Retroview - Exile III: Ruined World

Official Site: http://www.spiderwebsoftware.com/exile3/winexile3.html


I don't exactly remember how I came across Exile 3 for Windows, but I recall looking for a game similar to Ultima.  When I was playing the game, it was a shareware that limited the player in content.  Despite that, the game provided hours of gameplay nonetheless.  The player would create a party of 6 with unique abilities, traits and characteristics that made them pivotal to the team composition.  The player could choose to go anywhere they wanted, do want they wanted and when they wanted.  There are random encounters and events that change the game up a bit which is one of the driving factors in which made the replay value much longer.  I had nearly forgotten about the game until I was recently backing up some save files for my games and came across the folder "Exile3" and realized I had played this game years ago.  The game was unforgiving with all sorts of misfortune that would kill off your entire party, poison them, curse them, or some other situation that doesn't favor them.  There weren't that many animations other than some spells or projectiles moving as most of the art assets are static images.  As far as I know, the game is developed by a man and his wife and have been making these types of games for years now with bought assets.  I unknowingly bought a game made by them called Avadon (I have still yet to play the game).  It has similar mechanics in creating a party, equipping them with items, balancing the team with different classes, and a free roaming RPG experience.  A lot of their other games did not really interest me when looking at them, but now that I know they're made by the same person as Exile 3, I'm rather intrigued by how his experience in RPG development has changed.  Avernum: Escape from the Pit was one of them.  I see actual animated characters, effects, and think it might even have music in it (or it could be just specifically for the trailer).  I wanted to revisit Exile 3, create a new party, and explore the dungeons once again, but sadly the game isn't compatible with Windows 7 and won't even allow me to install the game.  For those who still use Windows XP, the game is free now and can be downloaded and played right away.  Just click the top link and click download.  I guess it's time for me to move on and check out the new games this developer has made.

GameOn - Free Games - Indie Games/Shareware/Freeware

Yesterday was an exciting topic on flash and browser based games.  They're small in data size, easily accessible, and don't require payment, registration, or downloads.  Unfortunately, because they're usually poorly made or created by an individual, they may not always have that "game-like" experience to it that some people might be looking for.  So today, I'll be sharing with you all about the wonders of "indie gaming" and their older forms and counterparts "shareware" and "freeware".

Source: Youtube Channel ChaoticHarmonyEcho
Play the demo at Kongregate now!

Okay, so the video is actually of a commercially sold indie game, but a free demo is available for play at Kongregate and is also available to buy on Steam for $5.  The rest of the games I talk about today will be free (I'll try my best to stay on that path).  Indie games as well as freeware/shareware games are very unique from mainstream games and thus have a certain charm to them (besides being free).  Because most indie developers work for themselves and don't have a publisher controlling their creative designs, limitations, budgets and deadlines, indie games will tend to have aspects in gaming that publishing companies would rather not risk investing so much money on.  There are a lot of indie games that are released on flash, but there's a good amount of games that run on the computer's own coding or game engine and thus requires people to download the game with or alongside the game an engine/program necessary to run the game.

Advantages:
-Games are (usually) of higher quality
-Many indie and shareware games have originality because of the freedom of creativity that the developers have
-The games are usually in decent sizes and shouldn't take too long to download
-Some games are full versions released by the developers/publishers themselves
-Certain games don't require installation and can be carried around a data storage and be played on any PC

Disadvantages:
-Finding a full version of an indie game or freeware can be difficult
-There are a lot of game under the guise of a freeware when it's a demo to a full game that requires payment
-Some games require very specific programs that can't be downloaded for free (such as Visual Basic)
-Games that mimic a retail version of an existing game may not have the same polish or gameplay experience
-There's a lot of bad/boring games out there, and you may not find out until you've tried it

To be honest, I only recently got into indie games in the past few years and I find that there are more and more quality games being developed by those who are still in college, just out of college, or those who have a strong background in the industry (ex. the guy who made Minecraft).  Before I looked into indie games, I downloaded and played a lot of shareware and freeware games.  These games are made by small companies, small teams, or individuals who have little to no experience in the game industry.  Freeware games are released as experiment games or games that were developed during someone's free time.  Shareware games are generally demos that require the player to purchase the game to play the rest of the game.  Demos are very different now.  Back a while ago, demos can be played as long as you want.  Demos nowadays have a limit of 14 days, 1 hour, or 10 plays before it blocks off the player from trying it anymore and asks the player if they want to purchase the game.  I've been so out of the loop with shareware and freeware that I'm not sure where the best places to look for them are anymore.  Indie games are a hit and miss.  Some games are fairly simple and don't have lasting appeal.  Other require a purchase before being able to play them.  There's also a lot of indie games that crossover to other topics that I'll be talking about this week such as flash games, modes, and mobile games.  Anyways, I'll try my best to pick out some interesting games for you all to try out.

