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The Joystiq Indie Pitch: Full Bore

Indie developers are the starving artists of the video-game world, often brilliant and innovative, but also misunderstood, underfunded and more prone to writing free-form poetry on their LiveJournals. We believe they deserve a wider audience with the Joystiq Indie Pitch: This week, Whole Hog Games' Jake Federico talks fundraising for Full Bore, a platformer about friendship and, well, boars.

The Joystiq Indie Pitch Full Bore
What's your game called and what's it about?

Our game, Full Bore, follows the story of a young boar named Frederick as he gets caught up in the troubles of the Full Bore Mining Company.

You can try the demo of Full Bore here, or visit the website to see a trailer, preview the soundtrack and see more screenshots.

The game is an open world, where players explore the old tunnels of the Full Bore Mining Company in search of ancient secrets, treasure and things better left undisturbed. The mechanics of the game are created by the interaction between Frederick and the various blocks that make up the world.

The Joystiq Indie Pitch Full BoreThe challenge of the game ramps up as block types are introduced and the player must figure out how to combine their unique behaviors to traverse the world. Exploration in Full Bore is driven by knowledge, instead of arbitrary goals and item collection.

We are running a Kickstarter for Full Bore. If all goes well, we will be releasing in March.

What will you do if your Kickstarter doesn't succeed? How about if it does?

If our Kickstarter isn't successful, Full Bore will have to become our side project. All three of us would have to get full time jobs and work on the game part-time. We would finish it eventually, but there's no way we would be able to make our goal of a March release without severely compromising the quality of the game. We love Full Bore, but it could take years without some outside help.

If funding succeeds, two team members will work non-stop to complete the game in time for March. Last member will work a day job to help pay for food.

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Saber Interactive unlocking 'God Mode' on XBLA, PSN, and PC

God Mode from Saber Interactive announced for XBLA, PSN, PC
Saber Interactive invites you to go to Hades. That hellish welcome mat comes in the form of God Mode, a new third-person shooter for XBLA, PSN, and PC.

The co-op game puts you in the Maze of Hades as the descendant of a former god, where you must shoot, navigate and try not to be driven crazy by the "wacky," foppish narrator. "The first thing we do is tell you how you died," said Saber CEO Matthew Karch, speaking to IGN. "We have come up with some pretty fun ideas for that and they definitely add some lightheartedness to the game."

God Mode will be published in early 2013 by Atlus, of all people. Check out a trailer at IGN.

Endless Space receives free 'Light of Polaris' update

Endless Space update 3
Endless Space keeps receiving solid support from its development team, adding a third content pack for free to the 4X space strategy game. The "Light of Polaris" includes new achievements, Steam Cloud support, holiday stuff and welcomed updates.

The holiday specials include the new Polaris Factory Wonder and Oros Gec Faction Hero. The general updates include some faction tweaks and a "no pirates" option. There's also enhancements to the battle AI and automatic battle actions.

Strategy fans should keep an eye out for this game in the upcoming Steam sale.

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Bit.Trip Void launches on Steam today, Runner2 pre-orders open


Another Bit.Trip game has been released on Steam for PC and Mac. Bit.Trip Void, the third game to be released on WiiWare originally, is out today for $8.99, 10 percent off its regular price. In addition, a game and soundtrack bundle, featuring tracks by Nullsleep, is on sale for $10.79.

Even if you played it on WiiWare, there are reasons to consider checking it out on PC. Void has new difficulty modes and mid-level checkpoints, which are always embarrassingly welcome in these games.

In other Steam Bit.Trip news, you can now pre-order Runner2: Future Legend of Rhythm Alien for $13.49. You'll get a free copy of Runner for your trouble.

Molyneux's Project Godus reaches Kickstarter goal

Project Godus working prototype hopefully up by tomorrow

Peter Molyneux's studio 22cans has reached its £450,000 ($730K) Kickstarter goal for Godus, a spiritual successor to Molyneux's classic game Populous. The Project Godus Kickstarter reached its goal with a little under two days to go.

The studio has been a PR kick the past couple of days, summoning a pair of prototype videos that helped drive donations for the game's final days on the crowdsourcing site. The first gave a basic overview, while this morning's showed off the prototype for Godus' multiplayer.

