Category Archives: Indie Pennant

Song of Horror is on Kickstarter!

UPDATE: It’s BACK!  Song of Horror are back on kickstarter and even better. Don’t forget to show your support. Tweet, follow and spread the word. #IndieDev #SupportIndies!

UPDATE: Unfortunately, funding for Song of Horror was unsuccessful; however, developers continue to work and haven’t let this throw them off of creating an awesome game. You don’t need Kickstarter show your support. Tweet, follow and spread the word. #IndieDev #SupportIndies!

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I’m extremely excited about this game. The graphics look great and I’m loving the different camera angles. I did notice, however, some of the wording in the descriptions and narrations is a little off, but this game is still in it’s early phases. I can’t wait to watch the next gameplay video with the voice acting and eerie music.

Now that my hopes for Silent Hills are dashed, I need Song of Horror even more.

Indie Alert: Rustbucket Rumble

Steam powered!
Steam powered!

There is one genre dominating gaming, making a splash not only on PC players, but console players as well. MOBA (Mutiplayer Online Battle Arena) is a game type that has reached an incredible level of popularity with titles such as League of Legends, DOTA 2, and my personal favorite, Smite.  With eSports becoming bigger and bigger, MOBA is a genre that’s here to stay. In fact, other games are picking up MOBA elements as additional content, such as the Defend mode in Evolve.

What’s this talk of Champions and Minions have to do with Indie game development?

There’s an interesting spin to MOBA mechanics showing up in the indie scene of late. One of which is a game I was invited to play alongside the developers, Rustbucket Rumble.

Playing with Reactor Zero was awesome and it was interesting to hear them discuss balancing and developing the game.

Rustbucket, a 2D side scrolling team-based combat game, focuses on simplicity. The object of the game is to gather parts to build a super robot that marches straight to the enemy’s base. Where does one acquire these parts? From scraps of metal of course! Of which many robots (aka players) just happen to be made of. Players can then take these parts to their base to secure a point towards building their super robot.

scene07486However, players can be revived if they sit idle long enough; each class has a different rate of revival. A team wins when the super robot destroys the opposite base.

The each class has its own powers and statistics, fitting the mold left by the titans of the genre. For example, Daisy, the Engineer, can drop turrets and use gyro-copters to snag up recycling bins, while still able to fight as the goods are carried to base. Another player, Bjorn is a bulky robot with a flamethrower and access to a shield. His interesting mechanic is the ability to throw scraps. This comes in handy not only offensively as he can toss enemies into the base for a point, but also defensively as allies tossed into base are instantly healed.

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I spent most of my time as Bjorn. Great for offense and defense.
Bjorn is the character I spent the most time as. Great for offense and defense.

Overall, the results are a frantic scooping up of players into recycling bins and tossing them about in hopes that they get recycled.

The pacing of each match is frantic and highly rewarding. Teams with coordination will usually come out on top, just like any MOBA. Yet, this game’s Pixar-like presentation is charming enough for anyone to have fun with the genre.

Colorful and frantic
Colorful and frantic

Rustbucket Rumble will be in Open Beta on March 16 to those who  sign up on the website. The game will be released on Steam later on.

I highly recommend signing up and giving this game a shot. Even in the Closed Beta, I absolutely love this game. Getting friends together is key to having the best time, but playing with strangers is still a blast. The mechanics are solid and interesting, while the art style is unique and charming.

 

Indie Alert: Song of Horror – Bringing Back Old-School Survival Horror

Protocol Games has been working on bringing back what survival horror used to be, before it became more of an action genre with some jump-scares. In August of 2014, Song of Horror was conceived: a third-person survival horror determined to freak you out and make you feel completely helpless—you know, like in the good ol’ days.

We aim to preserve and recover the feelings that the old-school survival horror masterpieces provoked in us, while also taking advantage of current technologies to build upon those foundations.

Daniel Noyer is a washed-up advertiser who has fallen on hard times; now, he has a crappy position at a publishing house. Daniel’s boss asks him to check up on the company’s most important client, renowned writer Sebastian P. Husher, who has missed some deadlines and meetings to turn in a first draft. Believing Husher has only gone dark without notifying the company, Daniel takes on the simple task. Upon arrival to Husher’s mansion, Daniel quickly realizes something is wrong: missing guard dog, lights off even though it’s night time, ajar door, dark hallway. I would have ran away and called the police, but I guess that wouldn’t be much of a game.

