Ye Indie Game Corner Volume 5: Vessel, Killer Smileys, To Be Or Not To Be. Nice, BlamBurgers and What Botched Rescue!

Written By: Tyler

Hello and welcome everybody to another random mixture of indie games. If you're unfamiliar with me or this feature, once in a while I'll just go on a site like Gamejolt and pick a few random indie games that were released recently. Then I will play them and give a really short review on each one.


Killer Smileys
Get It Here: http://gamejolt.com/games/platformer/killer-smileys/32754/

This game has three levels, and you are that robot thing on the left of the picture above. You shoot the bees and the smileys. The twist is that you can only shoot in one direction as far as I know, which makes it kind of weird if you're walking the other way. That's not really my problem with the game though... my problem is simply that it's not much fun. You can platform if you want but it's pointless because it's better just to stand in one place and blast until everything dies.

The developer throws in a space level, but it's awkward. I got stuck on nothingness and had to jump over said nothingness.

Rating: 3/10


What Botched Rescue
Get It Here: http://gamejolt.com/games/shooter/what-botched-rescue/32701/

If you follow my blog, it's probably no shock to you that I enjoy weird games. What Botched Rescue is a weird one. I think it's about a relationship, but it seems to be about more. It's one of these strangely told games with slightly odd visuals and tone. Luckily the gameplay is fun, though simplistic. It's just basically a side-scrolling shooter, but you do lose points when you blast so you have to make sure you hit them.

My only real complaint is with how the story is told. The text in between "levels" scrolls down automatically and it makes it really hard to read, so you just have to wait for it to come back around again. Besides that though, this is a fun little romp through an interesting and strange world.

Rating: 8/10



BlamBurgers
Get It Here: http://gamejolt.com/games/arcade/blamburgers/32775/

The gameplay in BlamBurgers only requires using the directional pads, and enter to progress the story. You go from room to room, platforming your way to get the burger bomb things before they explode. When they drop, there's a counter that counts down from 8 and when it hits 0 it explodes, thus damaging your ship. Luckily you can just run into them and disarm them.

The game suffers from PC controls. I hate platforming on PC, but the game is actually a lot of fun. It's a simple idea, but it's tense and difficult, and the developer threw in some things each level to change it up a little bit... like things that fling you in certain directions. This variety does help keep things fresh.

Rating: 8.5/10


To be or not to be. Nice
Get It Here: http://gamejolt.com/games/adventure/to-be-or-not-to-be-nice/32744/

You in need of an epic tale while you wait for The Witcher 3? Here is your game. Okay, it's not an epic tale, but I actually had some fun with this one. Basically you just walk around, collect things and solve very basic puzzles. I quite enjoyed the numerous jokes sprinkled in, and the little touches like what your equipment is, or the choices you have in what to attack things with (I picked a "cool look"). I also really enjoyed the choice of music.

There are some minor bugs like being able to walk up a wall, but it really is minor and the developer said there wasn't time to properly test it. Having dabbled in RPG maker a little myself I know how long it can take to do things.

It's a fun little adventure game with a sense of humour.

Rating: 7/10



Vessel
Get It Here: http://gamejolt.com/games/other/vessel/29980/

Here we are with another Jack King-Spooner game, and it's about more of the same. The visuals basically consist of bombarding you with images, in a style that is very much like a short film I really liked by Peter Tscherkassky called Outer Space. It's hard on the eyes in ways, but I really just love that he does this. His games can almost always just get by on his images and the usage of music, even if he rarely includes what I call "real" gameplay.

His games mostly consist of walking a bit and then watching. He's one of the few who can consistently do this and keep me as a fan. A big fan, even.

The story in this seems more straightforward than he has done in the past, but it's incredibly effective... telling a heart-wrenching tale of a robot.

Rating: 8.5/10



That's it for this edition. There were a couple other games I was going to play but I need to go off and do something so I think five games is enough. I got pretty lucky this time, played some solid games with only one blemish.