The War Z removed from Steam

The War Z removed from Steam
Hammerpoint Interactive's The War Z has been removed from Steam amid allegations of false advertising from its community, which claims that the developer knowingly listed inaccurate information on The War Z's Steam profile.

Originally, the game's profile touted multiple areas ranging in size from 100 to 400 kilometers and servers capable of handling up to 100 players, according to this screenshot obtained by Gamespy. The profile also stated that The War Z was a "Single Purchase, Downloadable Client with the ability to play the full game without subscriptions or requiring in-game transactions," and failed to mention that this is a "Foundation Release," meaning that the game is still under development, with some areas even marked with alpha testing information.

In actuality, the game only has one zone, and servers were initially capped at a maximum of 50 players, though that issue at least appears to have been corrected. Moreover, The War Z features a microtransactional-based in-game economy, somewhat contradicting its claim of being a "single purchase" game. The profile has since been rejiggered and no longer makes mention of the multiple zones, nor does it make any mention of in-game transactions. It does, however, still neglect information about the game's somewhat early developmental stage.

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Humble Indie Bundle 7: Dungeon Defenders, Binding of Isaac, Indie Game the Movie, more

Humble Indie Bundle 7 offers Dungeon Defenders, Binding of Isaac, Indie Game the Movie, more
The Humble Indie Bundle is indie once again, offering a bunch of games and one movie for the low, low price of whatever you have. Humble Indie Bundle 7 includes Snapshot, The Binding of Isaac and its Wrath of the Lamb DLC, Closure, Shank 2, and a copy of Indie Game: The Movie.

Dungeon Defenders and its DLC, and Legend of Grimrock are added to the bundle for anyone paying over the average. This hasn't been announced yet, but spoiler alert: More games will be added to the bundle over time. We're psychic.

Sleeping Dogs: Zodiac Tournament add-on is skill of mortal combat, available now

Image Sleeping Dogs' "Zodiac Tournament" downloadable content is available today for $5 (400 MSP) on Xbox 360, PS3 and PC. The DLC finds protagonist Wei Shen entering the dragon of an exclusive combat tournament on the hidden Zodiac Island outside Hong Kong. ... Continue Reading

Molyneux plays, shows off Godus multiplayer


Peter Molyneux sits down and plays some Godus multiplayer in this latest update to the Kickstarter project, which is entering its final two days. If you're a fan of Molyneux's classic game Populous, you'll recognize a lot of the ideas in Godus with prettier packaging. It also ends in the classic "have all your followers kill all the other God's followers" cataclysmic showdown.

Project Godus has two days to go before its Kickstarter campaign concludes and it's looking on track -- as of this writing it's at £429,000 -- to hit its £450,000 ($730K) goal.

BioShock Infinite's first five minutes


So, obviously: spoiler warning.

PSA: Need for Speed: Most Wanted DLC reaches Ultimate Speed today


Criterion's latest racer, Need for Speed: Most Wanted, presents its first premium DLC pack today. The Ultimate Speed pack has five new rides up for grabs – the Pagani Zonda R, McLaren F1LM, Lamborghini Aventador J and Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport Vitesse – with 25 subsequent challenges for each to overcome.

Fairhaven also has one new Most Wanted rival prowling the streets in a Hennessey Venom GT Spyder, which you may then take down and claim for yourself. The Ultimate Speed pack is available on Xbox 360, PS3 and Origin right now for 800 MS Points ($10).

Mechwarrior Online 'Conquest Mode' update is massive

Image Mechwarrior Online's final update of 2012 is Conquest Mode, allowing players to capture locations in the Inner Sphere. The update brings three new mechs, including the Twin Dragons in the above video, the River City Night map and some New Year's goodies. See the pics and video right in here. ... Continue Reading

Dante's bling free when you buy Devil May Cry from Capcom

Free Dante's bling when you buy DmC Devil May Cry from Capcom
While Dante oozes style, we just kind of ooze. We could never pull off Dante's flashy pendant seen above. It's free to anyone who purchases a copy of DmC: Devil May Cry through the Capcom store.

Of course, you don't have to wear the pendant. You could just hang it somewhere, or lay it on a table near you while you silently prepare a sandwich during a Devil May Cry 4 installation. Yeah, that's right, we're bringing that gag back.

DmC: Devil May Cry launches on January 15, 2013 for the PS3 and Xbox 360; and on January 25 for the PC.

