Santa is going to have to be working overtime to make this coming Christmas seem anywhere near noteworthy. The past month or two has seen a chain of Humble Bundles, Indie Royales and more dumping dozens of great discounted indie games on us. Now, indie co-operative Show Me The Games is hosting a 21 game sale for the next two weeks. Check it out.

When Chris Park was on Episode 19 of our Podcast, he mentioned a few details about what Arcen Games new title was going to be. But it isn’t until today that we actually get to see an early build of the game in progress (two weeks of implementation, six months of design).

A Valley Without Wind is a complete departure from the AI War series and the puzzle title Tidalis, but with all it has going for it in the ambition and features department it sounds like a worthy addition to the Arcen Games catalog.

Simply described by its creators, A Valley Without Wind is an adventure game “focusing on exploration in a post-ice-age world.” Each world is procedurally generated, meaning that upon each restart the entire landscape and layout will be different. But the intriguing element that the developers describe is that the game is “designed such that you’ll never have an incentive to create more than one world — ever.  Once you start your first world, that’s hopefully also your last, for as long as you play the game.  As new features and content are added, you can simply explore further afield to find them.”

In addition, death is a permanent part of the game. If your character dies, he doesn’t come back. But for the player that just means that you’ll assume to role of another survivor in the wasteland and have access to whatever items the recently deceased had collected along the way. In addition, the game is also built so that characters the dead player had encountered will eventually catch word of their death and reflect and react to it.

Arcen Games anticipates a March public alpha and and at that time players can also preorder and get a demo of the title. You can read more about this title on Arcen’s official site.

Here’s the pre-alpha trailer:

In a continuous effort to expose their under-appreciated and surprisingly deep casual puzzler Tidalis, Arcen Games has released a free, slightly scaled-down browser version through the Unity Web Player plug-in.

Serving as a fast and easy way to drop in and play, Arcen head Chris Park explains they got the idea of ‘Tidalis Lite’ from the bite-sized lite versions of games on iPhone. He goes on to point out that while there’s a lot of overlap, much of what the browser version offers up differs from the full game’s demo.

‘Tidalis Lite’ is currently in beta and will officially release sometime early next week once the team confirms all the bugs have been swept clean. It weighs in at just under 7 MB and took just a short time to load on my crackerjack connection.

If you like what you see, the full version with all the bells and whistles can be purchased for $10 through the developer.

[Arcen Games]

Indie sales at it again this weekend. Don’t forget about the aforementioned Zeno Clash, Frontiers Pack and Eschalon II discounts. Did you enjoy your extra hour today?

GetGamesGo

GetGamesGo has an excellent special offering Trine and VVVVVV together for just $9.50, a great deal for a couple of fantastic games.

Impulse

Stardock’s service has a few nice offers this week including 50% off Hacker Evolution – Untold (includes ‘Flight Zero’ expansion), 75% off Fort Zombie, $5 off Star Ruler and $3 off Tidalis.

GamersGate

Flotilla has been given a solid 60% discount, while Armada 2526 and Power of Defense are both half-off.

Round-up is back with so much good stuff to share from all across the indie line. Popular indie titles being picked apart, notable indie developers talking about anything/everything and of course, lots of free games to discover and play. Thank you, come again.

A Tantalizing Session With The Witness, The Next Game From The Creator Of Braid (Stephen Totilo/Kotaku)
“Unattended, unlabeled, unmarked… the new game from the small team led by Braid creator Jonathon Blow was stealthily present at the Penny Arcade Expo this weekend. The adventurous — and those who recognized Blow standing off in the shadows — got a delightful surprise.”

The Weekly Report #1 (Paul Eres/TIGSource)
“This is a new feature where I’ll be covering ten notable releases and newly posted games in production of the past week. A couple of people suggested I call this “The Eres Report” but it’s really just as much Ortoslon, who suggested most of the games here. These are all good games so try them all out, the numbering is just in the order of my preference. I’ll also include a weekly classic (2+ years old) game that was never covered in TIGSource.”

The Arena Shooter Tribute (Pixel Prospector)
“This Video showcases 6 sec clips of 93 enjoyable Arena Shooters that all happen to be free…Lean back, enjoy the show and then have a good time by checking them out afterwards.”

