SEGA Shuts Down Fan-Made Streets of Rage Remake

SEGA Shuts Down Fan-Made Streets of Rage Remake.

SEGA, we aren't on speaking terms anymore. What the hell.

Dungeons of Dredmor

Gaslamp Games plans to release the Dungeons of Dredmor this April, a great looking roguelike with randomly generated dungeons and tons of replay value.

Follow their Twitter, check out their website, and watch this video!

Minecraft: Snow, Rain, Stats

Notch demonstrates the future of Minecraft (Beta 1.5). Looks amazing. Cannot wait. Really liking the lightning.

That said, the stats page is terrifying. I'm not sure I want to know how long I play this game.

Celsius Games to Indie Devs: Doing it Wrong

Very informative (and interesting) advice for indie developers: You’re (Probably) Doing it Wrong. You could probably sum up most of this advice as "hard work pays" and go on your merry trolling way, but the insights from a successful indie are worth paying close attention to. They made it. They've completed games, generated revenue, and offer their advice to you for free.

This is seriously good stuff.

What is Confetti Carnival

Part Lemmings, part Peggle, part World of Goo -- and completely awesome. Imagine all those games coupled with hilarious, suicidal ... ah, beings. I really can't wait to play it. Top-notch presentation. Be sure to see more videos and gameplay information at the SpikySnail website.

Anomaly - Warzone Earth

Not just another tower defense game - a tower defense game in reverse! Anomaly - Warzone Earth places you in the shoes of the attacker, choosing where to send your squads and when to use your abilities to complete your mission.

Doesn't look half bad, either. It's available right now from Steam for $8.99 (10% off).

Early Reviews of Indie Games Hurting Sales?

Ars Technical has an interesting article on how early reviews hurt sales of indie games. From the article:

"Especially with smaller, more affordable games up to $10, you're really banking on a lot of players making an impulse purchase; at $50 it's more likely to be a well-thought-out decision," Ohle explained. "If a review is positive, you want people to be able to buy the game right then and there, and if they can't, there's a good chance they could forget about it, and you've lost that sale for the time being or, worse, forever."

Another interesting tidbit for indie devs: a pre-order option is a good idea. Let interested parties buy your game early to prevent them from forgetting about it altogether by the time your full release is ready.

Beacon is Fun, Retro

Grab a copy of Beacon (Windows, Linux, and Mac supported) and spend 15 minutes having a good time.

According to the Beacon page, the game started as a Ludum Dare 48 game (winning 2nd place!) with the theme "Discovery." For developers or anyone interested in game design, the Beacon post-mortem is worth a read.

Driftmoon Trailer, From the Makers of Notrium

Color me interested, as Notrium was a fantastic, if somewhat flawed, sandbox / survival game. See the Driftmoon website for more details.

Stardock CEO Explains GameStop Impulse Buy, Steam Rivalry - PCWorld

PC World interviews Stardock's Brad Wardell. Stardock recently sold their Impulse digital distribution platform to GameStop.

"We're still in transition, still moving things around," says Wardell as we stand beside a wide, crescent-style front desk with a translucent blue overhang backlit by LEDs that matches Stardock's Saturn-like company logo. Stardock's on every floor now--even in the basement. Framed pictures on the walls highlight past triumphs, most of them press awards. I see a few shots of magazines I used to write for--gone now, like so many others. I glance toward a barely day-lit grayish area full of empty cubicles. 

"And that area back there?" I ask, pointing. 

"Where the Impulse team used to be," says Wardell, referring to Stardock's digital distribution platform.

Indie developer Blind Mind Studios (Star Ruler) have decided to leave the Impulse platform because of the sale.

Read the full article: Stardock CEO Explains GameStop Impulse Buy, Steam Rivalry - PCWorld

Global Agenda: Free to Play Details

Global Agenda has already had an unlimited trial, a generous subscription-free business model, and a lot of jet-packing third-person shooter PvP (and PvE) action -- and now they're adding full-on "free to play." Free players can do the same stuff, generally, and can reach the level cap/visit all the areas. For a one time fee, you can unlock "Elite Agent" status and earn more rewards as you play, including twice the mission experience, twice the mission rewards, and can win elite loot as a reward.