Daniel Noyer|Final Concept
Daniel Noyer|Final Concept

Daniel won’t be the only character you play as. You will take control of up to 16 different characters, depending on how long you can keep your characters alive. The game is divided into different chapters—not like Telltale Games episodic games—when you begin most of the chapters, you’ll choose a character to start. If your character dies, that’s it for that character and his/her storyline; you will have to choose another character to continue where the previous one died off. Each character has his/her own backstory, but will still fit in with the main story.

Sophie van Demend|Concept Art
Sophie van Denend|Concept Art

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Defenselessness, constant terror, that “NO WAY I’M GOING DOWN THERE” moment… all of it, wrapped with an enthralling story, one that does not let you quit the game even when a part of you is wishing you did just that.

There are a variety of puzzles and riddles in the game. Some are small obstacles, others are life threatening. To keep tensions high, Protocol Games uses a movie-like camera style; all the cameras are automated, meaning players will have no control over them.

A little gameplay video to show our current cameras, lights and doors. Still a work in progress!

I’m interested to see how well all these different stories will fit into the main story. Husher is well-known, so you can assume he knows a lot of people, or at least has a lot of people working for him. A bunch of stories and characters can be distracting at times, but I’m definitely intrigued to learn about them all. This game looks and sounds scary; it reminds me a little of P.T., which, of course is a major plus—super Silent Hill fan over here.

Though Song of Horror is still in its early-development stage, the game looks great and has a lot of potential to be a horrifying experience. Protocol Games hasn’t announced a release window or platform, but you can stay updated by following its Twitter and Facebook page.

For more indie news, follow RaShaun on Twitter

Dear Digital Extremes, Thank You

There are a lot of things people gripe about in gaming: day-one DLC, micro-transactions, digital verifications, etc. It is always easier to find someone shouting from the mountaintop about everything that’s wrong as opposed to anything that’s right. Well, after a long and arduous climb, I kindly asked that guy to sit down for a bit and let me shout a little positivity from his precious mountaintop.

Digital Extremes, the company that brought us Warframe, has and continues to provide the console world with a perfect example of how well free-to-play gaming can work. Though, many complain about “free-to-play” and “pay-to-win” games, Warframe finds the perfect balance. Any warframe, weapon, sentinel or kubrow can be assembled, found or purchased all in game. There is a fair amount of grinding required for particular items, but if you really want it, you’ll never have to worry about seeing another player with an amazing weapon that you don’t have access to. In a stroke of genius, the only things you actually HAVE to pay for are cosmetic. Purchasing new paint colors, ceremonial armor, weapon patterns and the like, which have nothing to do with battle capabilities, require players to purchase platinum with actual money. You would be surprised how difficult it can be to resist the urge to pimp your ninja. I’ve spent well over $100 over time and I’m probably in the low end of purchasing.

As far as DLC goes, everything is free. Well, i suppose to be more accurate, the updates are all free.  It is to be noted that these updates are always game changing. With no cost, Digital Extremes has added new warframes, new weapons, new mission types, updated maps, new events and a slew of visual and audio upgrades. Other free-to-play titles such as DC Universe Online and Blacklight Retribution can and do nickel and dime you for all their additional content. Warframe is up to version 15.5 (PS4 and Xbox One) and 15.8.1 (PC) and they’re consistently giving their community reason after reason to never put the controller down.

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I stand and salute Digital Extremes for its work with a free title. It has managed to build a game that expands from PC to the console world and stands as a prime example of how free-to-play can not only work, but can flourish. Thank you Digital Extremes. May you inspire others to not drop the ball in the future.

PS: Have you guys see the Archwing missions they added!?! Someone get these guys a license to make Gundam Wing games. Can’t you just see the same gameplay working for the Wing Zero!?!? OK, I’m done now. Enjoy your day.

The Twisted Story Behind Five Nights At Freddy’s

WARNING! SPOILERS ABOUND!

