Tag Archives: steampunk

Game of the Week: Utopian Mining

Posted by Chad Knick on

Have you ever wanted to make a difference in the world? – Have you ever felt different from this world all together? Well, you’re not alone, in fact there’s a tiny little robot out there who  feels the same as you do. He/She [ The wonderful thing about these robot is they’re gender neutral ] has been sent to some nearly abandoned old town, and with your help these flesh-bags have asked you to use your uncanny drilling abilities to help them repave their homeland from drab to populous. So, go forth my friends, mine your way into the hearts of many and reclaim the respect and devotion of the human world in Utopian Mining by a young designer code-named Schulles!

Burrowing my way into your heart, and paving a city of peace – that’s love.

I’ve been playing Utopian Mining for a while now, and I have to say it’s a simple, heartwarming, and addictive blast of retro gaming goodness. My first impressions, visually, were that Utopia Mining reminds me of what I think Minecraft would have been like had it been invented in the 1990’s for a Gameboy Color. It’s got pixelated 2D artwork, dialogue boxes, quests, collection tasks – does ANY of this not scream a glorious ’90’s game? Well – that’s why I’m in love with it visually, but what about the rest of it?

What makes Utopia Mining special enough for me to dig right in?

Challenge and Nostalgia.

The game, while simple in it’s mechanics, is quite challenging in it’s delivery and the artistic nostalgia of the quests and artwork make for a quite enjoyable experience. The accessibility is through the roof on this game as well, which makes it doubly enjoyable for me when I know I’ve found a game I can share with everyone that almost anyone can play!

Here’s how the controls/accessibility break down:

  • You must guide your robot through the ground using the arrow keys to collect ore.
  • Sell your ore to the Shop to gain Cash to upgrade the city/keep yourself upgraded.
  • Individual quests and a sense of the game growing with your progress is amazing.
  • Minimal risk factors in the game make it an easy-going casual gaming experience.
  • The further you dig the lower your health gauge and energy get. Replenish often!

– and we dig, dig, dig, dig, dig, dig – in a mine the whole day through!

Accessibility:

Pros:

  • Game is entirely text-driven dialogue which is perfect for deaf gamers.
  • All inputs are either arrow keys or single button inputs used infrequently.
  • All inputs are labeled in the top HUB with quick key notation: 
    • M “Map”
    • I   “Inventory”
    • J  “Jobs”
    • X “Action”
    • G “More Games”
  • Games color scheme is so simple and crisp that colorblind should have little worry.
  • Saves are unique in the form of a tree in the center of the city that grows w/ progress.
  • Play at your own pace – very few rushed moments – perfect game for motion impaired
  • Gameplay is simple, yet effective – the easy to grasp concept makes it easy for anyone
  • Music is actually really special for this game, very relaxing and an added bonus to it.

My first ore!! – Oh how exciting! Oh… it’s only coal. Bah-humbug!

Cons:

  • Upon digging further in, colorblind gamers may have a harder time seeing ores and mining – colors tend to start to blend into a mixture of reds and browns to express danger that you’re about to die if you don’t head back to the surface, but it shouldn’t get in the way of gameplay – just a slight warning in case it affects anyone’s time.
  • No WASD option for controls leaves left-handed gamers slightly disadvantaged.
  • You can play the game without it, but unfortunately, having a Kongregate account is the only way to maintain the saves of your progress – the game is still a blast though!

Overall, this game was a joy and a definite mark on how simple concepts and gameplay can make for an infectious experience.

If you’re already digging on this game as much as I am well then you can bury yourself deep within it’s loving mining arms over at Kongregate and play it now! I wish I knew more about you as a designer Schulles, but what I do know is that you make some pretty awesome games sir! Look forward to seeing what you have in store in the future! Bravo for making your game so accessible for so many to play!

Go mine yourself something shiny and build your Utopia why don’tcha?!

I sound like a prospector… I’ve been playing this game too much… happy gaming folks!

Game of the Week: Rochard

Posted by Chad Knick on

Well, with the prices of gas sky-rocketing to 4+ dollars here in recent weeks, it got me to thinking about something that I love and wish we had – space travel. You know, because honestly, if we’re dealing with a natural resource issue on Earth perhaps we can start to mine planets for their resources? – maybe even find new ones we never knew existed? – well, that’s pretty much the job description of this week’s game protagonist: John Rochard.