If you want me to play your game I will! Just let me know in the comments below or message/follow me on Twitter @ArtBathednCrime

Ye Indie Game Corner 2 - Spaceshippy, Cave and Heart Break Simulator

Written By: Tyler

It has been a long time since I did a Ye Indie Game Corner, but never fear people because I have done another one. I basically just went to Gamejolt, picked a bunch of the newly added games randomly and then played them. So now I will give you a quick rundown of what I think about each and every one.


Spaceshippy!
Get it here: http://gamejolt.com/games/arcade/spaceshippy/23985/

Spaceshippy! is a Flappy Bird clone, and I think Flappy Bird is crap. However, I did enjoy this more than Flappy Bird because a) it doesn't feel like I'm getting advertising shoved up my rectum, and b) it's just an improvement.

The basic premise is the same: tap the screen (or press the mouse in this case) to move up. You have to use your thruster engines to kill Flappy and Floppy birds. You don't just hit the birds, you have to position yourself correctly or you'll take damage. There aren't any pipes, but there are wrecking balls and laundry. You take more than one hit to kill, and your spaceship does show damage, so it's more in depth than the game that influenced it.

It's better than Flappy Bird, but Flappy Bird itself was only tolerable on mobile when you're out somewhere you're just waiting to do something better or more important. Maybe it's unfair to Spaceshippy! to review this on PC because of this, but actually sitting down at my PC to play this was not ideal. As it stands, is it okay? Yeah, but will I play it again? Nope.

Rating: 5/10


Cave
Get it here: http://gamejolt.com/games/other/cave/23987/

In cave you walk. To the right. That's about it as far as I can tell. There's no challenge and no enemies as you progress in the same direction. I was critical of Sluggish Morss 3 when I reviewed it and the Sluggish Morss trilogy influenced Cave, which is the first game by the developer. While I gave Sluggish Morss 3 a 9.5, I commented on how I believe games should have engaging gameplay first and foremost (an opinion that some people disagree with, I know). I refused to give it a 10 for that reason, even though everything else was spot-on and really appealed to me.

I know I'm talking about the Jack King-Spooner game, but there's a reason for that. This game lacks on gameplay but is high on atmosphere and creativity. From the opening screen you can see the Sluggish Morss influence, but maybe it's a little too similar... though I'm sure the developer will create their own identity more fully as more games are created. However, I can't hate on this stuff. I'm a sucker for surreal, weird, thought-provoking games, and that's the reason I gravitate towards games like this, games from cactus, Jake Clover and Jack King-Spooner. It's a thrill to see what each new screen is going to present to me, as the different mixture of art-styles is visually appealing, and by the time the fantastic ending hits, you're left going, "huh?" But in a good way.

The developer has a bright future because this is a great first game... but only if you can give yourself to something like this.

Rating: 8/10



Heart Break Simulator
Get it here: http://gamejolt.com/games/strategy-sim/heart-breaker-simulator/23971/

No... just... no.

Heart Break Simulator allows you to play as one of the most popular and beautiful girls in school, who also happens to be Tifa from Final Fantasy 7. I'm not really sure what I expected from this, but I certainly didn't get it. Simply put, this game is awful.

All you do is click "Start Level" and a bunch of nerdy looking kids pop up. They don't say anything but you have a few choices on how to break their heart. The choices themselves aren't bad and are reasonably clever (I guess), but there's no control to this game. It gives you points depending on how badly you break their heart, but it's the same choices over and over with no reason to keep trying.

When Silver Dollar Games makes a morally questionable game about something like cheating on as many girls as you can, at least there's a little bit of gameplay and challenge there... a reason to get a little stressed out. I'm not saying Silver Dollar Games are the pinnacle of excellence, but they should have made Heart Break Simulator because this is one of the worst games I've ever played. Having poitns does not a game make.

