Valve has announced that they will be distributing Dylan Fitterer's critically acclaimed AudioSurf on its digital distribution service, Steam.
AudioSurf, for those of not in the loop, is an independently developed game that allows you to "ride your music". In essence, it's like Amplitude crossed with a puzzle game. However, you can import your own music or play songs off of a CD, it will create a chart based on the difficulty you choose. In the game, you try and match three blocks of the same color in a row, or go for combos as your ship flys along to the music. I played the game last month when it was in open beta, and I absolutely fell in love with it. Apparently other people feel the same way as I do, because the game is up for three awards, including the Seumas McNally Grand Prize, at the Independent Games Festival main competition, which will be held on February 20 at the Game Developer Conference.
AudioSurf will be released over Steam on Friday and will sell for $10, but since Valve kicks all kinds of ass, they will give you a dollar off the price if you preorder the game before Friday. BUT WAIT! With the purchase of AudioSurf, Valve will also throw in The Orange Box soundtrack, which you can use in the game! That's right, you will be able to ride through Still Alive, 9000 Degrees Kelvin, or one of the many other selections from The Orange Box in the game when you buy it from Steam! Also, the game will make use of Steamworks, allowing support for Steam Achievements that will be on your profile page.
Not convinced? There will be a demo available on Friday so you can make up your mind.
So, dear readers, fire up Steam and get your credit card out! What's that? You don't have Steam?! Well, then go make a free account over at www.steampowered.com! Or, if you have an ATI video card go here to get some free games when you sign up (Nvidia owners, you go here and get more than ATI owners...sorry). Oh and while you're at it, join the RF Generation group on Steam so we can share achievements!
Telltale Games has released the trailer for its upcoming second season of the Sam and Max episodic series. For those of you unaware, the episodic series is a continuation of the adventures of Steve Purcell's comic book characters Sam, a 6 foot tall dog, and Max, a "hyperkinetic rabbity thing". Sam and Max have been featured in comic books, an animated tv series, and a LucasArts game. The series got its start after LucasArts cancelled a planned sequel to Sam and Max Hit The Road in 2004 due to "market place realities and underlying economic considerations" (read: people don't like adventure games any more). After LucasArts cancelled the sequel, the employees working on that title left the company and went on to make Telltale Games, an independent game development company. In 2005, LucasArts let the license to Sam and Max expire, and Steve Purcell approached Telltale and asked them to work on a new game. This eventually led to the decision to make it episodic and the financial backing of Turner's GameTap service.
This trailer premiered at Penny Arcade Expo last weekend, and I must say that it's looking just as good and funny as the first season was.
Sam and Max Season Two hits both GameTap and TelltaleGames.com this fall.
This is the article that would be going up on Thursday, but Knytt Stories was released early, so I put it up now.
Nifflas. Who is Nifflas? Nifflas is the nickname of Nicklas Nygren, a 24 year old independent game developer and musician from Sweden who is responsible for a few of my favorite games of this decade. Today, he released his latest work, Knytt Stories, the sequel the critically acclaimed freeware game, Knytt, released last year. Like its predecessor, Knytt Stories is a 2D platformer with a focus on simple gameplay, atmosphere and exploration rather than having a large amount of enemies and very complex gameplay. Your goal is to roam this large world in search for a few items.
However, instead of simply recommending Knytt Stories, I want to dig a little deeper into his games. So, I am going to give an overview of all ten games he has released, along with links for you to download them. So, hit the jump for more on the games of Nicklas Nygren.
Valve has announced that they will be distributing Dylan Fitterer's critically acclaimed 
Telltale Games has released the trailer for its upcoming second season of the Sam and Max episodic series. For those of you unaware, the episodic series is a continuation of the adventures of Steve Purcell's comic book characters Sam, a 6 foot tall dog, and Max, a "hyperkinetic rabbity thing". Sam and Max have been featured in comic books, an animated tv series, and a LucasArts game. The series got its start after LucasArts cancelled a planned sequel to Sam and Max Hit The Road in 2004 due to "market place realities and underlying economic considerations" (read: people don't like adventure games any more). After LucasArts cancelled the sequel, the employees working on that title left the company and went on to make Telltale Games, an independent game development company. In 2005, LucasArts let the license to Sam and Max expire, and Steve Purcell approached Telltale and asked them to work on a new game. This eventually led to the decision to make it episodic and the financial backing of Turner's GameTap service.
Nifflas. Who is Nifflas? Nifflas is the nickname of Nicklas Nygren, a 24 year old independent game developer and musician from Sweden who is responsible for a few of my favorite games of this decade. Today, he released his latest work, Knytt Stories, the sequel the critically acclaimed freeware game, Knytt, released last year. Like its predecessor, Knytt Stories is a 2D platformer with a focus on simple gameplay, atmosphere and exploration rather than having a large amount of enemies and very complex gameplay. Your goal is to roam this large world in search for a few items.
