The ethos behind “supporting the scene” goes beyond just local bands. There’s a whole range of artistic endeavors that make Austin a creative nexus and also need your support. For videogames, that can mean buying locally developed games, Kickstarting a project, or just being a butt in a seat at an event.
The first one is easy. It’s an app developed by locals Fun Machine for Whole Foods called Awesome Eats. Our Food blog reviewed the kid-oriented game earlier this week; check it out. The game hits a great mix of fun and education, and, best of all, it’s free.
Another free app, this one from the Drafthouse folks, is a promo game that coincides with the DVD release of The FP. The unique smack-talk is not for kids but will undoubtedly elicit a chuckle from a more mature (kind of) audience. I have no idea what this movie is about, but what I can glean from the app is there’s a turf war going on between motley gangs of Mad Max-esque characters hoping to bring meth to the masses. How do they settle their beefs? Through a to-the-death game of Dance Dance Revolution, of course. The game controls are hard to master and the scores feel like random-number generators, but the early 90s, 16-bit aesthetic is spot on. Luckily it’s free, so you have nothing to lose.
If you’re feeling generous, you can Kickstart a unique game from the app developer, Rocksauce Studios. Spinferno is the modern equivalent of pinning an enemy’s face to the dart board for a little harmless revenge. Check out the game’s website or skip straight to the Kickstarter page to see the juvenile joys of cropping a person’s head and using it to play pinball in a Super Meat Boy-inspired world of buzzsaws and bear traps. The grade-school me would have eaten this up. Hell, the college me would have probably downloaded it surreptitiously.
In bigger news, Arkane Studios, recently released two gameplay trailers for their steampunk action game Dishonored, scheduled to be released this October. The videos show two distinct ways to complete missions within the game. The first uses stealth to assassinate the badies, and the second is considerably more bloody. These are the kind of options I like to have in a big-budget game. The fact that I can possess a rat to make my getaway is just icing on the cake.
If you love 70s sci-fi fantasy, but wished you could take it with you on you iPhone, iPad, or laptop, your sword-and-sandal fantasies are about to come true as White Whale Games prepares to launch God of Blades very soon. If you can’t wait for the App Store’s approval to come through then come out to this Sunday’s indie gaming meetup at the HighBall. From 4 to 6pm the developers will talk about the inspirations and attributes of the game to anyone and everyone who will listen. Oh, and you’ll be able to play the game as well. Be the first on your block and you can say you were slashing mythical beings before everyone else.
This article appears in June 29 • 2012.
