What is Dev BitZ?
Hey! My name is Ryan (Master Blud) Owner and Head Editor at VVGtv.com. We also have a YouTube, did you know that? Anyways, I have something of interest to my Indie Developer Friends. We would like it if you, send us up to a 25 minute video at the least, on your game, whether it be in beta/aplha/released. The video has to show mechanics, gameplay (preferably a lot), voice over while playing describing your game while playing (our viewers love commentary). The videos you send us will be featured on our channel as Dev BitZ, a new series where developers show off their games to the world!
HERE IS WHAT WE NEED FROM YOU!
-The video must be in at least 720p
-Intro (Hey all, I/WE am/are yourname/studioname and this is our game _________________, and welcome to Dev BitZ.
-End the video with a way for the watchers to contact you or where to buy the game when it comes out, make sure to include the platform you are playing on!
-If you have a kickstarter, let them know about that too!
-When sending these videos, you can either tell us that you approve of us monetizing the video. or If you do not approve, your video will still be submitted. (either way, it will be reviewed)
-Lastly, send all of this to pr@vvgtv.com
We will review each video and get back to you as soon as possible!
Thanks and let’s see those games!
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Slender: The Arrival Review
PC Game
$10
By: Daizoren
Perhaps the most anticipated horror game of the year, Slender: The Arrival has to fill the shoes of the original Slender: The Eight Pages in an attempt to scare players in a way that the original never could. With Blue Isle Studios and Parsec Productions working in conjunction, do they achieve this hefty feat? Or does Slender: The Arrival lose it’s effect in a market that is saturated by wanna-be clones? (more…)
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A Look At: Doctor Who: The Eternity Clock
Happy Thanksgiving to all of you! For those who celebrate it. We have a treat for you either way. Enjoy this episode of A Look At. Let’s take a look at Doctor Who: The Eternity Clock on Steam. Go buy it now HERE
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A Look At: Schein (Development Demo)
Here’s a look at the indie game Schein and it’s development demo. Please excuse the slower framerate.
For more information, check out the game’s website.
http://codecube.eu/scheingame/
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Indie Spotlight: Year Walk, Descent and Star Wars 7!?!?
Welcome to the Indie Spotlight, bringing the latest in news, trailers and new releases in the Indie Video Game area.
Descent UDK footage – http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=OxOxiOQ4sXU
Original X-Com Dev working on remake of Chaos – https://twitter.com/julian_gollop/status/264373422216314880
Disney Buys LucasArts – http://thewaltdisneycompany.com/disney-news/press-releases/2012/10/disney-acquire-lucasfilm-ltd
Blood, Grain and Steel – http://www.davidwaltersdevelopment.com/games/bloodgrainsteel/
Zombies – http://www.thebignic.com/zombies/demo.php
Lucius – http://lucius.shivergames.com/
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My Sister and I play Slender
Happy Halloween! As a special bonus video, I decided to grab my sister (Who scares easily) and have her play the viral hit Slender. I am personally terrified of Slenderman and she’s easily scared, so together we are the perfect victims for this game. Watch us get tense and try to find all 8 pages.
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Gateways, 2D Portal-like fun for $1
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Black Mesa Review
PC Mod
Free
By: Daizoren
As time slowly ticks away, we don’t seem to be getting any closer to any information regarding the release of Half-Life 3, but to help ease some tension, a fan made remake of Half-Life has just arrived on the scene after years of development. Watching as this project has been completed has felt like forever at times, but was the wait for this ambitious remake worth it? (more…)
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Indie Spotlight: Angry Birds, Vote and a free game!
Welcome to the Indie Spotlight, bringing the latest in news, trailers and new releases in the Indie Video Game area.
Alpha Zero http://funkoi.com/
Grimind http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=92989244&searchtext=
Angry Birds Friends https://apps.facebook.com/angrybirds/
Happy Wars – http://www.happywars.net/
Vote!!! – http://www.gameinformer.com/b/news/archive/2012/08/22/vote-the-game-coming-from-infinity-blade-dev.aspx
Plants v.s. Zombies 2 – http://www.gameinformer.com/b/news/archive/2012/08/20/plants-vs-zombies-2-coming-in-spring.aspx
Bit.Trip Beat – https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.gaijingames.bittripbeat
Anne & Beanie – http://www.indiedb.com/games/anne-beanie
K.C. Entertainment Studios Extra-Life Page – http://www.extra-life.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=donorDrive.team&eventID=508&teamID=8109
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SOLLOMAN working on new 3D platformer?
