PyWeek #16 in April
PyWeek logo
PyWeek is a game jam that obviously goes on for one week and requires the use of Python. It takes place online and there are overall winners in team and solo categories, as well as awards. The dates of the 16th PyWeek challenge are 00:00 UTC April 14, 2013 to 00:00 UTC April 21, 2013. Registration opens on 15. March 2013.
There is a message board for the community and there are interesting methods to publish Python games as HTML/JavaScript using pyjs, as demonstrated by the PyWeek #15 entry Kaos.
License Requirements: At least Shared Source required. Free software licenses recommended.
PyWeek #15 Entry: Rainbow Rooms
Rainbow Rooms is a physical-nonsense-maze puzzle game based on libtcod.
Various fonts are being used, some of which might be problematic license-wise for including in for example Debian's official repositories but it should be possible to replace them in less than two hours including research and documentation.
Code License: GPLv2
Content License: Unclear
Valyria Tear: "Final Release of Half-Episode I"
New Valyria Tear GUI screens
Valyria Tear Half-Episode I has been released, which I suppose we can take as 50% of Episode I's acts being complete.
The release brings new graphical interfaces and development is ongoing.
An OS X version can now also be grabbed from the OSX thread.
Code License: GPLv2
Content License: Various (DFSG approved)
Please bear with me for the duration of this post.
Медвед
BearGame игра про медведя прыгуящим на воздушных шарах. Актуальная альфа-версия была написана в Java.
видео: BearGame
Plee le Porter
BearGame n'est pas le seul jeu avec un ours. Par exemple, Plee The Bear est un jeu avec un ours comme personnage principal.
Neues Pac-Bär Logo
Des weiteren habe ich letztens das Logo für eine Berliner Hobbyspielentwicklergruppe namens Berlin Mini Jam überarbeitet. Dies hat nicht direkt was mit open source Spielen zu tun, aber einige von uns mögen die offene Soße und stellen unsere Spiele unter freien Lizenzen zur verfügung.
Thanks for Bearing!
A somewhat neglected topic here on FreeGamer are classic puzzle games, and OGS Mahjong is definitely one of the gems of this genre:
The stable 0.9 release of this game can be expected shortly, so brush up your Mahjong skills or take the opportunity to finally learn the rules of this age-old classic (like me).
The stable 0.9 release of this game can be expected shortly, so brush up your Mahjong skills or take the opportunity to finally learn the rules of this age-old classic (like me).
Wizznic! received more GUI enhancements [video (00:57@YouTube)]
TORCS 1.3.2 brings menu music into the game [.ogg (05:50/7.1MB)]
Knights 0.19 features deathmatch [description]
Humm and Strumm is an in-dev co-op game engine [design .pdf (156kB)]
SuperTux' level contest has four entries so far [submission thread]
Wizznic!
Wizznic! supports mouse & touchscreen. [Video] Code available on GitHub.
MeAndMyShadow
MeAndMyShadow 0.2rc1 is out. It features tutorial, in-game help, a new default visual style and an improved editor.
video: Epiar 0.5.0 game start
Epiar 0.5.0 has been released:
- UI clean-up
- Expanded missions system
- Sound and music additions
- Main menu
- Editor greatly expanded
- Misc. bug fixes
GemRB logo
GemRB 0.7.0 was released recently. Their wiki received a clean-up as well. The engine re-implementation runs on Android and iOS. BG, TotSC, BGII, ToB, IWD and HoW can be played start to end. Some features are missing and there are some new features too.
Bits & Bots: controlling two robots at once
Bits & Bots is a real-time puzzle game about figuring out the codes to moving robots around and get them to their targets most efficiently. It comes with binaries for 32/64bit Linux and Windows. Gpl code, by-sa art.
Goblin Camp 0.2, probably running some fancy tileset
Goblin Camp 0.2 brings a stockpile of changes:
- Piles replace Stockpiles. Everything is allowed and containers get automatically shuffled to where they are needed.
- Diseases will weaken and eventually kill your population if you don’t do anything about a growing population.
- Migratory animals will sometimes cross the map
- The spawning pool expands and spreads corruption in a smoother way, it’s improved from the abrupt way it was before.
- Cowardly creatures can now also panic if they encounter another panicking creature
- Death messages have been improved to give a bit more information, and a bit of variety has been added to them as well.
- Constructions strobe under the cursor now, to better visualize where one stops and another one begins.
- Portable mode. Just create a file named goblin-camp.portable in the directory where GC is installed and it’ll store all the files it needs in a sub-directory in that folder, instead of in the operating system’s default folder.
- Skeletons no longer bleed and other assorted bug fixes.
BASE Pro is a Windows-only base jumping simulation game. Its community and news can be found on this forum.
Community member LedInfrared got the hang out of gameplay video recording and shared videos of STK and Xonotic on this YouTube page, including download links to original video material!
Stuart Buchanan: FlightGear contributor
FlightGear's news section has seen quite a high activity lately, including three interviews:
- Oliver Jacq: scenery designer/scripter
- Gijs de Rooy: modeller and scenery designer
- Stuart Buchanan: coder and aircraft designer
Search for Smodrick 1.3.1, a simple ncurses-based game, was recently uploaded to SourceForge.
