Here’s a question that, strangely enough, I rarely find myself asking. Why does one make a game? For money? For experience? As a labour of love?

In Exploding Rabbit’s case, it’s definitely the last of the three. Their conceptual 2D platformer, Super Retro Squad, seeks to harness the old-school charm of the 8-bit and 16-bit eras by replicated the simple, addictive formula that made what’s now considered retro gaming to be so endearing. The game will feature a crew of eight nostalgia-laden characters resembling the luminaries of the retro gaming scene, each of whom will offer their own unique gameplay mechanics spread across 40 different levels of platforming paradise.

The pursuit of an old man’s pants may not be the most enticing game description, so let’s put it another way. Tiny & Big in Grandpa’s Leftovers is a comic book fuelled, cut-your-own-path platformer. That’s a bit better, no? The game has been spotted by most people for its fairly unique mechanics which materialize in game as Tiny’s three tools with which he sculpts the environment. As your chase of Big and your Grandpa’s pants that he stole end up in the desert, everything around you consists of rock and sand, oh and maybe a stray cactus. With the tools you can cut into most rocks, meaning that there are quite a few hidden areas to discover as well as the intended path to travel.

You’ll slice with a laser, and then push with a rocket or pull with a sticky claw to bring your chunk of rock crashing to the ground. It’s a satisfying sensation that often leads to classic Hollywood action move scenarios; running towards the screen with an enormous rock slide behind you. Best of all is certainly that comic book aesthetic and the banter between the pretty wacky characters in the game; they’re all so very deserving of a sequel.

This is most certainly a game you’ll want to check out and if you need any consolation then feel free to read our review. You can grab Tiny & Big over on Steam or the official website. There’s also a beta demo available for those who haven’t already played it.

I’m normally not the sort to transfix my gaze upon works of interactive media longer than I have to, but I’m willing to make an exception for Monaco, Pocketwatch Games’ action-stealth hootenanny that just so happened to be the subject of my very first interview here at IGM. Back then, I was a wild-eyed guttersnipe with an idyllic outlook on the gaming industry, but now, eight months on, I’m a miserable guttersnipe with a oft-guarded longing to  caress Andy Schatz’s supple body.

Latent homoeroticism aside, Mr. Schatz is a mighty decent chap, which is why I was squealing with excitement when Gamespot’s Danny O’Dwyer conducted an in-depth look at Monaco‘s lofty single-player campaign. Take a look, ladies and gentlemen.

It’s time to hide behind your chair again, turn the lights up bright and repeat to yourself: ‘It’s not real. It’s not real. It’s not real’. Those charmers over at Frictional Games are back, and this time teamed up with thechineseroom (of Dear Esther fame) to bring us something just a little bit grim. Amnesia is back, and this time we’re leaving the confines of dusty castle corridors, and settling into something a little closer to familiarity. Not that it helps.

A teaser trailer of the upcoming first-person horror adventure has just been released. Enjoy.

Who are the current true video game “auteurs”?  This and much more in today’s Indie Links.

Hieronymus: ACE Team Explain Zeno Clash II (Rock, Paper, Shotgun)
“Carlos Bordeu from ACE Team is excited about being able to talk about his new game, Zeno Clash II. And that makes for good reading. We talked to him about open worlds, new technology, and how a game inspired by “the punk fantasy art of John Blanche” is going to play. Read on for elucidation.”

Pre-Order Splice Now! (Cipher Prime)
“Splice is the newest Cipher Prime title! It’s a game of exploration and experimentation where you solve puzzles by arranging cells into certain shapes. Your task is to discover how different cells react to each other as you move them around. It’s quite a challenge and we promise that you probably haven’t played anything quite like it!”

A Humble Interview With The Humble Indie Bundle (Rock, Paper, Shotgun)
“The fifth Humble Indie Bundle has been an unqualified success. Only halfway through its run, and it has already raised an astonishing $3.2 million, from over 400,000 purchases. With additional surprises pretty much inevitable, it’s fascinating to see just how high those numbers are going to go. I grabbed the chance to speak to one of the Humble Indie Bundle’s team, Richard Esguerra, to find out what it’s like to be sat at the other side of this. We talk about the experience of achieving this level of success, controversies encountered along the way, and whether this money is changing lives.”

Yoshida: Small Games, Indies Crucial to Vita Success (Gamasutra)
“Sony Worldwide Studios president Shuhei Yoshida says working with smaller independent developers is key to the success of the PlayStation family, particularly when it comes to the Vita handheld. The development of Vita happened alongside the smartphone boom and was influenced by it: “The whole development process of Vita was us watching the smartphone and the tablet market grow and blossom,” Yoshida told Gamasutra during E3 this week.”