By: Daizoren
New footage released by “Happy” developer, SOLLOMAN, shows some platforming stage in Unreal’s UDK. Could this mean a future 3D game? We’re not sure, but it looks like it’s something to be looking forward too. We’ve contacted SOLLOMAN for further information. You can check out the footage from his “Floating Windmill” level below.
*Full disclosure: Kyle (Daizoren) worked on SOLLOMAN’s last game, “Happy”*
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Babel Rising Mobile Review
Android Mobile Game
$4.99
Developer – Ubisoft
By: Daizoren
Hoping to bring some fun and entertainment to the idea of being your own god, Babel Rising gives you powers beyond that of mere mortals in order to bring down fury and spite against your defiant creations. Does this god simulator end up being all it’s cracked up to be? Or is being a god more than one mortal could do?
Graphics
For a mobile title, Babel Rising does a decent job of showing you all that is going on. Your enemies can be small at times and hard to pin point, but when you have abilities that hurt multiples, it doesn’t make much of a difference. The environments are well off enough that you can grasp where you are and what you’re doing. Special moves have a special aesthetic to them but none of them seem to be very overwhelming in their appearance. Babel Rising isn’t trying to wow the player with it’s graphics. It merely presents wat it needs to get by.
Gameplay
Starting out, some of the powers you’ll receive might get you excited for what is to come. Lightning strikes, fire abilities, boulders and other attacks make it seem like you have control over anything you want. As time goes on, however, you’ll find yourself resorting to a very set number of abilities and techniques to get by and nothing seems to ever progress except for the length of each gaming session. Timed levels ask for a lot when you’re playing something that is meant to be a mobile, pick up and play type of title. Other levels ask for a high number of kills before you are done and this can take a long time as well. If you’re looking for something to have short spurts of gaming sessions, you should probably look elsewhere.
Sound
There’s nothing really special to the sound of Babel Rising. The music is pretty mundane and most times you’ll never even notice it. Effects like lightning and fire all sound pretty normal and nothing special about any of them. The only saving grace to the sound is when you kill a character. They’re tiny voices can garner a laugh or two from time to time, but even that enjoyment seems to fade after time.
Replay Value
For as long as the campaign is, Babel Rising doesn’t seem to hold a lot of replay value because the campaign itself can be a hassle just to get through. Each level seems to be a lot of the same thing, despite some new abilities being unlocked as you go. To think that you might want to play the game over again seems hard to fathom with a title that is this repetitive.
Recap
Pros
- Decent Graphics
- Funny voices
- Fun at first
Cons
- Mundane gameplay
- Bland environments
- Same thing over and over
- No replay value
For a title that tries to put the powers of a god in your hands, you feel more like you’re just doing a chore by smiting characters over and over again. With a lack of new abilities and branching them out into greater powers (Only 3 per power) this title seems to fall short of something that could have been a lot more fun.
Graphics – 7.5
Gameplay – 5
Sound – 5
Replay Value – 2
Overall – 4.9
*Note: This review was based on playing Babel Rising on a Samsung Galaxy S II*
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Indie Game of the Week: Red Invasion: Tower Defense
Just by looking at this game makes you go WOAH! Possibly one of the better games that Milkstone Studios has created. This title reminds me so much of Command and Conquer, except this game is on the rails tower defense instead of straight RTS. The objective is to keep your tower safe away from oncoming enemies, and at times, the enemies rush really quick. Building your defenses in a timely manner is key to your success and is rewarding at the end. You will end up finding yourself going through all of your defenses in the blink of an eye the more you play. It isn’t about how many defenses you have, it’s about how you place them and choose which to upgrade. The visuals are sexy, although some of the maps may seem a bit small, but for 80 MS Points, you can’t go wrong. The audio in the game gets me going, enough for the next battle. I would like to see more of these types of games from Milkstone. Altogether, Red Invasion: Tower Defense gets a 4.5 out of 5. It gives you a huge bang for your buck, the quality and controls are superb in my opinion. Go ahead and purchase Red Invasion: Tower Defense for 80 MS Points
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Indie Spotlight: Hawken, Ouya’s last week and virtual reality!
Welcome to the Indie Spotlight, bringing the latest in news, trailers and new releases in the Indie Video Game area.
Dynasty of Dusk – http://tropictundragames.com/?cat=6
Stained – http://realaxissoftware.com/
Hawken – http://www.playhawken.com/
Minecraft – http://www.minecraft.net/
Ouya – http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/ouya/ouya-a-new-kind-of-video-game-console
Oculus Rift – http://oculusvr.com/
Bullet Run – http://www.bulletrunthegame.com/
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Community Replay: The Series Finale
By: Daizoren
And so the end begins. Welcome to the Series Finale of Community Replay. It’s been broken into 2 parts because of rendering issues, but part 1 is up and part 2 is currently uploading.