Rating: 0/10

It's A Novel Concept But The Number One Priority of Games Should Be "Being A Game"

Written By: Tyler

We live in an outstanding time, technologically speaking. If you go back 25 years ago when I started gaming as a wee little Tyler, it would be hard to imagine what is now possible. We had great games that still stand the test of time because of fantastic game design, but the industry has been revolutionized so many times that little me would probably have a heart attack had these ideas been presented to me at that point. The internet and online gaming changed everything, games like Minecraft have come along and added a whole new element to games that people are picking up on and expanding upon in games like Rust. Speaking of Rust, or DayZ, these are games that scream "next-gen" to me (yes I'm aware they're on PC and next-gen tends to be a console term) because of the PvP social/survival concepts presented in them. Game mechanics and genres have been created or made more complex, visuals have come a hell of a long way since the old days. Games like Grand Theft Auto 3 offered us the "sandbox" genre and a series like The Elder Scrolls took open-world to a whole new level and gave us games with hundreds upon hundreds of hours. We have real talent writing the stories for games, we have action set pieces that weren't possible back in the day. Though AI will always be one of the more difficult things to program believably, it has come a long way and we've progressed past difficulty in games meaning, more often than not, that the "computer is cheating." We've seen indie culture rise to the point it gets mainstream coverage. The industry has even gone through controversy after controversy over the years in its attempt to be seen as a legitimate form of entertainment and/or art.

A person could go and on about how kick-ass video games are, but you get the point. We've come a long way and we will go even further. But don't mistake my admiration for video games as a weakness... no, I'm a cranky old bastard too just like the rest of the internet. We have to rage, I have to rage, let us rage for just a couple more seconds. I want to rage about the state of video games, which is flabbergasting (possibly the first time I've used the word) when you consider that long-ass wall of text above.

Let's just throw it out there: video games, as entertainment or an art form -- whichever you want, baby -- should have the number one priority of being fun to play. This is a blanket statement, of course, because I'm not really trying to put video games in the corner, and there are games that are able to break that mold, but we'll get into that more in a bit.

Every art form is something at their core. In their most pure sense, movies are visuals and moving pictures, books are written word and story, music is audio and so on and so forth. Games are a melting pot of these -- visuals may not be as realistic as movies but there's a dependance on them, games are long enough to tell captivating stories, while music has always been good for the tone and atmosphere. They have the added luxury of being interactive as a core idea, not just as a novelty like Choose Your Own Adventure books (which are fun).

But I think we're getting too caught up in making our games more like movies. That's my point in a nutshell. I have to reiterate that I'm speaking in general terms. I'm examining the state of games in a broad sense, but I stand firmly behind it.

When I pick up a game, I want it to be fun. A game can have shitty graphics, serviceable music, but as long as its fun then that's great. Earth Defense Force is a perfect example of this. If you look at the graphics compared to other games today, they look like crap. Outside of the main menu music for Insect Armageddon, I've never been involved in the music. But damn that game is silly, simple and a hell of a lot of fun. I play the games for hours and hours, because the game was designed thrill you. It succeeds.

A game like Earth Defense Force -- or a series in that case -- doesn't get bogged down with meaningless, boring cutscenes. The fascination with cinematics in gaming blows my mind because we've gotten to the point where companies will release trailers that only show the cinematic aspects of the game. This is fine if it's a teaser trailer, but if someone waits months for more information and all you get is a trailer showcasing how much of a movie it is... that's not okay. That's not how it works. Wow me with your gameplay, make me want to pick up the controller, grab the mouse or play with my joystick.

I don't even need complex gameplay. I'm still okay with some games being button mashers. I love Suda51 games and they are known for being stylish yet not complicated in the least. I love when games go out of their way to offer new gameplay experiences, too. I just want to play.

There is where I backtrack a little bit and become more understanding, however. I'm not saying that games can't put love and care into the other elements of their games. You can impress me with your eye candy, whether it's brilliant visual design or high definition graphics. Let me see how beautiful you've made that grass I'm stepping on. Take me to other worlds with great artistic ideas.