Rock is hard. John Rochard is HARDER!

Rochard is the first game designed by Finland based Recoil Games – and it’s a great first step into the world of console development. Rochard has all the bells and whistles of a console puzzle and action game, and while I did find some issues with the accessibility of the game, the game overall is an enjoyable and rewarding experience that you’ll remember for quite a while. Here’s hoping that that trend carries over into future Recoil Games titles. Now, onto Rochard:

What is it? How do you play? etc.

Well, you play as the leader of a space mining crew named John Rochard. Your task, if you choose to accept it, is to guide John around and help search planets in search of a mineral known as turbinium. Rochard carries around a gravity-bending gun which you can use to help solve puzzles, access areas, defeat enemies etc. depending on the tasks at hand. Now I’ve only played the demo, and while it was shorter than I expected – it was an experience that definitely kept me wanting to see more of it – so that’s a bonus I think for any game.

Here's looking at you Gravity. Do your stuff.

The art design is lovely. Warm, bright, and meaningful color schemes truly give this game a touch that makes it worth checking out. It’s got a style akin to a steampunk/sci-fi comic book and I totally live for games like that. The dialogue between characters is witty and engaging and it’s completely subtitled, which makes for a wonderful experience for deaf gamers. The game gives you a nice tutorial using text to describe the actions you need to take, which helps deaf gamers gain accessibility to playing this game. The music is fantastic too – the opening cinematic really set me up for a joyous experience, and despite some qualms that I had, the game was one I’ll definitely be picking up.

Now, let’s get on to the accessibility listing, because obviously, there were problems:

Pros:

  • Deep, interesting, and invested storyline in a gravity puzzle game.
  • Characters are truly charming and memorable. Rochard is a treat.
  • Music is fantastic. I swear the game made me feel the gritty electro-vibe.
  • The cinematics [ the few I saw via the demo ] were wonderful, and really added to the depth of gameplay as well as storyline. 
  • Puzzles are engaging and difficult enough to challenge players.
  • Fast-paced action puzzler is something gaming needed: Rochard delivers.
  • Full subtitled dialogue, as well as tutorial instructions for new actions.

I'm just sailing, sailing on an ocean of gravity... there ain't nobody else but me...

Cons:

  • On the PS3 version the joystick movement is really loose, and unfortunately, I didn’t find in the options menu where that could be changed. This game requires a lot of precision movements and placements in order to access specific areas, quick reflexes to fend off enemies, etc. and so mobility impaired gamers will severely struggle with timing and movement issues. In order to fix that, a control sensitivity setting would have been nice [ but perhaps it’s just in the demo and I’m unsure for PC or Mac versions. ]
  • Color-blind gamers may have issues with the environments. Examples include when gravity is turned off, the entire environment turns into shades of blue, etc. but most color schemes in Rochard are vibrant and distinct enough to combat that – if any color-blind gamers have any problems please let me know. I’d love to receive personal feedback from your perspective.
  • Cognitively impaired gamers will have a difficult time with this game – the puzzles are actually quite complicated once you get deeper into the physics pool that this game provides and can cause issues for some players certainly.

So, overall, it’s a great little physics based puzzle game – and despite the few hiccups in accessibility, Rochard, is definitely a must see. I’m hoping that the PC version provides a little more assistance for gamers with mobility issues, but like I said, if you can get passed that – the game is truly rewarding. It’s got a slew of levels and interactive moments and it’ll definitely be one I put on my PSN download list in the future. You can catch it on Steam, PC, Mac, and PSN right now for $ 9.99 or for $14.99 on Steam you can get the game and the soundtrack as well [ and it’s fantastic! ] Thanks Recoil Games for such an enjoyable and rewarding gaming experience – I’ll be venturing into the great unknown of space for quite some time thanks to you!

