To the Moon is an adventure game in which a dying man named Johnny gets the opportunity to live out one last wish. Two doctors, Dr. Rosalene and Dr. Watts, stand beside Johnny’s death bed and give him an opportunity to relive the entirety of his life; unfortunately, it is the last thing he will ever be able to do. To the Moon is an exploration of the question “What If?”

Players must make life decisions in To the Moon. It gives a rare opportunity for players to relive life decisions, give love another shot, rediscover friendships, and search for fame and fortune. To the Moon is an exploration of what life can be, presented through an interactive story, with minimalistic gameplay. It is difficult to describe To the Moon’s style of play, and although it looks like a JRPG, it plays more like a point-and-click adventure.

To the Moon has been met by rave reviews, including an outstanding review from ourselves here at Indiegamemag.com. It has been raved for its gripping narrative and outstanding original soundtrack.

You can currently get To the Moon at a discounted price on Steam until September 14^th. A bundle is also available, which includes the OST at a discounted price. You can check out To the Moon on Steam and learn more about Freebird Games at their official website.

Source: The Indie Game Magazine – ‘To the Moon’: Now Available for Steam

If you’ve ever wanted to start playing Einherjar – The Viking’s Blood then wait no longer because, for the next two weeks, the game’s developer, Appiritis, has announced that they will be holding their new “Triple Event”.  During these two weeks, players will receive triple experience as well as noticeably higher item drops, but there is a twist.  Each week, these benefits will only be available for two days, chosen at random.  Running within the same time frame is a second event, bolstering the addition of the newly added hero, Veronica.  During this event, players who manage achieve certain stats with the character will receive item packs (most notably a pack including an Orichal Spear, Orichal Ring , and Orichal Chain when a stat total of 220 is reached).

Along with the release of Veronica as a special unit comes the announcement of a new job, the Paladin.  The Paladin job will have a strong focus on physical and magical attacks, as well as their healing abilities.  One of the greatest benefits of this job is that it can learn both Double Attack IV, as well as Double Magic IV.

For those that haven’t seen it, Einherjar - The Viking’s Blood is an MORPG with graphics heavily influenced by classic JRPGs.  Everything in the game is browser based, so there is no need to install anything to get started.  You will also find that there are almost no barriers to immediate entry, as the initial learning curve is very small and the game is available for no cost.  If you liked Final Fantasy Tactics, then you will love the gameplay in Einherjar – The Viking’s Blood.  Boasting an elegant mix of turn based tactics style combat with many rig influences, this game will quickly envelop you within its addicting gameplay.

In you’ve never played Einherjar, The Viking’s Blood , then now is the perfect time to check it out.  You can check out this free to play game from Appiritis’s website.

Source: The Indie Game Magazine – ‘Einherjar – The Viking’s Blood’ Adds New Character, and Two In-game Events

With seventy hours to go, Americana Dawn has almost doubled its goal on Kickstarter.

As of now, 220 backers have provided $4,045. If you would like to put an NPC with a name and something you want it to say, or a retro-styled game manual, then head over to the Kickstarter before it’s too late!

Otherwise, you can enjoy the freeware game when it’s released.

Americana Dawn is about a spirit that disguises itself as a human boy named Alfred, who is asked to fight under the colonists’ banner during the French and Indian War.  The JRPG ‘s blend of fictional characters in a non-fiction setting sets an intriguing stage for an epic story.

Donate money to the Kickstarter here or visit the official website.

Some of my earliest and fondest memories of gaming were of playing the original Dragon Warrior (Dragon Quest) games on the NES. Surprisingly, my young brain could comprehend it all and it the stories remain with me today. Dragon Warrior, Dragon Warrior 3 and Dragon Warrior 4… I never played the second, for whatever reason. In any case, I’m now sitting here staring at Dragon Fantasy and I can’t think of anything else.

So, essentially, if you’ve never heard of those games I’m talking about the old Dragon Warrior games were some of the first JRPGs ever released, up there with the likes of the original Final Fantasy only better because they had an actual storyline (but don’t get me started on that!).

Here’s the game’s official description:

Experience an all-new old adventure!

Fight your way through hordes of strange, silly, and scary monsters! Explore the caves, castles, and dungeons of an ancient evil! Meet warriors, princes, pirates, zombies, and crazy old woodsmen in huge world of epic retro adventure!

