Thursday, February 27, 2014

A House Divided Release Date And Trailer

The official Walking Dead page has been updated with the release date for episode 2 of season 2, A House Divided. Telltale will be releasing the game for PC, Mac, and PlayStation 3 on March 4, with Xbox 360, iOS, and international releases following very shortly afterward. Both episode one and two will be released for the PlayStation Vita at the end of March.

Hopefully the imminent release of The Walking Dead Season Two on Vita means that platform will be receiving The Wolf Among Us soon as well, as that game is currently AWOL on Vita as well.
In related news, Telltale has brought back Playing Dead, this time through IGN, with Greg Miller replacing AJ Locascio as host. The latest episode contains an interview with the voice of Luke, Scott Porter, and a new trailer for The Walking Dead: Season Two: Episode 2.

GOG.com teams up with IGN for a Year of Adventure



Kosta Andreadis of IGN is playing through some of the most seminal adventure games throughout 2014, as part of IGN's Year of Adventure.  He already played through King's Quest I, King's Quest II and III, and Space Quest I and II.

He will be playing through many more classic adventure games throughout the year.  When these articles go up, keep an eye on GOG.com, as they will have 48 hour promotions for the game or games that they cover, provided they have the game in their catalog of course. They're also planning on having additional events for the developers that made those games.

Wednesday, February 19, 2014

Gold Rush Remake Is In Development

Gold Rush, one of the last official adventure games created on Sierra's AGI engine, developed by the MacNeill bros. and published by Sierra, is receiving a high definition remake, courtesy of Sunlight Games.

The adventure follows a man named Jerrod who travels from New York to California in search of gold in 1848, at the cusp of the California Gold Rush. The game had three seperate routes to take to get to California, and the remake will be faithful to the original, with all three routes in-tact, and containing the original storyline. The remake will also allow you to optionally use a verb parser to control the game along with point and click for movement, or through complete point and click control. It is scheduled to be released some time from late 2014 to 2015, but if you'd rather not wait to play the remake, the original game will be re-released for PC and iOS later this spring.

Friday, February 14, 2014

Grim Fandango With Full Mouse Support

A programmer named Tobias Pfaff has released Grim Mouse, a modified ResidualVM and Grim Fandango so that the game can be played completely with point and click mouse control.

Grim Fandango can now be played with point and click control in all scenes, including the scenes where the camera shifts to close-up view.  It also has a new point-and-click inventory system.  In order to accomplish this feat, Tobias had to make major modifications to both the ResidualVM code and the game source.  Luckily, ResidualVM's PatchR code allows for fan patches to be applied at run time, so all that is required to run this is the original game, just as the main ResidualVM branch.

Tobias has released a Mac and Windows build of Grim Mouse, and the sourcecode is freely available if you want to compile it to try it on other platforms.  It is currently in beta phase, so there are likely to be bugs present since it hasn't been fully tested yet.  If you want to participate in the testing, or just want to try it out for yourself, head over to the Grim Mouse thread on the ResidualVM forums.

Tuesday, February 11, 2014

Book of Unwritten Tales 2 Kickstarter

The Book of Unwritten Tales 2 Kickstarter is now live for a crowd-funding effort to fund a sequel to the King Art adventure.

There are several tiers to choose from, starting at $5 to get access to the developer forum and digital wallpaper, $25 for a digital version of the game through Steam or GOG, $35 for digital versions of the game, soundtrack, and a making-of art book, $90 for a boxed version of the game, a mouse pad, your name in the credits, and digital versions of the special edition of the original game plus Critter Chronicles, the Superfan pack at $250 which includes a puppet, a signed poster, your name in the game with your offenses and pranks as a student recorded for all to see (plus everything from the boxed version tier) all the way up to $5000 to visit the team during a voice recording session or during an orchestra recording session (as well as a bag and everything in the Superfan pack. 

So, if you want to support the funding of this game, head to the The Book of Unwritten Tales 2 Kickstarter and pick a tier.

