Developer Triple.B.Titles ran a successful Kickstarter to make the game Ring Runner – Flight of the Sages, which received generally favorable reception. Now they hope to get backing on their newest project, Popup Dungeon. They have already gone through the entire process of getting backed on Kickstarter and creating the game they promised once, so I think just from that, they have an advantage over most developers on Kickstarter.

Even without their prior experience, Popup Dungeon looks like it could be a very good roguelike dungeon crawler that would give the player a plethora of choices throughout the game. They are going to let players create their own spells, weapons, abilities, characters, and even enemies. In addition to the solid looking, strategic turn-based gameplay, this roguelike will offer online co-op, something that isn’t offered in many other games of the same genre.

The replay value of the game could also be very high, due to the random aspect of the creation of the levels, the player customization, and the planned allowance of sharing through the Steam Workshop. For those that notice, in the rewards section there is no choice for getting the game DRM-free. Their plans relating to the option of sharing user-generated content is the reason for this, though they do hope to find a way to offer the game DRM-free in the future.

They have A LOT more information on the project, addressing basically any questions you could have on their Kickstarter page, so I urge you to check it out and if so inclined, to back them. If you like roguelikes, Popup Dungeon seems more than promising.

© 2014, The Indie Mine. All rights reserved.

Still Alive attempts to distil this popular ‘survival sim’ formula, removing some of the more hardcore elements of games like DayZ and Rust and introducing a bigger focus on player combat. By pitting up to 10 players against each other in a last-man standing deathmatch mode, players are expected to scavenge the supplies and weapons necessary to fight against their fellow humans in an attempt to be the sole survivor.

Today’s apocalypse is brought to you by way of a meteor shower raining molten fire and rock-based destruction across the earth. The planet is left scarred, most life has ceased to exist, and everything is generally looking bad for the remaining survivors. What’s worse, the meteor shower seems to have implanted an alien species onto the planet; a hive mind organism that can mutate any life form it is able to inhabit. Naturally, humans become a perfect home for these alien bacteria baddies, and genetically spliced mass murdering humans begin to flood the landscape seeking out the tender flesh of whoever remains.

It’s an interesting concept that I’m surprised we haven’t seen sooner. By amalgamating the best features of a number of games, Still Alive seems to be highlighting a specific element that makes these kinds of games great – the emergent play that comes from conflict between players. However, only time will tell if that alone is unique enough for it to achieve its $45,000 Kickstarter goal.

© 2014, The Indie Mine. All rights reserved.

It’s not all about surviving, though, as the game will present players with an opportunity to maintain and improve the colony’s base. Construction/upgrade of base modules, delegating tasks to individual workers, and of course exploration make up just a few of the player’s responsibilities as they battle the harsh, life-or-death conditions. It reminds me a bit of the old Sierra game, Outpost, which I played extensively, so naturally I’m curious to see how this compares.

Construct, maintain, and upgrade your Mars colony to survive and thrive.

A few weeks ago, TBA Games created a Kickstarter campaign to help fund PeriAreion‘s development. With weeks left in the campaign, the studio met its initial $3000 goal back in mid-March, followed soon after by hitting the first stretch goal: expanded artwork. There are still a few  stretch goals remaining including a new game map, custom base placement, and improved animations. With just over a week left, it’s not too late for backers to get on the bandwagon, and there are plenty of tiered rewards left including copies of the game, stickers, posters, and the chance to be turned into a playable character.

For more information on PeriAreion and to stay on top of updates, be sure to check out the game’s official website.

© 2014, The Indie Mine. All rights reserved.

To those nerdy enough to know of him, Tim Schafer is widely accepted as a genius. Along with fellow programmer Ron Gilbert, Schafer fathered the point-and-click adventure game genre, creating classics like Full Throttle,  Day of the Tentacle, and my personal favorite, Grim Fandango.  Once point-and-click adventure games fell out of fashion, Schafer founded a new game studio called Double Fine, and pumped out Psychonauts, Brutal Legend, and smaller releases like Costume Quest and Stacking. Despite almost universal critical praise for their major releases, Double Fine has struggled to match commercial success with critical acclaim, making them a hard sell for publishers. With Broken Age, Schafer and Double Fine jumped the publisher hurdle entirely and raised over $3.3 million on Kickstarter – demolishing their goal of $400,000. With this money they set out to make something the world hasn’t seen in decades: a new (semi) big budget point-and-click adventure game. Now here we are, almost two years since the completion of Schafer’s hyper-successful crowdfunding campaign, and Act 1 of the game is finally upon us. And it’s good. It’s real good.

