XboxSold.com BLOG

Will you look at that — it’s the very first machinima episode of Hey Ash, Whatcha Playin.

It is, perhaps unsurprisingly, about Sleep is Death. It is a game that you should definitely consider getting if you and a friend each have (A) seven dollars to spare, and (B) a desire to experience something totally unique and awesome.

If you want to download the resources we used (Davis made the cool looking stuff, and I made the boring stuff by altering Rohrer’s sprites), you can get them here.

Anyway, hope you enjoy the episode. Volume is a little wonky and I screwed up a line delivery, but I’m pretty proud of it overall.

Jason Rohrer’s Sleep is Death is now available to the general public. You should seriously consider buying it.

I’ve talked it up before (twice), but now’s as good a time as any to check out this improvisational two-player storytelling game. The game’s v14 public release comes with a new set of resources by Shannon Galvin, as well as resource packs for three of Rohrer’s favorite user-submitted stories.

If you’re still unsure about whether or not to buy Sleep is Death, read this. It will change your goddamned life.

This episode of Podtoid includes a lot of discussion about games and stuff, but in reality it’s mainly about Brad Nicholson’s knowledge of Robocop (and, ironically, his complete lack of knowledge regarding Buckaroo Banzai).

Also, the Big Looming Changes to Podtoid are announced a few minutes in.

Kane and Lynch aren’t exactly the most gentlemanly fellows to grace cover art, but for Kane and Lynch 2: Dog Days, it actually kind of works. The intentional imperfect presentation style of the game — artifacts, blur, washed out colors — translates nicely to the box art.

For anyone not familiar with this sequel, the art probably won’t sell them on the product … or will it? At any rate, I can’t picture moms buying their kid the game after taking a good look at the front cover. Do you really want to live in a world where ten-year-olds are playing Kane and Lynch 2?

That would be simultaneously awful and hysterical. Mostly the former, though — don’t buy this game, kids!

My favorite thing about this week’s episode of Hey Ash, Whatcha Playin’ is that more than a few commenters have championed it as the best example of HAWP’s newer, fresher style, despite the fact that we filmed it about a year ago and just now got around to releasing it.

That said, maybe the fact that I didn’t release it earlier showed that I didn’t initially think it was funny enough to be released, which means my tastes in humor have changed…which means that this year-old episode actually does exemplify HAWP’s new style. I just blew my own mind.

Anyway, hope you enjoy it.

We talk about games and stuff in this episode, but the conversation doesn’t really pick up until the final ten minutes. After the proper, let’s-talk-about-videogames show ends, Adam Dork starts linking us to pictures of crabs and giving his own unique commentary.

And that’s pretty fun.

You can listen to the podcast here, and/or hit the jump for a chronological list of the pictures Adam linked us to during the post-episode discussion.

http://data.tumblr.com/2SLvxTvtlg0oybjsZFtFzzYyo1_500.jpg
http://arachnofriends.files.wordpress.com/2008/04/crab-spider.jpg
 http://www.grantbalke.com/images/animals/crabSpider.jpg
http://web.mit.edu/cfox/www/livejournal-links/goldenrod-crab-spider.jpg
http://www.naturalsciences.org/microsites/education/treks/PilotMtn/images/Crab-Spider.jpg
http://cocokrispybeans.files.wordpress.com/2009/02/coconut20crab20scampering4s.jpg
http://www.allthepages.org/images/blog/coconut_crab.jpg
 http://lh4.ggpht.com/abramsv/SB1mpido4TI/AAAAAAAAQIw/NCGymSYdQW0/s800/coconut-crab-2.jpg
 http://pirun.ku.ac.th/~ffistkb/images/SEA_COCONUT_CRAB.jpg
http://www.hemmy.net/images/animals/hugecrab01.jpg
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a7/Macrocheira_kaempferi.jpg
http://www.coconutstudio.com/Coconut%20Origins_files/P1250031_birgus_latro_coconut_crab.jpg
http://hedgemonkey.files.wordpress.com/2009/03/coconut-crab-31.jpg
http://rlv.zcache.com/canves_poster_coconut_crab-p228315625022852044t51d_400.jpg
 http://www.bigempire.com/sake/images/coconut_crab2.jpg
http://www.x-entertainment.com/adventcalendar/2008/december22/crabs/crab.gif
 http://blog.rifftrax.com/wp-content/photos/coconut_plus_crab.jpg
http://blog.rifftrax.com/wp-content/photos/Coconut_Crab.jpg
http://static.panoramio.com/photos/original/3087181.jpg

Every month, the Destructoid Monthly Musing topic gives community members the ability to have their work posted on the Dtoid front page.

Our own Josh Tolentino came up with this month’s theme. Thank him if you like it, blame it if you don’t. I’m just going to copy and paste exactly what he suggested in an email, since he explains it better than I could:

“How about “Noble Failures”, where people talk about games they hate but can totally respect? Stuff they’re glad exist but simply can’t bear to play. It’s an easy way to bring up EVE, MMOs, JRPGs, turn-based combat, Heavy Rain, Deadly Premonition, artgames, etc. Almost anything, really.

It’s more challenging than saying a game is a failure just because “it’s not my thing” or “it isn’t fun” since the writer has to justify their respect and think about what’s positive about [x] title/genre/concept. They can bring up specific characters in a game. If the writers wanna get meta, they can even challenge why anything deserves to be respected if it fails, etc.”

So, yes. That. Hit the jump for further instructions.

Make a cblog, title it “E for Effort: blah blah blah,” and make sure to pick the “monthly theme” category. If your article is particularly well-written or sparks interesting discussion, we’ll frontpage it.

