61 Frames Per Second

Browse by Tags

• Indie Dev Moment: The Manipulator

  The Manipulator is a smart, lo-fi platform puzzler. It also happens to be an honest-to-goodness murder simulator, like the ones you read about in the newspapers. Except it’s real. Read More... Posted Apr 22 2009, 09:00 AM by Joe Keiser with | with no comments Filed under: indie dev moment, freeware, joe keiser, the manipulator, murder simulator

• Watcha Playing?: Spelunky

  Eegra's Patrick Alexander, in a rant that I've already covered, mentioned that he really likes Spelunky a freeware adventure game that plays like a slightly and gratefully more robust La Mulana.  You play a whip-wielding adventurer in search of gold who has to avoid creepy crawlies and avoid Indiana Jones-esque deathtraps. Perhaps most interestingly, the game uses randomly generated level design, while somehow managing to retain challenge and fun. This is a common element of roguelike design, but not one that is often seen in platform games, considering how crucial level design is. But here, it works, and it makes it very replayable. Read More... Posted Mar 05 2009, 08:00 PM by Cole Stryker with | with no comments Filed under: cole stryker, indie dev moment, freeware, spelunky, derek yu, procedurally generated content, roguelike, la mulana

• Indie Dev Moment: Jumpman

  Sometimes, 8 bits is just too much. When my friends were gawking at San Andreas, I whipped out my plug'n'play Atari 2600 for some Circus Atari. And it ROCKED. So, of course, I love Jumpman, a freeware desktop game by Andrew McClure fashioned as a modern love letter to the 4 bit platformers of old. Yes, the name "Jumpman" is somewhat sacred amongst retro gamers as the original name of Mario, but trust me when I say Jumpman is flippin' sweet. Literally, the sweetness is flippin', as the major brain-bending game mechanic here is rotating the pixelated world around Jumpman to help him evade enemies and get to the exit. There's a certain slickness to the way Jumpman moves, a reduced friction not often found in such games, and though it takes some getting used to, it works wonderfully for allowing Jumpman to glide across platforms as the world rotates around him. Read More... Posted Feb 24 2009, 01:00 PM by Derrick Sanskrit with | with no comments Filed under: derrick sanskrit, mac, indie dev moment, freeware, atari 2600, windows, linux, jumpman

• Should Reviewers Go Easy on Cheap Games?

  In "researching" for my previous post about free MMO's, I came across the following comment on Kotaku: Third and most important, its FREE TO PLAY, FOREVER. You aren't losing any money playing this game (unless your buying cash shop items, but who can blame them for trying to cover some of the costs) Try it out yourself and stop saying how much its this or that. I personally think they did a really good job at the game. There are bugs here and there (It's beta) but its a F2P game that I'd actually play. Most of the F2P games I have tried have either been soo god awful I couldn't play more then 20mins. Others were kind of fun but soo cartoony and kiddish I'd be embarrassed to be seen playing them. On top of game play issues in every other F2P game I've played (mind you I've tried a lot) they lack updates and fixes support. If Runes of Magic is going to do any of what they said they were going to there's going to be content patches with class balancing and new content. They wanted to give a new F2P experience, and so far they have delivered. I'd urge anyone on the edge to try and play it and remember, It's FREE. This mindset really bugs me! Read More... Posted Dec 17 2008, 05:00 PM by Cole Stryker with | with 4 comment(s) Filed under: world of warcraft, cole stryker, freeware, free markets, runes of magic, runescape

• Free to Play MMO's: Where do You Draw the Line?

  According to a press release, over 220,000 people have joined the Runes of Magic beta since Monday. This number astounds me.  I have never got into any MMO's, but it got me thinking, at what point will users be willing to pay money for an online game? How much better a play experience is World of Warcraft as compared to something like Runes of Magic? Are people willing to put up with a noticeable drop in quality as long as they can avoid monthly subscription fees? Where do you draw the line? Read More... Posted Dec 17 2008, 04:30 PM by Cole Stryker with | with 2 comment(s) Filed under: world of warcraft, cole stryker, freeware, mmorpgs, runes of magic, runescape

• Life of D. Duck: Freeware on Acid

  This post is going to require a little background info, so let me get that out of the way first. Bjørnar B. is an Internet-meme type thing that started in the early 00s; he's a fictional Norwegian teen who creates childish-yet-nightmarish drawings of Donald Duck and his family with bizarre, barely-English captions. Don't feel too out of the loop if you don't know about him; Bjørnar B. is pretty obscure unless you've been reading Something Awful (who originally hosted his site) for a long time. That being said, if you enjoy Bjørnar's very specific and strange sense of humor, you may also enjoy his series of point-and-click adventures games that are best described as a fever dream version of Duckburg.  The sequel to the original Life of D. Duck just came out, and Bjørnar was nice enough to provide the world with a trailer: And if you're still confused and bewildered, perhaps Bjørnar's own breakdown of the story might help? Help D. Duck in his quest to get Dasy to marry him. D Duck must get rid of Uncle Jubalon who is eating him out of his house, also ooie lui and devie escapes and D. Duck must save them. The game is HERE. You will download it. Read More... Posted Nov 03 2008, 11:00 AM by Bob Mackey with | with 2 comment(s) Filed under: indie dev moment, freeware, bob mackey, indie games, pc games, meme, point and click adventure games, life of d. duck, independent games

• Spelunking Through Cave Story

  Something in the air--I'm going to blame all that dang fireflower pollen blowing around out there--has me in a retro mood. For all the 3D delights I could be indulging in (my brother loaned me Guitar Hero III), I've recently made a happy return to Pixel's Cave Story. If you haven't played Cave Story, drop what you're doing and download it. No, I don't care if you're performing CPR on your half-dead mother, you simply must experience one of the most endearing and well-balanced 2D platformers ever developed. It's easy to find and it's free. You have no excuse. No, I don't care if trafalmadorians are lifting you into their saucer right this minute. Granted, I avoided Cave Story for years because the name sounded like some slow and winding "adventure" through a key-driven maze. "Cave Story" brings to mind cheap NES bargain-bin knockoffs that your well-meaning aunt would buy you at Christmas. Wow, thanks Auntie Shiela. I can't wait to throw this at the dog next time he gets into the garbage--I mean, I can't wait to play this. Read More... Posted Jul 03 2008, 05:29 PM by Nadia Oxford with | with 4 comment(s) Filed under: 8-bit, retro, computer games, freeware, 2d, doukutsu monogatari, platforming, cave story, pixel, spelunking