Auroch Digital  has released a new relevant game, Cow Crushers, around the recent scandal about fast food beef tainted with horsemeat. I’ve written about GameTheNews’ previous titles, My Cotton-Picking Life and Endgame Syria, and mostly concluded that although I admired the motivation behind relevant games, both titles ultimately fell flat for me.

But Cow Crushers is exactly what relevant gaming should be.

The mechanic is clear and engaging, and never deviates from the message. At it’s most basic, Cow Crushers is a pattern matching game. Animals appear in front of the players, as if brought in a conveyor belt, and the player needs to tap a burger, steak or chop button to smash that cow into the assigned cut of meat. Blood splashes up as animals become meat, and it’s surprisingly gristly for a stylized 8-bit game. As the game progresses, horses come in with the cows, and the player’s goal is to makes as many cow-burgers as possible without tainting the meat with too much horseflesh by accidentally making horse steaks. The contrast of gristly blood splash and the cute burger icon is particularly effective.

An effective message game needs a solid, playable mechanic like Cow Crusher’s pattern matching. Players engage the game, and then Cow Crusher’s message, through the conveyer belt, the repetitive actions, and the scoring system that allows a certain percentage of horsemeat into the food. Hey, that’s just a simple mistake made by someone hitting buttons on a hurry to make steaks and burgers. The player is that “someone”, not some faceless baddie, and we’ve already seen how effective it can be to put the player in the role of the villain in many other serious games like Train and McVideogame.

Cow Crushers is available to play online, like Auroch Digital’s previous titles, but it’s also available for iOS, despite Apple’s policies against publishing serious games. The policy has been well discussed, but the crux is this passage from Apple’s developer guidelines.

We view apps different than books or songs, which we do not curate. If you want to criticize a religion, write a book. If you want to describe sex, write a book or a song, or create a medical app. It can get complicated, but we have decided to not allow certain kinds of content in the App Store.

(The full text is available here.)

LittleLoud’s Sweatshop game, Molleindustria’s Phone Story, silly border-crossing game Smuggle Truck, and even Auroch Digital’s Endgame:Syria have run into App Store trouble on this account. Endgame: Syria was renamed Endgame: Eurasia, the specific names were changed, and the game is now available on the App Store. Molleindustria’s Phone Story is a snarky satire about iPhone manufacturing, including sweatshop conditions and worker suicides, so it’s not entirely surprising that there would be some difficulty in getting it onto the App Store. Still, a policy against messages in games and serious games is distressing information for developers of serious indies and other devs experimenting with pushing the art form in new ways.

I’m glad that Cow Crushers made it onto the App Store to allow more potential players to check it out, and try such an engaging, and clever relevant game.

Source: The Indie Game Magazine – ‘Cow Crushers’: A Message Game Done Right

Discord Games is currently seeking funding on Kickstarter for Chasm, a 2D action-RPG featuring procedurally generated Metroid-like dungeons and stylish pixel art. A demo is available for Windows/Mac/Linux on the Kickstarter campaign page, and Discord Games plans to release the game in early 2014, if the campaign is successful. Chasm is inspired by the 2D platformers of the past, and will utilize gamepad support to compliment the game’s retro art-style.

“…this game can not be made without your support,” Discord Games says on the campaign page. ” We’ve been waiting forever for a game like this, but game publishers today just aren’t interested in projects like this one. With your support, we will be able to finish the game ourselves and give you a truly amazing experience.”

Neat Corporation has launched a funding campaign for their precision racer, Flowstorm. The game has player piloting a ship through various levels of twists and turns, attempting to reach the end of the level as fast as possible. The game will support multiplayer, will include a level editor, and features a combat mode that has players shooting at targets or at other players depending on if single-player or multiplayer is the chosen mode. The pair of developers working on Flowstorm have collectively worked on Unmechanical, Starvoid, A Game of Dwarves, and Team Fortress 2.

“Although it has evolved from the old school Thrust-clone genre,” explains Neat Corporation on the Kickstarter campaign page, ” it has a lot of similarities with more recent games with its high difficulty level, short respawn times, and very rewarding gameplay. Flowstorm aims to continue developing the genre, and will be fully equipped with multiplayer (both network and local), a solid level editor, plenty of community features and much more!”

Visit the Kickstarter campaign page, and the official website for Flowstorm.

Dog Sled Saga is an upcoming game from developers Dan FitzGerald and Lisa Bromiel. We have previously covered Dog Sled Saga, and just recently, the developers released a new gameplay video, showing off more of the game in action. The game is planned to release for Windows, Mac, and Android and iOS devices sometime this Fall. Dan mentioned to me that a Kickstarter for Dog Sled Saga will be up in the coming weeks, so keep an eye out around here for that announcement.

