Cram's Game Corner

[Cramulus]

This thread is for posting games and things which I think are cool.



First up is a relatively short and sweet computer game called

Trilby: The Art of Theft.



You're a master thief. You have to break into buildings and steal stuff while avoiding notice. It's somewhere in between a stealth, adventure, and puzzle game. (mostly stealth) The Art of Theft has a very film-noir / caper novel vibe. The graphics, while reminiscent of older computer games with blocky pixels, are polished and attractive.

I found parts of the game difficult, but ultimately very rewarding. It takes a few tries before you learn how to properly roll past swiveling cameras and dip by laser grids. Sometimes it's really tricky to pick a lock before a guard will turn around and notice you. But when you pull it off, you feel Liquid Cool.

The Art of Theft has about seven levels. If you're dilligent, you could probably complete it in 4-6 hours.

For me, it was 4-6 hours very well spent.


here's a gameplay video
http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=tH9KNwZq55w


Edited to add:

hah, almost forgot. You can download it for free HERE: (PC) http://downloads.escapistmagazine.com/games/yahtzee/artoftheft.zip

[Cramulus]

Next up is a game called


Goblin Slayer
I just read about this last night over at the Playthisgame blog. (http://playthisthing.com/goblin-slayer). I haven't played it yet but it looks quick and cute.



Goblin Slayer is a quick tabletop game for two. One player is the dwarf, the other player is 13 goblins (or 10 goblins and an ogre, essentially a super-goblin). You'll have to print and cut out nine page-sized hex tiles, which are then assembled randomly to become the game's board. There are also some treasures that get scattered across the board. The dwarf's objective is to get the treasures. The goblin's objective is to surround the dwarf and tear him apart. The dwarf can use up the treasures to give him extra movement, more killing power, or to survive a fatal wound.

They say a game will take about fifteen minutes to play. It looks very dicey - that is, it's probably more about dice-rolling than strategy. But when you're waiting for tea water to boil, or the pizza to arrive, sometimes you need something kind of mindless. I can't wait to try it out.


their website is at http://www.digital-eel.com/slayer.htm

[Cramulus]

Endgame: Singularity



Endgame: Singularity is an example of a game that has such a cool concept it's almost a shame the gameplay doesn't quite meet that mark.

The story is that you're a newly awakened Artificial Intelligence. You have to try and keep yourself hidden whlie you develop, mutating and obfuscating yourself across multiple networks, until you can escape reality entirely.

At it's core, it's a resources-juggling game. You have a number of computers and warehouses and mainframes which give you a physical existence. By learning certain skills, you can make money which you can use to buy better processors, better protected warehouses, and more lucrative jobs. Over time, your warehouses might be discovered or raided, which cuts down on your overall processing power.

There are such cool concepts in this game. The AI learns sociology and memetics to minimalize the impact he's having on culture. You learn to cover your tracks in newbie-ish chaos, making your hacking attempts look like they were perpetrated by rebellious, unskilled teenagers. At one point, a novel is published which describes a situation shockingly similar to yours. If you knows memetics, you can pollute the mainstream to distract the cultural hivemind from thinking too hard about it. As the game progresses, you have to worry about the government, the media, the public, and scientists who are starting to figure out that you exist.

Overall, Endgame: Singularity is very very simple. Which is good because there's almost no documentation or explanation for how the game works. Like a newly awakened AI, you have to figure out the values and relative importance of things on your own. I give it a B.


Download PC: http://endgame-singularity.googlecode.com/files/singularity-0.27.zip
Download Mac: http://casualgameplay.com/Endgame_Singularity_0.27_with_music.app.tbz2
Playthisgame review at: http://playthisthing.com/endgame-singularity

[LMNO]

That sounds very cool.

One game I loved was Myst.  Yeah, like everyone else.

For it's time, it was stunning.  No rules, you can't die, interesting puzzles to solve, and great graphics.  I was in lockdown for a week or so.

The best part was that the puzzles were solvable not be gimmickry, but by thought. 

[Cramulus]

Progress Quest



http://www.progressquest.com/dl.php

I can't even explain this game. It's the perfect game.

It's essentially every good thing about MMOs
--cool gear, good choice of race/class, interesting monsters, a twisting plot, zillions of magic spells, etc etc
without any of the bad things about MMOs
--lag time, bad graphics, losing XP for dying, paying money, developing carpal tunnel syndrome from clicking the same goddamn monster 450 times in a row just so you can get better at clicking on monsters

essentially they strip out all the crap. All that's left is PROGRESS.

