[Correspondent Ken Ellis made the rounds all over the main hall and up through Indie Alley at PAX Prime last month. Over the next couple weeks he'll be passing on his thoughts and impressions on as many as his brain and notepad can recall. Next up, hands-on plus video footage of Polytron's Fez.]

A 2-dimensional game in a 3-dimensional world. Did I dimension this game is awesome?

Fez was at this year’s PAX and we were able to get a little hands on look at the game. While it may look like a simple side scroller game, the depth of level and genius use of space puts this game way past its supposed side scroll buddies.

The premise of Fez is that a three dimensional being approaches our fez wearing hero and tell him that he is needed to stop a threat to the world. Not only that it, the being bestows upon him the ability to see and adjust the 3rd dimension. This comes in real handy since the game can’t be won without this ability! The game revolves around you turning the entire world to move around, explore, and find new areas. Any platform may have completely different attributes on each side, and what looks impossible from one angle may be the simplest solution on another. Everything that can combine on one side does combine. So two platforms that do not connect on one world angle may appear as a land bridge on the opposite side.

To advance through a level you have to pick up eight golden cubes to form a larger cube that will open a door to a new world. They can be found anywhere from chests and walls to secret rooms hidden in houses. There is no time limit to find them and you are given infinite lives to find them all. The game focuses entirely on exploration and puzzle solving, and is certainly no Super Meat Boy in terms of gameplay.

Fez releases later this year.

[Correspondent Ken Ellis made the rounds all over the main hall and up through Indie Alley at PAX Prime last month. Over the next week he'll be passing on his thoughts and impressions on as many as his brain and notepad can recall. Next up, hands-on plus video footage of Marc Ten Bosch's innovative platformer Miegakure.]

Showing in a small corner of the PAX show floor at the Spy Party booth for a single hour was the latest playable build of Miegakure. DIYgamer was there and able to come back with some footage of one of the most interesting indie games on display this year.

Miegakure is a medieval Japanese themed game about moving through and exploring a world that is a representation of the mathematical concept of what travel through the 4th dimension would be like.  The game plays like a 3-dimensional platformer, but at a press of a button space folds and you enter the area in between points in the world. Then you can travel to other areas, or bring objects to those areas and find a 4th dimensional route to the goal in the level.

From what we saw the game is purely exploratory. So while there are NPC’s around many levels, there are no expressly violent enemies fighting you. The challenge is moving through the extra dimensions. Thankfully, some levels have maps of each area available in the level so you can see where you are and where you would be if you traveled to another area.

Confused YET?! Well, don’t be. We were able to get a gameplay video of yours truly skipping through the 4th dimentions.

No word on when the game will come out, but a tentative “sometime 2012″ was rumored around the area via digital distribution for PC and console platforms.

In what may have been the sleeper announcement of the past weekend, Zeboyd Games and the Penny Arcade guys have announced a partnership for the third episode of their seemingly dead RPG series Penny Arcade Adventures: On the Rainslick Precipice of Darkness. The title will be turned into a 16-bit JRPG-style adventure to suit the style of Zeboyd’s previous gems Cthulhu and Breath of Death.

I don’t let this statement fly a whole lot anymore being a father, but in the immortal words of Arsen: that is fucking awesome. (Several times on our podcast, check the tapes!)

I truly can’t tell you how excited I am over this major development. You have two of the silliest entities in gaming out there collaborating together, it feels like a perfect fit. The humor alone has a chance to be something phenomenal, and the gameplay will be right where it needs to in the safety of Zeboyd’s tender-loving hands.

Nothing further has been offered up, so we’ll just be here twiddling our thumbs, trying not to explode until we get a bigger hunk of information to chew on (perhaps a PC/360 release lies in the cards?) Regardless, I expect this is exactly what the previously deceased series needs to get back on its feet. A great turn of events for both the IP and the developer going forward.

[Zeboyd Games]

The Behemoth hinted at something special last time we talked relating to the Castle Crashers second XBLA title update (available right now for 360 owners), and have more than delivered with the unleashing of new free and paid content for one of the most popular games in the digital distribution space today.

The update brings the Pink Knight as a free download on the Xbox Live Marketplace, with a dollar donated to the Keep A Breast Foundation to match each of the first 50,000 downloads. A really great way for a developer with some extra cash to donate to a good cause. I shouldn’t have to encourage you to go download right away.

The game has also added the Blacksmith Pack has also arrived for $2 on the Marketplace, bringing the mysterious blacksmith in as a playable character. On top of that, a new Team vs Team feature has been added to Player Match Arena mode, new avatar awards, more multiplayer functionality, a news ticker, and some notable bug fixes round out the jam packed patch. It’s a perfect opportunity to get back into one of the more enjoyable games I’ve played in years.

Here’s the full list of additions, changes and fixes packed in the update:

Castle Crashers XBLA Title Update 2 Changes

• Download the Pink Knight (complete with new weapons!) in the Xbox LIVE Marketplace, FOR FREE!!!!!!! ($1.00 donated to Keep A Breast Foundation with each of the first 50,000 downloads)
• Download the Blacksmith Pack for 160 Microsoft Points. Once shrouded in mystery, the legend of the Blacksmith becomes a reality. Wielding miniature antlered frogs, burning hammers of justice and springboard contraptions, this warrior is much like William Wallace (ala Braveheart), but purple and definitely not Mel Gibson.
• Added a Team vs Team feature to Player Match Arena (as opposed to the current free-for-all).
• Earn two new Avatar Awards—Cardinal Animal Orb and Knight Helmet!
• Ability to check Player’s Gamer Cards in Xbox LIVE matches.
• Main menu News Ticker for all of your latest Castle Crashers and Behemoth Updates!

Notable Bug Fixes:

• Level 256 cheat resolved (more info available on request).
• Data copy glitch (more info available on request).
• Sandworm experience glitch (more info available on request).
• Wedding Crashers progression save now fixed when user leaves game play in flowery fields.
• Smoothed Alien Hominid’s Splash Magic when traveling over water.
• Slowed down Iceskimo’s power drainage from magic.
• More effects added to elemental attacks for Alien Hominid, Demon and Iceskimo!
• If your character dies, your Animal Orbs can no longer fight without you.
• Fixed floating characters in Beefy Arena when grabbed.
• Sandwiches can now be picked up after Volcano Boss fight.

[The Behemoth]

[DIYGamer correspondent Ken Ellis made the rounds all over the main hall and up through Indie Alley at PAX Prime this past weekend; attending several appointments with developers and demo sessions for dozens of games in the process. Over the next week he'll be passing on his thoughts and impressions on as many as his brain and notepad can recall. Next up, his hands-on time with Feel Every Yummy's Word Fighter.]

PAX Prime offered up a plethora of unique Indie games this past weekend. One of my stand out games by far during the expo was PAX 10 finalist Word Fighters.

Word Fighters is a game from Feel Every Yummy that, at first glance, may remind you of Puzzle Fighter but what Tetris was to Puzzle Fighter, Scrabble is to Word Fighter. Expressly a multiplayer game, the title pits a selection of six fighters against each other in a boggle/scrabble style battle royal. Each player must choose one of six embodiment’s of famous authors such as Edgar Allen Poe, Agatha Cristie, and H.P. Lovecraft and use a tile set of random letters to write out words to attack your enemy with.

The letters work on Boggle rules in which the word that is written must be made of letter tiles that are touching each other and if a word is used twice it does much less damage. Along with this, the game touches on Scrabble rules where each letter has a certain number value associated with it. More commonly used letters get a point value of 1, and less common letters such as Q and Z get points of 10. The higher the point value of a letter, the stronger the attack of the word. To spice things up even more, each character has three powers that they can use to buff up their own attacks or screw with the other player. Some of these powers include adding triple power to their words, hiding letters from the opponent, stealing the other players powers, and forcing the other player to spell everything backwards.

As of right now there is no single player mode planned with the release, but a brief demo of one was available at PAX. Instead of it being a player vs. computer fight, the single player mode would be the player being attacked by a hoard of monsters while having to use their words to stave off the mob of creatures. It is possible that some monsters would be immune to certain types of words such as nouns and verbs, but nothing is finalized. It was actually very fun, but will only be created if their is a big enough call for it from the fans of the game. So really its up to the players if they want it or not.

Word Fighter is releasing later this fall and only on the Iphone, Ipad, and Android devices due to its touch screen format of play. Any word-o-phile or boggle fanatic should check this gem out.

[Feel Every Yummy]

[Once again photographer Kevin Harland tagged along with DIYGamer to yet another gaming event, capturing some excellent stills and tons of video footage along the way. Check out the pictures he snapped this past weekend at PAX Prime, along with a few of my inferior phone shots. (Click on an image for full-size.)]

[DIYGamer correspondent Ken Ellis was on-sight all weekend at this year's extremely indie-friendly PAX Prime, previewing as many games as humanly possible. To start, thoughts on Giant Army's space playground Universe Sandbox.]

Universe Sandbox is one of the most appropriately named games in existence. It is a astronomy game about creating, sustaining, or destroying your own cosmos as you see fit in a almost limitless spacial sandbox. Who wants to be God? You do. How do you do it? Universe Sandbox. Period.

The game plays heavily on the force of gravity between spacial bodies as it relates to all the celestial objects that you decide to throw in your universe. How big can it get? A demonstration solar system we were shown contained 466 singular objects all of which were turning and twirling in concert with each other. Not an easy task to perform. Dan Dixon, the creator of the game who took us through some basics, decided to throw Neptune into the system and the entire thing fell into a beautiful chaos.