Give me a soundtrack that I sit here and listen to when I'm doing other stuff, because I want that too. Believe me, I listen to a lot of video game OSTs.

But give me something I want to play.

A good cutscene can definitely add to the experience but I'm just going to throw it out there and say that a lot of games don't have interesting cutscenes. They're generic (but generic doesn't mean terrible), and the focus isn't on staging good shots because they're not movie directors. It's not their job. The Metal Gear series can get away with that these days because Kojima wishes he was a movie director and actually puts a lot of emphasis on making memorable cutscenes. If you have to watch a game, which you will in most games these days at some point, then give us something exciting. Don't give us what a game like Haze did with people standing in a helicopter talking over and over.

Still, there are so many games where I think, "It would be sweet if we could have played this instead of watch it." It's why games like Bayonetta should be more credit because while there are certainly cutscenes, it also allows you to play these excellent moments quite often. I'm harping on about Metal Gear so much because Metal Gear Solid 4 was especially contentious regarding how long the cutscenes are, but remember at the end (um, spoilers?) where you basically crawl through a furnace? Would that scene have been great had you just watched it? Yes, it was a big moment for Solid Snake and his heroism. Was it better because you were able to play it? Definitely, because even though it was only button mashing (to the point of pain I might add), it put you in the moment.

Journey was an artistic masterpiece on all fronts, but like Metal Gear, it never forgets that it's ultimately a game. It was a perfect example of how a game can get visuals and music right to the point that it actually compliments the gameplay. Ico and Shadow of the Colossus, two games that are widely considered "art," have compelling gameplay, even if Shadow of the Colossus does consist a lot of riding a horse through barren areas before you get to the epic boss battles.

Admittedly, indie games tend to be more guilty of this than big budget titles. I've played a ton of freeware games that have minimalist gameplay, to put it lightly. However, most of the time they get away with this because they are 5 minutes long and do other things right, so even if you just walk from left to right a little bit, it's fine. I'm not against expanding video games into new and interesting territories, but a lot of these games would overstay their welcome if they weren't so short (a good design choice to keep them short). There are exceptions, of course, with a game like To The Moon being emotional and memorable while being relatively light on "real" gameplay. 

Some games and developers get away with this kind of thing because their talent in other areas is impressive. Jake King-Spooner, a guy I have mentioned numerous times on this blog, releases some games that you really only walk around... but he's so good at what he does that it's okay. However, you'll notice that I reviewed Sluggish Morss: Ad Infinitum and gushed about it, but still only gave it a 9.5 because I wish it had more gameplay.
 
 I feel like I'm coming across as too close-minded in this matter and I think I may be forgetting points that I wanted to make (I'm old, forgive me), but I play a lot of games that go against my sentiment that I'm expressing in this post. In fact, I greatly enjoy a lot of them. If you asked me to prioritize what's important in video games, however, I'd have to pick gameplay first and foremost. Games can buck that trend, but in general, that's where I stand.

The Most Epic Trilogy Since Star Wars! Or Something... A Sluggish Morss: Ad Infinitum Review

Written By: Tyler Selig

Rating: 9.5/10

Verdict: Sluggish Morss: Ad Infinitum is the best game Jack King-Spooner has ever released. It’s everything he’s done rolled into one, with odd visuals and effective but non-linear narrative devices. The only criticism I can lay on it is the lack of gameplay, but read the review for my explanation on that.

