need. If title didn't impress you maybe the lineup will...

Three packages are offered: Summer of Love with Aaaaa!, Brainpipe, Captain Forever, Cogs, Saira i Space Giraffe, priced at 20$. Indie Love bundle contains And Yet It Moves, Auditorium, Aztaka, Eufloria, Machinarium i Osmos, also priced at 20$. Last but not least is Mega Love, containing all the mentioned titles a fantastic price of 30$. Sales is open till 22th Sep so you have plenty of time to pick your bundle.

Battlefield: Bad Company 2 Vietnam, Video

2010-09-17T12:49:00.003+02:00

Medal of Honor, New Screens

2010-09-17T12:49:00.000+02:00

F1 2010, Video

2010-09-17T12:48:00.001+02:00

Oops, Kotick Did It Again

2010-09-17T12:47:00.000+02:00

Exec of Activision Blizzard, Bobby Kotick, announced the posibility of selling game animations as stand-alone product, priced at 20-30$. Also the crazy dude believes that sales could overtake movies market. The only flaw in this plan is pricing - why would anyone pay 30$ for cut-scenes when they can get the whole game for fifty?

Alice: Madness Returns, video

2010-09-15T21:42:00.001+02:00

Pro Evolution Soccer 2011 Demo

2010-09-15T14:46:00.000+02:00

Konami released Pro Evolution Soccer 2011 demo. It's about 1.4 GB and available from here. Players will be allowed to match against AI opponents, as well as friends in offline regime, choosing the team among 4 offered. PES is going gold on 8th Oct

The Silver Lining, Ep. 2 Coming Soon

2010-09-15T14:19:00.000+02:00

Second episode of the game The Silver Lining, unofficial King's Quest sequel, is scheduled for 18th Sep. Two Households picks up where the first episode ended, and authors promise longer gameplay, with more features, improved interface and all thanx to player's feedback they took seriously..

Combat Mission; Afghanistan - Demo

2010-09-15T14:17:00.000+02:00

Battlefront.com release demo version of Combat Mission: Afghanistan. You can download it from official adress, its not time-limited and two maps (with multiplayer support) are featured. New Combat Mission themed with Russian-Afghan conflict can be expected by the end of this month.

Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood, Video

2010-09-15T14:14:00.002+02:00

Black Ops Dedicated Servers

2010-09-14T09:49:00.000+02:00

Treyarch announced that Call of Duty: Black Ops, will have support for dedicated servers. But in their madness Treyarch also decided to charge for renting the servers. The cost will be 15 $ a month and willl host 18 players. There will be extra charges for non-ranked servers, which will host 24 players, and use of voice comm will be additionally charged. The only good thing is discount for renting 3, 6, or 12 months in advance.

Star Wars (Garage) Sale

2010-09-14T09:45:00.000+02:00

If you're a Star Wars fan, then hit the Steam's shop since great SW sale is underway. It will last till 19th Sep. Every day another game will be on discount, while package of thirteen Star Wars games will cost around 45 EUR (instead of 130). Yesterday you could buy The Force Unleashed for measily 7.5 EUR

The Ball is Coming

2010-09-14T09:40:00.000+02:00

Iceberg Interactive announced today that Swedish dev team Teotl Studios signed distribution contract fo game The Ball. It's part FPS part marble blast. Players were placed in shoes of archeologist who discovers mysterious ruins during the trip to Mexico. Inside the ruins is Da Ball, and he must use it to defend from onslaught of weird creatures inhabiting the complex. The Ball will hit the stores sometimes in Q4 2010, and will cost around 20 EUR.

APOX Announced

2010-09-09T23:11:00.000+02:00

Indian independent team Blue Giant Interactive announced that they are finishing new RTS game titled APOX. It will be set in post-apocalyptic setting and will contain elements of FPS as well as RPG. This meshup needs more manpower, so if you want to join the beta phase apply here. Game is scheduled for Q4 of 2010.

New Expansion for EU3

2010-09-09T23:08:00.000+02:00

Paradox Interactive announced today 4th expansion for Europa Universalis 3. Title of the expansion is Divine Wind and will deal with Far East. Divine Wind will require game installation as well as all previous expansions. Authors promise new overhauled diplomacy, more realistic trade developement, fifty new achievements and support for up to 32 players in multiplayre mode, as well as Japanese cultural traits and buildings. Expect this miraculous expansion this December.

Portal 2 Coop Trailer From Valve (HD VIDEO)

2010-09-09T23:05:00.002+02:00

New Arcania Demo In Two Weeks

2010-09-09T23:04:00.000+02:00

JoWoodofficials announced that demo version of Arcania: Gothic 4 will be available since 24th Sep. Demo will feature first two hours of the game and will include tutorial based on the island of Feshyr. Will this 'official Gothic 4' surpass THE Gothic , or you think that noone can match Pyranha Bytes when it comes to making Ghotic games?

Battle Vs Chess, Video

2010-09-09T23:01:00.001+02:00

NFS World Free

2010-09-09T22:59:00.000+02:00

EA announced that MMOG NFS World will be free for all players. Mind you, the game could be played for free only first 10 experience levels (out of 50), and many races and neighbourhoods were locked. Apparently game was not selling good enough so EA decided to lure gamers by offering it for free.

Atari Anounces Haunted House

2010-09-09T22:57:00.000+02:00

Atari announced remake of the game Haunted House from ancient Atari2600 console. We can expect the game this fall and will take player to a haunted house (surprised?) and dodge ghosts, skeletons and other monsters. Game will feature top down view and will be highly parodic...

The Next Big Thing Video

2010-09-07T21:08:00.000+02:00

Few months ago, Pendulo Studios announced the new project - The Next Big Thing. Authors of Runaway series today published teaser trailer for The Next Big Thing. We hope it will indeed be TNBT somewhere in Q1 2011.

Red Orchestra 2: Heroes of Stalingrad

2010-09-07T19:34:00.000+02:00

If you didn't play first Red Orchestra game, then you're probably clueless, so here it goes. Red Orchestra is multiplayer-online shooter with realistic game mechanics. There is no HUD, no graphic indicators whatsoever. One shot usually kills, and wounds are nearly fatal. If you hop in a tank, it will take two more guys to drive it (commander, driver and gunner). Guns are aimed using iron sights, there is no spent bullet indicator - so count your rounds and switch magazine when weapons starts feeling light. Same goes for tank's main gun which is aimed using tank's optical device. So yea, this game is a hard-core simulation. If you play Red Orchestra, chances are you detest CS and COD. Well, the sequel is coming up soon, and this is how it's going to look. War buffs, polish your trophy Lugers and watch out for this game!