Natural Selection 2 Is a Genius Mash of Counter Strike and Starcraft (Kotaku)
“Natural Selection 2 breathes life into an otherwise lonelier real-time strategy game by mashing it together with a first-person shooter game. So while some of the RTS tropes remain intact—a marine commander sets up base camps to gather resources and enhance his/her army and base against an alien commander on the same path—NS2 is much more of a team game, with players carrying out the front line of battle.”

Video Game ‘Auteurs’ Have Returned, But You Might Not Find Them At E3 (The Verge)
“During the “golden age” of video games, people like David Crane, Jordan Mechner, and Richard Garriott were recognized as some of the most important pioneers in the industry. But as that industry expanded and games became more complex and expensive to develop, the prominence of individual creators dwindled, replaced by a sprawling studio system comprised of enormous teams of artists, engineers, and designers. Listening to corporate executives and other talking heads this week at E3, one might begin to wonder: where is the new generation of video game creators, if not sharing the spotlight at the biggest industry event of the year?”

Inaugural Jam O’Clock Starts Today: Ludum Dare Staff, Bennett Foddy Weigh In (IndieGames.com)
“The first Jam O’Clock is set to take place today from 1 to 2pm PST, with games to be hosted later at Ludum Dare. Creator Andy Moore (Steambirds) expressed last week that this one-hour jam has the ability to motivate and constrain, bringing about an ‘innovation rarely seen in gamedev.’”

Friday Flashback #22: Wii <3 U (Broken Rules)
“We’ve decided to cut the long-winded explanations and get directly to the core of what we’ve done and achieved this week. Having said that, if you want to hear more about a process, do not hesitate to drop us a note, write a comment or contact us otherwise.”

It’s been a while since we’ve heard anything about Lifeless Planet. A rather high-concept sci-fi adventure that claims to be in the spirit of Ico, The Dig and Another World – three lofty names to invoke for sure. It was one of the early Kickstarter success stories, and has  now rolled out an official E3 trailer, celebrating the involvement of Lace-Mamba Global, who are handling publishing duties and distribution of the boxed retail version. It’s intriguing stuff, as you can see in the video below.

Stepping into the space-boots of an American astronaut, you land on a distant planet expecting to find it teeming with alien life, only to discover that not only is the planet a barren, Martian-esque wasteland, but that the Russians got there first, a long time ago – there are settlements, labs, and a mysterious woman who saves you. It looks like there’s going to be some platforming and some physics-manipulating puzzling via a handily portable industrial robotic arm, as well as a bit of a mystery story told through presentation rather than dialogue. After all, you’re alone on a distant world, and the only other human you’ve seen probably doesn’t speak English anyway.

The trailer has some pretty striking imagery, such as the house-lined street in the middle of an alien desert. There’s definitely a lot of potential in the concept here. It’ll be nice to see how the full game shapes up. Lace-Mamba are estimating that Lifeless Planet be released in the last quarter of this year, so perhaps we’ll be seeing a dusty red Christmas? We’ll be keeping a close eye on this one.

After much teasing from the folks at Gaijin Games, they’ve finally decided to drop the news that Runner 2 will be coming to the Wii U. Can’t say it’s much of a surprise really, considering the original game was released on WiiWare to much success. It will be released as a launch title of all things, offering first time buyers of Nintendo’s new console a chance to run across the screen with Commander Video, dodging the obstacles and obtaining his all important rainbow cape.

Of course, with the announcement comes a few more details that should most certainly interest you. For a start, Runner 2 will come with a number of retro levels which will be playable on the Wii U Game Pad itself. As announced at the Nintendo conference at E3, the game will also be able to utilize HD graphics – a first for one of their consoles. On top of that, music will be provided by none other than Disasterpeace, who most recently scored Fez.

That up there is presumably one of the retro looking levels that Gaijin mention. Another cute detail is that there will be 10 unlockable characters in this sequel, including CommandgirlVideo, Unkle Dill and Whetfahrt Cheesebörger. The one thing we’re looking for is a release date but of course that hasn’t been revealed due to Nintendo keeping their mouths shut on the release date of the console. Slow clap Nintendo.

If you want to find out some more information on Runner 2 then you should head on over to the official website. Don’t expect to find out too much more yet though. Otherwise, why don’t you check out some alpha gameplay below if you haven’t already.

Today’s Developer Links include links about many aspects of game development, from funding to feedback.

Botanicula Soundtrack Vinyl Edition (Amanita Design)
“Botanicula Soundtrack is released on 12″LP in edition of 1000 copies, whilst 300 copies are on turquoise vinyl, 300 copies on amber vinyl and 400 copies on standard black. Each copy features three large format inserts [30x30 cm] with art reproductions by Jaromír Plachý, author of the game artwork, and as always, a coupon with a code to download MP3/FLAC versions of the album.”