Authentic 8-bit artwork and an original soundtrack by renowned Bay Area 8-bit musician, Crashfaster keeps the game true to its retro roots.

Dragon Fantasy can be had right now on a “Pay What You Want” scale starting at $1. If you’re anything like me then this game should be right up your alley.

Oh and I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the similarities between this game and Zeboyd Games’ Breath of Death VII and Cthulhu Saves the World, both great classically themed JRPGs.

[Dragon Fantasy, Indievania]

Trailer

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DIYGamer Holiday Give Away! For each and every article we post we’re giving away an indie game.

This article’s game is Antipole for the PC/Desura, by Saturine Games!

Leave a meaningful comment below to enter into the drawing.

We’ve covered Towns here on DIYGamer.com in the past. It’s a rather unique city simulation/RPG/Dwarf Fortress-type game that has really caught on with the indie gaming community. And for good reason too! It’s quite fun!

Anyway, I was lucky enough to sit down with Alex Poysky, the lead designer, to discuss the inspirations for the game and where it will be heading in the future. Check it out!

Note: Towns is developed by Alex Poysky (Lead Designer), Xavi Canal (Lead Developer) and Ben Palgi (Lead Artist).

DIYGamer: Can you please tell us who you are and what you do on the development team?

Alex Poysky: My name is Alexander Poysky. I’m a 29 year old soldier in the Spanish Armed Forces who just happens to be the lead designer behind the game Towns.

DIYGamer: In your own words, how would you describe Towns?

Alex Poysky: Towns is a strategic towns building sim with heavy splashes of rpg thrown in there. Think Diablo meets Dungeon Keeper, with a dash of Majesty and Guild 2, mixed with Dwarf Fortress’s delicious building schematics.

DIYGamer: What were your primary inspirations for creating Towns?

Alex Poysky: Inspirations? Do you mean what inspired me to start working on indie games, or what driving force serves as Town’s muse?

DIYGamer: Both, preferably.

Alex Poysky: Okay. When I was a kid. I once had an awful, terrible day at school. I got home and was in a relatively sour mood. My father ushered me into the computer room, and sat me down in front of a brand spanking new 486 and said, I got you a really neat game.

I had never played video games before so it was all new to me. He popped on a game who’s music has been my personal theme song ever since. Monkey Island. Ever since I saw Guybrush on that lookout tower I have wanted to make games. Just like that, my awful day was gone, I was in a bright and cheery mood, and have used games as a way of disconnecting from whatever might be plaguing me.

As for the driving force behind Towns, well. We want to make the game we want to play, not the game that’ll make us more money. We would be foolish if we thought we were bringing something truly unique to the table, we aren’t. What we are doing is taking many unique aspects of other popular titles and mixing them together for the first time. That in itself is unique, and so is the presentation we are giving it. We always listen to our fans, and they are our heart and soul in this project. What they say goes.

DIYGamer: Your most recent updates has brought a new unique zoning method similar to the old SimCity games. Why use that method of building as opposed to just point and place?

Alex Poysky: I woke up one day and thought, jeez, the buildings we currently use are really boring. Some of them were even placeholders from previous art. I then thought, wouldn’t it be cool to see the little townspeople go into the buildings, use the buildings, and have the buildings actually be “Building” sized?

We wanted to go for an old school JRPG town feel and it just wasn’t happening with the old system. With the new system, however, you can make towns reminiscent of games such as Ultima Online, or Final Fantasy (the older ones).

DIYGamer: One thing that I noticed was that the current zones are broken down into multiple “types” for example a carpentry zone or a furniture zone. Why have multiple zones for each type of utility or item instead of just a couple broader zones where one could, for example, place a carpentry bench inside the same zone as a bed?

Alex Poysky: Well, once again, we want a really awesome looking town. The end product will look like an old school JRPG town, with the workshops separated from the housing, stockpiles near each of the stores, a large central tavern. The new system fits, and it fits very well with the upcoming hero system as well.

DIYGamer: Upcoming hero system? What can you tell us about that?

Alex Poysky: Well, we are almost done with the base construction system (by done I mean ENGINE done, not CONTENT done.) Which is why we are going to move on to the new hero system. It will make this game a full-fledged RPG.

