VISIONS is an upcoming MMORPG with a Christian theme, masterminded and developed by a lonely housewife(Laurene Wells) out of the great state of Oregon. This is all played out in the first person, so it's like you're really living and experiencing biblical history with your own eyes! Doesn't that sound fun? Of course, don't take my word for it. Just listen to all the great things Laurene's family members have to say about VISIONS.
Now, I know all of you are dying to play this game, but there's one problem. Laurene needs approximately 60,000 dollars to fund VISIONS. Won't you be a good Christian gamer and donate to her cause? Head over to Kickstarter to donate and watch the trailer for this soon to be blockbuster hit. Don't go thinking your donations will be unrewarded. Laurene has set-up some fabulous prizes for those who decide to donate. These can range to special forum access where you can discuss VISIONS, or if you decide to donate 3000 dollars or more, you stand to receive the privilege to name an NPC and a signed copy of the game by Laurene herself! A true VISIONary indeed.
First off, let's rewind the clock some 4-5 years backwards. Yume Nikki was just released by Kikiyama. In it's wake, a cult following was formed; created from the gamers who became fans of it's twisted, creepy, and downright fucked-up setting, characters, and overall design. Since my initial playthrough, as well as my 3-4 replays afterward, I was left wanting more. Not more as in a game that transports you to a dream world where you're left to navigate your way through seemingly endless rooms to find "Effects" that will help your search through other endless rooms. I wanted more as in a new game that could offer up the same bone-chilling experiences I've had playing Yume Nikki. Thankfully, Au Sable came along and gave me what I wanted.
Amon Desiree is the man behind Au Sable, a puzzle(I use that term loosely) platformer which is named after a ghost town in Michigan. You play as a young woman on a search for Harmonia, who has gone missing in the ghost town. On your search, you are accompanied with two haunting eyes of a memory, which can be used to open gates and solve puzzles. This is only Amon's second game, his first being All Our Friends Are Dead, and this really shows in both his efforts, as Amon is no master programmer. You will encounter many glitches, bugs, and maybe even a crash or two while playing either game. But what he lacks in a technical aspect, he shines through on an atmospheric level with Au Sable. The world he creates is dreary, leaving you with a sense of hopelessness and anxiety. There are also many things that occur during playing that will seem like the side effect of a hallucinogenic drug. You can be instantly transported to a new area, or the stage around you can crumble to the ground with not even a hint of when it will happen. Sure, for the most part it's a linear experience, but you will never know what to expect next.
When you first boot up the game, you will find yourself in what looks to be a ghost town. Seems like fair ground for a horror game, no? This all changes though as you progress deeper into the village, and you are confronted with a creature that should bare no existence in what you know of the in-game world up to that point. Then suddenly, your screen turns red, and you're back where you always were. Nothing changed, except now you're able to progress further. Was the creature you saw just now real? It's hard to say, but then you start to cross paths with mutilated bodies, Chupacabre-esque demons, and unholy abominations that seem to have been morphed together from a patchwork of human bodies. This is where a large sense of uneasiness is formed in Au Sable, through Amon's designs for the enemies, backdrops, and the variously organic machine inhabitants of Au Sable that make up the cast of his game. The way they move, react, or interact with you, gives off a very creepy feeling, not unlike the feeling you would get facing off with one of the characters from Yume Nikki.
This is all backed up, of course, by a truly masterful soundtrack by Amon himself. To say all the various clips and effects he created to take part in his game is fitting would be a huge understatement. Amon perfectly captures the mood he is trying to convey with what's happening to your character while traversing through the ghost town, from the ear-splitting shrill that accompanies a hallucinogenic effect to the high-pitched cry from your character as she is mutilated by a demon. The music and effects play a very important role in Au Sable, as it really sets the tone for the game. This is also another thing that makes me very reminiscent of Yume Nikki, as the music for that game really helped express a sense of extreme anxiety for me. I was always afraid of what might happen next, and I get the same feeling while playing through Au Sable.
Now, I'm no macho man when it comes to anything that would be categorized as horror. In fact, I'll be the first to say that I'm a huge pussy when it comes to anything horror-related. To give an example, I can't even play a Resident Evil game without all the lights on, and most of the time, someone has to be in the room with me. That's just how I am. So to veterans of the genre, this might not be as scary for you as it was for me, but I still implore you to give it a try. If nothing else, play it for the freak-out hallucinations and the great setting. For everyone else, stay around to shit a few bricks.
