GDC 12: The art of Folk Game Design

As the hall slowly fills up, Doug Wilson of Die Gute Fabrik takes center stage. Wilson discusses the philosophy of folk game design, the art of imagining applications and fundamentals that are conceived through simple rules that apply some sort of deputized restriction that can be applied by the allowance that modern day tech that motion gaming has given us. The excitement in the crowd is especially thick, a very thick, almost tangible sensation that hangs on every word he speaks as we bear witness to the propositions and theories that folk game design can provide to help motion gaming shake the stigma of being a gimmicky fad.

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Bullet Heaven HD, Episode 48 - Indie 3: 2012

Back by the sheer popularity of the 2011 Indie 3 (Bullet Heaven Episode 28), it's time once again for a brand new Indie 3 episode! In this episode of Bullet Heaven HD, we take a look at three games that cost just a buck apiece (80 MS Points)! You just can't get too much with a dollar these days... but are these games a solid investment?

Did you like what you saw here today? Questions and comments are not only welcome but encouraged! If you would like support Bullet Heaven HD, make sure to check out http://smpmusicproductions.bandcamp.com for great tunage at great prices! All proceeds go directly back into production

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QCF: Katawa Shoujo

On a typical winter evening, one that wasn’t very different from any other, a young man stands beside a beautiful woman. As he tenses up, his heart is overwhelmed in such a bitterly ironic way through such a sad turn of events. So beings the first act that sets the stage up for the controversial indie visual novel dating-simulator known as Katawa Shoujo.

Stemmed from a concept derived from an image board from the infamous 4Chan forum, Developer Four-Leaf studios brings a bishōjo tale catering to more than just your standard Japanese audience, but can this game appeal to western gamers beyond it’s questionable premise? Prepare to be surprised.

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Press Pause Radio Interview: Freebird Games

Hey everybody! Here to ring in the new year of 2012, we bring to you our newest interview with independent developer and publisher Freebird Games with Head developer/president Kan Gao in the interview seat this time around. We’ll be interviewing them on their newest game To The Moon, and the development process that went into this charming game, as well as the future of Freebird games.

You guys can find the whole interview written here on the site or simply go listen to it in our podcast feed as a special New Year’s edition episode! Be sure to visit http://freebirdgames.com/ and try out the game yourself for free with its hour trial. Without further ado, here’s our interview!

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Miyamoto: More than a man?

Well there’s Donkey Kong... Mario, Link, and Zelda. You also have to count Fox McCloud, and even Captain Falcon. The man behind all of these beloved characters and their respective franchises is the legend Shigeru Miyamoto. This week during an exclusive interview on Wired’s Game|Life blog, Miyamoto discussed his interest in developing smaller independent games that he could focus on by himself. In the interview, however, what started as a quote from his playful banter in the office regarding his desire to step down from his current position at Nintendo turned into a misinterpreted nightmare to the world around him.

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Second Hand Games

Video games have seen a flux of prices over the last ten years thanks in part to rising development costs, and the introduction of new market concepts and distribution routes. While talk of micro-economies and technological advancements are always fascinating, let’s focus for a minute on the second hand games market. On one hand is the producer that decries it, and on the other hand is the consumer that heralds it.

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D-Pad Studio Interview

What if we told you there existed a game where you fly around the world without power-ups, carry gunners that shoot bullets Contra style, and explore puzzle-packed dungeons full of mysteries and revolutionary gameplay mechanics? We’re well aware of how crazy this sounds, which is why we decided to consult with D-Pad Studio about their latest creation titled Owlboy.

Press Pause Radio’s GeorgieBoysAXE and Seandood had the opportunity to interview D-pad members Simon Stafsnes Andersen and Jo-Remi Madsen, as they discussed Owlboy and D-pad's sources of inspiration, trials with the XNA development kit, and other wild facts that caused everyone to laugh simultaneously. We hope you grab a gun-wielding buddy and some wings -- as dangerous as this sounds -- while you sit back and enjoy the interview. You might also want some popcorn and a phone that dials 9-1-1.

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QCF: Bastion

As the screen fades out, a stranger’s voice greets you directly. A room then emerges with a boy who’s slumbering away, completely unaware of what lies ahead of him. In the child’s nap his world has ended, and his residence crumbles around him. The kid has only one priority ahead of him in the catastrophic after-math: Enter Supergiant Game’s Bastion, the action-RPG kicking off Xbox’s Summer of Arcade.

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