SSMP Gets A New Trailer, Website, And Will Be At PAX

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Indie developer Jon Remedios released a new trailer for his upcoming game SSMP (Shoot Shoot Mega Pack).  The game is a minimialist party shooter for up to 4 players.

Features:

  • Smooth, yet frantic 2D shooter gameplay for up to four players.
  • Preset games, customizable rulesets, and party mode allow you to play however the heck you prefer.
  • Sleek minimalist graphic design visuals by Gavin McCarthy
  • A whimsical dynamic soundtrack by Ryan Roth
  • Really great names to choose from. Like Bearman, Justice Machine, and Greg.

Learn how to SSMP like a pro in just six easy steps. GUARANTEED. http://ssmpgame.com

Make sure to follow the game on Twitter.  SSMP also announced they will also be at PAX this year as well.

Finally! There is also a new website devoted to the site which you can check out here, which includes a podcast for game developers.  Make sure to stay tuned to TorontoGameDevs.com for the latest on the game.

Runbow Gets A North American Release Date

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Nintendo World Report had the exclusive on a release date for 13AM Games upcoming platformer Runbow.

The game will launch on August 27th in North America for $14.99. If you had downloaded the demo during E3 you'll get a 15% discount.  A release date for Europe is still incoming.

13AM Games just announced more secret characters and is now being described as the indie character version of Smash Brothers.  For the latest on Runbow, be sure to follow TorontoGameDevs.com.

Little Red Lie Gets A Little Red Trailer

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After announcing the game not to long ago, indie developer Will O'Neill has released a trailer for his upcoming interactive short story Little Red Lie.  The game is said to be about "debt, family, and the truth about honesty."

Little Red Lie is a contemporary adventure game about debt, family, and the truth about honesty. Created by Will O'Neill, the writer and developer of Actual Sunlight, the game is a narrative-focused experience that will release in Early 2016. For more details, please visit littleredlie.com, and follow @willoneill (twitter.com/willoneill) on Twitter.

Little Red Lie is planned for release in Early 2016. Stayed tuned to TorontoGameDevs.com for the latest on the game, and everything going on in the Toronto game developer scene.

Runbow Gets More Secret Characters

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The guys over at Nintendo Life got the exclusive on some new secret characters for the upcoming platformer Runbow.  They are:

  • Gunvolt from Azure Striker Gunvolt 
  • Teslamancer from Teslagrad 
  • Clone from Stealth Inc 
  • ARID from The Fall 
  • Xeodrifter from Xeodrifter 
  • Princess from Chariot 
  • Max from Mutant Mudds 
  • Drifter from Hyper Light Drifter 
  • Unity Chan (Unity Japan's mascot character)

This on top of already announced secret characters such as Juan from Guacamelee.  Check out the trailer below!

Runbow's release date draws ever nearer and we've been gifted with yet another trailer that shows off yet more characters to enjoy in this crazy 9-player run-em-up. New to the roster are Gunvolt from Azure Striker Gunvolt, Teslamancer from Teslagrad, Clone from Stealth Inc, ARID from The Fall, Xeodrifter from Xeodrifter, Princess from Chariot, Max from Mutant Mudds, Drifter from Hyper Light Drifter, and Unity Chan (Unity Japan's mascot character)!

As I've mentioned on the podcast, I'm really excited for Runbow, and it was really cool to interview them last month. Make sure to stay tuned to TorontoGameDevs.com for the latest on the game.

Developer Update For Empyrios

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Following the new screenshots released for Empyrios last week, developer Creoterra wrote a blog post going over their updates on the HUD, character and environment art, and the website itself:

"Over the last few months our art director Jove took on an insane amount of work. He went through the entire collection of game art and added a huge amount of detail to everything ranging from the characters to the environments. There were quite a few characters rebuilt from the ground up such as the Caelum, and others with huge amounts of work changing them from male to female in order to add more diversity."

Make sure to check out the full post here, and check out the released screenshots here.  Creoterra is now working on getting a gameplay trailer up, as well as kicking around the idea of Square Enix Collective. We'll have the latest for you right here on TorontoGameDevs.com.