The game begins by giving you the choice of  two young characters: a boy in space, or a girl in the countryside. The two stories, which you can switch back and forth at will, seem at first to be connected only in theme.  Without ruining any surprises, both characters are in oppressive situations they wish to break out of, which basically makes the whole thing two parallel coming-of-age stories. The game’s sharp writing and quick wit prove up to par with Schafer’s legendary track record. The other characters you encounter intrigued me enough to make me want to talk to every single one until they had nothing else left to say; a process that almost always left me with a smile on my face. The voice acting shines throughout the game, thanks to the talent of A-list stars like Elijah Wood, Masasa Moyo, and Jack Black.

Not looking to be outdone, Nathan “Bagel” Stapley’s art design explodes with color and creativity, and Peter McConnell’s fully-orchestrated original score complements it beautifully. Regardless of whether I was eating part of an ice cream mountain or walking around on a cloud colony run by a cult leader, I always made sure to explore every inch with the volume cranked up. Broken Age may not be the first game to ever try the “hand painted” look, but I can guarantee that you’ve never seen any game that looks quite like this one. The sharp character designs range from adorable to hilarious, and the environments are vibrant and memorable. Enough good things can simply not be said about the art and sound design of Broken Age. It’s charming to an almost ridiculous degree.

Despite my gushing, the game isn’t perfect. Some of the animation seems a little strange and choppy. Characters handing each other items, for example, always looks pretty off. The puzzles generally offer very little challenge;  figuring out what to do shouldn’t prove too difficult as long as you’re willing to walk around and click on everything. In some ways, this problem just comes with the territory of the point-and-click adventure game, but it seems to go a little beyond that in my opinion. Maybe the puzzles were simplified to make the game more accessible, or maybe Double Fine simply didn’t have the money to do as much as they wanted with them. After all, $3.3 million may seem like a fortune, but it’s a drop in the bucket compared to most major game development budgets, which can get as high as $50 million. My hunch, though, is that Double Fine kept the puzzles simple enough to easily complete with a touch screen in preparation for the iOS and Android release of the game later this year. This gripe might be enough to turn off some hardcore fans, but it’s an easily forgivable sin for those looking for a unique game with a fantastic story.

The biggest problem with Broken Age is that it isn’t finished. In typical Tim Schafer fashion, Double Fine ran into budget issues and could not finish the game with the amount of money raised from the Kickstarter campaign alone. Instead of going to a publisher to get the cash to pay for the rest of the game, they decided to release the first part and use the profit to fund what remains of the second part. Don’t worry though, because if you buy Act 1 for the asking price of $25 you’ll get Act 2 as soon as it comes out, no extra money needed. After about four hours of playing, Act 1 ends satisfyingly enough; you’ll want more, but in an “I want to know what happens next!” kind of way, not in a “wait, that’s it?” kind of way, which is what I was concerned about when I heard about the split.

Despite its very few shortcomings, it’s easy to recommend Broken Age to just about anyone. It probably won’t revive the point-and-click adventure genre, but for those who have been waiting for a new Tim Schafer adventure game since Grim Fandango’s release in 1998, your wait is over. And for those who have never played a point-and-click adventure, get on your computers and get out your wallets, because you’re in for a treat.

Overall Rating: ★★★★★ 

What does this score mean?

Broken Age will be available on PC, Mac, and Linux via Steam on January 28th. You can pre-order the game here. Android and iOS versions, along with Act 2 of the game, are due out later this year. 2 Player Productions documented the development of Broken Age. The entire documentary series is currently only available to backers of the Kickstarter campaign, but episode one can be viewed on Youtube for free.

© 2014, The Indie Mine. All rights reserved.

Tower of Elements 2 has so many elements smashed up against each other that I’ll be impressed if they all work together seamlessly. The game combines classic city building with real-time strategy combat that mixes together match-3 puzzles and tower defense. All things that sound right up my alley, honestly.

The city building has everything you’d expect from the genre. You choose a continent on which to build your city, with each of the three having its own advantages and disadvantages. From there, you have a variety of building types to choose from, resources to manage, citizens to allocate to different jobs, and policy decisions that affect both your city and your troops on the battlefield.

Actual combat takes the form of match-3 puzzles. Match the runes and elemental bolts blast out from your tower and hit oncoming foes. Other aspects of tower defense games are included, such as building barriers and deploying troops. There will also be a good bunch of challenging bosses to take on, as well as a bestiary from which to view and play around with the various enemy types you encounter. Really, it all looks like a ton of fun.