Visit the official website for more media assets and information.

It is quite safe to say that the Video Game industry is often times a rather sexist industry. This is something no one is proud of but stems back to old values and hopefully overtime this will change, but why do I mention this here you ask? Well A Kickstarter started late March has aimed to raise funds for a nine year old girl to go to an RPG Maker camp to develop their very own RPG.

It’s an interesting proposition and as the indie market is all about gamers making games for like minded individuals so a nine year old creating an RPG for children is surly a good thing and the learning experience alone is rather great. Due to many developers not looking at making games for such young audiences this idea could be something rather interesting.

Of course the Kickstarter is quite the strange one overall for this project because you are not so much expecting to get a final product out of it but more to help someone else out, which is rather commendable. Interestingly the community has really rallied behind this project greatly exceeding the requested $829 goal raising so far $23,000 which is very impressive to say the least.

With such an excess of funds raised we may even see full development of an RPG from MacKenzie Wilson although at this stage the direction they intend to take is unclear. I am all for people using Kickstarter in new and creative ways, although is this use out of the remit to what we expect from Kickstarter? It’s difficult to say overall and getting children involved in game design is always a good thing s surely

Be sure to leave your comments below about what your stance is on this project and Kickstarter overall. MacKenzie Wilson’s campaign can be followed on Kickstarter here.

Source: The Indie Game Magazine – An Innovative Use Of Crowdfunding To Educate

Kachina was one of my favorite games that I played at the Media Indie Exchange Mixer during GDC.  The game is made by Ben Esposito, who helped with the visuals of Unfinished Swan.  He opted to leave Giant Sparrow after he put together the prototype for Kachina during Molyjam.  The game is described as a physics based toy drawing from Hopi Native American culture.

The game has a unique look that blends Katarmi Damacy’s bright 3D look with a flat minimalist 2D color palette.  Kachina can best be described as a sandbox puzzle game.  In the game, you control a hole.  That’s right you play as a magical hole in the ground.  You move the hole around with the mouse or by touching the screen and eat up objects in the play field.  As objects plummet into the pit, the hole increases in size.  The challenge of the game is figuring out how objects interact with one another and solving each scene’s puzzle.

Each level has its own unique objective. Sometimes it’s as easy as swallowing up everything in sight, but most are more complex. One puzzle required me to help the chickens cross the road.  In Kachina, this is achieved by sucking them down into your magical abyss and then spitting them out on the other side of the road.  Don’t let the simple mechanics fool you, Kachina does a good job of introducing new objects that keep things interesting and fun.  Frogs latch onto things or can eat flies with their tongue and later you can even fill your hole with water and spit it up to saturate a cloud.

Kachina is being developed for PC, Mac and iOS in Ben’s spare time.  Check out the official Kachina page to keep up to date on this game’s progress.

Source: The Indie Game Magazine – GDC Preview: Kachina – Sandbox Physics where you’re the Hole

Jason Rohrer is at it again with a massively-multiplayer game with disturbing implications. While a both, a game of defense and a game of burglary, The Castle Doctrine asks the player to make some tough decisions that will determine whether or not you are victorious.

Every player starts with a house, two children, and a wife. Charged with building defenses for your home to protect them, you spend money to build traps and barricades. But the only way you can afford to protect yourself is if you steal from your neighbors, the other players.

What seems justified in the beginning all of a sudden becomes disturbingly dark. As you enter other people’s houses, you find that they have families just like your own. But as long as they don’t put up a struggle, it will be alright, won’t it? You can take what you need to protect your own family. What if your neighbors try to take their money and run? Will you chase them down and kill them to protect your own family? Jason Rohrer asks you these questions all through the gripping, multiplayer game and forces you to do the unthinkable to save yourself.

You can purchase the alpha for $8, 50% off of the full release price, on the official website and try it for yourself. The Castle Doctrine is DRM free and cross-platform Mac, Linux and PC.

Source: The Indie Game Magazine – Jason Rohrer Releases ‘The Castle Doctrine’ Alpha

Today’s Indie Links recipe calls for several cups of platformers, with a heaping tablespoon of fighting games and a soupçon of other genres.

Road to the IGF: Richard Hofmeier’s Cart Life (Gamasutra)
“Richard Hofmeier’s Cart Life was originally released in May 2011, and for a good while it drifted along without all that much attention. This was a huge shame, because the retail simulation title is as brilliant as it is deep. You play as an entrepreneur who is looking to start a business, while also making sure other areas of his or her life are kept in order.”

