Yusuke13 is now a BYOND Volunteer. Tom even gave him access to the listings so general submissions may run more smoothly. As for feature game submissions, they're still rare. Get his eyes on your project before he gets too jaded! ;)
Within BYOND
Silk Games offered a preview of the skill trees for their MORPG NEStalgia. Version 1.51 was released with targeting hotkeys for battle and the news that moderator Caer Death is recording videos of in-game tournaments. Episode 9 of the official podcast might be the last one for a while.
Bravo1 has uploaded and updated a demo for Tanx. It's a shooter where players earn ranks to customize vehicles while competing against both the environment and other players. AI opponents are included. Progress has been displayed with a plethora of videos. I recently played and, though I'd like to see text spam removed, it controls well. =)
Megablaze released a minigame called Freeze Bomb. It's sort of like Whac-A-Mole with more targets and prediction... That is, unless you're a column writer who misinterprets a line of the instructions, limits your clicks to random background graphics and then wastes space in the release thread suggesting that the developer might not understand the importance of the imaginary design's map generation. Feedback filters are important. ;)
After some graphical and interface improvements, A2J2TIWARI has uploaded his first attempt at a published listing, Puzzled. It's a timed maze game with a handful of levels. I suggest some form of procedural maze generation.
Yusuke13 (him again?) has released and updated a quickly developed game called The Arena. It offers a place where players chat over turn-based battles while increasing their stats. The game comes on the heels of an announcement regarding a guild intended to promote simple projects with original IP. The Simple Developments Guild should be up and running in early August.
Kyle_ZX has released a "map demo" for Castle Xyll. There isn't much information on the mechanics, but the inventory and interface posts make me think it's a form of RPG. I'm curious about the score attribute.
Due to what I assume was an inability to teach them Tic-tac-toe, Acebloke nerfed the androids in his military/economic sim Wargames. The civilization-building Wargames 2 was also updated with new research, new units and more.
In the absence of a new gameplay video, Forum_account offered a post describing how he cleaned up the programming for the boss fights in his upcoming platformer MORPG Tiny Heroes. Meanwhile, the Sidescroller library it uses has been updated with fractional movement and more along with its sister library Pixel Movement.
Am I the only one who saw the video of Micah Jones' Saul going around and thought of A Miner Adventure? =)
Oasiscircle has been impressed by the network performance of his team's gravitational shooter Rocket Down after installing the latest BYOND version and replacing his pixel movement with that of Forum_account. A new video has been provided. It looks nifty. (I do question whether the colorblind will notice all of the HUD changes though.)
Taitz has displayed more lovely screenshots of his upcoming fighter with custom abilities, League of Power. They were accompanied by interface improvements and a description of the character classes. The game was recently featured on a segment called Greenlight which blog owner Argonus hopes to continue.
Inspired by the input of Terraria and the tools BYOND has provided since her last visit, AlexandraErin has ended a long hiatus to resume work on her MORPG RetroQuest. With monochrome graphics to remind the younger generation of the world before 8-bit, badgers and bears have been revealed as pets... I recall Lexy using the former to beat the fur off of me in her older MORPG, Hedgerow Hall. Frelling badgers.
Discovering that people are still playing Faith, Squeegy has returned to update the multiplayer god-worshiping action/RTS hybrid. The server is down as I type this, but his post states that the source has been restructured, the graphics (possibly not pictured) have been replaced, atheists may survive on their own, new miracles have been added and more. Dance in that sand, gifted kittens!
Still working on a college course-inspired business venture, Writing A New One and the rest of the Eternia team have released more screenshots and opened a forum for their upcoming MORPG. Eternia: Prologue is expected to be playable by August 1st with a PvP server available in September as they add more content.
Dpheonix7 is continuing to convert his RPG War of the Magi to his own IP. Environment and character graphics have been replaced. Sound effects have yet to be implemented, but a video has been posted.
Similarly, Lige and MDC have been converting and improving their round/objective-based fighter, Invasion. Some of the graphics are placeholders, but AI has been added. The pair are seeking background music.
Chris Gayle has provided a video preview of Armored Units. The vehicular combat project developed with Zane444 now has 360 degree movement. The recording seems a bit choppy, but hopefully a game will come out of it.
Teka123, MDC and Cyberlord have taken it upon themselves to revive BYOND Anime. The guild will feature four games on a weekly cycle and possibly hold monthly competitions for BYOND membership. Anime reviews, game reviews and previews will be posted on the blog.
Looking for another source of BYOND news? DungeonDan has resumed his What's New Review. This fourth issue ends with a hard-hitting interview with Devotion RPG developer ExPixel that asks all of the right questions. Maybe. Developers are invited to submit their work.
I'm still trying to decide on the mechanics of my procedurally generated action adventure game, but I finally sat down and implemented my map generation using Prim BSP and Prim Grid. I think it came out rather well... Granted, most of the algorithm I provided was tested in either the library demos or MeanderGall.
...On an unrelated note, I have a Steam guest pass for Mayhem Intergalactic that I think expires on August 10th. Friend me on Steam and request the pass if you'd like access to the non-BYOND version of Crispy's Yet Another Space Age Conquest Game. I only have one. Everyone else will have to make do with the demo.
Beyond BYOND
- The third Humble Indie Bundle is now available. Pay what you want for And Yet It Moves, Cogs, Crayon Physics Deluxe, Hammerfight and VVVVVV. Donate a portion of your choice to charity.
- As part of The Difference Engine Initiative, The Hand Eye Society will be holding a gamemaking incubator for women in Toronto during August and September. Applications for the free program must be in by July 31st. A second incubator will be held during October and November.
- Looking for a helpful independent game design forum? How about 40?
- Sony ICE Team programmer Cort Stratton asks if your game is re-approachable. If something comes up and a player must take a long break, can that player reenter the game and learn how to play without having to start over?
- Richard Terrell offers a two part article on the collective misunderstanding of competitive multiplayer games. His theory is: "The more games you play at a high level, which typically means placing well at popular tournaments, and the more genres you play, the more you'll realized that all multiplayer games take the same amount of skill to continually play at the highest level." [sic]
- SoulRift maintainer Simon Ludgate is investigating The F-Words of MMORPGs. The first part studies how to keep players believing a game is satisfyingly fair. The second examines the faucets used to keep a game economy healthy. Part three is yet to come.
- Extra Credits offers another take on S.978 so those of you who aren't lawyers can understand the US copyright infringement bill with pictures.
- Now celebrate this month's 30th Donkey Kong Anniversary... with journalist Travis Fahs' history of that game's legal battles as Nintendo broke contracts with the shadow developers and board manufacturers.
- Shadow of the Colossus director Fumito Ueda explained the game's ending. I must share because I think it aligns with my theory that feeling sympathy for those over-hyped vessels of Dormin isn't necessary. ;)
- Farewell, Backyard FX.
Ah, Matt Chat. Bytejacker might be on hiatus when I need a quick video, but you're there.