In(die)credible: Best New Indie Games You Haven’t Played (Tim W/IndieGames)
“At PAX 2010 there was an awesome panel that highlights a couple of indie games which you may not know about. This video features indie superstars like Robin Hunicke (thatgamecompany), Eitan Glinert (Fire Hose Games), Nathan Vella (Capybara Games), Dylan Fitterer (developer of Audiosurf) and Andy Schatz (Monaco) recommending some of their favorite indie games to the audience.”

Interview: Carpe Fulgur’s Dice Talks Recettear, Indie Charm (Kyle Orland/GameSetWatch)
“New import publisher Carpe Fulgur has brought quirky Japanese ‘item shop’ indie RPG, Recettear, to PC digital distribution services, and talks to our own Kyle Orland about localization challenges and plans.”

In-Depth: RedLynx On Life After Trials HD (Simon Parkin/GamerBytes)
“Trials HD developer RedLynx tells our own Simon Parkin about MotoHeroz, the studio’s recently-announced stunt racing game for WiiWare that “has as much in common with Super Mario Brothers as it does Trials HD.”"

Review: Tidalis (James Murff/Big Download)
“The folks at Arcen Games have been hard at work continuing AI War. Once of the sleeper hits of last year, it’s a stellar strategy title that builds design around cheating AI, as opposed to simply having it there. However, they are not just working on AI War’s expansions. Recently, they released a new game that is far outside of what one would expect from an indie strategy darling. The game is Tidalis, and it is a casual puzzle game in the same rough ballpark as Bejeweled. Tidalis is not just for casual players, however. Under its simple match-3 exterior hides a game of incredible depth and complexity that will intrigue players from every camp.”

Indie Game Challenge Deadline (IndieDB)
“Only 1 month remains to enter the indie game challenge and have a chance to win over 200,000$ in prizes. On October 1 2010, entries will close to the 2010 indie game challenge. With two prizes worth $100,000 each it is well worth your time to have a crack. Just ask last years winners COGS how it worked out for them.”

Interview: In Conversation With Rudolf Kremers – Co-Creator Of Eufloria (Marty Mulrooney/AMO)
“Following on from our recent review of Eufloria (Version 2.05) on PC, AMO caught up with co-creator Rudolf Kremers to discuss the future of his studio Omni Systems Limited, Eufloria’s pending PSN reboot in 2011 and life as a full-time indie game developer.”

Arcen Games has released a new update for their deep casual puzzle game Tidalis, bringing new content to the game among other additions and improvements.

Specifically, a new folder labeled “Community-Created Brainteasers” is now available in the Brainteasers mode, with the first version including 12 player-created puzzles.

The file is available for download for PC/Mac on Steam, Impulse and the developer’s site for the game. From the change log:

Notes From The Producer: August 18th, 2010

This official release includes a lot of new stuff for players to enjoy, a lot of it suggested by fans. It adds the new VS – Race multiplayer ruleset for use against the AI or against other players, as well as a new Boarded Up block type. It has a lot more flexibility in what fullscreen resolutions players can use, even if their graphics card/OS doesn’t report a resolution that they want to use as being supported. There is also a revamped sound subsystem that lets the game load faster, play multiple copies of the same sound effect at once (which sounds much better), and which avoids some issues on OSX.

Also included are 12 new Brainteaser levels created by players, a new visual block style created by a player, and updated stream graphics that look a bit fancier. Music tracks also now fade in when starting, which is a noticeable aural improvement. Aside from the above, this release has a number of bugfixes and other, more minor player-suggested tweaks.

All in all, an exciting first bit of free DLC, both with Arcen-created content and community-created content. Enjoy!

–Christopher M. Park

Beta Updates Cumulatively Included In This Official Release

* August 5th, 2010: 1.004 Beta (AI-Related Bugfixes)

* August 4th, 2010: 1.003 Beta (VS Race, Boarded Up Blocks, Experimental Sound Subsystem)

* July 27, 2010: 1.002 Beta (Bugfixes)

* July 26, 2010: 1.001 Beta (Guided Tour Improvements, Fullscreen Resolution Additions)

New & Updated Levels

A new folder has been added to the Brainteasers section of the game, with a “Community-Created Brainteasers” folder. The goal here is for us to over time package a good selection of the community-created brainteasers into the main game itself; not all players know to look for custom puzzles on our forums, and since the puzzle files are tiny it is easy for us to package them right into the game for everyone to enjoy.