I can’t remember how many of Jack King-Spooner’s games I’ve talked about since I started this blog, and I can’t remember what I’ve said even when I did, but I feel the need to repeat certain things when it comes to him and other like-minded developers such as other favourites like Jake Clover – who is even name dropped at the end of this game -- and cactus… this is weird, and is only sorta kinda a “game.” I believe it was King-Spooner himself who once tweeted about basically abandoning your limitations on what a game could be (though I could be wrong). It’s important to know coming in that this game, along with the other games I’ve played of his, are a mixture of surrealism, social commentary and pretty basic gameplay. The latter of those could be seen as a big criticism for an art form that serves the primary purpose of providing interactive entertainment. But if you give yourself into what Mr. King-Spooner is trying to accomplish, then there is a lot to love in his first ever commercial game, which can be downloaded by clicking this link here. Or Here, here, here HERE OR HERE!

I feel like I’m sucking up a lot of time that I discuss his games, but I relate a lot to his artistic vision because I’m from the school of disjointed and strange narrative, admiring directors like Harmony Korine, indie developers like the three I mentioned above, other game developers like Suda51, who is known for weird as well, and Hideo Kojima, who takes more straight forward ideas and puts an interesting spin on it. 

Let’s get the worst out of the way, because this is going to be extremely important to some gamers. The game is not conventionally fun to play. Like a lot of his work, you basically walk from point A to point B, doing very little besides occasionally clicking the spacebar to talk to someone, or being teleported to a place to collect coins. There aren’t really any puzzles, and as far as I know there are no ways to die. You don’t fight and you don’t platform. Every time a game like this is released I mention this, but I do actually believe that games should have interesting gameplay before anything else, which I know is something that King-Spooner himself may not agree with. However, to his credit the game rises above my own personal bias and expectations and ends up being a near flawless game. It is masterful storytelling, but I sometimes wish he would make his own Hotline Miami and make a game that includes all the things that have made him so incredible, mixed in with some great gameplay. He could shit out 10s if he’d do that, but most of the time he’s just making short freeware games any way so it’s understandable. I’m more than willing to give out 9.5s, but 10s are a little more rare.

If you’ve decided that you don’t care how basic the gameplay is, then you’re in for a treat. The Sluggish Morss trilogy has been a wild ride that runs the gauntlet talking about different issues that society faces, and this one is no different. I won’t pretend to understand everything, or even how/if this all truly ties together, as I have a bad memory, but it’s a joy to interact with everything and see what everyone says. I will say that I think that this is his best though, because I’m often intrigued by what the numerous characters are saying and doing, but this is the first one that reached down into my cold heart and warmed it. These are subtle, but extremely effective. For example, and this isn’t a direct quote, but there was a scene where they’re talking about religion and it ends with, “they dreamed up after worlds so they can be together again. Can you blame them?” The line before was condemning of religion, but then it’s treated with a degree of understanding. There was also a scene where someone talked about love and it was small but depressing, as the person eventually said, “I hope we can be friends. Friends who love each other.” Anybody who has had their heart broken can attest that this is pretty accurate. With that said, it’s still difficult to actually follow the “plot.” It’s important to note that it’s not conventionally about the plot, in the sense that there’s a linear narrative to follow, as it is the individual stories that are told.  So I feel King-Spooner has really outdone himself with Sluggish Morss 3.

Even video games hate me :(

The music is also memorable because sometimes it’s disorienting and hard to listen to, kind of like Noise-lite (if you haven’t heard the genre Noise, it’s basically concentrated noise… thank you Tyler for pointing that out). But some of it is extremely beautiful, such as the final walk near the end of the game. Hell, the game even ends with some pretty menacing music. I’m a big fan of the soundtrack, and I listen to it as I write this. It also comes with the game when you purchase it.

Another fascinating element in Sluggish Morss: Ad Infinitum is the visuals. He has a very distinct style as he often uses a clay style and mixes other things in. The screen is constantly very busy as you play because he’s flooding you with images and as I write this, putting it the way I did, it all makes even more sense. The screen is always “glitching,” with things quickly flashing on the screen. He blends all these different styles and effects seamlessly and it makes yet another memorable visual orgy. It also warns against seizures and that should be respected because I can see it being hard on people who suffer from that.