Platformer From Hell And Little Acorns Deluxe (Indie Gamer Chick)
“Platformer from Hell comes from Hoosier Games, a group of academics from Indiana.  I know, I know.  Academics?  In Indiana?  I went ‘Hah!’ too, but upon further research, they do have institutes of higher learning there.  I’m not sure what is considered higher learning in Indiana.  ‘Cow Tipping 101′ or ‘Why you can’t pork your sister’ I would imagine are on the agenda.  I’m kidding of course.  Actually, I’m quite friendly with project manager Derrick Fuchs (I hope that’s pronounced the way I think it is) and I ranked their previous effort, Warp Shooter, on the Indie Gamer Chick Leaderboard.  It was flawed but functional and fun.  I applauded their efforts and looked forward to their next game.  Which is here.  And it sucks.  A lot.”

Play Nifflas’ Nordic Game Jam 2013 Winner Spaceship With A Mace And More For Free (IndieGames)
“The Nordic Game Jam 2013 concluded with, as of this writing, approximately 80 games completed at the reported 470-person event. Nifflas’ multiplayer game Spaceship with a Mace was crowned the Grand Prize winner of the event. Stikbold, another multiplayer only game, was crowned ‘most fun game.’”

Damn It, Owlboy, Why Aren’t You Out Yet (Kotaku)
“It’s been a long time coming. A long, long time, and still no release date in sight. But indie adventure/platformer Owlboy looks worth the wait. This video, released over the weekend, showcases both the music of composer Jonathan Geer and the game’s charming art style, which for want of something more descriptive reminds me of a Genesis version of Wind Waker.”

State of XBLIG Fighting Games (Independent Gaming)
“Fighting games have always been a staple of video games to some extent, whether big or small, but they’ve seemed to disappear in the last decade or so. Seemed to. They’ve started to experience a resurgence in the AAA market; probably with a bit of help from the indie market. Xbox Live indie games have a handful of good fighting games so, without further ado, here are some interesting/fun XBL indie games of the fighting genre, in no particular order.”

Review: Marvin’s Mittens – Rekindle The Joy Of Exploring A Winter Wonderland (Indie Game Reviewer)
“Though aesthetically, Marvin’s Mittens from Canadian developers Breakfall Games may appear to be geared towards a younger audience, there’s something on offer here that could be compelling for any audience, particularly those who fondly remember snow days from their childhood.”

The Soaring Successes, Surprise Endings And Abject Failures Of Crowd-Funded Video Games (Polygon)
“Kickstarter is no longer untested water for game financing. Since the website’s inauguration in April 2009, 3,843 projects have launched in its games category. But what happens to these projects after they leave Kickstarter, either through funding success or funding failure?”

Source: The Indie Game Magazine – Indie Links Round-Up: Dental Hygiene

Set in the not too distant future in the world of DieCrypter the human races lifespan has been drastically cut down to just 25 in the wake of a global pandemic. Scientists have managed to get around this problem by uploading peoples personalities into virtual reality to continue living.

It’s an interesting premise and one that has strong Matrix overtones but with a slightly different approach making the story for DieCrypter sound very interesting indeed. The gameplay itself is a stealth action style set within the VR world, so just think of the Metal Gear Solid VR missions crossed with Frozen Synapse and you will have a fairly good idea on how this looks.

You play as an unknown human whose avatar became corrupted and for some unknown reason turns on the system he has been placed within. No doubt the story will be full of twists and turns with things rarely appearing to be what they seem and instead weaving an intricate modern day Sci-Fi plot.

The game looks very interesting and the gameplay does look to be a great deal of fun with some very nice design choices that help you whilst planning routes to take. This comes in the form of you and every enemy leaving a trail behind them showing their patrol routes which should hopefully allow you to plan your movements accordingly.

DieCrypter seem to contain a very interesting Sci-Fi story set in a very nice and detailed VR world with a lot of great design choices put into the game itself. Although no release date has been announced this is defiantly one to watch, and if you would like to support the developer be sure to up vote on Greenlight and check out the official site.

Source: The Indie Game Magazine – “DieCrypter” A New Take On A VR Dystopian Future

For all of you puzzle fanatics out there here is one just for you. Cross-Side is the latest game from Room 1 studio, a one man development team.  Cross-Side is the sequel to the studios highly successful iPhone release Ocarbot.

Set in the same world as Ocarbot expect things in Cross-Slide to get even crazier than the original. After a silly accident in the Lobot Lab two bots Ebot and Rbot have been inextricably linked. Now it is up to you to control these two robots in a way that will allow them to circumvent the many puzzles that lie ahead.

Cross-Side has been created in a distinctly NES style that creates a great retro vibe about the game and provides a rather challenging puzzler. It looks funny, colourful and zany but what is not to love about a game like this?

