Monthly Archives: April 2009

That shoot beams when they roar

Some games don’t mess around. They’re a rare breed, the kind that looks at you square jawed with grit and determination and calmly states: “It’s go time“. Robot Dinosaurs (that shoot beams when they roar) is one of those games. From the moment the game starts atop makeout point, to the squeal of the guitars, to the over the top dialogue, to the hilarious shooting mechanic, this game is keenly aware of who it is for and what it is trying to be, and delivers. The whole game is very quick (there’s only one level) but there is a high degree of polish that you wouldn’t expect in such a short title. If you’re anything like me you’ll want to play it again at least once to try out the other character and see if there’s a difference.

I strongly recommend letting the game stay open for a little while after the credits, you’ll probably get a laugh out of it.

Welcome back to part 2 of the series on GDC 2009. While the last post covered some of the more interesting sessions from the Game Developer’s Conference., today’s post will focus on some of the more interesting people I had the pleasure of meeting. While you may not recognize all of their names (at least not yet), these are the guys and girls and who are doing new and exciting things in games. Perhaps unsurprisingly they are all independent developers and academics who are truly trailblazing new areas in gaming.

Alex Austin, Cryptic Sea
There are a large number of us who try very hard to make serious games that teach users real life skills in a fun way. Then there’s Alex, who just does it on a regular basis. He’s the brilliant mind behind Bridge Building Game (which eventually turned into Bridge Construction Set), a fantastically fun game in which you have to build suspension, draw, and railroad bridges over rivers and pits using real world physics. Alex isn’t stopping there though, and is currently hard at work on a new game… set on the moon. The premise is pretty simple, you’re an astronaut in a lunar lander, and you’re trying to take off from the moon and rendevous with the lunar orbiter so you can return to Earth. The catch? Limited fuel, a moving target, and a nasty case of gravity. It’s not enough to simply aim at the orbiter and go, you need to estimate where it will be, shoot ahead of it, and hope that you can meet up. The game sounds like a lot of fun, and will be available on Steam (hopefully soon!). The best part is that the game is just going to be part of a six pack of small, bite sized offerings, though I personally hope they all involve space, rockets, or bridges.

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