Games of the Week: ‘Point and Click’ Adventures

Posted by Chad Knick on

Well, for those of you who have kept up with my blog from the beginning, you’ve probably heard me talk a little bit about a man named Tim Schafer. Now it’s not secret that I’m a definite fan of his work and that of Double Fine Productions. I think I’ve successfully laid my hands on at least -most- of their titles, but if you haven’t been in the loop here’s the scoop:

Tim Schafer and Double Fine Productions are in the process of creating a ‘point and click’ adventure game. The Kickstarter garnished over 3,000,000+ dollars in donations AND I was one of those donators [ Woo to the $ 15 tier! ] Now, while I’m not allowed to discuss anything private as far as development goes – I figured I could still honor this ‘point and click’ adventure by promoting some other ‘point and click’ graphic adventure games that I feel are totally worth noting – so without further ado:

1. Machinarium

Now I was directed to this game via Alex over at Space Giraffe, and yes, I’m 3 years behind the curve. This is an unfortunate circumstance, but meh, you brush yourself off and move on. Machinarium is a wonderful little ‘point and click’ indie game that I think anyone who has an affinity for games that contain robots in them should try. You play as a little robot, and you travel through this junkyard solving puzzles and navigating your way around. There are 30 levels, and each one, while it may seem simple, is actually quite intricate and can take some time to figure out.

One small step for bots - one massive leap for gaming!

The game is, for the most part, accessible on all levels except for blind players. The color schemes are sharp, but not too abrasive to the eyes for color-blind gamers. The gameplay mechanics are simple ‘point and click’ so mobility challenged gamers won’t have a problem navigating the maps and finding what needs to be done. In the case of deaf players, there is no real sound except for sound effects and ambient music. They don’t really affect the gameplay, and so it should be accessible for deaf gamers, especially because most instruction is given via picture references which is a plus.

It's like if Tim Burton designed a video game with robots...

Now, I only played the demo version and you can gladly try it out too here.

– but from what I’ve gathered the game is immersive, the artwork is moving and fitting to the music, and after I was done with the demo I was longing for more. It’s definitely a warm, homespun game that I would definitely suggest worth checking out if you’re in the mood for an updated, old-school experience of a point-and-click. You can get the full game DRM free on Steam, Mac, Windows or Linux for just $10.00 – for 30 levels of old-school awesome I’d say it’s a definite check out.

2. Little Wheel

Now, if you’re in the mood for a FREE experience along the same vein, I invite you to take a look at another little robotic adventure ‘point and click‘ dubbed Little Wheel by FastGames. Little Wheel takes you on a journey through a robotic homeland that’s become devoid of power, and as the only powered robot left in your entire planet you must go forth solving puzzles and attempting to bring power back to the whole world through puzzle solving. Does it sound neat yet? If you’re a robot fan you’re probably drooling. Here’s a handkerchief.

One is the loneliest number that you'll ever do - 2 can be...

Now as far as accessibility goes – the accessibility drops a tad on this title. The only issue is that Little Wheel gives you no instructions. It shows you via faint circles where clickable items are, but it’s up to you to solve every scenario and figure out what can be used and what can’t etc. The color scheme is incredibly dark, almost akin to a Limbo style of gameplay. This is probably going to make it difficult for some color-blind gamers to play as the patterns of the objects have moments where they blend in during movements.

The wheels on the cage go round and round, round and round...

The gameplay can become increasingly hard too, so cognitively impaired players may have trouble figuring out patterns and actions to do when given no instructions and no hint options. Sound isn’t a requirement for this game, but you’ll be missing out on a full experience if you can’t hear the sound effects and jazz-toned music. The game is adorably charming though, despite it’s simple mechanics. It has an art-deco sort of feel and it you find yourself drawn into wanting to complete each and every puzzle [ well at least I did ] If you’re interested and would like to give it a look over you can head over and check out Little Wheel.

Well folks, that’s it for today, I hope you enjoy my ‘bot filled Games of the Week and you take in the simplistic joys that are ‘point and click’ adventure games. I’m going to go dive back into my mounds of sketchbooks and notebooks now as I await for Schafer’s Adventure to be released…

If you’re still in a steampunk mood though I also suggest you take a look at this short film by Anthony Lucas. It’s in the same vein as these games and it’s wicked good fun – though it’s a bit dark and disturbing at some points for an animation so please be aware [ also it’s quite long, just an fyi for those that are busy ]: