Games of London Indies #1: Red Rogue

Every month lots of lovely developers bring lovely games to the pub and let other people play them. Usually they are in development and it’s a great place to get feedback on a prototype or unfinished game. Because I thought it would be nice I’m starting a informal round up of games that I’ve played each month. If anyone wants their game on here, or wants to write about a game here then you are welcome to. See the contact page to get in touch or bump into me at the pub night.

We’re starting the feature this month then with Red Rogue from Aaron Steed.

Eating hearts and wearing tiaras. Just another day.

Red Rogue has been in development for a grandiose 2 and a half years and is a very pretty game. Hoping to be released this year, although by the sounds of it, it’ll be done when it’s done, it’s a labour of love. The game is a side-on rogue-like, which sees you pilot a lady with a skeleton minion around procedurally generated pixel dungeons. I enjoyed what I played of the game, although I feel like I barely touched the surface, there are a wealth of items to find, scrolls to read, secret passages to unlock and puzzles to solve. One of the nice touches I thought, was the way all the armour is visible when you wear it, that means if you pick up a fedora, not only does your defence stat go up, but you look good too. Graphically the game is full of charm, like the fantastic level up animation:

Lightning level-up.

For those neck-beard hippies, the game is open source, which means if you like the lightning level-up as much as I do you can go and inspect how it’s done. I’m sure there are a lot of good lessons to be learnt from looking through Aaron’s source code. There is also an extensive DevLog over on TigSource which shows the development of the game from October 2009.

All the art in the game is by Aaron, and he does a good job with the lofi, claustrophobic atmosphere. The soundtrack (which is available to listen and download on Bandcamp) is the handiwork of another London Indies regular, Nathan Gallardo, and it really ties the game together, with soft whispery dungeon sounds, and clicks and clacks from the spiders and traps.

I’ll keep you posted when the game is out, Aaron says it will get a release on any platform he can support, and it’s Flash, so that’s a few. You can track development on Aaron’s blog or follow him on Twitter. The game is frequently updated with new stuff, so you can check back at the game’s online home to play new features there.

The Story Of Molyjam London 2012

I won’t say much except to say that you should watch this lovely video about the recent Molyjam in London. Great footage of Peter Molyneux himself as well as lots of enthusiastic game developers.

GameCamp 5

Just a quick note to remind everyone to get along to the excellent GameCamp, hosted at London South Bank University. Tickets are on sale now, although the first lot of 100 are already gone there will be more going on sale soon. Last year it was one of my highlights of the London Gaming scene, a really interesting event, I recommend everyone to attend.

If you don’t know anything about GameCamp it’s an unconference, which means there are no scheduled sessions but any attendees can write their name on a whiteboard and talk about something they want to. Last year there was a heated discussion on narrative in games, something about why games developers are like astronomers, people wondering about why so many indie games are stuck with a retro aesthetic and generous lemon jousting. And lots more too.

Gamehack at Pinewood Studios

A wild game jam appears!

Gamehack is “overnight hackathon at the world famous Pinewood Studios” to be held on 28th – 29th April. It promises a more professional sheen than recent jams with a bunch of games companies sponsoring. This means free pizza and a whole list of prizes ranging from cash to smartphones to Adobe suite licences, the full run down is on their website.

So if you’re not already sick to the teeth with game jams (don’t forget Ludum Dare 23, the 10 year anniversary on April 20th-23rd) then I suggest pop along. Tickets are free although there is a suggested £5 charity donation if you want.

Molyjam 2012

An international event is occurring. Around the world men and women are running through the streets, with one name on their lips:

@PeterMolydeux

An international 48hr game jam is being planned for the weekend of March 30th – April 1st to celebrate and create the ideas of the famous fake games developer. It is even rumoured that the real Peter Molyneux may attend! @MetzoPaino is organising the London branch and has set up a Facebook group where you can sign up and stay posted on updates. Currently 47 people are attending and no doubt that number will grow.

He is currently looking for a venue to host the jam, so if you know of anywhere that can host 50+ games developers, preferably with 24hr access then get in touch.

BAFTA Games – Pitching Prototypes

I’ve just had word that BAFTA are organising yet another games event, coming up on Tuesday 15th March. There will be pitches from the successful Dare to be Digital teams to a panel of industry experts, and one of the games will win the perennial One’s To Watch award at BAFTA’s ceremony the following evening.

It should be a good chance to hear what makes a good pitch, and what doesn’t. The panel includes Paul Durrant representing Abertay University’s £25,000 Prototype Fund, which is open to any developers, not just Dare to be Digital alumni, and there will hopefully be some information about that and how to apply. There is also Matt Sansam from ICtomorrow, which is a somewhat vague government-linked group who have run funding contests for games in the past. These are the people who could well be funding your next game, so their advice is probably worth hearing.

As usual there is a free drink on the bar and attendance is also free. Go to their eventbrite page to register.

Bits Of Bit Of A Gamejam

After a long and turbulent Indie Weekend some survivors are struggling from the wreckage of the crash and looking for fresh water.

The results of the Bit of a Gamejam are up and listed on http://bitofagamejam.tumblr.com/ so go have a look at the sterling efforts.

Guardian Gamesblog Indie Social

This looks like a nice friendly event, it’s on Saturday 11th February at BAFTA (inside the eye of the giant gold face).

Lots of nice people look to be attending, and local indie game heroes Honeyslug and Mode 7 are showing off demos of their new games as well as giving little talks. [Edit:] Also Omni Labs will be showing off their soon to be released Eufloria HD for iPad.

No doubt a good opportunity to schmooze or bask, depending on the degree of your fame and your own personal preference.

You can sign up for a free ticket at the Eventbrite page.

Wild Rumpus, Bit of Alright, Jam and More

There are a bunch of exciting indie games happenings all happening at once between the 2nd February and the 6th. Below is your cut out and keep guide.

Thursday 2nd February – The Wild Rumpus returns to London, from it’s brief trip up North. As mentioned here before this should be a lot of fun and if you like drinking or playing video games, or both at the same time, then you ought to get yourself along.

Friday 3rd February – Bit Of Alright makes its debut appearance. This is a one day conference dedicated to indie games, run by the venerable David Hayward and a spiritual successor to World of Love. I attended the Winter World of Love last year and had a great time, I got to chat to a bunch of nice people and I learnt some things about making games too. If you are worried about not being part of the GDC Mafia because you can’t afford it then this is the perfect antidote.

Saturday 4th and Sunday 5th – Bit Of A Game Jam is where 60 people sit in a room and make video games for fun. George Buckenham is your host for this weekend of dreams and ideas at London South Bank University. Attendance is free but sign up to guarantee your place.

Monday 6th February – Our inimitable pub night at the Crown tops off this long weekend like the plastic glace cherry on top of a plastic ice cream sundae. No ice cream will be served so bring your own if you want some.

January Pub Night

Just a quick note to let everyone know the next pub night was not last Monday (if you turned up and were lonely, then I’m sorry). It will be on the 16th January, but we should be back to the first Monday as usual in February.