Existing owners of Global Agenda are automatically Elite Agents. Free players can upgrade for (currently) a one time $19.99 charge. Additional reward boosters can be purchased for a smaller charge.

If you haven't played Global Agenda, it's a lot like Team Fortress 2 and Tribes mixed together.

Read the free to play FAQ at the Hi-Rez website for more information.

Mojang's Scrolls

The Scrolls game (by the Minecraft geniuses at Mojang) isn't out yet, but you have an opportunity to opt-in to the alpha. To do so, sign up for the newsletter at the bottom of the Scrolls website.

Minecraft USS Enterprise

If you haven't seen this yet, prepare to be amazed. This guy has built a TO SCALE model of the USS Enterprise-D. He's working on the interior now, and they've just hit deck 24. Whoa.

Shattered Origins: Guardians of Unity - Official Launch Trailer

The latest space fighter game of 2011 is officially available for $19.99. Features ship equipment customization, control over research and production, ships that follow you from mission to mission (with pilots that gain and keep skills), and 12 achievements.

Panzer Corps: In the Spirit of Panzer General II

I'm a long-time fan of the turn-based Panzer General series, so let me express my excitement for Slitherine's upcoming Panzer Corps. The game is in beta as of this post, but the confirmed features include a full campaign, 13 different nations, 400+ units, and veterancy that carries over into future missions. Awesome.

[RPS] Indies Draw the Line at GameStop/Impulse Deal

When Blind Mind Studios (of Star Ruler fame) said "no way" to Stardock selling the Impulse digital distribution platform to GameStop, I was eager to see more warriors join the battle. Perhaps more will, in time. GameStop isn't exactly an indie-friendly company at this juncture, so it will be interesting to see if (and how) Impulse changes in the next several months.

Read more about it at Rock, Paper, Shotgun.

... and see what the GamersGate CEO has to say about it at Industry Gamers.

Age Gateways Done Right

If you're ever in a position to impact the age verification design on any gaming website, please follow the great example below.

See how much nicer that is? Sure beats clicking a bunch of drop-down menus to choose month, date, and year.

Tesla: The Weather - Release Trailer

In which you are a wizard weather man that wields wonderful magics science to destroy baddies. A strategic platformer, if you will.

You can learn more at the Tesla game site.

Streets of Rage Remake

Find out more (and nab the download) at the SoRR blog. It is, in the words of everyone with thumbs, "fantastic."

250 Indie Games You Must Play

While it is a bit odd to read about all these games instead of playing them yourself, the challenge is finding good games to play in the first place. Thankfully this isn't just a list of cool games, it's more of an overview of what gaming has become, where it might go, and how it got to this point.

Bonus: it's written by one of the cool fellows from IndieGames.com. It isn't out just yet, but soon. Soooooooon.

Dwarf Fortress 2010 tutorials

The old Dwarf Fortress tutorials are ... well, out of date since Tarn Adams updated huge tons of things in Dwarf Fortress. If you want to explore the amazing sandbox that DF offers, you're likely to walk straight into two massive problems: it is in ASCII (though graphical tilesets exist (scroll down to the tilesets section)) and the learning curve is more like a 90-degree angle. This video will help you.

Something else that may help you is the Dwarf Fortress Wiki (or Magmawiki). You should probably keep this in your browser while you learn the ropes in this incredibly addicting game.

Spiral Knights: Announcement Trailer

Another good title for this would have been: Spiral Knights: out of beta! Spiral Knights is free to play (with micro-transactions).

The Minecraft Song (Bobby Yarsulik)

Two things: this is a great song, and this is a song that I sing every time I fire Minecraft up (which is basically daily).

How is everyone liking the 1.4 "wolf" update, by the way?