The game doesn’t just have planets, it has almost anything you can think of. Choose from stars, asteroids, meteors, planetoids, and even black-holes! Nothing is set in stone either. Each objects variables can be changed at anytime from its mass, volume, and density. Another demonstration showed that you can turn Jupiter to the size of a star if so desired.

Universe Sandbox is so good at showing the interactions between objects in space, it has already been sold to a handful of schools as a learning program. Any aspiring astronomer, space fan, or gravity nut should pick up this game. It is already out on Steam for only $10, so there is no excuse not to be God for a day. Hey, you may even learn a thing or two.

[Giant Army]

Carbon Games is the core team that was behind now-dissolved Titan Studios (who made Fat Princess). Members Dawna Baltins, Weng Chen, Matt Endsley, James Green, Branimir Karadzic, and Ken Klopp have stuck together and created their first competitive multiplayer title under Carbon Games: AirMech. Players control via dual-stick a mech that transforms seamlessly between being an air and ground vehicle essentially trying to take over the opponent’s base.

The above art is breathtakingly nostalgic to me. At first glance, it reminded me of CPS-II era Capcom art (the golden age before Capcom went all-polygon and lost some key artists). Even the two-toned logo of Carbon reminds me of the formerly named behemoth. However, there are subtleties to the character design, such as the departure from big anime style eyes, that differentiate the style.

While the graphics of AirMech are no doubt HD, this off-screen video is more meant to show off the strategic gameplay. As seen below, AirMech is more than a dual-stick shooter:

Interested fans of Carbon Games’ AirMech can sign up on the official site to be in the pool of potential alpha testers.

Earlier on this morning, PAX registered media members were given a tiny bit of floor time to ourselves–about 49 minutes to be precise–to get whatever we could in the relative calm before the storm of attendees flooded the floor. During our lightning round of demoing, interviewing, and other such coverage…ing, I ran into the one and only Jonathan Blow (Braid, The Witness) and was able to pull him aside for a couple minutes to grab his thoughts on whatever I could come up with.

Very fortuitously, Mr. Blow was assisting Chris Hecker’s frantic set-up of the SpyParty booth (indies helping indies right?) and was in a fairly talkative mood for someone you’d find in the dictionary under the word “mysterious.” I hope to get a longer, more fleshed out interview in the coming weeks, once things calm down a bit for everyone. Though for now, I’m quite happy to pass along the interesting tidbits.

First off, development of The Witness is really starting to ramp up, with Jon bringing on a team over the past several months to help with art and technical aspects. Previews of the title hit all over the place earlier this month, well except here (looking to remedy that soon.) As for a release date, well you know how it goes, sometime in 2012 when it’s good and ready; but he did mention that he’d be pretty upset if it slipped past that target into 2013.

Another item he was excited to talk about was Indie Game: The Movie, which will premiere in Santa Cruz this October. “In theory” he plans on being in attendance if scheduling allows to take part in QA session after the film  (so you know, our tickets are booked and DIYGamer will be there to report on the event and record the QA for all you fine folks.)

As some may already know, Jon plays a significant part in the piece along side the Super Meat Boy and Fez devs. He recently had a chance to view a preview, and expressed how impressive it is. He told me the filmmakers have hit there mark by pulling off  a captivating full-length work focusing on indie game development; complete with fantastic overarching themes, motifs, and such. Apparently, the magic we saw in the latest trailer is abundant in the full film as well. I really, really can’t wait for it now.

He also promised he wouldn’t be pulling the wool over our eyes again this year, and that the game would not be on display at all during the weekend. I asked twice to make sure he didn’t have any tricks up his sleeve, and honest-to-goodness it appears PAX attendees won’t get a chance to witness some witness this year. No worries though, the game’s dev blog has been very active, so interested parties can keep up there.

All in all some very good info coming from Number None’s number one. More PAX Coverage soon!

[Jonathan Blow]

As we ready ourselves for another strong PAX Prime showing this weekend in Seattle, developer and friend Matt Gilgenbach (24 Caret Games) has passed along word of some cool happenings for his shooter you play in reverse Retro/Grade. Specifically a high score contest “where the winners will be forever immortalized”, will be taking place during the now imminent event.

The game has been development for sometime and it really shows. Just by looking at the new screens and video, the game would appear to carry a new coat of polish since it first caught our eye at last year’s PAX-P. Exciting to get another look at it this year as it nears the end of its development. No release date yet for the upcoming PSN title, but we’re hearing “soon” thrown around quite a bit.

24 Caret will be running the high score contest all weekend, giving out plenty of swag as well as the awarding the overall winners with an everlasting spot in the game’s credits. In fact if you pre-register, you’ll end up with your own personalized ID badge as opposed to the standard card:

So if you’re heading to PAX this weekend, you already should be planning to stop by booth 6415 to get a demo of R/G. Might as well go ahead and sign-up a sweet custom card, complete with picture and call sign. Of course if you don’t, you can get a standard card and still have your shot at topping the leaderboard.

Check out the aforementioned new trailer for the game that actually begins where it ends: