Be honest. Between Steam's annual wallet-devouring sale monstrosity and prepping for our 10th Casual Gameplay Design Competition, you haven't had much free time, have you? Well, fortunately for you this week's Link Dump Friday is going to shove not only entertainment but delicious nutrients down your face-hole! Drama, adventure, zombies, and more await.
CONTEST: Congratulations, You Win Wrongness! If crudeness, violence, and a whole lot of gore doesn't make you cringe, then this week's giveaway is for you. Edmund McMillen's The Binding of Isaac is a brutally hard and brutally gross action roguelike where you control a boy named Isaac as he journeys deep into a cellar full of unspeakable monsters and traps trying to escape his mother. It's creepy, it's freaky, and if it doesn't offend you it can be yours because we're giving away five free copies of it. To enter, just play the free flash demo (which, as you should guess, is not for kids) and leave a comment here. If you already own The Binding of Isaac but not the expansion, you can choose to win that instead... just make sure you specify in your comment what you want! Rules: Entries must be submitted by July 27th, 11:59 p.m. EST (GMT-5). Winners will be notified by e-mail shortly thereafter. Winners are selected randomly. One entry per person only. You must be at least 18 years of age or older to enter. No purchase necessary. Void where prohibited. UPDATE: And the winners are: jestensli, auratwilight, Kirbypowered, spaceloaf, and madeleine. Thanks for playing with us! :)
Board Games and Begetting Mousechief, creators of the quirky and original board game/RPG Dangerous High School Girls In Trouble! is making a comeback with their upcoming PC/Mac title 7 Grand Steps. Billed as "part board game, part interactive narrative", the game will be a turn-based title in which players take control of a family across generations, where the choices you make and the fates themselves determine your rise or fall in a myriad of ways. Having had the good fortune to play an alpha version, I can tell you that the game is a little intimidatingly complex on the surface, but most certainly unique and engrossing in that way that only Mousechief can deliver. Look for 7 Grand Steps to hit later this year!
You've Come a Long, Long Way, Baby Been a PC gamer for a while? Then prepare to get all glassy-eyed and nostalgic with The Evolution of PC Games, a short video by Reverse Enginears, that takes you on a visual and audio journey from the past to present day. Showcasing everything from Zork to Duke Nukem to Portal, it's a fantastic and eye-opening example of how far gaming has come in almost every aspect, and is both great as a way to make yourself feel really, really old, and simultaneously really, really falsely superior to anyone who wasn't born when you were playing the original Elder Scrolls games. All it needs to really make it complete is some indie games, but maybe that's a project for another young enterprising enthusiast?
You And the Point Aren't In the Same Hemisphere In an update on the Torchlight asset theft situation, and an instance of less "missing the point" and more "trying desperately to obfuscate the truth", Serena Zhang of EGLS, the developers of Armed Heroes responded to a thread on TouchArcade claiming they hadn't done anything wrong. She mentions "similarities between several small monsters", when in fact it's outright duplication down to the misspelled file names of everything including landscape items, and seems to think that because their game is "an action MMO role-playing mobile game" where "the platforms, but also game mechanics, engine support, scenes and techniques employed in Armed Heroes Online developing are all largely different from Torchlight", they've done nothing wrong. She even points out that Torchlight shares many more gameplay similarities to titles like Diablo and Fate, to which we can only say... well... yeah... but drawing inspiration from a title is hardly the same as ripping out that game's content and claiming it as your own. That's Buffalo Bill territory. You can read the entire thread here, which includes an admirably moderated response from Runic Games president Travis Baldtree. Hopefully this all gets ironed out peacefully soon, but don't hold your breath.
Move Your Body to the Music Combinging the collective talents of a variety of professionals across many fields of expertise, the V Motion Project came to life on the large exterior wall of a building somewhere in Auckland, New Zealand recently. Using a couple of Kinects, a Mac and a PC, some audio software and a whole lot of wizardry and magic, this creative team produced not only an innovative visual instrument, but also a performance for lucky onlookers and a music video, so those of us who were not there can enjoy it, too. One of the lead developers of the tech behind this awesome spectacle is none other than Jeff Nusz, whom you may remember was the winner of our CGDC #2 with his entry, Sprout. So, it's no surprise to see more magic spring from his fingertips. Read behind the scenes, watch the video, then download the track for free.
The Zombie Apocalypse is Delicious We've featured them before, but purveyors of digital-turned-delectable gaming foods Gourmet Gaming has just turned out two delicious new recipes inspired by The Walking Dead PC game to help keep you fit and fighting when the dead are breaking down your door. The St John's Dairy Farm Biscuits and the Energy Bar will keep you going right up until your brains are sucked back like a lumpy slurpee. Gourmet Gaming's recipes are delicious and easy to follow, and I personally recommend Minecraft Mushroom Stew and Persona 4's Aiya Rainy Day Special Mega Beef Bowl. Allez cuisine!
Do you know an upcoming indie project or some community gaming related news you think deserves some attention? Send me an e-mail with LINK DUMP FRIDAY in the subject line at dora AT casualgameplay DOT com with the info, and we'll judge it with the all-seeing glare of our own self-importance for inclusion in a future Link Dump Friday article!
Heck yea, I can use some Binding of Isaac. <3
The Evolution of PC Games is quite a voyage. And I recognized a handful of those games.
You know what I'd find interesting? A computer game that starts out in text parser style, then as you continue playing it'd evolve and get graphics, sound, and upgraded controls until at the end it'd be just like a modern game. Like Spore but on a more meta level.
Yes, Binding of Isaac is gross, but in a good wholesome way. I'd be thrilled to win a copy!
Wow, Binding of Isaac was really good. Good thing we don't have a basement in our house...
Heck yes, I'd like an expansion of Binding of Isaac! We don't need to be using a JIG account to respond, do we? Because it never let me authenticate my account.
I totally caught the Iron Chef reference :) Now to check out the recipes . . .
Now, I know I'm not /exactly/ 18 (only two months!) and I haven't played the The Binding of Isaac demo yet, /but/ if I do and am interested enough and not turned off, is there any chance I could get into the draw? I've read the site review far the game, and I'm genuinely interested in it.
Wow, I actually hadn't played an Edmund McMillen game since the good ol' Newgrounds days, when he was releasing tons of the Badlands series, like Clubby the Seal and The Carious Weltling. This certainly brings back the uncomfortable, gorey feelings of those games; I half expected to see a Peashy while playing. The storytelling is flawless as always and the creatures are all well-designed and terror-evoking, somewhat reminding me of the Mortasheen series in a way. An all-over fantastically disturbing game.
Okay, just played the demo. Great music, excellently disturbing visuals (that manage to still be cute), and completely awesome in general from what I could tell. I'd love to participate in the draw. =)
I already worship at the altar of Isaac, but sign me up for the expansion.
For those that are curious, the brilliance of the game comes in the way that different power-ups work together.
There are only so many room configurations, but the huge amount of power-up combinations assures that you will have a unique playthrough every time.
good game, good music.
would like The Binding of Isaac
The Binding of Isaac is awesome, the demo was fun and I would love a copy :)
Cheers for the opportunity to win a copy of this game
Binding of Isaac is pretty cool, gimme.
This game is so creepy. I want more!
Sorry for the delay, folks! The winners are:
Littleghost - Wrath of Lamb Expansion
jestensli
auratwilight
Kirbypowered
spaceloaf - Wrath of Lamb Expansion
Thanks for reading, and we'll contact you shortly!
Update:: Sorry, Littleghost, but your account doesn't share your email address with us, so we cannot contact you with your prize. We'll have to choose an alternate winner: madeleine
Update