This first version includes 12 player-created puzzles: 3 by Ixiohm, 2 by jkefka, 2 by PLivesey, 2 by RCIX, 1 by The 9th Sage, 2 by triggerman602. Special thanks to all of them for taking the time to submit such great puzzles!

New & Updated Art/Music/Sound

Music tracks now fade in when they are first loaded, to provide less jarring transitions between fast-paced and relaxing tracks and vice-versa.

Thanks to RCIX for suggesting.

A new player-created block skin has been added to the game: eRe4s3rs Glow Blocks. Special thanks to Hans-Martin Portmann for creating these!

The stream graphics have been improved with extra glow effects that makes them look more modern.

Thanks to Hans-Martin Portmann for suggesting.

Misc

Post-level screen now no longer reports an achievement that had already been achieved globally (but may have just been achieved for that particular adventure).

Thanks to kout for pointing out that the previous behavior was confusing.

The loss objectives panel now includes a note about the move limit for levels with a move limit. This is already shown on the screen in the form of the “moves remaining” counter, but now it’s more obvious and consistent with other loss conditions.

Bugfixes

Fixed bug where Cutscene Index and Adventure Stats buttons would show through onto the main menu after playing an adventure level.

Thanks to Balthier for reporting.

Enter And Escape now function as confirm or cancel (respectively) when a confirm dialog is being shown. Previously Enter would open the chat box instead, which was problematic on several counts.

Thanks to SmileyFace for pointing out the problem.

Fixed bug where AI thought it could do a direction-redirect through an inverter or energizer.

Thanks to Ogtacular for reporting.

Arcen Games has released their casual puzzler with hardcore depth Tidalis, now available for purchase and download via Steam, Impulse and Arcen Games website for $10. If you pick up the game through either of the aforementioned digital distribution channels you’ll get 10% off through launch week. A Mac version is available as well through Arcen’s site.

It’s a big leap of faith for Chris Park and the rest of the development team as they take their talents into a genre that’s largely seen as throwaway to core gamers. They hope to change that both with an addictive new gameplay mechanic and the depth of content their games have become known for.

We’ll have our review for the game up next week. You can grab the robust demo here for both PC and Mac, give it a go ’round.

Update: Arcen Games has informed us of the release of the Tidalis launch trailer, which you can view below.

Original: Arcen Games next stop on the video game genre list Tidalis is set to arrive this Friday via digital distribution.

The casual puzzler promises hardcore depth (See dev’s other title AI War) with “a new addictive mechanic,” over 20 game styles, two player co-op and competitive play, the ability to create levels, themes and adventures. Even options for colorblind players, players averse to lots of light and motion, and those running the game on older computers.

Impulse has listed the $10 title as available for pre-order, offering beta access prior to the game’s release on July 16. Check out the launch trailer.

Arcen Games has announced the release of a new beta update for their unique casual puzzler Tidalis. The v0.854 release brings a ton of new additions and coats of paint to the game both in visuals and in content.

With the patch, the game now carries 16 game styles (the number that will probably stick when the game launches) with over 50 minutes of music in the game and modified ’dire’ versions of tracks as well. 20 achievements have been added and the 74 of the planned 114 adventure levels along with 39 brainteaser-type puzzles are now available for those who’ve pre-ordered the title and therefore have beta access to it.

While the dev has yet to commit to an exact release date, they encourage fans to keep their eyes peeled the week of July 12 as they currently have the game scheduled to be completed by July 9. Knowing Chris Park and the rest of Arcen, we can expect plenty of post-launch support for the game as well both in optimization and added content.

From the change log:

Visually and Aurally

• We’ve now completed all the visual/art themes for the game, though we’re still adding animations and polish on the art. There are now 21 of these themes in all, counting three hidden ones that get unlocked during adventure play.
• There are now over 50 minutes of music in the game, or 90 minutes if you count the “dire” versions of the tracks.
• A lot of the music has been updated since 0.407; we had some trouble initially getting just the perfect sound, but now we think we’ve really nailed it.
• A ton of the art has already been polished and animated to a heavy degree; check out the Title Menu, the Open Plains theme, or the Volcano themes for specific examples. Pretty amazing, if we do say so.