I mean, that’s pretty much it. Sir Tolentino did a pretty good job explaining the theme pre-jump, so that’s all I’ve got for you.

I don’t want to even think about the sheer number of hours I’ve spent playing flash games. Still, at least twenty percent of that time has been spent at Armor Games. From This is the Only Level to Infectonator World Dominator,  Armor Games has eaten up literal weeks of my life.

When given the opportunity to interview Armor Games founder Daniel McNeely, I wasn’t sure whether to thank him or grab him by the scruff of the neck and demand so many hours of my life back.

As it turns out, I ended up asking him a few questions about flash games. You can read the full interview after the jump.

Destructoid: Could you introduce yourself, and what you do?

Daniel McNeely: My name is Daniel McNeely, and I help run ArmorGames.com along with a host of talented game developers and web programmers. I’m responsible for the site’s day-to-day operations, as well as making sure it’s constantly updated with the best flash content out there.  

With so many flash games being released every day and so many different portals for them, how difficult is it to excite people about individual flash games?

It actually isn’t as tough as it sounds. There are people all over the world looking to play free games online, and so no matter what genre of game we release, it seems to hit a certain demographic. The real excitement often comes in releasing sequels, especially after you already have a huge following for the original title, such as we had with This Is The Only Level and This Is The Only Level Too. We’ve already seeing this in effect for our latest game, ‘Crush the Castle 2,’ which is currently under production from Joey Betz and ConArtist. There’s already a significant buzz for the game, and people are really excited over it, kind of like you’d see in a full retail release.

What sort of creative control, if any, does Armor have over the games it sponsors?

We don’t get much creative control over games we simply sponsor. In those cases, a developer approaches us with a game that’s already been completed, tested and is ready for launch. At times we’ll ask for some UI changes, but we’ve never done a full overhaul. We like to let them retain their individuality and identity while still being part of Armor Games.  

If the event we partner with a developer to make a game together, we get more involved in the creative process and try to offer specific feedback and testing at various stages of the development process. That way it’s very much a joint project that both sides feel happy with.

How has flash game distribution changed, if at all, from the growing downloadable content market? If you’ve gotta choose between surfing Newgrounds for free and leaving the house to buy a $50 game, that’s often an easy decision to make. With online-only alternatives like Steam and the App store offering relatively cheap games, has the market for free flash games changed at all?

I don’t think the market for free flash games has changed much. If I had the choice to spend $50 or surf Armor Games for free, I’d choose Armor Games more often than not. I do think flash game developers are looking for more ways to make money, which is evident by the numerous companies offering microtransactions in their titles.

As a company that’s probably seen and played every flash game out there, what are some common mistakes flash devs tend to make? What makes for a great browser game?

One common mistake I see is in the UI design. Developers often forget to add the small things that make a game feel professional and polished and focus more on the game themselves. These things are relatively easy to add in, but forgotten easily. They be as simple as including a Mute or Pause Button, or as important as a skip button during dialog, or even a ‘Retry’ button for games that are level-based. Without them, the experience can become really un-fun, and players don’t have as much emotional investment in a game they’re playing for free, in a browser, versus one that they’ve paid $50 or $60 for.

For me, a great browser game has the following.
    1.) Great music.
    2.) Intuitive and easy controls.
    3.) Rewards (visual or auditory). The best example I’ve seen of this is in Peggle – every time you beat a level.

Thanks for your time.

Man rants about the App Store, complaining that iPhone versions of games like Street Fighter IV are just soulless brand-whoring like the old Tiger LCD games we played as kids.

Company takes offense at Man’s rant, removes his ridiculously expensive game (so priced to prove the inanity of the App Store and its users) from its application service.

Man retaliates by making a Tiger LCD version of the game he is currently working on, and releasing it on the same App Store that spurned him.

Irony collapses into irony. The snake eats its own tail. Super Meat Boy becomes one with the universe.

The Super Meat Boy Tiger handheld app is pretty awful gameplay-wise, but that’s kind of the point; for only 99 cents, you, too, can own the most mechanically uninteresting, comically inspired game on the entire App Store. At the very minimum, buying the app will still support Super Meat Boy’s production.

Hit the jump for Team Meat’s official press release.

Hey,

Remember way back in the day when you loved a game so much that you
would buy ANYTHING that had to do with it? Remember Easter, when you
had to go to your Great Aunts house to celebrate with the family, and
you knew you would be bored in the car and the only thing you could
bring was a crappy handheld version of some game you loved (for me it
was Megaman 2) and you had no choice but to play it in the car and at
her house because she was born in like the 1890’s and didn’t even have
a VCR? Those were great days…and now, we at Team Meat, are giving
you the ability to do that ALL OVER AGAIN ON YOUR IPHONE, IPOD AND
EXPENSIVE GIANT IPOD (IPAD).

Super Meat Boy Handheld is all the branding of Super Meat Boy, without
the actual gameplay or art from Super Meat Boy…and all for ONLY A
DOLLAR. Enjoy two distinct game modes. In Game A, you have to race and
wall jump past saws to save your lady love Bandage Girl!!! In Game B,
you have to race past falling needles to save your lady love, Bandage
Girl!!! Super Meat Boy Handheld also features a mute button, and a
button that when pressed shows you a high score (not your high score,
just the highest score you can get).

Super Meat Boy Handheld is available on the iTunes AppStore for only
$0.99 (THAT’S NOT NINETY NINE DOLLARS YOU SILLY PEOPLE). Pick it up
today, brag to your friends, and support Super Meat Boy!!

Love,

Team Meat

Official images here: www.supermeatboy.com