Currently you send soldiers down into the dungeons, it’s a bit slow and clunky. With the Hero system, you will build a large tavern and attract random adventurers who will stay for three days. If they like it there they will stay longer. You can give quests to these powerful heroes, who all have their class and personality traits.

The dungeons (which are currently simply full of monsters) will have many types of “rooms”. These rooms will have to be conquered individually using the quest system.

You will send heroes to the dungeon rooms to conquer them, bringing back any precious loot to be used in building or furnishing, or even paying your soldiers.

DIYGamer: Will you be able to follow along with your hero as her does his questing? Or is it more of a system where you send em out and they come back after a specific time with either a success or failure type message?

Alex Poysky: Nope, you will see them. Currently you can see the underground dungeon if you mouse scroll down.

You can forge armor, weapons, and even craft advanced sets. Instead of using soldiers, you would right click an area of the dungeon, and set up a quest to conquer it. We have been adding MANY new monsters just for this reason.

Imagine a gobline throneroom. You would offer a large broadsword as a reward and get a barbarian enticed, you would see him go to the tavern and hire a few of your soldiers to accompany him in a party.

You could watch him clear out the room and then send citizens to haul the loot back up (you would probably want to send a soldier or two along to defend them!)

DIYGamer: So beyond the hero update what’s else is next for Towns?

Alex Poysky: …

…

Multiplayer. No joke. It’s in the works, it will be in, assuredly.

DIYGamer: Can you explain a bit how that will work? Competing towns?

Alex Poysky: We are currently getting the initial system set up, but there are a few different options. Competing towns, co-op towns, meta-map with questing, etc. It’s quite green at the moment so we wouldn’t want to say something we might later regret, but rest assured, multiplayer in some form, preferably co-op will be in.

DIYGamer: Finally, one last question, do you guys have a timeline on when Towns will see a beta or full release?

Alex Poysky: Well, I feel we are about a quarter of the way through, and it was the hardest quarter. We are going to see increased momentum from here on, which means we might finish it in a brisker pace. We don’t have an exact date, and wouldn’t want to peev people off by not saying anything so let’s give an estimate of 6 months shall we? That will be beta time, more or less.

DIYGamer: Thanks for taking the time today to speak with us.

Alex Poysky: Oh, no worries. I always have time for my friends!

Also, a big shout out to everyone in the indie of the year competition. It doesn’t matter what place we end up in, we are all winners here. Each and every one of us is doing what he or she loves most, and there is no competition there.

If you haven’t voted yet, please, do so! Not for us mind you, but for whoever you think should win!

–

Super big thanks to Alex for taking the time. If you’re interested in towns simply follow the links below for more information. You can also buy into the Alpha right now via the Desura link below.

[Towns, Desura]

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DIYGamer Holiday Give Away! For each and every article we post we’re giving away an indie game.

This article’s game is OIO: The Game for the PC (code is redeemable on the official site), byUncanny Games!

Leave a meaningful comment below to enter into the drawing.

It appears we’ve entered the meaty part of the release season, as yet another good looking indie has come out to play in Freebird’s retro JRPG To the Moon. The title goes for $12 and is being distributed via Desura and the developer themselves. Additionally, the team has provided download links to a one hour timed demo in both locations.

The game has you playing two doctors, who have discovered the ability to travel through people’s memories and change them. Unfortunately the clashing of real and false memories leaves people unable to function, and shortly after anyone undergoes the procedure they die. So instead of abandoning the technology entirely, they find a new purpose for it. The decided to provide hospice patients peace/happiness before death, by altering memories to fulfill whatever they wished they had happened in their life, but never actually did. Insane.

Writing about the title alone has me intrigued, it all sounds like very bizarre and fascinating stuff. We’ll have to get our hands on a copy (or at very least the demo) posthaste and pass on some thoughts.

For now, get your stare on at To the Moon’s launch trailer:

[Freebird Games]

After a bit of huffing and puffing to get it all compatible every which way, Zeboyd Games is quite convinced retro parody JRPG gems Cthulhu Saves the World and Breath of Death VII will be available for PC’ers one and all via Steam on Wednesday July 13.

The games will come in a combo pack not unlike Size Five Games’ (formerly Zombie Cow Studios) hilarious adventure title tandem on Valve’s service–in that you’re essentially paying for the more robust of the two titles with the other thrown on top for nothing extra. $3 is all for the two games if I hadn’t mentioned it before. If you’re still unaware for whatever reason, let me spell it out: That’s a damn steal.