Monday, February 10, 2014

Vote on the Top 10 Amnesia Fortnight Pitches

The 2014 Amnesia Fortnight Top 10 Finalists have been announced. They are:

  • Breach - a space sim 3rd person shooter by Geoffrey Soulis.
  • Dear Leader - An emergent narrative game by Anna Kipnis, where you play a despotic ruler guiding the future of a post-revolution Republic.
  • Derelict - an exploration game by Oliver Franzke, in which you'll have to find out what happened to the crew of an abandoned spaceship drifting through outer space.
  • Eras of Adventure - an adventure game by Justin Bailey that journeys through the different eras of adventure games - begin in a text based adventure, move to the 8-bit graphics era, through points & click, and finally arrive in the modern day renaissance of the genre.
  • ether - a game by Andrew Wood about the joy of exploration; skimming over the ruins of derelict ships scattered across a lonely, desolate island.
  • ExtraTerrarium - An open-world Action Puzzler by Asif Siddiky, where you observe the behavior of alien wildlife and adopt their abilities to survive in a hostile ecosystem.
  • Mneumonic - a surreal, first-person noir adventure by Derek Brand, where you explore and rearrange memories in order to solve the murder of the woman you loved. Along the way you'll discover the impermanence of your remembered experiences and uncover secrets that are found only in the deepest realms of your consciousness.
  • Project 行 - a spell-casting fighting game, by Duncan Boehle, based on the five Chinese elements.
  • Steed - a game by John Bernhelm, in which you play a horse-for-hire and save a storybook land full of inept heroes.
  • What Could Go Wrong - a summer camping slasher horror adventure game by David Gardner that captures the aesthetic of the films from the 70's and 80's. 
  • Now you can vote on the top 10 prototypes, and the three with the highest votes will be made into Amnesia Fortnight prototypes. The three winning prototypes will be announced on Thursday.

    You still can vote on the four prototype pitches by Adventure Time creator Pendleton Ward, to decide which prototype game project he will lead as well. To get a chance to vote on the prototypes, all you have to do is head over to The 2014 Amnesia Fortnight and pay a minimum of $1 to vote on and get the three Double Fine prototypes or pay more than the average to vote on and get Pendleton Ward's prototype as well. Or you can pay $35 to get to vote and download all of the prototypes, plus get all of the prototypes on DVD plus the 2-Player Productions documentary of the event on Blu-Ray.

    Saturday, February 8, 2014

    The Quest For Infamy Companion Kickstarter

    The Quest For Infamy Companion Kickstarter is going on now. This is a crowd funding effort for a hint book for the RPG adventure hybrid which was successfully funded through Kickstarter in 2012.  Quest for Infamy is inspired by Sierra titles, and likewise The Quest For Infamy Companion is inspired by Sierra's hint guides.  It will even contain a red decoder that will decode specific hints, in order to keep the other hints unspoiled.

    The Kickstarter has many tiers, from a $5 tier that will get you thanks on the website (but won't get you the hint book), to a digital version of the hint book at $15, a physical soft cover version at $25, a digital and physical softcover version at $35, to a hardcover copy at $100.  There are also tiers available that include the game as well, if you missed it last time, or just want to up your pledge to get a physical copy of the game as well.  The tiers include options to get a DVD version of the game, or an old-school "big box" version, all the way up to "The Absolute "Infamous" Collector's Tier" at $500, which will get you a signed hardcover version of the hint book, a softcover version of the hint book, a digital version of the hint book, a digital version of the game, a big box version of the game, a canvas printing of your choice of artwork from the game, and a sketch of your likeness included in the foreward section of the hint book.

    So, if you want to support a Kickstarter for a classic style adventure game hint book, want to support this intriguing classic style adventure RPG hybrid, or both, head to The Quest For Infamy Companion Kickstarter and choose a tier.

    The Wolf Among Us Episode 2 Now Available on iOS

    The iOS version of The Wolf Among Us now has episode 2 available, which can be purchased and downloaded inside of the application.

    With this, most of the season's announced platforms are up to date. However, there's still no sign of when the PlayStation Vita version of episode 1 and 2 will be released.