Sluggish Morss: Ad Infinitum is the strongest entry in the trilogy. It doesn’t really do anything different than the other two, but it hits an emotional level for me that the others did not. I was expecting a little more length, a little more gameplay, since this is actually a commercial game – but Jack King-Spooner has his thing and he does it well. If you’re looking for an insane collage of social commentary, politics, space, coins and flashy images (among other things), then check it out.

My Top 40 Games of 2013, 30 - 21 or How I Learned To Stop Worrying and Love Jack King-Spooner

Written By: Tyler Selig

                Welcome back to my Top 40 Games of 2013! In this here article, I’ll be giving you 30 – 21.

30: Super House of Dead Ninjas*

                Technically I believe this game came out last year, but this one is a re-release with more stuff and it was the first time I played it anyway, so I’m counting it as a 2013 game. It’s an SNES inspired – peep that name for proof – game where you descend a huge tower while gaining power-ups and whatnot. It’s not innovative, it’s just a lot of fun.

29: The Wolf Among Us Episode 1 – Faith

                I never played The Walking Dead, so I wasn’t really sure what their games are like nowadays. I had an idea, but wow, this game has a great story. It helps that the source material is apparently awesome to begin with, but even if you are like me and aren’t familiar with Fables, you know a lot of these characters anyway.

28: The Great Work

                The Great Work is a puzzle-platformer with a gorgeous art-style and wonderful mechanics. That about sums it up.

27: Moirai

                This is a short game, and to be honest it’s not even that exciting as most of it is just walking with very little to do. I don’t even want to say what ends up making it awesome, because I don’t want anything to be ruined. Play it, it’s free and it’ll take you approximately five or ten minutes anyway. You’ll at the very least get a game with a neat idea, and that counts a lot in the books of someone like myself who has been playing games for over twenty years.

26: Inventor

                If you’re a fan of any art form, you probably will find an artist that you can identify with. These are the type of people you look at and think, “This is similar to something I’d do if I had that kind of talent.” I have a couple game developers like that, and Jack King-Spooner is one of them. I love Inventor, and it’s not because it’s that much different than his other games I’ve played – you mostly just walk and press space, but there are some mini-games to play. I think his surreal visuals are some of the best he’s done. The only reason it doesn’t get higher is because short indie games don’t tend to get placed as high as full game experiences, and because as a game, it might leave a little to be desired. Not as an experience, but as a pure game.

25: Anarchy Reigns

                Anarchy Reigns came out of nowhere for me. It is multiplayer focused, and it’s a beat ‘em up. It does some interesting things with the genre and I don’t think so many people should sleep on this. Get an online community for this beast.

24: Will You Ever Return: in da hood

                Another Jack King-Spooner jam, I’ve thoroughly enjoyed his weird, funny, sincere and somehow tragic trilogy. I don’t know which one is the best, but I really liked this one, obviously.

23: Killer Is Dead

                Suda51 is another game designer that I really like. If you haven’t noticed, I tend to gravitate most towards oddballs, and Suda is definitely that. Killer Is Dead has a few problems, and it’s not as good as Lollipop Chainsaw, but it’s still a weird, action-packed game with some strange, yet memorable, characters. Killer is dead.

22: Crysis 3

                Unfortunately my PC couldn’t run this, but I played it for 360 and it was another solid entry in Crysis, a first-person shooter that allows the player a little more freedom when going about their business. Plus you can go invisible.

21: Sluggish Morrs: A Delicate Time In History

                And yet another King-Spooner game. The sad thing is, if I got time to play Blues For Mittavinda that’d probably be on here too. Sluggish Morrs: A Delicate Time in History is better than Sluggish Morrs because there’s just more to it… a little more gameplay, more interesting events, everything.

                When I made this list I wasn’t aware of the extent of my man crush on King-Spooner. It’s almost creepy at this point. Make sure to tune in again tomorrow for my next ten picks, and comment below if you got something you want to say.