Having already gone over its goal, Tower of Elements 2 is a safe campaign to pledge towards. $10 is the minimum amount you’ll have to pledge to get a DRM-free copy of the game for PC, Mac, or Linux along with a Steam key if the game is Greenlit. The Kickstarter is getting pretty close to its first stretch goal, which is one that’s actually pretty cool: an alternate board layout. It’d definitely be worth it to unlock this goal as it’d really increase the replayability of the game overall.

Anyway, go on over to the Kickstarter page and pledge towards the game. You can also vote for Tower of Elements 2 on Steam Greenlight, follow its development on Twitter and Facebook, and find out even more on the developer’s website.

© 2013, The Indie Mine. All rights reserved.

The ongoing development of this game is unique, even when compared to other crowdfunded point-and-clicks. The episodic adventure began with a Kickstarter campaign that raised about $7,400 from 285 backers. This funded the first episode of the game which can be enjoyed free of charge on the game’s official website. The second episode then began its crowdfunding initiative, this time straight from the game’s web page as opposed to somewhere like Kickstarter or Indiegogo. Once an episode is fully funded, developed, and becomes playable, the episode before it transitions to free to play. Assuming this intriguing model continues to find success for The Game Kitchen, the process will repeat until at least four episodes complete development.

But enough talk of funding and development, what about the game itself? We start with a simple and very disturbing prologue that instantly draws you in and forces you to wonder what in the hell is going on. Without ruining too much, I will say that things begin masterfully. I knew immediately that The Last Door would be a cut above the average web browser-based game and closer to the type of storytelling found in horror adventures like Amnesia: The Dark Descent. The unnerving tone is heightened by an impressive fully orchestrated soundtrack, something I did not expect from such a low budget title. Like Amnesia, the strange story unfolds slowly by exploring and finding letters and clues left in the mysterious house you find yourself in.

The mechanics of the game don’t break any new ground for the genre, but they do their job. Just as you might expect, the player uses the mouse to click around and explore the game’s surroundings. When the cursor hovers over something of interest, it turns into a magnifying glass. Whenever an item can be picked up for use later, the cursor turns into a hand. To use these items, simply click on the one from the inventory you want to use, and then click on the part of the game world you wish to use it on. Again, no surprises here, not that everything in the game needs to surprise its audience. One point of minor annoyance, though, is that whenever an item can be picked up you must first examine it (magnifying glass), and then pick it up (hand). When I first began playing I quickly got stuck because I had examined everything I could find, but didn’t know that I could click certain items again to pick them up. Since there doesn’t appear to be a reason to not nab anything you can, examining and picking up collectable items could be completed in one click, but they aren’t. Again, a very minor problem, but it did cause some headaches for me early on.

The game sports a low-res style that some will find endearing and others off-putting. Personally, I enjoy the sharp contrast of the spooky tone, haunting music, and flat, blurry, blocky visuals. It feels endearingly nostalgic while not feeling overly retro. I imagine the simple look of the game was a necessary choice given the limited budget and small number of developers, but the game does a wonderful job of flourishing within the confines of the style. At first glance things seem primitive, but after spending just a few minutes with the game it becomes apparent that the game’s sensibilities are much more modern than one might expect. I suppose the look of the game might detract from the creepiness for some, but it didn’t for me. I enjoyed more than my fair share of genuinely chilling moments while playing through the released episodes.

In some ways, the appeal of The Last Door is incredibly niche. After all, it’s an old school style point-and-click adventure horror game that you play in a web browser. However, if you hear that string of descriptive words and aren’t immediately turned off, I highly recommend giving it a shot. It’s a brilliantly-crafted, disturbing mystery that deserves to be experienced. The first chapter is free to play, so why not try it out? You won’t regret it.

Overall Rating: ★★★★☆ 

Chapters one and two of The Last Door are available from the game’s official website, and chapter three is currently in development. That’s something you can help along, if you’re interested in that kind of thing.

© 2013, The Indie Mine. All rights reserved.

Developer RobotLovesKitty’s healthily-funded Kickstarter project Legend of Dungeon experienced a double-whammy of success, also being Greenlit on Steam back in April. It is finally available for pre-order on Steam as well as on the developer’s website for Windows, Mac, and Linux.