By now, most people know about this point and click indie game that almost always results in jump scares. If you don’t, the premise is kind of, different. Players take control of a nighttime security guard at Freddy Fazzbear’s Pizza, essentially a knock off Chuck E Cheese. During the night, the main attraction of singing and dancing animatronic animals come to life. Players are tasked with keeping them in check and making sure nothing bad happens. For a good look at what the game’s about without experiencing the scares yourself, check out Markiplier, Pewdiepie, or The Game Grumps’ videos.

The game has caused many, many screams from its players over the past few months. On the surface it’s just that, a quick game to show to friends to make them scream. For the longest time, that’s what I thought too; however, beneath this deceptively simple game lies a darker tale.

I never played the first game, even though I’ve seen all of it played and bested by Markiplier. I saw the game’s plot unravel as Markiplier discovered things for himself. I loved learning the story and speculating on what could happen next. When the trailer for Five Nights At Freddy’s 2 came out though only months after the first, I will admit that I was more excited than I thought I could be.

The game’s launch was barely a whisper on the internet, but it quickly turned into a frantic wailing from gamers everywhere. Almost overnight, YouTube became a flooded place of commentaries and reactions. I added to that flood as well with my own video, but I’ll save that for the end. Anyways, when the sequel came out a great debate rose on whether this game took place before or after the events of the first game. Fans are still trying to piece together the story. This intrigued me. I had already delved into the story of the first game, which was pleasantly twisted by Game Theory, but I wanted to experience the new story first hand or at least lay out the facts and try to make sense of it myself.

Thus, I will be attempting to make a timeline of the events. Be warned that there are a few points that could throw off my reasoning. I’m also going to sit on the side of the fence that claim this game is a prequel as evidenced by the check gained at the end.

Golden Freddy could be one of the original animatronics. It's also possible that the diner had suits instead of machines...
Golden Freddy could be one of the original animatronics. It’s also possible that the diner had suits instead of machines…

Freddy Fazzbear’s Family Diner

This diner is mentioned by name during the phone call of Night 5. It was the place where Old Bonnie, Old Chica, Old Freddy, and Old Foxy come from originally. The diner was closed down due to some event, which the company denies or at least is trying to divert attention from. During the diner’s use, a former employee lured five children into a back room, killing them and stuffing them in the suits of the animatronics.

During Night 2, Phone Guy brings up the old robots as they don’t attack during the first night. He says they’re from the old establishment, which at the beginning of the game seems like the restaurant from the first game, but is actually the diner. “The idea at first was to repair them… uh, they even started retrofitting them with some of the newer technology, but they were just so ugly, you know? The smell…”

The smell he’s referring to is the smell of the bodies that were inside the old suits that are talked about in the first game in the news clippings. Not much else is known about this diner.

I’m also going to assume that if another game is made, Freddy Fazzbear’s Family Diner will be the setting since there are some unanswered questions that are raised during mini games in FNAF2. There’s a segment that tells the player to “give life.” The graphics are crude in this segment, but it definitely looks like the Marionette is giving life to the Old Bonnie, Foxy, Chica, and Freddy. Why the puppet has this power is a mystery? What role did it play in the horror involving this company?

tumblr_inline_nf06k4KewR1r34222
Players will sometimes see the posters change. . .

11/7/1987 – 11/12/1987 – Freddy Fazzbear’s Pizza (Five Nights at Freddy’s 2)

This is the company’s finest establishment, filled with games, prizes, and of course pizza. The old animatronics were replaced with happier, sleeker models, which look friendlier than the old ones. These new models have a lot of money invested in them, adding facial recognition, advanced mobility, and access to a criminal database. A new Foxy was also going to be made, but the children kept messing up wires and pulling off parts. It became so frequent the staff didn’t bother to fix him anymore, letting the kids dismantle and assemble him as a game. This Foxy, later deemed the Mangle by the staff, has an obvious motive for wanting to enact pain, but for the longest time I couldn’t figure out why the new models wanted to kill the night guard so badly.

That is, until I thought about their access to a criminal database. In some shape or form, the player is a criminal and that’s what compels the new animatronics to attack. Jeremy Fitzgerald could be the original murderer of the children or he could be related to him. The robots could be seeing the resemblance and become mistaken. Either way, there’s a connection there. What’s even more interesting is that Jeremy is asked on Night 6 to attend a birthday party as the last event to be held.