2D Boy's highly acclaimed game World of Goo is turning 1 year old this week. So how do they celebrate it? By having a birthday sale of course! But this is no ordinary sale. For one week only, 2D Boy is accepting any amount of currency you deem worthy for their game. Yup, anywhere from .01 cent to 5,000, whatever you're willing to pay, that's how much you'll get World of Goo for. Sounds great eh?
This brings up an interesting look at the pricing for indie games, and how they could handle it. Indie developers have always had trouble putting a price tag on their games. Derek Yu and Alec Holowka shocked everyone when they announced that Aquaria would be priced at 30 dollars on launch day. I know it only came out roughly 2 years ago, but before Aquaria, most people believed an indie game should be priced at 10 dollars at most. Even 20 dollars would be pushing it, no matter how much work and care the developers put into their game.
So where does World of Goo's birthday sale come in here? For starters, I think it'd be pretty interesting to see how a payment system like this could work if more indie developers started using it. Of course, what would stop the assholes from only handing over a couple cents for their hard work? It's pretty risky to implement something like this that you depend on to pay your rent or medical visits. A minimum payment could be established at checkout to insure that no one tries to rip you off. Something like 5 dollars would work, no? There are more and more people out there who are starting to support indie developers. I'm sure there are more then a few of them who would throw in an extra 5 or 10 dollars for something that they believe deserves it(RunMan, anyone?).
Ah, but I digress. This is mainly to tell you folks who haven't checked out the fantastic World of Goo yet, that you can grab it on the cheap(or for the recommended 20usd, just sayin'). It's worth it. It really is.
Edmund McMillen, the man who has brought some of the best games the indie scene has ever seen, needs some help. You see, he's recovering from some gall bladder explosion or something in a hospital at this very minute! The problem? The bro has no health insurance :sadface:. I too am a male with out health insurance! It kind of sucks... well. It really fucking sucks. I had to make a choice earlier in the year between getting a desperately needed nasal polyps surgery done or pay my college tuition. Guess which one I picked?
Anyways, you're probably thinking, "Why should I help this guy out? He only makes the vidya!" Well, I can understand that. Times is tough right? Why should you give something just out of the good of your heart? Well, there's a solution for your selfishness. You can head over to Edmund's website and buy a copy of his A Cry For Help artist CD. I actually own two copies of this thing for a reason I can't really explain, but it's an awesome CD! It's practically his artist portfolio put onto this circular data storage unit. Including more then 17 of Edmund's games, over 15 of his comics, 4 sketch books, and there's even a short movie thrown on there! You get all this for 10 bucks. It's worth it, trust me.
So what are you waiting for? Go and help Edmund's poor indie soul and send him your <3's and $'s now!
You play RunMan, and as the name simply implies, you run. You run pretty damn fast actually. The faster you maneuver through the stage, the more points you get. I've found it a bit difficult to get used to holding in the rush button and jumping, as I keep alternating between holding one and pushing the other, but I'm sure I'll get it down. One of the best parts about RunMan is that it has MS paint graphics. That might sound horrible to most people, but it actually works pretty damn well for a game like this. The music also fits perfectly. It has that pretentiousy folk vibe to it, but just like the graphics, it works damn well for the game.
It's a free 22mb download, naturally, but if there was any indie game I felt that the developers deserved to be paid for, this is it. If you enjoy this game, I strongly encourage you to donate to them. I share Tim's feelings that this might possibly be the indie game of the year. Yes, it's that good.
A demo was just released on the intertubes for Amanita Design's highly anticipated point n' click adventure game, Machinarium. It's a 30mb download which you can grab below.
What is there else to say really? Go download it! And don't forget that the full game releases on October 16th, which you can grab at a number of sites, including AD's official page or Direct2Drive's site where you can get it for 5 bucks off the regular price. So yeah, I'm excited. Are you excited? I'm sure we're all excited.
Destructoid is an independently-run publication forged by our love of video games and the gaming community's need of accountable enthusiast press living the dream since March 16, 2006