Content

• We’re now up to 16 game styles for the game (counting the Normal style), which will probably be the final count for release.
• We’re now up to 31 special blocks for the game, which will probably be the final count for release.
• The game now has items — 25 of them — which will probably be the final count for release.
• There are now 74 (out of a planned 114) adventure levels, as well as 39 brainteaser-type puzzles. More coming on both of these.
• The game now has achievements — 20 so far — with more coming.
• There are now 19 story cutscenes out of a planned 40 or so.
• Both co-op and VS play are available on the local computer, either with two humans or 1-2 humans against the AI.

What Isn’t Complete?

• We’re still working on the networking, that will be done soon.
• We still need to finish the last quarter or so of the adventure mode and story.
• There are a few specific VS and co-op features that we still want to add.
• More polish is still being added to the art, and we’ll probably add a few more sound effects, too.
• The VS AI is already pretty good in the specific game styles it is allowed to play in, but there are some tweaks we have in mind to make it better. All game styles are supported in human vs human play, but not all of them will be available for the AI; it’s considered a fairly minor part of this game, by contrast with AI War.
• Gamepad support.
• Various other tweaks, polish, and bugfixes still remain, though our list is considerably smaller of late.

Arcen Games has released a mother of an update for its ever growing (both in content and popularity) space strategy title AI War: Fleet Command. Owners of the title can download the patch here. The change log was massive and had tons of crazy words, so we decided instead of applying ourselves we’d just go ahead and lob Arcen founder Chris Park an email and get the word straight from the horse’s mouth.

He promptly responded and was happy to share some of the highlights of the v3.120 update, and explain what the major additions and changes do for the game. First he touched on the newly added “AI Plots” mechanism, a way for the title to produce more varied endgame scenarios. Park notes that this is just the introduction to these plots, and with a full list of different ideas for plots (many coming from the community) we should expect expansion on the feature soon:

“The AI plots are basically a mechanism for us to have varied endgame scenarios. Right now the final planet encounter is always pretty similar compared to the early and middle game, which varies a ton. That is something it took players a really long time to notice, because even really good AI War players tend to finish way fewer games than they start (in terms of winning, anyway — I’ve lost 5 out of my last 6 games on difficulty 7, for instance).

Anyway, the AI plots were conceived as a way to spice that up. Right now the only plot is “avenger,” which has the AI creating a massive floating fortress filled with smaller guns and headed right for your home planet. So that lets you either have the challenge of taking that thing out (really tough but doable), or rushing to kill the second AI before it kills you. This first plot is just the tip of the iceberg, though. Like the minor factions that were introduced in 3.000, this is something we plan to expand greatly with time; we asked for community ideas for plots in particular, and we have a full subforum full of good ones. Basically we hope to make the endgme ultimately be as varied as the other two parts of the game, while at the same time we are always working to make them more varied, too.”

Park summed up the rest of the update, specifically highlighting the major addition of the new “border aggression” mechanic, which gives the AI a completely new attack vector, adding more realism to how the particular border relationships grow:

“Beyond the plots, 3.120 is a release of many small but notable things. The rebalancements are notable, the border aggression gives the AI a really new attack vector that adds more realism to how those border relationships grow, and there are a ton of other subtle things in there that expert AI War players really were salivating over, but which probably would just be minor niceties to the less hardcore fans.”

Moving on to Arcen Games’ upcoming addictive puzzler Tidalis, I was politely berated for labeling the title as match-3, and Park was quick to show his excitement for the upcoming game, throwing A-listers Tetris and Bejeweled around when referring to the game’s essence:

“I would like to clarify that is not a match 3 game. I find that moderately insulting, as those are hugely derivative. Rather, Tidalis is a completely new block-based mechanic, as similar to Bejeweled as Bejeweled is to Tetris, in essence. We’re pretty excited about that game, it’s really fun and already quite feature-packed.”

That line about Tetris, Bejeweled and the game’s essence certainly grabs your attention. Park also confirmed that the title, currently targeted for a July release this year, will be entered in the PAX 10 this coming September. We’ll have more info on the game and all of what Arcen Games’ is currently up to soon in an upcoming interview with the developer.

Vote for Your Favorite Indie Game!

We here at DIYgamer.com have started our very own bracket-styled tournament to find the best indie game, as voted on by you, the gamers. So head on over to our tournament page to vote on your favorite games!

The Tournament
Cave Story vs. Torchlight
Braid vs. Runman: Race Around the World
Spelunky vs. 5 Days a Stranger
Dwarf Fortress vs. Trine