Category Archives: Adventure

Adventure

Action, Adventure, Game File, Games and Software, Indie Pennant, Multiplayer

Cuphead: An Interview with the Developers

July 21, 2014 Alex McCumbers

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3jDZfREYppk&w=560&h=315]

During Microsoft’s E3 Press Event, there was one game that stood out to me. Cuphead is being created with all the old cartoons of the 1930’s in mind, while the game mechanics hearken back to the classics of the SNES and Genesis. Recently, I reached out to Studio MDHR with a few questions:

== When designing the game, how did you capture the tone of classic cartoons? What sort of technology are you utilizing? ==

The main tech we are using isn’t a tech at all. It’s all traditional hand-drawn and hand-inked animation which is exactly how they animated in the 1930s.

To ensure that the style is very close to the original material, we constantly research tons of cartoons from the era to gain knowledge and study the way key animations were approached. It also lets us add to our ever growing style guide that is filled to the brim with things that we adhere to most of the time—visual aids like: eyes[mad/sad/happy], pupils, blink types, teeth, tongues, hair, hands, feet; animation aids like: turnaround frames, action lines, timing, cycles; and even flaws: missing color in frames, poorly drawn in-between, etc.

After all of that is placed in the game, we have a bunch of post-processing to aid with the visual style we are trying to replicate. Different types of blur, subtle vignettes, dust, scratches, hair, noise and other layers are built on top of each other to produce what you see in the game. We’ve spent a TON of time getting the effects just right—probably two and a half months or more!

== Judging from the videos, Co-Operative play looks to be a major feature. How are you handling Co-Op? ==

Co-op is a necessary feature for run and guns—this genre was MADE for two players!

We are testing out some team-up moves, but nothing has been implemented yet; we are very picky about fine-tuning and how one thing can affect multiple areas. If we can’t create ideas that complement or add/improve on the gameplay, we’ll drop it.

Two players has a unique give and take: some situations become easier while others can turn instantly chaotic if both players are not in tune. Co-op creates comradery and that in turn creates friendship—so what we are really saying is that Cuphead will create new relationships.

== Cuphead has a subtitle. Does this make Cuphead a planned franchise? ==

If we are lucky enough to work on other games in the future, we are hoping that we get to expand on Cuphead. But that doesn’t mean we are planning for it at all. We are going all out on this first release to the best of our ability and within a timeline that makes sense to us. In our minds, we are treating Cuphead as if it were the only game we’ll ever release.

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It would be nice to explore more ideas and increase the Cuphead universe before moving on to a new title, but only “father future” knows if this will occur. We also both still dream of a Sega Master System port too, but all of our focus is on finishing Cuphead (SMS fans keep your fingers crossed!)

== Will there be any secrets or things to unlock? ==

Yup, yup! We will have things like bosses, weapons, alternative path/shortcuts, NPC dialog, etc. As well, we will have a new game+ (that increases the challenge to a level we are proud of) and we are playing around with the idea of mini-challenges (e.g. defeat Boss 3 without letting him jump over you).

We always found our favorite games had secrets and even other hidden subtleties, so it is a MUST for us to include them in Cuphead. Take Punchout!: there are so many nuances to what seems like a simple game that it can be replayed for many years. It took me a lifetime to figure out first round K.O. strategies, and every replay felt as rewarding as the first time I played it.

== The Xbox 360’s Indie library, while vast wasn’t overly impressive. Do you think this is changing with the Xbox One?==

Accepting that the 360’s indie library wasn’t perfect doesn’t change the fact that some of the best games on the system were indie! With the constant growth and support of the indie scene, the Xbox One will be a great place for indie titles and we couldn’t be happier to be a part of the roster. I could be wrong but, if my memory serves me well, Nostradamus had predicted the perfect indie utopia happening in 2015, so let’s wait and see!

== There’s been very little shown so far. Are there any plans for more footage or a demo? ==

When we are happy with what we have, we will show more. We are going to show off the parry system soon, and continue to provide additional footage as development presses on. A demo will come too, we aren’t sure how we will handle it initially (press only, or at an event [PAX, etc.]). But once we make decisions on that sort of stuff, we will let everyone know on this newfangled thing called ‘the internet’.

== Alex’s Thoughts ==

All in all, I’m massively excited for Cuphead. Hopefully, the newer consoles make independent developing easier. These days all the big name titles take few risks or stick to a formula they know will make money. Making money is the name of the game, but does the industry move forward when these games flourish? With the recent purchase of my gaming PC, I’ve found myself buying more and more indie games. Not only because they’re cheaper (that does help), but because I see true heart in them. It’s a level of soul that I remember from my days of staring at a lined screen, connected to the game by a wire on my controller.

Indie games are rapidly becoming the best games around. So next time a new Call of Duty comes out, think of how many indie games you could buy instead.

Adventure, Game File, Indie Pennant

Indie Alert: Hush

March 5, 2014 RaShaun Eshalomi

I don’t remember being afraid of much when I was a kid. When I was five, I begged my mom to let me see the 3D release of Freddy’s Dead: The Final Nightmare; I loved every moment of it and watched without a flinch. For Halloween, I was never a princess or a fairy; I was always something scary. I loved to be scared and embraced it, until I realized I was afraid of clowns and then later I became afraid of those creepy ass porcelain dolls—maybe just dolls in general; dolls have no souls and they just stare at you with wide death eyes.

The point I’m getting at is everyone—even I—had childhood fears, and sometimes those fears linger on through adulthood (clowns, no one likes clowns). Game Studio 78 has taken the fears and phobias we had as kids and used them to create a story- and character-driven adventure game called Hush.

You play as Ashlyn, a little girl who is trapped in a demented orphanage. She must build up her courage to overcome her fears and escape. With the help of her best friend (a stuffed animal named GoGo) and various toys she finds on her adventure, you will have to hack and slash your way through enemies. Because the developers want to challenge its players, hacking and slashing won’t always work. Sometimes players will have to use a mix of strategy and stealth to take down a difficult enemy.

Ashlyn’s courage plays an important part in this game. With enough courage, she can defeat mighty foes; however, if her courage is too low, she will panic, which will force you to hide or even faint. Along with the status bar, sound is also an indicator of how much courage you have. Solving challenging puzzles will help Ashlyn progress through each level. Unlocking new routes to avoid dangers and cracking codes to unlock vital items will greatly help Ashlyn gain more courage.

To ensure Hush receives the dedication and attention fans deserve, developers will adopt the episodic format. Each episode is divided into chapters representing a different fear that Ashlyn must overcome: “Fear of the Dark,” “Fear of Thunder,” and “Fear of Ghosts” will be the first three chapters for episode one. Other episodes will include fears like clowns, spiders, heights, etc.
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The creatures you have to face will be unique to each fear: “Fear of Thunder” will pit you against highly volatile automatons with a paralyzing ruckus, while “Fear of Ghosts” will force you to fight an evil kid-mastermind and his ghostly minions. Boss battles will pit you against enemies whom embody their correlating fear in the most terrifying way. Ashlyn’s stuffed best friend won’t be enough for the most dangerous battles, thus players will find various toy weapons that tie in with the chapter. Using experience, players will be able to upgrade and improve their weapons.

With influences from Alice: Madness Returns, Game Studio 78 wants to make sure players can relate to Ashlyn’s fears and journey to overcome them. Despite its kiddie-cartoon graphics, Hush will not be for the little ones; the sharp contrast between whimsy and horror makes this game more than a child’s fantasy.

With the help of its Indiegogo campaign, Game Studio 78 hopes to release the first episode in late 2014 on all platforms, including mobile. You can learn more about the developers on their website and check out more of their Hush artwork in the gallery.

Action, Adventure, Game File, Indie Pennant, Puzzles

Indie Alert: Ray’s the Dead

January 29, 2014 RaShaun Eshalomi

Honestly, I’m tired of running away from zombies: tired of constantly looking over my shoulder while desperately searching for scarce weapons and safe shelter. I want to be a zombie for once. Ragtag Studio will give players the chance to be the feared one in Ray’s the Dead. Just in case you haven’t heard about this game (or Ragtag Studio), here is a quick preview.

You play Raymond La Morte: a poor zombie just trying to figure out who he was, why he died, and why he has the power to control other zombies. As soon as I read “Ray . . . builds a diverse zombie army . . . ,” I was instantly sold. Using the light bulb stuck in his head, Ray can raise other zombies from their graves, recently killed humans, and even dogs. There are different zombie types, each type comes with its own skill set, which will help Ray figure out his past. Reminds me of Overlord (thought I was going to say Pikmin, right?), being able to command an army of skilled minions and have them do your dirty work.

With a mix of action, adventure, stealth, and strategy, there is no concern of boredom. Players will have to use their zombie infantry to overwhelm and take down humans, avoid dogs, destroy objects, and solve puzzles. During his quest to get answers, Ray will uncover interactive flashbacks. These playable flashbacks will help restore Ray’s memory and reveal the events that led to his death.

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If you hate the ’80s, you’re screwed (and crazy). Ray’s the Dead is set in the ’80s where you will see familiar faces and places, and hear a soundtrack inspired by the wicked (yes, I’m lame) decade. Even the color scheme of the game is totally ’80s.

I’m definitely looking forward to Ray’s the Dead‘s release on PS4 and PC this year (unfortunately, a release date has not been announced). I know it will not only be fun—you know, having and army of zombies and stuff—but the story will also play a huge part, and that is always important.

You can learn more about Ray’s the Dead on its website and Steam Greenlight. Don’t forget to show your support by following and liking Ragtag Studio on Twitter and Facebook.

Action, Adventure, Game File, Indie Pennant

Warframe: Space Ninjas are Awesome

January 9, 2014 Kenneth Medford

Ninjas. Space ninjas. The end. Seriously, that’s all I need to say about this game, but I’ll continue if I must.

These space ninjas, known as Tenno, are the bane of the Grineer: twisted looking aliens who lack the grace of the Tenno. What they lack in grace and skill, however, the Grineer make up with galaxy crushing numbers. Similar to the Jedi order, what remains of the Tenno must now band together to fight back against the tyranny of evil.

It’s nice to have a reason for the hacking, slashing and shooting, but this game is really about the gameplay. With a combination of a melee weapon (sword, knife, scythe, etc.) primary guns (assault rifles, sniper rifles, etc.) and side arms (kunai, handguns, etc.), you suit up in your warframe. These warframes vary in stats and abilities. Some will be better with melee attacks while others specialize in support abilities. Each suit comes with up to four special abilities that you have to level up to be able to equip. These abilities can range from a dashing slash attack to repairing shields or setting an enemy ablaze. Players will bring all this firepower to bear against various enemy types in several mission types including sabotage, assassination, and all out elimination—my personal favorite.

When battle becomes too difficult, you can invite up to three friends or strangers to help you tear your foes to shreds. Every mission is fully co-op, so you can always come back to a mission that had you outnumbered and get sweet revenge with allies. My connection is far from the best and I have yet to experience anything more than a second or two worth of lag and the chat is very clear using the standard Sony ear piece.

Graphically, the game is quite solid. During battle, the designs of the various warframes stand out from enemies and other warframes. Even if you and a friend have the same frame, color palette swaps can be done to both the frame and your weaponry to bring a little unique flavor to your Tenno. New planets bring new locations, which have their own unique style and color palette. Firefights pop with the flash of gun barrels, and slicing an enemy in half is much more satisfying when you see his severed remains hit the ground. All the wonderful details that make the combat as beautiful as it is visceral.

As if all of the above wasn’t enough to pique one’s interest, let me give you the kicker: it’s free. Yes, Warframe is a free-to-play game. If you feel so inclined, you can spend money to expedite getting some of the more powerful weapons and warframes. You can also grind it out and earn in-game money to purchase blueprints and use materials (found during missions and rewarded after successful missions) to build those same items. It’s completely up to the player.

The only major issue I take with the game is the control scheme. With only two preset configurations, which simply swap how character powers are activated, there is very limited room to customize it. It was almost five hours into the game before I realized there is a block button because it is relegated to the up directional button. The placement would be fine if you are meant to block while stationary, but if you want to block bullets on the move, you will have to contort your hand into quite the odd position. Activating powers can sometimes be hit or miss using the touch pad as it can misread your swipe in the midst of a firefight. Early on, these don’t present much of a problem, but as the enemies become tougher, any misstep trying to adjust to these controls will cost you your life.

If you can’t tell, I am in love with this game. The difficulty can become a bit much when trying to play alone, but with a solid team of Tenno, it should be easy to avoid the invisible wall of progress that gamers sometimes hit. Worst comes to worst, you played a free game you didn’t like. If you end up anything like me, you’ll have a digital hit with more than enough enemies to slice and riddle with bullets for months to come. Enjoy my fellow ninjas.

Warframe is available now on PlayStation 4 and PC.

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Adventure, Game File, Indie Pennant, Multiplayer

Indie Game Alert: Keipr Online

December 19, 2013 RaShaun Eshalomi

I am officially addicted to learning about new and upcoming indie games. They always have pieces of what makes video games great, then builds on them with new and great ideas. When I was introduced to Keipr (pronounced kai.per) Online, I was excited to see what new concepts this game would introduce. My first thought when I visited the Indie DB site was “I NEED this game.” The team at Goon Studios promises Keipr Online will be a completely open world where players can become and do pretty much anything they want.

This will be a MMO sandbox game: No mini map, no way point, just you and thousands of other players trying to create an adventure. Players start off as a planetary colonist whose star ship (Keipr) has crashed. After waking up from a cryo sleep, what you do with your life is completely your choice. You can start a business, become a criminal, or run your own town. If you like to live dangerously, you can become a bounty hunter and travel the world on your ship; it’s all up to the you. Players will also have some creative control by voting on what the developers should add into the game next. Submarines, space ships, castle sieges (yes, you can build a castle and be a king if you want), and alien invasions can all be a part of Keipr Online, if players want the tools to create them. Modders will also be able to contribute their skills.

The world looks beautiful and the potential for this much freedom makes me so very happy, but I need to know more: How far will the Goons take it? Will players be able to start a family? If players decide to be shop owners, is that all they will do the entire game or will they have objectives also? How much freedom will modders have? Creating a completely open world is always tough—especially when there is a wide range of gamers developers have to to appeal to—and not everyone can pull it off (*cough* Rockstar *cough*). I really hope Goon Studios can keep its promise. If they do, this game will be epic. I can’t wait.

Keipr Online: Making of 3D Creature

Keipr Online is set to be released sometime in 2014. Unfortunately, there is no demo yet, but you can watch videos and see pictures of the game on Indie DB. On the Goon Studios website, you can get some tips on the indie process, learn about the team, and get up-to-date news on their blog. Make sure to show your support on Steam, Twitter, and Facebook.

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