Play This Thing

[EightBit]

From the website.

Hi, and thanks for checking out the site.

Our basic idea is to feature one interesting game a day--to point you to the most interesting, creative, innovative, or just plain weird games out there. About half will be free, and about half games with some kind of free play option that you have to pay for if you want the full game--with, on Tuesdays, a tabletop game (board, roleplaying, or card game). Some of those will be free, too, as a PDF download or the like.

Just a few quick clicks around the site and I've already found a bunch of games that seem worth playing. I'm really digging it. For example, today they show off Eternal Daughter. Which is described by the site as:

Its Metroidvania with poetry - much like Know, a student project of mine that did not come to fruition because, basically, the programmers wanted to code the whole thing from scratch. ED uses Macromedia Fusion - yeah, there used to be different products aside from Flash back in 2002, and its decked out with sweet pixel art. If you don't know Derek, he's the designer/artist at Bit Blot, maker of the soon-to-be-released IGF winner Aquaria, and he also runs The Independent Game Source.

[Compass]

Eternal Daughter is supposed to be quite difficult. I think Neozeedeater recommended it on here before.

If they put all these types of games on XBLA with Achievements, I'd play them all. I can't be arsed to do it otherwise.

[Frogacuda]

If they put all these types of games on XBLA with Achievements, I'd play them all. I can't be arsed to do it otherwise.

Microsoft does not allow free games to get on XBLA. In fact, you have to pay to have your game put on XBLA. Microsoft is like the government, or all other first parties: If they can't tax it, it's contraband.

Fuck them. Just plug your 360 controller into your PC and play this game. It's good. And play Iwanaga, too.

[Compass]

It makes sense for MS to charge. And I'd rather pay a few bucks over getting it free for the Achievements and the convenience of having it on XBLA.

But that's me. I'll prolly check it out later. And Iwanaga as well.

[Frogacuda]

I personally find playing game on my computer much more convenient since I spend so much time in front of the damned thing anyway, and I like having everything in one place.

In any event, being in the room of your house and attached to your monitor of choice is not a "convenience" which Microsoft should have the luxury of charging for.

And forcing homebrewers who just want to get a free game out there to as many people as possible to pay money, charge for their game, and jump through endless hoops is doing themselves and their customers a disservice. They're stuck in this stupid 1986 first party mentality.

The reason Microsoft is even around today is because they were the company that supported the free, open system that people didn't have to go through a single company to use. It's not because Windows was so fabulous, it's because companies like being able to make shit without restrictions placed on them.

Also, Microsoft should cut out the middle man and start just selling achievement points directly, for the way you guys act like crack-fiends to get them.

[Cheebs]

From the website.



Just a few quick clicks around the site and I've already found a bunch of games that seem worth playing. I'm really digging it. For example, today they show off Eternal Daughter. Which is described by the site as:

I thank you for your link. I will have much fun.

[NeoZeedeater]

Eternal Daughter is supposed to be quite difficult. I think Neozeedeater recommended it on here before.

Yeah, it's frustrating as hell at times, and the design isn't as good as Cave Story, but it's certainly worth downloading for free.

[Daitokuji]

Did anyone see the Bible fight at the bottom of the page?

According to Kim Pallister, Microsoft's casual game guy, Bible Fight is "the most sacrilegious game ever."

It is a straightforward Streetfighter-style game, in which you and your opponent (either controlled by the computer or by someone else whanging on the other side of the keyboard) punch and kick each other until one or the other achieves victory.

As with other games of this style, there are a variety of characters, each of whom has his own combo moves that do extra damage, if you can hit the right key combination quickly enough.

Except that--the characters are Mary, Eve, Jesus, Moses, Noah, and Satan. And the special moves are things like Mary's Halo Toss, and Jesus's Loaves and Fishes.

In the image above, Moses is hurling a Tablet of Laws into Jesus.

Original game design? We think not. Hilarious? Yes.

[Space Pirate Roberts]

Yeah, [adult swim] was pimping the hell out of that like two months ago.