Legend of Dungeon is a roguelike with beat-’em-up style combat featuring lush, dynamically lighted pixel art. Players are tasked with trying to reach treasure on the twenty-sixth level of the dungeon. The game features randomized dungeons, permadeath, and both single player and up to 4-player co-op. Controllers are also supported and there is an online leaderboard.

If you pre-order on Steam, you’ll get access to the game’s beta. The same goes for the purchasing on the developer’s site, but for an extra $5, you’ll also get the the soundtrack.

Legend of Dungeon will officially release on September 13th. RobotLovesKitty will also be showcasing the game at PAX Prime.

© 2013, The Indie Mine. All rights reserved.

Dungeon of Elements is the latest in a line of games that attempts to meld disparate genres into a cohesive package. The framework is an RPG dungeon crawler that includes character creation, loot collection, and crafting. The combat in the game uses a puzzle system that takes its inspiration from classics like Tetris and Dr. Mario.

The game is actually fairly close to completion, so the Kickstarter campaign is really meant to bring an extra layer of polish particularly in sound design. Pledging $15 or more will net backers a copy of the game, and higher-tier rewards include digital artwork, virtual currency for other Frogdice titles, exclusive in-game weapons, invitations to the launch party and more.

The development team has done a great job showing off what Dungeon of Elements is really about, and you can get a first-hand look at how it’s progressing by checking out the campaign’s official video on the Kickstarter page. That page also has much more detailed information about the game including the story, details about boss battles, and more about the world in which the game takes place. With just over two weeks to go, the campaign is sitting around 65% funded, so there’s still plenty of help needed.

Puzzle games and dungeon crawlers collide in Dungeon of Elements

© 2013, The Indie Mine. All rights reserved.

Lex Laser is a turn-based strategy game based in a 2d game world. Set on colonies in the far reaches of space, players will spend their time fighting, mining, looting, exploring, and – like any smart hero would do – running away. When it comes to combat, the game tries to overwhelm the player with numbers rather than brute strength. Foes are plentiful, and the objective is to dispatch them quickly and efficiently before they grow too great in number to handle. Again, it is turn-based, so shots are placed ahead of time which creates an almost tactical combat/puzzle game hybrid. Equipment upgrades take place between missions and allow various found items to be combined for upgrading the weaponry and adding new gadgets.

The development team plans to break the story up into short episodes, playing on the format of popular sci-fi television shows. This isn’t an unexpected surprise considering the game’s inspirations include a few notable series like Babylon 5 and Firefly.

Early estimates are that development will carry over into early-to-mid next year if the base Kickstarter goal is reached. Should the campaign go exceedingly well, the team has mentioned stretch goal ideas like turning Adventure Mode into a heavier plot-driven Story Mode, creating dev tools for the gaming community, and bringing the game to tablets. The details for how the Kickstarter funding is budgeted have been outlined directly on the campaign page.

The usual Kickstarter rewards are present, in particular those that get the contributor’s name into the game. There’s also artwork, a copy of the soundtrack, and access to alpha, beta, and finished builds. With just over three weeks to go and the campaign doing well, there’s still time to get involved.

© 2013, The Indie Mine. All rights reserved.

Whispering Willows was recently entered into the OUYA Create Game Jam and were picked as finalists for three separate categories including Grand Prize, Most Immersive, and Best Visuals. The developers are also seeking to get the game approved through Steam Greenlight.

Although the game isn’t expected to launch until Q3 of 2013, an alpha demo has been released to help drum up interest. The demo is brief (about 5 minutes or less), but offers a glimpse into what the game is all about. The lead character, Elena, has a connection with the spirit world and is trying to find her father who many believe is dead. She can create an astral projection of herself within the land of the dead, and the player must alternate in between these two forms in order to open up new paths and help ghosts within the 2D environments. The game features some quality artwork that looks inspired in design from a number of Japanese-animated films and cartoons. The background music also helps set the somber mood for the story. The only nitpick I have is with the browser-based controls in terms of the odd choices for the keys assigned to different actions. The game is still early on, though, and it’ll be interesting to see how the final product turns out.

Swap between this world and the land of the undead to aid spirits and further your own quest.

Whispering Willows will be headed to a variety of platforms including Linux, Mac, OUYA, and PC. The studio has launched a Kickstarter campaign to bring in additional artists to help get the first chapter of  this multi-platform game out the door. Give the demo a try, and if you like what you see, you can reserve your copy of the game through Kickstarter for $10. You can also receive updates on the game’s progress through Night Light Interactive’s Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube accounts.

© 2013, The Indie Mine. All rights reserved.