Foxy Easter egg

The Bite of ‘87
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During the first game, the Phone Guy mentions this terrible tragedy that happened during 1987. It is not mentioned in the second game, so one can assume that it happened afterwards, probably on the birthday party mentioned above. A victim was bit by one of the animatronics, taking most of the person’s brain. It’s unclear which animatronic is to blame, but many believe it to be Foxy or Freddy.

This incident effectively ruined the company’s reputation. A lot of money was lost due to law suits and the investigations that took place. No longer were the animatronics allowed to roam during the day, as evidenced by the first game’s first phone call. That and the old animatronics from the diner had to be repaired on a low budget, which also explains the power outages.

I think the victim of the Bite of ’87 was indeed Jeremy Fitzgerald. On his assignment to watch the animatronics closely during the birthday party, he simply couldn’t hide behind the mask or use his flashlight during the day. This made him known as the criminal he is to the robots, who in turn were trying to protect the children. This idea also brings to light which robots were brought to the birthday party. Seeing as how the old robots were ugly and smelled bad, I’m assuming Fazzbear Entertainment would bring in the new models. One could also assume that The Mangle was left behind, due to its appearance. Those models were then probably apprehended by the police or forcibly dismantled, which would explain the need to repair the old ones.

Contrary to many gamers, Chica is a chicken... Let's eat!
Contrary to many gamers, Chica is a chicken… Let’s eat!

Freddy Fazzbear’s Pizza (Five Nights At Freddy’s)

This restaurant is much smaller than the last, a shadow of the glory days. The building clearly lacks the attention it needs, evident by the multiple rooms in disarray. Not only that, but only so much power is allowed per night, putting the night guard in quite the situation when the robots start to get restless.

I don’t think there needs to be a lot of detail put into this area, since the original game has been out for a while. Just know that the night guard here was fired for tampering with the machines. I also like the idea of this place being a nightmare for the victim of the Bite of ’87 or some sort of purgatory. However, by this point, the past events are more helpful for unraveling the plot. Much of the game’s backstory comes from the newspaper clippings that appear in this game, aside from Phone Guy of course.

If you're too nervous to play the game, I recommend Markiplier's playthrough.
If you’re too nervous to play the game, I recommend Markiplier’s playthrough.

Holes in the Timeline

While I’ve written that the original murders happened before the events of Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 for the sake of this timeline making sense, it could have happened during the end of that week. Phone Guy tells the player on Night 6 that one of the suits was stolen and was used in, something. He doesn’t explain what the suit was used in previously, but he does say it’s the yellow one or Golden Freddy. This means someone could be using the suit after night six to murder children or at least recreate the murders. It’s also said on Night 4 of FNAF2 someone has tampered with the animatronics and their facial recognition is messed up. That person is fired during the day of Night 5 as a new position has opened up for Jeremy to take.

Another problem with my timeline is we have to assume Jeremy is a criminal. He could have just been caught up in the mess because the robot’s facial recognition was messed with. However, if he was, then there would be little reason for the New Freddy, Bonnie, and the others to attack. Therefore, I have to stick by the idea of Jeremy being a bad guy.

The Marionette is one of the few enemies in the game to lack an endoskeleton. What is this thing really?
The Marionette is one of the few enemies in the game to lack an endoskeleton. What is this thing really?

A third game could completely throw off my ideas. There’s still the mystery of the Marionette. It seems to be the most powerful being of the game, held at bay only by the music box. He also seems to be the one who tethered the souls of the murdered children to the animatronics. Makes me wonder if the Marionette is the fifth child most say is inside Golden Freddy. The previous diner could have also used suits instead of machines. Before that, Fazzbear Entertainment could’ve been using puppets, so the Marionette could be much older than the rest.

Either way, the foggy story details add to the depth of the game in ways that are much scarier than the jumping monsters. Researching this almost drove me insane, as certain details were vague, but overall it’s been awesome to speculate.

Maybe one day the creator of these games will clarify exactly what happened in the game’s back story. Until then, I’ll be waiting for another game in this vastly interesting series.

If you’d like to see my reaction to the game, watch the video below. Stay cool, everyone.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RtqpDHCqw7Q&w=640&h=360]