September 6th, 2012 | By Erik Johnson
Tagged in: developer links | DevLinks | industry | industry news
In today’s Developer Links, developers discuss games including Bientôt l’été; Rage of Bahamut; Sir, You Are Being Hunted, and Towns. Plus, effective development of co-op games, and some arguments against indie development—and why not to listen to them.
Effective Co-Op Design (Gamasutra)
“What does it take to really implement meaningful co-op in your game? A Virus Named Tom developer Tim Keenan delves into the thorny issue — discussing the challenges and triumphs of building in the mode for his indie game.”
Why Friends Try To Stop You Being Independent (Cliffski.com)
“I notice people doing this a fair bit, to people who are considering quitting their job, or starting up as an indie developer. My experience is obviously from indie game development, but the same applies to almost any ‘going indie’ career, even if it’s opening a corner shop. Why do they try and stop this? and do they have a point?”
Good Morning Gato # 94 – Mine, All Mine! (Ska Studios)
“It’s temporarily sad, but true. We’re reorganizing how we do merch so for the time being, you will not be able to buy our stuff via convenient online shopping carts. Do not fret, my awesome Ska-bros! We will be getting a system back up as soon as possible and we will also be selling at PAX Prime!”
Towns 0.50 Has Been Released (Towns)
“We are pleased to announce the release of Towns 0.50 ! This version carries with itself a dramatic change in the underline engine. one we wanted to do ages ago, but only now decided to strike at it. In this new version, players has the freedom to create multiple level buildings, from small houses to huge sprawling castles.”
The End Of Maximalism (Bientôt l’été)
“With Bientôt l’été I have shifted towards a different design practice. Instead of including as much as possible in every design, I am moving towards a method of scarcity. Now I try to reduce the amount of elements to the smallest number possible. It’s a shift from glorifying the ambiguity that the interactive medium enables to seeking a sort of purity.”
Secret Knowledge From The Future (Gamasutra)
“When Neil Young looks at the mobile market in the U.S., he sees the past — Japan’s past. The U.S. has had an explosion in adoption of free-to-play mobile games, and it coincided, he argues, with milestones in the adoption of 3G internet-enabled handsets — things that happened much sooner in Japan than in the U.S. So he uses it as a yardstick of what to expect in the West. In fact, it’s what led him to sell the San Francisco-based company he co-founded, Ngmoco, to Tokyo’s DeNA, one of the leaders of the space in Japan. It’s like getting ‘secret knowledge from the future,’ he argues.”
Sir, You Are Being Hunted: And Answering A Few Questions Raised By Our First Trailer (Big Robot)
“We’ve had some fantastic coverage for our trailer, which was viewed over one hundred and a ten thousand times last week. Everyone on the Big Robot core team – Dan, Tom, James, and myself – are thrilled with the response, and I am sure our contributing artist Christophe Canon is pleased to have his work gain so much attention. (He’s sunning himself on the beach right now, so I can’t ask him!) However, the trailer raised lots of questions, and we decided to answer them here.”
The Art Of Journey Releases In September (thatgamecompany)
“Seeing how Journey has resonated with players across the world, we wanted to work with the Santa Monica Studio to provide a deeper look into the visual development behind this critically acclaimed hit. So, we’re excited to let everyone know that we will be presenting you with a wonderful first-time look at the extensive artwork that went into bringing Journey to life. It’s the first book directly inspired by one of our games and is titled The Art of Journey and will be available for purchase in September.”
Erik Johnson (295 posts)