An Incredible Indie Game - Terraria

Hey, everyone. It's been far too long since my last post. I usually get busy with school but right now is the summer so there is no excuse for taking so long to post...and for that, I apologize. I keep saying that I will keep posting more often but that always ends up making me post less, so I'm gonna skip that part this time around.

Before I get into the main topic of this post, I'll start out with my list of upcoming games I'm looking forward to.

1. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
2. Dead Island
3. Battlefield 3
4. Star Wars: The Old Republic (Which has also recently been available to pre-purchase...and has a release date for THIS year!)

In other news, Dungeon Defenders is still not out yet. And there is still no release date set in stone. Maybe it will come out before November, the month that it was originally supposed to come out last year.

Also, for those of you who love cheap games, Steam is a great way to get a variety of games for cheap. Especially since they started having a daily sale that changes each day in addition to their usual weekly sale and weekend sale. Sometimes they will even have special sales events (like a summer sale) in which many different games are on sale for a week or two. In the summer sale that just passed, I bought an incredible indie game for only $2.50 (it was actually supposed to be a $5 sale but someone goofed when it went on sale.) Some of you may have heard of this little game called Terraria.

When I say little game, I mean in terms of hard disk space. But this game has an enormous amount of content packed into a little package. It's even more incredible when the game took less than 6 months to make and has been one of the most played games on Steam since it's release. Another added bonus is the free content updates that the developers have promised.

I like to describe Terraria as a mix of 2-D Minecraft and the old side-scrolling Castlevania games. It's also, in my opinion, really well designed because it rewards the player for exploration at just the right intervals to keep the player interested and satisfied without getting bored or tired. There are also events that happen throughout the game, some by chance and others by using certain items, and these events also keep the game exciting and, at times, intense.

Another great aspect of the game is the social aspect. This game can be played completely in single-player, but the developers really wanted it to be experienced as a multi-player game. The multi-player can support up to 8 people on the same world by default and as many as 24 or more if server mods are used. Lately, I have been playing with a few of my friends and have had a lot more fun than I probably would have if I had stuck to single-player.

The whole point of the game is to mine (or dig), explore, create, and fight monsters. The creating can be anything from buildings to furniture to weapons and armor and many other things. It's these different activities in the game that all work together to make something that feels very rewarding when you play it.

I recently had an event happen in the world that my friends and I play on called a Goblin Army in which we received a message at the bottom of the screen telling us that a Goblin Army was approaching. After a few minutes, we were surrounded by goblins on both sides of our house (that we built) and had to defend ourselves until we had defeated the entire goblin army. It's events like this and others that really keep me from getting bored quickly.

The screenshot below is one that I took while fighting the goblin army.


(click on picture for larger size)

If, after reading this post, I have given you any interest in Terraria. I highly recommend checking out this piece of indie gold. The original price of the game is $10 which is very cheap for a project of this quality. Until next time, happy gaming!

Updates

Hey everyone. Just a short post today. It's a new year and that means a lot of games can come out in the next 12 months.

To start off, Star Wars: The Old Republic might come out this year. The developers have announced that they are anticipating a spring 2011 release but I would not be surprised if it is later. However, I know that BioWare will only delay it to improve it.

The Nintendo 3DS might also come out this year. I am really curious as to how well it will sell. I would like one but will most people be able to switch to a 3D gaming platform? As long as there has been 3D games, there has been the debate about whether or not it is good. The 3DS has also been given a early 2011 released date.

As far as Diablo 3 is concerned...there is not a release date yet. Many fans are speculating at summer 2011 but all that Blizzard tells us is "When it's done".

Minecraft entered Beta on December 20th which means the game is closer to completion! The game can be purchased for 25% off while it is in Beta and all future updates will be free. I recommend everyone to try out the free creative mode at www.minecraft.net. For more info on Minecraft, check out my previous posts or just click on the Minecraft tag at the bottom of this post.

There were a ton of great sales on Steam over the past two weeks. Today is the last day so if you haven't seen them, go check them out now. Not all the games are on sale but there are enough for everyone to find something they like.

My stomach is telling me that it's dinner time. Thanks for reading my blog. If you have any suggestions, I'm always open to ways I can improve my blog. If you have any questions about anything, please feel free to leave me a comment and I will try to answer it. Also, be sure to follow me on Twitter.

I'm Back...

Hey, everyone. It's been a little while since I have made a post. I was in school and was really busy. Unfortunately I let the blogging get away from me but my quarter of schooling is over so I should be getting back to the blogging now. This is just gonna be a quick post but I will be getting back to the more detailed posts soon.

BlizzCon 2010 has come and passed. The new Demon Hunter class for Diablo 3 has been announced and looks very interesting. I personally talked to someone I know who went to BlizzCon this year and was able to play Diablo 3 there. He seemed to be pleased with the progress on the game so far.

