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Best of GameSetWatch: From Zaku to Silent Hill

We highlight the week's alternative news and curiosities from sister blog GameSetWatch -- this time exploring a new shoot'em released for the 20-year-old Atari Lynx, a Dutch hospital's blackout blamed on _Silen

Eric Caoili, Blogger

October 29, 2009

2 Min Read
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[Gamasutra highlights a week's worth of alternative video gaming news, media, and other curiosities from sister blog GameSetWatch, as written by editor Eric Caoili.] This round-up brings news on Kongregate's Left 4 Dead 2-sponsored meta-game, the shortlist of European Innovative Games Award 2009 nominees, and a line of sketchbooks that cater specifically to handheld video game designers. Other highlights include Zaku, a new shoot'em released for the 20-year-old Atari Lynx; and a man blaming psychosis and Silent Hill after he shut off the electricity at a Dutch hospital. This past week's top stories: - New Shoot'em Up Released For Atari Lynx "Developed by PenguiNet (using an official Lynx development kit), Zaku is an Air Zonk-inspired horizontal-scrolling shoot'em up filled with giant sprites of flying toasters and penguin-piloted crafts for you to blast out of the sky." - Man Blames Psychosis, Silent Hill For Blacking Out Hospital "A 35-year-old man identified only as 'Jan H.' says he thought he was playing Silent Hill when he shut off the electricity at Sophia Hospital in the Netherlands last April." - European Innovative Games Award 2009 Nominations Announced "EIGA 2009's categories include Innovative Technology, Innovative Games Design, and Innovative Application Methods and Environments, and the event will also give out three sponsorship awards valued at €5,000 each ($7,407)." - Kongregate Launches Left 4 Dead 2-Sponsored Zombie Meta Game "During Infected Fury Month, a portion of Kongregate users is turned into zombies, while another group is designated as survivors. After learning the meta game's basic mechanics on a Left 4 Dead 2 branded section of the site, the zombies can earn points by infecting other players to turn them into the undead, while the survivors pick up points by training others to become survivors." - Handheld Game Developers' Sketchbooks "Tuna Technologies' (Cletus Clay) Andrew Crawshaw created a line of sketchbooks geared toward developers who like to quickly draw their portable game ideas, cutscenes, level layouts, title screens, and user interfaces before creating digital mock-ups or prototypes. " - Demon's Souls As Played By Japanese Comedy Duo "Playing off of Demon's Souls infamous difficulty, Japanese publisher Enterbrain recently put out a DVD of comedy duo America Zarigani (American Crayfish?) attempting to clear the PlayStation 3 game. It's a very Game Center CX-style affair, with the two comedians locking themselves in a room with just a camera, a PS3, a monitor, a copy of the From Software game, and a coffee machine to keep themselves awake while they try to plow through Demon's Souls." - ARTXGAME Projects Reappear At Giant Robot Biennale 2 "Those of you who missed Giant Robot's Game Over/Continue? show and its ARTXGAME projects -- collaborations between notable artists and indie game designers -- you'll have another opportunity this weekend!"

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2009

About the Author

Eric Caoili

Blogger

Eric Caoili currently serves as a news editor for Gamasutra, and has helmed numerous other UBM Techweb Game Network sites all now long-dead, including GameSetWatch. He is also co-editor for beloved handheld gaming blog Tiny Cartridge, and has contributed to Joystiq, Winamp, GamePro, and 4 Color Rebellion.

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