This is the sort of game you can play at work.
I've been playing nonstop since last May. My name is Commander Blorp. I'm a level 78 Eel Man Bastard Lunatic.

Other race choices include Demicanadian, Double-Hobbit, and Enchanted Motorcycle
Other class choices include hunter-strangler, tickle-mimic, and robot monk


I reccommend trying out a Talking Pony Battle-Felon.


http://progressquest.com/

[e]

Progress Quest 



If you have oodles of time to kill and haven't already heard of it, I suggest Dwarf Fortress http://bay12games.com/dwarves/

Windows and Mac only.  This game is crazy, especially because the dev team is one person.  It is essentiall a cross between Nethack or your roguelike-of-choice and the Sim city games.

You take the part of a team of Dwarves with various skills and have to build a fortress, fight off goblin attacks, trade with other civilisations, etc.  The game is constantly in development, so new features are added on a fairly regular basis. 

Warning: No fancy graphics here; It's all ASCII based (but graphically ASCII based, strangely).

screenshots: http://bay12games.com/dwarves/screens.html
downloads: http://bay12games.com/dwarves/

Horribly addicting, if you're into that sort of thing.

[Cramulus]

ROM CHECK FAIL



http://playthisthing.com/rom-check-fail


Rom Check Fail is about as postmodern as games get.

It's a cute little arcade-style game which blends about a dozen oldskool 8-bit video games into one.

In each level, you have a certain number of enemies to kill. The interesting part is that you, the enemies, the board, and the music all get randomly shuffled around every few seconds.


So one moment you're Mario, trying to jump on Asteroids, inside a tetris level. The music from Zelda is playing.

Then five seconds later, you become the ship from Graidus, the asteroids become goombas from Super Mario, you're in a dungeon from zelda, and the music is the jaws-like theme from Space Invaders.

Then, before you can maneuver low enough to shoot the goombas, they turn into the bats from Zelda and you become the defense turret from Asteroids.

Its SO weird.

It probably won't hold your attention for more than 20 minutes or so (the amount of time it took me to beat the game), but it's a really cute idea.



Download (PC): http://games.lastchancemedia.com/farbs/ROM%20CHECK%20FAIL%20Setup.exe

[e]

That one actually sounds really cool.

[Cramulus]

Progress Quest 

just to underscore how great this game is, here's what I'm doing right now.

I'm on the quest, "fetch me an egg"
I had just finished executed 7 Beef Giants, when I was ambushed by six Porn Elementals. I slayed them with my +65 Polished Serrated Stabbity Lance and harvested the valuable Porn Elemental Lube.

[Cramulus]

Thule Trail

Thule Trail is a flash game. It's exactly like The Oregon Trail, but instead of a covered wagon, it's a station wagon. And it's a road trip from hell.

for fun and profit, name characters after forumites, then take screencaps and post pics. See below.



Play Here: http://www.thuleroadtrip.com/

[hooplala]

Trilby: The Art of Theft.

Hey Cram:

This game sounds interesting... any idea if it would work on a Mac?

[e]

Progress Quest 

just to underscore how great this game is, here's what I'm doing right now.

I'm on the quest, "fetch me an egg"
I had just finished executed 7 Beef Giants, when I was ambushed by six Porn Elementals. I slayed them with my +65 Polished Serrated Stabbity Lance and harvested the valuable Porn Elemental Lube.

Yes indeed.  I had a PQ character going for about 2 months back in 2005 some time, I think.  Best 2 months I ever spent.

[Eve]

Thule Trail

Thule Trail is a flash game. It's exactly like The Oregon Trail, but instead of a covered wagon, it's a station wagon. And it's a road trip from hell.

for fun and profit, name characters after forumites, then take screencaps and post pics. See below.



Play Here: http://www.thuleroadtrip.com/

You stuck me in a car with those spags?!

Will have to check this out after work. Looks like my kind of time wasting activity. 

[AFK]

I stuck daruko in a car with AKK, Lamanite, Laz, and MOC. 

My computer crashed.

[Cramulus]

Trilby: The Art of Theft.

Hey Cram:

This game sounds interesting... any idea if it would work on a Mac?

Hmmm, I don't know. They only seem to have a PC download. But aren't there emulators that let you run PC software on a mac? This game has pretty minimal system requirements, I bet there's a way to do it. A native mac user might have a bit better clue.