Lots of new things have been announced for Star Wars: The Old Republic. New ships, new class details, new inhabitants, and more.

Goldeneye for the Wii has been released and is well worth the purchase. I did buy it and beat it. The single player campaign is fun but I would recommend it for the multiplayer. The online multiplayer is what keeps me playing it. The graphics are impressive for a Wii game. The controls take a little practice if you have never played a first-person shooter on the Wii, but the learning curve for the controls is only about 15 or 20 minutes, and there is a short tutorial to teach new players. The story is a bit different from the original but the changes do not hinder the game.

The multiplayer is what most people remember about the original so, naturally, the multiplayer is the remake is very well done. The split-screen multiplayer is fun with a few friends but the multiplayer that stops me from putting the game down is the online multiplayer. I'm not a fan of all the maps but the majority of them are fun and fairly easy to navigate. There are a number of modes to keep players entertained. My personal favorite is the Black Box mode in which two teams fight over a small box on the map. One team is trying to protect the box while the other team is trying to destroy it. The online multiplayer has an experience system similar to the Call of Duty franchise. You gain experience with eliminations, completing objectives, elimination streaks, and other similar things. With experience, weapons and game modes are unlocked which will keep people playing for a while.

There are plenty of people playing, too. Every multiplayer mode that I have played has always been maxed on people. This helps to speed up the already fast-paced multiplayer. I highly recommend everyone with a Wii to give Goldeneye a try. You will get many hours of gameplay out of this game even after the single player campaign is completed.

Thanks for reading my blog. If you have any suggestions, I'm always open to ways I can improve my blog. If you have any questions about anything, please feel free to leave me a comment and I will try to answer it. Also, be sure to follow me on Twitter.

Star Wars and Steam!

Hey, everyone. My second game I am most looking forward to is Star Wars: The Old Republic. And today, the good people at BioWare have released some more information about the Jedi Knight class in the game.

The Jedi Knight class will be split into Guardian and Sentinel. The Guardian side of the class will be able to take more damage but will lack in the damage dealing. The Sentinel will not be able to take as much damage but will be able to deal a lot more damage than its Guardian counterpart. You can check out the Jedi Knight class here or watch the trailer for the Jedi Knight class below.

Please note that I do not own this video. It belongs to BioWare and Lucasarts.

Now, what makes this MMORPG stand out from the rest of the MMO's out there today? This MMO is fully voiced. FULLY VOICED! That means everything that any character in the game will say has actual audio to go with it! And the decisions you make with your character will affect your character's story. Even though I'm not quite sure how this will work with an MMO, I think that BioWare will be able to do it well because of their previous experience with things like this.

Although making the game fully voiced makes it easier for people who would rather listen instead of read, it also helps to make the game more immersive. This is not just a good thing, this is a great thing. The more immersive a game is, the harder it will be for people to stop playing it. As a game design student, I believe immersion is a key factor to think about when working on a game.

Come back at a later date for more updates on this game. On another note, Steam's QuakeCon 2010 Sale today is Doom. They are selling every Doom game for 66% off! Or you can buy the Doom bundle and save even more! Buying the bundle will give you every Doom game for $14.00! That's right. That's not a typo.

Thanks for reading my blog. Please, follow me if you liked the post (you can find that off to the right side). If you have any suggestions, I'm always open to ways I can improve my blog. If you have any questions about anything, please feel free to leave me a comment and I will try to answer it.

Top 3 Future Games

Hey. I know it's been a while since my last post. I have been away but I am back now so the posts should become more frequent. I thought it would be a good idea to preview some games that I am going to be keeping my eye open for. So here is a short list of the top 3 games I am looking forward to most.

1. Diablo 3 - Made by Blizzard Entertainment and it's a sequel to Diablo 2. There hasn't been too much information released about this game yet but it's looking promising so far. The gameplay looks like it will have the same feel as Diablo 2 but with a few tricks, such as objects in the environment to interact with.

2. Star Wars: The Old Republic - A Star Wars MMORPG made by Bioware (Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, Mass Effect, Dragon Age...). It has lots of planets to explore, a light side and dark side to choose from, force powers, lightsabers, and it's FULLY VOICED! What more could you ask for from a Star Wars game?

3. GoldenEye 007 - A remake of the original GoldenEye game for Nintendo 64. Not a sequel, not a prequel, not a different game...the same game with a major facelift. Some of the missions may vary from the original game but they will still fit the storyline. The best part? Online multiplayer!

I am still currently addicted to Alien Swarm. Haha! If you want to play together, let me know. If you want to find out what Alien Swarm is, read one of my previous posts in which I described it.

I am keeping my eyes and ears open for updates about each of these games and will post them here if I find anything of importance. Thanks for reading. If you have any suggestions, I'm always open to ways I can improve my blog. If you have any questions about anything, please feel free to leave me a comment and I will try to answer it.