    Thursday, February 6, 2014

    Amnesia Fortnight 2014 JAM + Humble Weekly Sale

    The Amnesia Fortnight 2014 Jam is on now! Pay $1 or more and get to choose which three prototypes will be made between these prototype pitches:

    David Ferrell's Cat in a Box, Brandon Dillon's Timagotchi, Levi Ryken's The White Witch's Gnome War, Jeremy Mitchell's Astro Helmet, Matthew Franklin's Scavengers, Duncan Boehle's Project 行, Patrick Hackett's Bad Golf 2, Drew Skillman's Reentry, Derek Brand's Mnemonic, Lydia Choy's Dum Sim, Chad Dawson's Parabolic, Ben Burbank's Jet Girl & Ghost Dog, Paul Owens' Gone Astray, Elliott Roberts' GREAT SPIRITS, Asif Siddiky's ExtraTerrarium, Justin Bailey's Eras of Adventure, Brain Min's The Last Missile Commander, Oliver Franzke's Derelict, Geoffrey Soulis' Breach, Lee Petty's Headlander, Andrew Wood's ether, JP LeBreton's Buried Metropolis, David Gardner's What Could Go Wrong, Kee Chi's Humans: A Study Guide, Ben Peck's Oscillate, Jeremy Natividad's Mega Rad Karate Troopers, Paul Levering's Fathomless, Anna Kipnis' Dear Leader, and John Bernhelm's Steed.

    10 finalists will be announced on February 10th. If you pay more than the current average (just over $7 at the time of writing), you also get to choose a prototype to be led by Adventure Time's creator Pendleton Ward (Cupid, You Fat Little Scamp, Damnit Jerry, No More McDonalds, or Little Pink Best Buds).
    In addition, the whole thing will once again be documented by 2 Player Productions. Everyone who pays for the Amnesia Fortnight 2014 gets the Amnesia 2012 prototypes. Plus, if you pay $35 or more, you'll get a Blu-Ray Collector's edition of Amnesia Fortnight 2014.

    That's not the only Double Fine Humble Bundle that's going on though. The Humble Weekly Sale is all about Double Fine, with Psychonauts, Costume Quest, Stacking, and Brutal Legend up for PC, Mac, and Linux (for Steam or DRM-free) for whatever you wish to pay, including their soundtracks. If you pay more than $16.74, you'll also get Spacebase DF-9 (for PC, Mac, or Linux through Steam Early Access).

    Wednesday, February 5, 2014

    The Wolf Among Us Episode 2 Is Out Now

    Update 2/6: Microsoft is sending out download codes to those who purchased the season pass for The Wolf Among Us on XBLA. Check your Live inbox for the message. If you haven't received yours yet, you should be getting it soon.

    The Wolf Among Us: Episode 2 - Smoke and Mirrors is out now on the Telltale Games store, Steam, and on PlayStation Network and Xbox Live Arcade.  It is scheduled to be released for iOS some time later this week.

    However, note that there's apparently a problem with season passes on XBLA, where the system will not let you download episode 2 if you purchased a season pass. Do not click to buy episode 2, as you will be charged twice. Microsoft updated their Xbox live status page stating that they are working on it now, and should have a fix out by tomorrow.

    Amerzone is Now Available on Android

    Google Play now has Amerzone available for Android devices.  This adventure, by Benoit Sokal (creator of the Syberia series), follows a journalist who visits an old man who made a claim 60 years ago that he saw a giant white bird in the mysterious Amerzone region.  The Android is said to not be just a mere PC port, as this version has been optimized for mobile platforms and touch screen controls.

    Saturday, February 1, 2014

    The Wolf Among Us Episode 2 Release Dates

    The Telltale Blog has just been updated with release dates for The Wolf Among Us: Episode 2 - Smoke and Mirrors. They have also recently released a trailer for the episode that has been labeled a red band trailer due to the violence and sexual content within.

    Smoke and Mirrors will be released on February 4th for PC, Mac, and PSN in North America, and on February 5th for PSN in Europe and XBLA. The iOS version will be released next week as well. The Vita version won't be releasing at that time, as there's still no word on the Vita release of episode one (nor is there any word on the Vita version of The Walking Dead: Season Two - Episode 1 for that matter).