In this episode we go through and play some of our favorite titles of our gaming history and we talk about some of our favorite moments from the past 2 seasons. It’s been a fun ride and we’ve enjoyed every moment we’ve had with you guys. You’ve been an amazing community (Albeit some dramatic times as well haha) and we certainly couldn’t have done it without you.
To all of editors, we’d like to thank you for the inspiration to create and maintain this series for the past 2 seasons and we always look forward to watching Replay from you. If you have a chance, we hope you’ll enjoy this special finale that includes a special message to you (As well as everyone else) at the end of part 2.
I would like to personally thank Ben Hanson for encouraging me to create the series in the first place. His encouragement and admiration for the idea is what has kept it going for as long as it has.
But now we say goodbye to this series in place for something that we hope you’ll enjoy much more in the future. Thanks for the memories and the wonderful moments, and thanks for getting myself (As well as I’m sure everybody else) back into retro gaming. I forgot how fun it could be.
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Indie Spotlight: OCD, Penny Arcade and Lightning/Thunder!
By: Daizoren
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Thomas Was Alone (Review)
Review by: Ady Carter
Created by Mike Bithell, Thomas Was Alone bills itself as “a minimalist game about friendship and jumping” which to be frank is pretty much exactly what it is. Spinning out of a successful flash-based demo and with a little bit of crowd funding support to polish it up, Thomas Was Alone arrives this weekend for the PC and Mac. It’s a tough game to accurately describe, and one that’s perhaps best discovered rather than laid out before you in a review, but this is a review and you expect as much, so I should try! (more…)
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Community Replay: Advent Rising
By: Daizoren
This latest episode we take a look at the giant flop that had a promise of a 1 million dollar prize that was never given out, Advent: Rising
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Indie Spotlight: Bleed, Indie Gala and another video game documentary!
By: Daizoren
Another week, another episode of Indie Spotlight. This week we talk trailers of Bleed, Spate and Kitaru and bring you some news on an upcoming Video Game Documentary!
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Max Payne Mobile Review
Android Mobile game
$2.99
Developer – Rockstar
By: Daizoren
With the revival of Max Payne in his first HD campaign, Rockstar has released the original, last generation bullet time spectacle to mobile devices. It released early for iPhone but just was released for the Android market more recently. Do Max’s moves have enough flair and grace to find a comfortable spot on a mobile device? (more…)
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You Like Me? Aw, I like You! Y U NO TWEET MAH INDIE GAEM?
By: Master Blud
In all honesty, as someone who’s deep within the indie games and trying to promote them as best as possible. I see a lot of flaws with this system, as originally with VVGtv, we were going to have a developer put together an app where all developers alike, regardless of the platform, could cross promote each other. I see it failing for it being too spammy, too many people will promote the other indie games, possibly lose their credibility as a developer and lose consumers. I am being completely honest here. It hurts me to say, but concentrate on your own promotions, your own games and let the media handle promotions, seriously. We shouldn’t have a call out to all “INDIE DEVS” to cross promote, they already d (more…)
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Indie Spotlight: One Finger Death Punch, Limbo’s Successor and Apple Jack 2!
by: Daizoren
It’ monday and time for the weekly indie update. we’ve got your fill of news, trailers and new releases right here on Indie Spotlight.
Interested in Shadow of the Game? There is currently an Open Beta Registration over at Shadowofthegame.com.
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Akane the Kunoichi has a new platform to jump on
Akane the Kunoichi is probably one of the most played Xbox Live Indie Game hack’n’slash platformers in this history of Xbox Indie Games. I mean, I still play that game. Not just because of the boobs……..well maybe because of the boobs. Anyways, Haruneko is also responsible for another Ace Gals Tennis. That game is also filled with boobs and Kevin MacLeod music. Below is the press release from Haruneko.
(more…)
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Arcade Review: Sega Vintage Collection: Streets of Rage
Xbox Live Arcade Game
800 MS Points
Developer – SEGA
by: Daizoren
Making it’s revival from the Genesis, Streets of Rage makes it’s arrival on Xbox Live Arcade. With all 3 games bundled into one single package (Reminiscent of Streets of Rage Remake) it appears to be a great deal. As someone who played the original more than any other beat’em up game, I was very excited to revisit this childhood brawler. (more…)
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Indie Spotlight: Among the Sleep, The Humble Indie Bundle and Wreck it Ralph
By: Daizoren
Welcome to the very first episode of Indie Spotlight, where we look at upcoming trailers for indie games, news and new releases. Check out our episode and, if you’re an indie developer, let us know about your project via twitter. More information in the video.
VVGtv 