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| Nearly dead in Search for Smodrick 1.3.1 |
The gameplay consists of finding an optimal path to get to the next level and avoiding/deflecting enemy androids. Game turns appear to be mixed-real/turn-based
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| No monsters yet in this match of Black Obelisk 0.2 |
I was reminded of the JavaScript game Black Obelisk by Starinfidel, in which your task is to destroy hidden obelisks while avoiding or luring deadly monsters. Hint: input is via mouse and you start playing by pressing black tiles next to non-black tiles.
Both games are single-player puzzles with minimal visuals.
Phlipple
Phlipple is an original puzzle game which could be useful for training thinking in 3D.
It's available for Linux and Windows with 50 levels and there is a 100-level version for Android (EUR 1.70 / USD 2.30) and iOS (was it taken down? License drama senses tingling!).
I don't know anything about the availability/license of the build instructions/scripts for the portable platforms and of the additional level files but assume they are closed.
Video: Phlipple promo
Content:
- New levelsets, "Desert" and "Factory Campaign" (27 new levels in total)
- This is the first use of the desert and factory graphics in official levels
Gameplay:
- Deadly fall height increased
- Digger/Miner/Basher paths cleanup
Features:
- Demo recordings/playback re-implemented (32bit/64bit not compatible)
- --usedir parameter added (useful for portable play)
- Unicode support added
- Option menu added
Usability:
- Window can be resized in-game
- Soundcard dependancy removed
- Man page added
Look:
- Level dimensions now suit 1920x1200 resolution
- Anti-aliasing added to bitmap fonts
Performance:
- Software rendering improved
- OpenGL rendering option added
Other:
- Editor enhancements
- Fixes
"Summer?" you ask? Well.. I'ts warm in Berlin.*
Also a warning: this article is 80% development, 31.5% art and 18% games.
FreeGameDev Forums now have Spanish and Swedish/Danish/Norwegian subforums. Should we add some more? Read this then write here.
The 2.0 OpenClonk release brings higher resolution for the terrain, which makes the game look a lot better. Read the full changelog here.
Check out the Blendswap Military Vehicles Contest entries:
I'm amazed. But that's just me. I have a thing for mechs. Alot even.
Did anybody know of these CC-BY-SA-licensed WebGL tutorials? This dog told me about them.
* Speaking of Berlin, Germany. There was a little game dev jam in Berlin . Two of the prototypes are open source! (Hubwar and Nodehack)
Also a warning: this article is 80% development, 31.5% art and 18% games.
Cross-language forums so far
FreeGameDev Forums now have Spanish and Swedish/Danish/Norwegian subforums. Should we add some more? Read this then write here.
OpenClonk old and new terrain rendering
The 2.0 OpenClonk release brings higher resolution for the terrain, which makes the game look a lot better. Read the full changelog here.
Blendswap entries. Amazing.
Check out the Blendswap Military Vehicles Contest entries:
I'm amazed. But that's just me. I have a thing for mechs. Alot even.
WebGL lessons. Freely licensed too.
Did anybody know of these CC-BY-SA-licensed WebGL tutorials? This dog told me about them.
"Hacking" 8-hour prototypes: Hubwar and Nodehack
* Speaking of Berlin, Germany.
GJID's first level
I have a hard time playing puzzle games when their only reward is getting to the next one. Consequently I'm usually not a fan of Sokoban games. Having a little or a lot of story bundled with the puzzle helps though.
In GJID you control a brave robot of the name GJID, who volunteered to recycle dangerous weapons from a cold war. In 14 levels you have to dispose of nuclear and disruptor weapons.
Movement controls reacts instantly and you are allowed to skip levels. There is no save function and no sound. The game runs in full-screen but thankfully does not resize the screen and scales instead. License: MIT
This version seems to be made for *nix only. ./configure && make allows to easily run the game.
From the README:
This is a clone of the eponymous DOS shareware game written in 92 by John Remyn. I spoke with John in 95, when the first version of this clone was made. He admired the 8-bit graphics (original game was done in 4-color CGA) and did not object to its existence. His email address has since expired and the few contact attempts I've made recently hit dead ends. The DOS game was $10 shareware and I include the original registration form in the README, in case you want to track John down and give him money for the excellent level design that make this game what it is.
Aside from being an entertaining puzzle, I also release this game as an example of using the XCB library for making X applications. XCB is the new lightweight replacement for Xlib that suffers from lack of documentation. This game demonstrates how to create small applications with it and also how to use RENDER for drawing text, tile sprites, and for hardware scaling of the 320x240 backbuffer.
GJID reminds me of another, even more story-driven Sokoban-style game with simple graphics: The Villany of Cat Food Inc.
The first beta release of Cubosphere is available.
The game reminds of irrlamb and Neverball but is in fact a tile-based puzzle, rather than a free-physics/precision game. It has a simple level editor and 18 visual/audible styles to chose from. Some features of the 200+ levels are lasers, frying blocks, teleporters, switches, elevators and enemies.
The game reminds of irrlamb and Neverball but is in fact a tile-based puzzle, rather than a free-physics/precision game. It has a simple level editor and 18 visual/audible styles to chose from. Some features of the 200+ levels are lasers, frying blocks, teleporters, switches, elevators and enemies.
