Happy Mother's Day! I love you, Moogie!
Happy Mother's Day! I LOVE YOU, MOOGIE! (Yes, I used to watch Star Trek: Deep Space Nine with my mother. No, she does not call me Rom. Yes, I often perform a bad Rom impersonation anyway.)
If you lack access to a mother, Grace Randolph offers the top ten movie moms on Beyond The Trailer.
This edited version of BYOND and Within comes to you from an unpaid volunteer using a game/development portal and software engine called BYOND. Rather than play suggestions, the column focuses on recent developer activity.
Within BYOND
Looking forward to new network profiling tools, SuperAntx is planning to improve the experience of the team-based action game Decadence. In the meantime, yearly subscription prices have been bumped down to $5. (Lifetime subscriptions are still available.) Those who paid a premium when the game was first released can expect "something special".
SuperAntx has also announced an alliance with WritingANewOne (aka: KhaosParadox) to develop the RPG Eternia: Prologue.
To celebrate Easter, the NEStalgia team held both an in-game event and a sale. Non-subscribers even had access to pay features.
Unfortunately, I was late to catch wind of the initial announcement. I was again late for the event's extension. I was therefore unable to place the umpteenth NEStalgia link on Facebook and provoke the ire of those too apathetic to submit more games.
In circular inspiration from Stephen001, IainPeregrine has once again challenged people to Get Something Done. Those desiring such an excuse are advised to choose a project, announce their terms of success and accomplish their goal before June 1st.
ShadeCyberPlatinum has released and updated Internal Ark. It's a mouse-driven action game. Players are hackers tasked with eliminating viruses while avoiding enemy fire and obstacles. I suggest removing the spam and limiting upgrade purchases to times when items are affordable, but overall it looks like some simple actions turned into a nifty game. Check it out. =)
Those with health issues related to flashing colors are advised to look elsewhere.
Kyle ZX released an apocalypse survivor game called Bio Anomaly. He updated it with things to kill. He updated it again with improved graphics... Then he had an epiphany and decided to redesign the whole thing. The release of his Block Pushing library makes me believe he's channeling Sisyphus. ;)
Acebloke uploaded two updates for his civilization-builder Wargames 2. Along with bug fixes, interface tweaks and balance changes, barbarian AI has been improved and a new government type has been made available as research.
Another update was released for the military/economic sim prequel, (Retro) Wargames. Help files have been improved, the interface has been tweaked and the employment rate has been linked to income.
Acebloke commented, "Just to confirm, hosting games of mine that suck/break is often a good way of pushing me to fix it in order to save face."
Back in December, Vexonator announced that the final version of Surreal Dreams would be released before the end of 2010. The tactical fantasy did not receive the update until March. By that time, not even Vexonator could remember what the changes were.
But forget that whimpering end! The purchase of some sound hardware motivated Vexonator to release another version with updated effects. Perhaps there's life in Kunark's BYOND classic yet.
Ganing has released multiple updates for his graphical sports MUD Martial Arts with the next scheduled for the 14th. Traveling between countries, players can now learn more fighting styles. More weapons, new styles and some interface improvements are on the way.
Apologizing for the slow progress, Jittai has posted development details of his survival game Stranded. Plant life can now be chopped/foraged. Players can now improve their athletics, tame NPCs and craft items of limited durability.
On behalf of the Twilight Herald team, Zane444 posted a progress report with mockups containing his artwork. It's isometric and pretty. They're still looking for another pixel artist who can produce results... as opposed to getting lynched for unreleased demos. ;)
I've announced MeanderGall as my Get Something Done project. It's sort of a scavenger hunt with combat. It uses my procedural generation libraries to create rooms, arrange them into a grid and give each player their own maze through that grid. Lately, I've been redesigning the battle mechanics.
Beyond BYOND
In the UK, the Indie Showcase portion of the Developer's Conference will feature 10 unpublished independent games. Submissions end on the 20th.
Already sponsoring the HD World Tournament, IGN has announced the IGN Pro League to offer a "professional, polished and interactive viewing experience to fans of eSports". It looks nifty and the casters seem credible, but IGN recently merged with UGO and 1UP. I don't know if I should be happy that western eSports has such powerful support or worried about the state of videogame journalism. (On an unrelated Starcraft note, Blizzard recently interviewed Sean "Day[9]" Plott.)
On Discount Thoughts, Michael Clarkson details his problems with Enslaved's Trip. More recently, the controversial depiction of Samus in Metroid: Other M was tackled in Extra Credits. And in the future, all discussion of the behavior that defines people will all be overshadowed by someone villainizing large-breasted women for the umpteenth time. Sad.
Also on Extra Credits, gamification was discussed as a way to improve education. It's an important piece displaying a jaded problem I seem to have with the young... And it appears Daniel Floyd used it to propose. Facebook reports she said yes. Gratz. =)
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