• Onwards and Upwards with Comic Jumper [PAX]

    Twisted Pixel is something of an indie success story – and that might be putting it mildly. While there are around twenty employees now, with more being considered as I type, the company was originally started with just a few. The team jumped up to six or seven folks for The Maw’s development and moved [...]

  • Yeyifications!… Recettear: An Item Shop’s Tale [Review]

    Next time you’re off galavanting around a massive RPG world, slaying monsters and fulfilling your destiny, spare a thought for the shopkeeper in the last town who sold you all your gear. Without them, you’d be a nobody – you’d have no sword, no armor, no healing products. Confined to a live of standing behind [...]

  • Buckets of Blood Means Nothing in The Dishwasher: Vampire Smile [PAX]

    While roaming around the halls of PAX10, we were lucky enough to stumble upon Ska Studios, the guys who made both the original Dishwasher and I MAED A GAM3 W1TH Z0MB1ES!!!1. And, since we’re super best friends with them, we were able to sit down with both James (the founder) and the their new game [...]

  • Bursting with Innuendo: Fowl Space [PAX]

    Pixelante Games, the Vancouver-based group of independent developers, want to make you laugh at all the dick jokes in their new game Fowl Space, or at least it shows that they cracked themselves up while creating the title. And I think there’s something to be said for developers who enjoyeds creating the product they release, [...]

  • Creating a World in Bastion [PAX]

    I covered Bastion a small bit a few days ago in our run up to PAX. Back then I knew little about just what the game was and what it was going to offer beyond some small details given by developers Supergiant Games. Luckily for you (and me) I’ve just returned from my first play [...]

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    • Digging up the Dirt on Life+

    May 19, 2010

    by Eric-Jon Rössel Tairne


    359igq1 Life+ is a rather adorable little exploration platformer by Pastel. The game is long in development, and the development blog is updated only infrequently. The game is coming along well, though, is smooth and gorgeous, and incorporates several interesting ideas.

    The main mechanic is a digging/pluck-and-throw mechanism rather like Super Mario Bros. 2, FiNCK, or Rescue Rangers — the difference being, you can rip up a clump of floor nearly anywhere. Some objects are heavier than others, and you’ll need to power-up before you can seize them. Once you’re holding something, you can toss it, bowl it, or lock onto an enemy and sling from anywhere.

    The levels are saturated with detail to examine, files and documents to uncover, and secret areas to dig and explore. Each area (plains, mountains, industrial areas) focuses on different mechanics and design conceits (”platform jumping, combat, puzzle solving, item hunting and so on”). There’s a day/night cycle, five minutes to an in-game hour; often the lights are out, and maps aren’t always located in obvious places.

    The character’s expressions and behavior try to hint at current events and potential actions. Each enemy and each area seems to have its own little story, explaining its presence in the game.

    From the looks of it, Pastel has also included several mock 1980s arcade games as a mysterious bonus.

    Work is progressing steadily, and a new (silent) trailer is available. You might subscribe to the game’s RSS feed, to keep abreast of updates.

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    One Response to “Digging up the Dirt on Life+”

    1. FiNCK thrown into the Web | DIYgamer says:
      May 25, 2010 at 5:39 pm

      [...] Super Mario Bros. 2 and a few other gems like Rescue Rangers, and Pastel’s much longer-coming Life+. Perhaps understandably enough, considering the free level editor and Nifflas’ existing [...]

      Reply

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