Music/Rhythm Games:
-Stepmania - A Dance Dance Revolution clone with literally thousands of songs to dance/button mash to
-Frets on Fire - A Guitar Hero clone with a lack of polish, but is still a ton of fun
-Ultrastar Deluxe - A SingStar clone with tons of songs to sing to
-Osu! - A clone of Osu! Tatakau! Ouendan!/Elite Beat Agents from the NDS on PC with lots of songs

Platformer/Adventure Games:

Source: Youtube Channel ZaibirQuild
-I Wanna Be The Guy - Notorious for being "THE" most difficult game in platform history thus far, I Wanna Be The Guy take everything that was challenging and memorable in retro day NES and put together a provocative masterpiece known by many but beat by few.  It could very well be set up in an art museum because of how unconventional and different from mainstream videogames of our modern times.
-N+ The Way of the Ninja - A game built in flash and available for download, N+ utilizes the simple game mechanic jumping and of physics in a death-defying, acrobatic plat-former that'll keep the player playing, even after dying the 72th time in a row.
-Spelunky - This charming little game randomly generates dangerous caves for the tiny protagonist to explore and find treasure in.  Along the way is everything else that could kill you (rocks, snakes, spiders, falling from a high place).  It has high replay value and the experience changes each time around.
-Cave Story (Doukutsu Monogatari) - Last month, I talked about a genius man named Daisuke Amaya who created a game by himself through 5 years of hard work.  Cave Story is the game that he created.  The first three platformers I listed are rather extreme in difficulty level.  Cave Story is much more relaxed and has a great story/adventure to it.  I highly recommend this one.

Roguelike-RPGs:
-Desktop Dungeons - This deceptively difficult roguelike RPG has a lot to offer within a really small package.  The game is simple to learn and play, but very difficult to complete even once.  It's very similar to the game I mentioned yesterday "Hack Slash Crawl" where you can choose the class and race of your character and play out a short RPG adventure.  It's not flashy, it looks and feels old and outdated, but it's very entertaining and can be addictive.
-Dwarf Fortress - I haven't played this game enough just because I'm kind of confused when playing it, but it is one of the most critically acclaimed indie games talked about in the industry.  Look past the ASCII graphics and give this game a shot.

Shoot-em-ups:

Source: Youtube Channel dj08b05
-Genetos - I didn't know what was so great about the game when I first started it, but then I realized what the game was about when I progressed farther.  The game takes the player on a trip through time on the way shoot-em-ups have evolved throughout history from its days of space invaders to crazy bullet-hell "danmaku" shooters like DoDonPachi (or Touhou or Mushihime-sama Futari if those are more familiar).  The game is small, but the fun is big.  Go ahead and try it out.
-Warning Forever - Do you like shoot-em-ups for the large boss battles but hate going through the levels?  Then Warning Forever is for you.  The game throws boss after boss at you and rates you on how you play.
-Blue Wish Resurrection Plus - I was about to put down rRootage, but realized how similar in idea of boss only gameplay it's like to Warning Forever.  BWR Plus is a Japanese shoot-em-up with bullet hell elements to it.  It's fun for the most part, but really fun on the hardest difficulty level.

Other Links to check out:
-IndieDB - This is a nice site to look for up coming indie developers and their games.  I'll probably look into posting my stuff there in the future if I ever get that far with my game development.
-Indie Games - A list of the best indie games of each year/category.
-Cnet Download - A lot of big name companies have their games here.  Some are demos, some are full games.  There's also downloads for free MMOs which I'll talk about sometime this week.
-Gamershell - Lots of free full games on their site.
-Freeware Games - A site full of free games.  I'll probably check it out some more since I see new stuff.

Freeware games are like little presents.  The download is the wrapper, the .exe or install is the box holding the content, the game is the surprise.  Have fun and be wary of freeware game sites with virus/trojans on them~