Hand Eye Society Starts A Beta Buddy Program - Beta Test Games!

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Our friends over at the Hand Eye Society started a Beta Buddy Program. What is the Beta Buddy program you ask? It's a program to sign up to be a beta tester to test out unreleased games, or if you're looking for beta testers, you can  sign up for the program as well to get testers:

"Interested in playing games before they’re released, and telling the game creators what you think? We can help you out. Want people to play your game and get their feedback? We can help you too! We’re starting the Beta Buddy Program to help game creators get the feedback they need, and provide an outlet for people who want to contribute to and get insight into this iterative creative process."

If you want to sign up to test out games, you can fill out the following form.  If you're an indie developer and want to have your game tested, you can fill out this form.  Make sure to check out The Hand Eye Society for all the details.

Castle Game Launches Today On PlayStation 4

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As we mentioned last week, The Castle Game launches today on PlayStation 4. With the PlayStation store now updated, PS4 players can download the game for $14.99, PlayStation Plus users get a 20% discount.

Introducing the Castle Game, a new strategy defense game for the PS4 from Neptune Interactive Inc. http://www.theCastleGame.com Build impenetrable fortresses and elaborate mazes with hidden traps, backed up by archers with flamed arrows, armoured knights, and long-ranged catapults. Control the flow of battle and cast powerful spells to defeat the Dark Lord's army.

Make sure to check out the PlayStation store and download the game today. We'll have a bit more with guys from Neptune Interactive, so keep your eye on TorontoGameDevs.com for the latest.

Deals: Assassins Creed Unity And Cel Damage HD

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With today's PlayStation store update, a couple of Toronto developed games are now on sale:

  • Assassins Creed Unity from Ubisoft (Ubisoft Toronto helped with this one) is $31.99
  • Cel Damage HD from Finish Line Games is $4.00 (PS4, PS3, PSVita - it's also cross-buy)

Make sure to hit up the PlayStation store today to get these two Toronto developed games!

Hegemony III: Clash of the Ancients Coming August 25th

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Longbow Games announced today that their strategy game Hegemony III: Clash of the Ancients will be coming to Steam later this month:

"The Battle for the Ancient World has Begun! Centuries before Caesar, Alexander or Philip, the forested hills and rocky coasts of ancient Italy draw cultures from across the Mediterranean with promises of wealth and prosperity. Bronze-clad hoplites from the powerful Greek city-states set sail across the Adriatic to carve out bridgeheads of Hellenic culture amongst the native Italic hill tribes, while aggressive bands of Gallic Skirmishers make the trek South across the Alps in search of fertile new land. And along the marshy banks of the Tiber river, a small upstart city called Rome battles for independence from the established Etruscan confederacy.

But only one faction can rise to become the greatest empire the Mediterranean has ever seen. Will Rome fulfil its destiny to rule the ancient world or will history be rewritten to forge a new Etruscan, Gallic, or Greek hegemony!"

Command armies, manage resources, and build an empire in this real-time strategy wargame from Longbow Games. Will Rome fulfil its destiny to rule the ancient world or will history be rewritten to forge a new Etruscan, Gallic, or Greek hegemony!

The game launch August 25th with a 10% launch discount, as well as a 20% discount for those who own their earlier games Hegemony Gold or Hegemony Rome. Make sure to check out the Steam page to purchase the game.

Kickstarter: The Wizards of Trinity Bellwoods

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Independent developer Chris de Castro has announced a Kickstarter for his upcoming game, The Wizards of Trinity Bellwoods.  The game focuses on picking up collecting cans from Hipsters in Trinity-Bellwoods (which is a neighbourhood in Toronto).  

"Let's go Wizards and keep the park clean! In the great city of Toronto there exists a grand park named Trinity Bellwoods. During the hot summer months, swarms of people -- mostly hipsters -- sprawl across its lush greens. They sip fine brewed beverages, but leave the cans behind. This plague of empty aluminum vessels would threaten the beauty of the park if not for the valour of a few brave souls. They are the Wizards of Trinity Bellwoods, and their magical quest is to banish the scourge of cans from the land."