Final Penny Arcade 3 DLC on Steam this week, card game coming to iOS

Final DLC for Penny Arcade 3 coming Thursday to Steam, card game to iOS
"The Beginning of the End" is the final set of free DLC coming to Penny Arcade's On the Rain Slick Precipice of Darkness 3, and Zeboyd Games has announced that it's arriving on PC and the Xbox this Thursday, December 20. The DLC, which aims to fill in the story between the first three episodes, will bring a new playable character to the series, along with new enemies and new spells to fight them with.

As you can probably tell by the title, the DLC will set up the final game in the franchise, which is due sometime in 2013. This week, "The Beginning of the End" will only arrive on Steam and Xbox Live Indie Games, but Zeboyd says it'll be out for iOS, Android and Mac very soon.

And elsewhere in interactive Penny Arcade news, Playdek and Cryptozoic have created a digital version of the Penny Arcade deck-building card game – it's coming to iOS this week as well. Penny Arcade: The Game: Gamers vs. Evil will be out on Apple's platform tomorrow for $4.99. There are so many different options out there to play with the Penny Arcade license that they should probably upgrade it to a nickel at some point.

Street Fighter X Mega Man's chiptune soundtrack now on Bandcamp

Street Fighter X Mega Man's chiptune soundtrack now on Bandcamp
Street Fighter X Mega Man's superb chiptune soundtrack is now available on Bandcamp, complimenting yesterday's release of the game. Composed by San Francisco-based electronic music producer A_Rival, the 22-track album fuses Mega Man's sonic sensibilities with classic pieces of orchestration from Street Fighter's past.

The soundtrack, which includes character themes and scores from the game's various menus, is being sold through Bandcamp's name-your-own-price model with a minimum price of $0.00. So, hypothetically, this could either be the cheapest or most expensive piece of music you've ever purchased. Regardless of which end of that spectrum you feel is most appropriate, at least do yourself the favor of downloading these sweet, chippy jams.

PSA: Rage: The Scorchers DLC out today

PSA Rage The Scorchers DLC out today, here's some screenshots
Rage's first bundle of DLC, "The Scorchers," is available now on PC and Xbox 360 for $4.99/400 MS Points, with the identically priced PS3 version dropping with this evening's PSN update. The package adds a new clan, new weapons, new areas to be angry in, a new "Ultra-Nightmare" difficulty level and the added ability to keep playing the game, even after the story has ended.

We're sure at least some of that stuff is represented in the new screenshots below, but we can't get past the weird gross fungus guy to check. Eugh.

Angry Birds Star Wars force pushes its way onto Facebook

Angry Birds Star Wars on Facebook today
Angry Birds Star Wars is on Facebook, bringing everyone one step closer to the dark side. The Facebook version allows players to compare scores and compete against their friends, and will have five new levels each week to keep the flinging fresh.

Angry Birds Star Wars has three power-ups just for the Facebook version, the Blaster Droid, Saber Sling and Thermal Detonator. It also includes the Clone Bird ability, which duplicates a bird of the player's choice. Keep in mind that Angry Birds Star Wars on mobile is fun, satisfying and clever, for the most part, and that surprised us just as much as it did you.

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2012's games: the movie

Image In a world ... where a bunch of games came out, one man had the courage to cut a bunch of scenes from them together. This winter, the games of 2012 unite to learn the true meaning of friendship. ... Continue Reading

Indie Royale Xmas Bundle 2.0: Offspring Fling, Colour Bind, Serious Sams



The Indie Royale Xmas Bundle 2.0 is live today for one week, offering the following six games for the "minimum" price possible, or whatever you want to pay above that: Colour Bind, Offspring Fling, Serious Sam Double D, Serious Sam: The Random Encounter, Puzzle Bots and Little Kingdom.

The bundle includes a free, award-winning game from Offspring Fling developer Kyle Pulver, called Namiko, and pay $8 or more to snag the Rhythm 'n' Bits album from Yoann Turpin. All of the games are available on Steam, except for Little Kingdom and Namiko, while Offspring Fling is the only game available for Mac and Linux as well as PC. Get bundlin'!

Total War: Rome 2 introduces tactical map

Image After showing off its plans for the sacking of Carthage in this trailer for Total War: Rome 2, The Creative Assembly gives a peek at the game's new tactical map. Although players won't be able to command from it, this is a feature that's been a looooong time coming to the series. ... Continue Reading

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