What’s this? We’re talking about a musical album here on DIYGamer? I know! It’s weird, right? But I think this particular album has a special place in many gamers’ and indie gamers’ collective hearts as this is the same guy who did the wonderful soundtrack for VVVVVV which was widely lauded for its music.

Here’s a post-holiday Christmas present for you all, Terry Cavanagh’s fantastic retro-styled platformer is set to arrive on Nintendo’s 3DS handheld in just a few days time. No longer will Captan Viridian be stuck on your PCs screen, immobile.

Crikey! As if the Humble Indie Bundle couldn’t get any better it appears that the guys running the thing have just thrown everything they’ve got into the Humble Indie Bundle 4 to make it a bit more appealing to those who have yet to splurge on the package.

Silly sale season continues with this Black Friday (move fast!) bonus – the Indie Game Music Bundle. 10 great videogame original and remixed soundtracks by some of the best in the business, including Danny B, Hyperduck Soundworks, Virt and Souleye, all available for whatever you want (starting at $1) with another 7 (!) bonus albums thrown in if you pay $10 or more. And the best part of it all? It’s all digital, so you don’t have to be trampled by crazy people to get it! Unless you like that sort of thing.

Weirdo.

As some of you might have noticed, it’s Thanksgiving! At least, it is in America. I’m fairly sure it’s ‘mooch off of American holiday sales season’ for the rest of the world, and mooch we will! As of about five minutes ago, it’s Day 2 of the Steam Autumn/Thanksgiving sale, and there’s another set of 24-hour indie essentials to grab. Move fast – they probably won’t be this cheap again for… ooh, at least another month, when the inevitable massive Christmas/Winter/New Year sale rolls round. Indie choices of the day and some short thoughts on them after the break.

Everybody’s favourite gravity flipping tough-as-nails platformer has got a new patch on the way, with a selection of new content and features, expanding what was already a complete package. Here’s what to expect with the next version of VVVVVV.

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.

After waiting patiently for nearly two days, Terry Cavanagh was finally alone. A slight reprieve had finally occurred in the single-file onslaught of adoring fans, aspiring developers, and fascinated media (full disclosure: I am all three) that seemed to be perpetually conversing with the popular indie developer. I had a seam, and took it: “Hey Terry, I’m Erik Johnson from DIYGamer. We met basically one year ago. I heard there was going to be a preview build of VVVVVV on 3DS here.”

The energetic, yet soft-spoken Irishman recognized me after a moment, and produced a 3DS from his shirt pocket. I laughed at my presumptions of how the demo display of his port would be set-up, then focused-in to play one of my favorite (and most frustrating) PC titles on a handheld device.

Terry mentioned the build was close to finished, with just a few bugs to work out. I played for about 15 minutes, escaping out of the first puzzle area in the game to Captain Viridian’s ship. I then enjoyed a tour of the overworld, past a giant crying elephant, and eventually to another puzzle area. Everything looked and felt beautiful as far as I was concerned. The persistent map on the bottom screen is just a perfect match as well for exploring the world map area for teleporters and, of course, shiny things. Perhaps most important of all, the original soundtrack by Souleye is there in all of its glory.

Other than that, there’s really not much to say here. It’s all the greatness of PC/Mac/Linux VX6 right there on Nintendo’s latest handheld. It’s a spot-on port of the game from what I looked at, and once publisher Nicalis launches it on the 3DS eShop it’ll simply be a must have for anyone with access to the service. What of the post-launch content though?

That part appears a bit muddy at the moment. Terry was adamant that the 3DS version was entirely in Nicalis’ hands and out of his own, especially when it came to that topic when I pressed him about it. It looks like where it goes from release is anyone’s guess at this point it appears. We do know that the features list for the port includes “future content updates”, but what content that exactly will be is at the moment a mystery. One wonders if any of the player-created content content from the PC version could make it over the 3DS. Wait and see for now.

Here’s my thumbs running around old hunting grounds. The controls definitely feel just as tight as they are on the PC. (When I mess up, it’s definitely my fault):

This is exactly the sort of thing Nintendo’s fumbling stereoscopic handheld needs right now. Terry Cavanagh’s utterly delightful gravity-shifting platformer is heading to the 3DS eShop, and will be published by none of than indie superstars, Nicalis. Here’s the skinny:

Nicalis, Inc., developer and publisher of independently awesome video games is VVVVVVery excited to announce a publishing agreement with Terry Cavanagh for VVVVVV on the Nintendo 3DS eShop. VVVVVV features the same amazingly retro gameplay, aesthetic and chiptune music (by Swedish musician, Magnus Pålsson), but now in 3D and on the go with your 3DS. Attendees of Indiecade in Culver City, California can play a near-complete preview VVVVVVersion for the first time on 3DS! Just find Terry Cavanagh or Tyrone Rodriguez and ask them to play!

Released in late 2010 for PC, VVVVVV is a 2D action-platformer deeply rooted in the days of 8-bit gaming with incredibly challenging gameplay and secrets. In VVVVVV, you play as Captain Viridian, who must not only save a dimension on the brink of collapse, but also find your ship’s crew–all of whose names begin with the letter V.

Now 3DS owners can experience the critically acclaimed game in 3D, anywhere. When asked for an obligatory quote, Terry Cavanagh said, “I’m VVVVVVery excited about it! This is the first time anything I’ve made has been on a console.”

VVVVVV 3DS Features:
Open-world environment with six unique levels
20 Trinkets to locate and collect
Full 3D awesomeness integrated into the retro-looking art style
- Dual screen functionality with a real-time map!
- Music by Magnus Pålsson
- New Featured Levels
- Future content updates

VVVVVV continues Nicalis’ partnerships with highly talented and super-awesome independent developers. Previously Nicalis has teamed up with Studio Pixel (Cave Story, Ikachan), Nicklas Nygren (NightSky) and NIGORO (La-Mulana). Now Terry Cavanagh’s incredible VVVVVV, too, will make the jump–er, flip–to console.

Cannot wait. If you’ve never tried VVVVVV, it’s a must play. In 3D, and being playable on the loo is just icing on an already delicious cake.

Website RGCD has tasked its readers with creating a game in 16KB to fit a C64 cartridge for their annual competition. Develper Paulko64 has stepped up to the challenge. As one might guess, it’s a demake of Adam Saltsman’s hit Canabalt, aptly named C64anabalt. Paulko64 has a lot to consider, scaling down a game 800 times its size (Canabalt is a 13.5 MB iPhone game, not sure of the browser version).

Paulko64 has an eye for classic indies; he or she seems to have demade VVVVVV for a similar contest.

One grey area (palette pun) I’ve stumbled upon is in the contest rules:

8. The applicant owns their work, so therefore submitted games will *ONLY* be released for sale at an agreed price via RGCD if the coder expresses a desire to do so.

While the certainly owns all the code he wrote to replicate Canabalt, I would think the game wouldn’t even be up for negotiation of selling. Still, I am sure creator Adam Saltsman is more than likely flattered and will be interested, like us, to see how much of his game can be scaled down to 16KB by the contest’s deadline of November 30.

[RGCD contest]