Donate to the Kickstarter and become a character in the game! https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/chrisdecastro/the-wizards-of-trinity-bellwoods In the great city of Toronto there exists a grand park named Trinity Bellwoods. During the hot summer months, swarms of people -- mostly hipsters -- sprawl across its lush greens. They sip fine brewed beverages, but leave the cans behind.

Make sure to check out the full Kickstarter here and help this game get funded.  TorontoGameDevs.com will have more on this game as we get closer to the end of the Kickstarter.

Podcast! First TorontoGameDevs.com Episode

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Ever since I started TorontoGameDevs.com I've wanted to do a podcast. It's even one of the goals for our Patreon.  I decided that we'll start early, get our feet wet, before dropping lots of money into better equipment.

So! My friend Bret and I sat down and talked about some of the big news from this last week.  You can check it out on the Podcast page at the top, or clicking here.

Let me know what you think, like we said on the podcast...we're winging it, and I'm sure there are places we can improve.

Regards,

Steve

 

Will O'Neill Announces Little Red Lie

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Independent developers Will O'Neill is a busy guy these days. With Actual Sunlight coming to Vita this month, and working on Planet of the Eyes, you'd think he would be done.

Now, we know he is also creating Little Red Lie, a short story adventure game set in Scarborough:

"Inspired by the growing gap in wealth and stability between the baby boomers and their descendants, the game takes place in the relatively near future, and speculates a world in which major financial institutions begin to shift strategically towards securing the only asset of a generation with little to no value: Their inheritances.

In the midst of this final collapse, you take control of two people living on either side of this equation. The contrast in their fates - and what it reveals - is only the foundation of what is ultimately a drama about debt, family and the truth about honesty."

Will says there will be more details, including a demo, later this month. TorontoGameDevs.com will have the latest on the game, but in the meantime, make sure to follow Will O'Neill on Twitter.

Dev Blog for Character Control In P.A.M.E.L.A

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Ian over at NVYVE Studios posted a new developers blog about their upcoming game, P.A.M.E.L.A.  In it, he writes about the characters movement and speed, as well as jumping around the world:

"For our character motor we decided to use Unity’s Character Controller component in combination with some custom physics scripting. One thing to keep in mind when working with physics is that each functionality you add can affect the rest of your movement. There would be times when I would think I had solved small ledge detection issues, only to find that the fix had caused some rather comical “I must go, my people need me” kind of jumping. Suffice to say, small ledges were my nemesis for quite some time."

Ian also showed some video footage of character movement, and says the blog post might be useful for anyone working on character control.

Uploaded by NVYVE Studios on 2015-07-30.

Uploaded by NVYVE Studios on 2015-07-31.

Make sure to check out the full blog post here.  Keep your eye out on P.A.M.E.L.A., it's currently slated for a 2016 release on PC.

Canadian Video Game Awards Interviews Lummox Labs About Noodles

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The Canadian Video Game Awards recently sat down with Michael Busheikin from Lummox Labs to discuss his puzzle game Noodles: 

Q: Were there any games that inspired you to create Noodles? Why did you opt for a title that fits into the puzzle genre?

Michael Busheikin: My brain always gravitates towards puzzles. I have a gigantic list of action-packed Steam titles and I end up spending hours on games where I cut triangles into smaller triangles, or do programming disguised as painting, or something. But I didn’t pick Noodles just for the genre – it happened to be the idea that wouldn’t dislodge from my mind.

Q: What are you future plans for Noodles?

Michael Busheikin: If there’s interest, I have a few ideas for additions to the puzzle types. There are little things that can change the way your brain has to work. For example, you could have combinations of piece types in one game (octagons and diamonds together would work!). Or have pieces connect off one edge of the puzzle and onto the opposite edge.

You can check out the full interview here.  Make sure to also follow Lummox Labs on Twitter. Noodles can be purchased on the iOS store right now for $1.99.