Platformerman - Freeware Beta

Platformerman is a beta game, so it’s no surprise that the game is somewhat unfinished. It has no music like the trailer does. In fact, the game has no sound what-so-ever. So why feature an unfinished game? Well this game is a perfect statement about graphics not making a game. This is a claim we hear from retro gamers all the time. Platformerman proves it. The game is totally devoid of graphics, and yet the gameplay is addictive and the controls are smooth. It’s a really fun game.

The idea is to bomb the red blocks and collect the green blocks. It’s that simple. I would recommend playing some chiptune music while this game is on, but one way or another, do give it a try. One thing that strikes me is the text before and after the match still manage to give the game a setting. You are not a block collecting other block. You are in fact, touring the world. A very blocky version of the world. Whenever this game get's completed, it's going to be one hell of a trip. Get platformerman here. 

TCR # 53 - Give Away

Episode 53 of Tiger Claw Radio is up now! This was a pretty fun episode to do. I have been so busy with my exams lately, it was really nice to sit down and talk about video games for an hour. This episode also has the information for the big contest. Make sure you listen for that. If you want to email the show, the address is TigerClawRadio@yahoo.com. Check out the latest episode of TCR here.

Here are the links for this episode:

Dr Zilog - Endless Hallway (Free Chiptune Album) 

http://8bc.org/forums/viewtopic.php?id=22677

The Ludum Dare 48-Hour Competition

Its twelve days until the 19th Ludum Dare 48 hour game making competition. Last August was the first time I really payed attention to the Ludum Dare and I must say it was an awesome experience. I had the chance to play incomplete betas watch the fruit and frustrations of real game production as well as enjoy the atmosphere of development. (And not to mention, some of the games were REALLY cool,)

I downloaded a copy of Construct which is a free, open source game development kit, and I have been tinkering around with it. I am hoping to get in on the action this time around. Though I’m sure I won’t be able to produce a game which could be a real contender, this is a great opportunity for anyone to get started in game production. If anyone else whishes to do the same, You can grab a copy of Game Maker or Construct for free, and you have twelve days to brush up on your tutorials before the competition starts.

I have created a new label for my saga of the Ludum Dare so you can follow along as I enter the wild jungle of game development from pre-competition preparations to my inevitable frustration and finally giving up on it like I do on everything. (Hopefully not.)

The competition runs from December 17^th to the 20^th. Wish me luck fellas.

Galcon Fusion - Indie Review

Real time strategy games stopped appealing to me in 1999 when I first played Command and Conquer online. I was building my army as quick as I could and before I could figure out where to begin my assault, an even bigger army consisting of some type of flying soldier flew in and stomped on my entire base like it was populated by ants. At that very moment, something changed in my brain. A neon sign was flashing the words “Too Complicated” over and over again.

My series of reviews of the mass amounts of indie games I purchased over thanksgiving break continues with Galcon Fusion. Galcon Fusion is the first RTS game I have enjoyed ever since. It came in a five dollar bundle of indie games which was on sale over Thanksgiving. (It usually retails for 9.99 on steam.)

The game is simple. The playing field is covered with planets. The object of the game is to eliminate the enemy by using your colored planets to launch attacks on their colored planets in the form of colored ships which look very similar to the ship from Asteroids. Space triangle attack a-hoy!

Unreal Tournament Contest! - Courtesy of GamersGate.com

GamersGate.com has graciously donated a staggering three copies of Unreal Tournament Game of the Year edition to Tiger Claw Radio to be given away in a contest! This is an awesome game which is very scalable so it will work on most computers. I have really enjoyed our Doom Night events. I will be purchasing a copy of Unreal Tournament out of pocket so hopefully the winners and I can get together and shoot it out. (Along with anyone else who ends up getting the game or happens to have it already.)

I'm not exactly sure how I'm going to run the contest, but it's going to be modeled after The Retro League's "fan of the month" prizes. That means you have a month to get in on it, and the winners will be selected randomly. Be sure to listen to TCR this Monday to get the details. Thanks again GamersGate.com!

Searchlight - Freeware Review

Searchlight is a platformer game staring an anime looking character who is out to collect all of the treasure chests on the screen thus continuing an everlasting quest to get to the next level. During the game, you guessed it, searchlights are after you and you need to keep away from them. (Because let me tell you. They are baaaad.) The level design shows innovation and lots of thought. Switches can be toggled in order to change the locations of some platforms giving the game a semi-puzzle feel despite controlling like a core platformer.

Searchlight is really fun and easy to pick up. The platforming mechanics are really strong, and the soundtrack is even stronger. Also, one thing that I absolutely adore about this game is that it supports USB gamepads. That seems to be a rare feature in the freeware market. This is one of those games that could quite easily have been an SNES game right out of the box.

The only real downside is having to navigate the download page which is in a foreign language. (Don’t worry. The game is in English.) But the fact that this game only weighs in at 13.2 megs makes up for that. This is one of those must have freeware games. It’s right up there with Spelunky and Cave Story. Seriously.  This is an under rated freeware game I can’t rave about enough. I wish I could make this review longer, but honestly, I’m going to go play the game. Peace. (Download Searchlight here.)

Beat Hazard - Indie Review

Beat Hazard is a dual stick shooter. There is no shortage of those. I ended up with this game because of Steam’s “Indie Pulse Pack” which packed it in with four other games for five bucks. (This game usually retails for 9.99) I must say though, when I actually played the game, I was impressed.

The main gimmick is that when you start the game, you load mp3’s from your music collection. Beat Hazard takes the enemy formations, and your bullet power, directly from the wave patterns of the music. Basically what this equates to is that each song becomes its own unique level. Then, on top of that, there is a large flashy light show which flickers to whatever you have playing in the background.

Welcome to the new site!

This is the third version of the website. Finally I have come up with something I can update easily. I'm not really happy with this theme just yet. (There is a lot of unused space on the screen.) However, I do like the blogger system which I think will lend itself to TigerClawTV.com nicely. I'm still working out all the bugs. As you can see, the domain I have is just forwarding you to the blogger page. I'll have to go back and fix that later. For now though, watch for new updates (hopefully) every other day at least. 

Right now I am hard at work on completing a Spy Hunter video for Tiger Claw TV. That should be good. Along with that, I have a secret project in the works which should launch sometime in January. I hope everyone had a good Thanksgiving and Merry Christmas!

Still testing.

Still working on the new layout. My days on Podomatic are numbered, but as long as I'm still with them, I want the player to continue to be embedded on the main page. Dhalamar from WastedSeconds.com has given me free hosting, so eventually I'll be switching over to having the episodes individually embedded as they come out. (And i'll run it through feed burner so you will be able to get it on iTunes or whatever pod catcher you use.)

While testing continues, watch for this page to become my new website.

Work in progrss.

Ladies and gentleman, this very well may be the new home of Tiger Claw TV& Radio. I'm still seeking a theme that feels right for this page. I haven't yet made this the destination of TigerClawTV.com so there is no reason I can't rebuild it from the ground up. (I know this current main page sucks real bad.) But with the monstercast over my head, plus finishing the latest Greenleo album, plus the need for more videos, there is little time to work on this page. Anyway, just an update for those of you who decided to check out the sample link.