GAMES OBSCURA

overlordror:

Quick Tips for Spelunky HD Players

Now that Spelunky HD has found a home on the PS3/Vita, I thought I’d give a few pointers for people who might not understand the “rogue-like lite” mentality of the game.

1. Always carry something with you. Rocks, arrows, pots, even the damsels can save you from an enemy or disarm an arrow trap.
2. Grab as much cash as you can, because you have about 3 minutes before an insta-kill ghost will come and kill you.
3. Always try and save the damsel in the level. If you get her to the end, she’ll give you a kiss which restores 1 heart.
4. Always look in the caves for the chest with the lock that needs to be opened with the key. This contains the Wadjet Eye and aside from letting you see gems in dirt, it’s also one step to the path of the City of Gold.
5. Try planting bombs under a giant spider’s web for a sticky surprise.
6. The City of Gold is real. You need to figure out how to get to it.
7. Sacrificing dead bodies to Kali will grant you a kapala, which collects blood. Every 8 drops of blood you collect will net you an extra heart.
8. The jetpack is OP. If you see it in a shop and you have enough money, buy it.
9. If you don’t have enough money for the jetpack, plot how to steal it.
10. The black market is real.

For those that are new to Spelunky, don’t worry. It can be frustrating at first as you die repeatedly, but as you progress further Tunnel Man will help you set up shortcuts so you don’t have to start at the beginning each time.

Have fun spelunking!

overlordror:

Fez II cancelled after Phil Fish Meltdown

So Phil Fish had (another) meltdown on Twitter today and announced that Fez II was cancelled. Twitter is a bit up in arms over it, with many defending Phil Fish while others are claiming it’s just him reacting childishly.

The meltdown came because Marcus Beer (@AnnoyedGamer) was on a podcast on GameTrailers and called Phil Fish out on his bullshit. He spoke both of Jonathan Blow and Phil Fish, combining them together as BlowFish. Some of what he said was a bit harsh, but most of the criticisms he leveled at Phil Fish were true.

Fish is known to be a polarizing figure and the jist of what Marcus said was, “Don’t get pissy when people come to you for a comment on indie games. You’re both successful indie game makers. You’re the face of indie games. People WANT to hear from you.”

This all culminated into Fish telling Beer to kill himself via Twitter, before announcing that Fez II is cancelled and protecting his Twitter account.

This is probably the best thing for Phil Fish. Ever since his appearance in Indie Game: The Movie painted him in a less than positive light, he’s been unable to handle criticism of any kind. Fish’s personality is not unlike my own best friend, so I understand his addiction to what the world at large thinks about him.

Stepping away is likely the best thing for him and frankly, Fez is not the kind of game that needs a sequel. It’s better for Fish and his own mental stability to take a break from the situations that cause him to have this kind of break down and work on a game in his own time. Fez was a highly publicized product that took years to complete, which took a toll on him as both a developer and a human being.

I wish him the best, but if he does decide to get back into developing games in a public spotlight, I hope he’ll be a bit less polarized by people around him, inciting him into this type of breakdown.

As I said in her comment section, I’m super sad that Fez 2 is canceled, but hopefully his stepping back from the social media and game journalism will help him just focus on what he needs to and pump out games rather then get bogged down in drama and Twitter fights.

Fez was brilliant and felt like just the tip of the iceberg in terms of what he could do in this medium. I hope he doesn’t let assholes on the internet ruin that for the rest of us.