The Xbox 360 version’s update has already passed peer review, and is just awaiting submission from Zeboyd, who plan on corresponding a simultaneous release as best the XBLIG service will allow.

The enhanced port and update now primed, the developer is ready to fully move onto their third, still unnannounced, RPG project which they’ve already revealed composer Alex Mauer to be a part of. Extremely interested in hear more on that sometime soon.

I remember when I first heard about Puzzle Quest. I balked at the idea that such a simple puzzle game mechanic could really deliver the kind of deep story that RPGs at that time could only provide. It took me about a year, but eventually I succumbed to the puzzle series and it took up far more time of mine than I’d like to admit.

Wizorb takes a similar approach as Puzzle Quest only, they’ve decided to mesh the Breakout and RPG genres in what looks to be a fantastic game. There’s even a world map for you JRPG genre fanatics who demand such a feature in your RPG.

There’s not much more for me to say that the trailer, below, won’t already tell you so I’ll just leave you with this: if you’re at all a fan of RPGs or the older Breakout games then this is probably something you’ll want to keep an eye on.

Wizorb is slated for XBLIG and PC. There is no current release date.

[via Pixeltao]

Trailer

If Zeboyd Games packs anything more into the upcoming PC port/enhanced version of their XBLIG RPG hit Cthulhu Saves the World, it may very well burst at the seams. After already announcing a robust features list for the and promising to maintain the XBLIG price of $3 (significant as we’ve seen others jump into the $5-$10 range in the same situation,) it seems even more positive details have emerged from the game’s crowdfunded journey over to the PC. Frankly, I’m getting quite sick of hearing all this good news, but founder Robert Boyd insists on continuing to offer out free perks like they’re going out of style — and this one’s a biggie.

Boyd shares that anyone who purchases the PC version will now net themselves a free copy of their excellent debut effort Breath of Death VII: The Beginning. If you haven’t played it, the game provides what CSTW brings with some reduced features, but all of the parody humor and retro RPG fun. On top of that, the game has been approved for Steam and Boyd has confirmed that the game will still hold the $3 price tag there as well.

Remember suddenly embittered 360 folks, you’re not being left out. Nearly all the enhancements will be added to the XBLIG version via a free content update, and you can always pick up BoDVII:TB for just $1 on the XBLIG channel under the top seller or top rated sections.

Any which way you decide to go will end in you having a ton of content; and for the price of what? A healthy amount of spare change? I know which way I’m going, and I’m not happy about it. Congrats Robert, you [expletive deleted], for making me buy your games twice with your myraid of bonuses and low, low prices!

Geoff’s Breath of Death VII Review
My Cthulhu Saves the World Review

[Zeboyd Games]

The PC gaming contingent in favor of parody JRPG’s has spoken, and it’s clear they hear the world saving call of Cthuhlu quite clear. $3,000 was the goal set for the Kickstarter effort to port the XBLIG title; and with that goal met two days after the page was open for donations, the pot just got sweeter from there. When the donation period came to an end $6,898 had been raised, more than double what Zeboyd set out for.

With the amount more than enough to go forward, dev head Robert Boyd has revealed a full feature list for the upcoming enhanced version as well as setting sometime in March for a release target–though that’s just a current goal and subject to change.

You can expect a full plate of new additions and improvements to CSTW including the Cthulhu’s Angels game mode with new monsters, plot and dialogue, an options menu, harder difficulty option, director’s commentary, a monster compendium and much more. Here’s the full list of items the developer plans on bringing to both the new PC version and the XBLIG version (via a free update):

Cthulhu’s Angels game mode with a new group of playable characters (some new, some modified), new plot & dialogue, new monsters, etc.

An option menu (controls, volume adjust, turn off battle music, and so on)

New harder difficulty

Unlockable Character bromides (art)

Director’s Commentary (question marks scattered through the game that you can examine for information about the game’s creation)

Monster compendium

Text for each monster

Additional dialogue and descriptions in maps (bookshelves, tombstones, etc.)

Extra Optional Superhard dungeon

Various bug fixes

Rebalanced many character abilities & monster stats

…and probably some stuff I forgot.

[Zeboyd Games]