With 60 levels that spread the gameplay over five zones, expect even the most hardened puzzle veterans to find challenge here. Along with the levels you get 12 in game achievements to strive for along with a variety of silly hats (what else) to unlock.

Cross-Side is currently available for pre-order from the official site  for £1.49 ($2 approx)but is due for release on March 11^th. Cross-Side is to be released on iOS, Mac, Windows, Windows 8 and Android available from pretty much every app store.

If you would like to see Cross-Side on Steam you can vote for it via Steam Greenlight and get it onto the popular platform.

Source: The Indie Game Magazine – ‘Cross-Side’ New Zany Puzzler Now Available For Pre-Order

Among the games covered in today’s Indie Links are a platformer inspired by the classic Ghosts n’ Goblins, a strategy game starring an undead samurai, a parking simulator that a reviewer apparently finds to be almost as much fun as actually parking a car, and not one but two player-run sandbox RPGs where players can create their own highly customized worlds (is that an upcoming new genre or something?)

Maldita Castilla (TIGSource)
“Like Hydorah before it, Locomalito’s Maldita Castilla stays very close to its inspirations, in this case the venerated platformer series Ghosts n’ Goblins. From the overall look to the invariable jump, you’ll feel very much like you’ve stepped into the greaves of Arthur’s Spanish cousin.”

60 Seconds To Park (Indie Gamer Chick)
“…And I’m sorry to my readers who were looking for a game review and read that nonsense above.  But what else can I do with a game like 60 Seconds to Park?  There’s almost no actual game here, so I have to fill the space with something.  The game is exactly what it sounds like: find an empty parking space within 60 seconds.  Every stage, the parking lot gets larger, but there’s only one space that is randomly selected to be empty.  Find it, put your car in it.  It’s that simple.”

Feeding on Undead Armies in Skulls of the Shogun (Joystiq)
“Here’s your high-concept, catch-all elevator pitch for Skulls of the Shogun: samurai zombies meets turn-based strategy, and a dash of Words With Friends thrown in for flavor. 17-BIT’s charming top-down strategy title captures the action-flavored flow of the Advance Wars series, though it ditches the grid-based world in favor of more natural radial movement. The whole package comes together around an ambitious multi-platform release that features asynchronous multiplayer match-ups and a meaty, multi-hour campaign.”

TIGSource Devlog: Dom2D’s Visual Showcase of Awesome New Games, Issue #11 (Venus Patrol)
“Would you look at all the colors in this week’s issue? In it, we explore the dark corridors of spaceships filled with evil robots in Steam Marines, jump around Another Castle in our brand new jetpack, swim in the crazy seas ofGeisha Novia, and skulk creepily in a foggy forest in Stealth Vampire.”

Indie Pleas: Indie Game Crowd Funding Roundup for December 14, 2012 (indiePub)
“This week’s Indie Pleas include: Galcon 2: Galactic Conquest, a strategy game where you have to conquer the galaxy and defeat the enemy planets; The Red Queen of Oz: Two Fates, an adventure game where you play as Alice and Dorothy through Wornderland and Oz as they try to stop the evil Queen of Heats; Full Bore, a puzzle-adventure game where you play the role of a bore; and finally Epica Rex, a multiplayer sandbox RPG game where players can explore land and even go to war with others.”

Acclaimed Games Festival IndieCade Adds an East Coast Option with IndieCade East (Kotaku)
“Video game gatherings come in a few different flavors. GDC, as the name implies, is mostly for game developers and exists most as a professional networking/workshop space. The medium’s biggest hype machine is E3, where developers, marketers, press and select fans spread the excitement about upcoming games. But IndieCade—which has happened for the last few years in Culver City, Calif.—is arguably my favorite games-centric gathering. So I’m really glad that there will be an East Coast version from February 15th to 17th of next year.”

Oh Godus… Molyneus Has a Kickstarter (Independent Gaming)
“For those of you who haven’t heard of this infamous madman, Molly is the creator ofPopulous, Black and White, and the Fable series. He has become pretty well-known known for being utterly crazy-bananas in terms of hyping games, continually surfing a tidal wave of his own ambition, making promises he cannot keep and just generally leaving a path of rubble in his wake.”

A Common Thread: azurenimbus (Quote Unquote)
“I’m André. I’m a 27 year old starving artist cliché, born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and I do not speak Spanish. For the past two years I’ve been living in New Jersey, Murika with my girlfriend. When I’m not making games or working on other similar starvation-inducing personal projects, I work as a reluctant graphic designer. My aim is to further starve by becoming a full-time independent developer soon.”

Source: The Indie Game Magazine – Indie Links Round-Up: Forest Pool