Indie Tools: Inform 7 (IndieGames.com)
“Inform 7 is being described as a design system for interactive fiction based on natural language. Shockingly, it does exactly what it says on the tin (and quite a bit more), while simultaneously being a truly powerful tool for creating intricate pieces of interactive fiction on most platforms you’d care to mention.”

For Indies, With Love: TIGA Releases a Guide to Self-Publishing (IndieGameMagazine)
“The TIGA Guide to Self-Publishing: Liberating the Developer is designed to help out with the business side of game publishing for the small developer. In their announcement, TIGA recognises the growing trend sparked by the growing opportunities for developers to release their games without a publisher, particularly in mobile gaming and the social media space.”

A DRP Picture’s Worth a Bunch of Words, Part 2 (Dejobaan Games)
“Continuing our discussion of our first-person arena shooter prototype Drunken Robot Pornography, we discuss here the abstract HUD and the power-ups that affect it and the player.”

Swordfight is Good Art (Mommy’s Best Devlog)
“The experience here is only possible because of a game. Photos or videos don’t do it justice. No amount of reading about it (don’t quit reading! or watching conveys the full experience, it must be played. Interaction being the defining distinction of games.”

Frictionless Feedback (Cliffski.com)
“One thing that a lot of companies don’t get is the importance of frictionless feedback.
All companies perpetuate the myth that they want to hear from customers. They pretend to value their feedback, and want to hear from them, regardless whether or not the feedback is good or bad. In very few cases is this really true. I’m not referring to actually abusive or threatening feedback, which obviously just gets binned.”

The Kickstarter Video Game Report – Week of May 4 (Zeboyd Games)
“Shadowrun Returns finished up with a solid $1.836 million. Leisure Suit Larry finished with $655k. Yogventures! is up to $514k with 2 days left. Grim Dawn is almost funded with $256k ($280k goal) and 2 weeks left to go. Jane Jensen’s Moebius is up to $266k of its $300k goal with 2 weeks left. Republique is at $221k, about $100k more than they had last week, but unless something amazing happens, they’re not reaching $500k in the next week. Is snagging David Hayter and Jennifer Hale the miracle that will turn this kickstarter around? We’ll see this week.”

Luftrausers Devlog #1 (Vlambeer)
“LUFTRAUSER was about feeling like the coolest person in the world. You sat behind your computer but really you’re a pilot going 5 million miles an hour shooting enemies and making water splash up behind you and doing loopings all while smoking multiple cigarettes at once and reading the newspaper.  In the highly anticipated superlative sequel, we are bringing you more of that & we’re letting you do it your way. You will be able to get dirty and build your own RAUSER from the ground up. By destroying enemies, completing missions and all that you will unlock new parts. Parts come in 3 types: weapons, bodies and engine.”

At GOG’s big conference today they revealed many things, one of which finally told us what has happened to Retro City Rampage which we were originally told to expect this month. Since then, the open world action title has been noticed all over the place and console and handheld versions have been planned and worked on. Consequently, that PC release we were hoping for has been pushed back.

The good news is that Retro City Rampage is now available to pre-order on GOG, which means that it’s DRM-free and comes with some extra goodies all for $14.99. Yay! Woo! And all that happy stuff.

The bad news can be found in the top right of that store page, in which it says: “This game will be available for download on approximately Jul. 1″. That made your throat go dry didn’t it? That’s not too bad though, it’s just one more month and you’ll be able to tear it up retro style in any way you see fit, at least on PC.

There’s more than 50 story missions to complete which combine, amongst other things, driving, stealth and platforming – so that should keep you busy. Much like the GTA games of old (and new) though, you’ll find that messing around and causing chaos will take up most of your time in Retro City Rampage. You’ll even meet some familiar faces from indie game culture during your escapades too, including Super Meat Boy, Splosion Man and Ms. Splosion, and Commander Video.

More information on Retro City Rampage can be found over on the game’s official website.

Two Tribes have announced that Toki Tori 2 will be releasing with its level editor on Steam and it will be integrated with the Steam Workshop. After having plenty of demand for the feature in the first game, which was included and grew a dedicated community, they decided it was best to work the level editor into the game from the very start.

Their concern before announcing the level editor was how they would ensure that the sharing of custom made levels would be easy. Of course, the Steam Workshop is kitted out to be the easiest way out there for players to share content with each other, such has been the case with the recent Portal 2 update. So, Two Tribes got in contact with Steam and organized to use it with Toki Tori 2.

While that may be good news in itself, the better news is that Two Tribes are now looking for people to try it out for them. As such, if you email them at tokitori2@twotribes.com and ask to try the level editor out they will respond with a beta key for you do so.

More information about the level editor with a handy video tutorial can be found in the video below:

If you’re looking for more information on Toki Tori 2 then you should head on over to the official website.