Reporting on the games made in Canada and the creators behind them
Interview number five! This week I sat down with voice actress and singer Felicia Valenti, who has done voice work for anime, tv shows, and video games. We go over her history as a opera singer, a gamer, her tips for becoming a voice actress/actor and rant a little bit at the end as well. It's good times. You can check out her work here, and follow her on Twitter here.
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If you didn't get a chance to play Patchworks Godsend at EGLX, or Levelup here's your chance! The platformer has you shifting souls from creature to creature to solve puzzles and is available now on itch.io.
"Play as a trickster demon, out for revenge against the gods. You are physically weak, and rely on your ability to shift your soul into other creatures. Exploit their abilities to solve puzzles, crush those who oppose you, and invoke in-fighting amongst their ranks."
Friend of the site Colin Cummings had some kind things to say about the game on Third.Person after playing it at LevelUp.
"A puzzle platformer with a twist, as the way forward is found within your enemies! A unique concept that felt fun to play, and fun to puzzle out. Creating an interesting game demo and having it be fun within moments of grabbing a controller, especially during a busy event is hard but Godsend proved to be up to the task. I took no hints from the developer leading my demo (shoutout to Coley!) and so I had a real sense of accomplishment finding all the shrines, though my time could have used some work. I fell an embarrassing amount."
You can check out some gameplay below, or play the game yourself for free on itch.io and make sure to follow the gang on Twitter!
Golfy Golf from YahManGames released late last year as a beta on GameJolt, and now it's coming to Steam next month. Golfy Golf contains 120 levels where you can play solo, against a computer, or a friend and will be out on May 16th - wishlist the game on Steam right here. You can also check out the trailer below and follow the developer on Twitter to keep up with the game.
Golfy Golf is a charming new spin on the classic gentleman's game. Play solo, against the computer, or against a friend. Across six worlds and 120 levels, you'll pitch and putt your way past menacing enemies and fiendish environmental obstacles in pursuit of par. Coming to Steam May 16th, 2018
Canadian indie game studio Red Meat Games have released their episodic, narrative-driven audio game Project Dark on Steam and Nintendo Switch.
As part of the Mix Showcase last month, Toronto developer Kitten Cup Studio showed off some gameplay from their 2022 game Pekoe.
Quebec developer Norsfell have announced their 10-player co-op action-RPG Tribes of Midgard will be out on PlayStation, and Steam on July 27th - the game is also available for pre-order on both platforms.
Triversal, the puzzle game from Toronto developer Phantom Compass has a release date, and thankfully we won’t have to wait that long. The game comes out on July 13th, and you can wishlist it on Steam here.
BOMBING!!: A Graffiti Sandbox, the graffiti sandbox simulation game from indie dev (and friend of the site) Devon Wiersma, is out now on Steam, and itch.io.
After launching on Steam last year, St Catharines based Rocketship Park will be porting their puzzle story-driven adventure game LOVE to Nintendo Switch “soon”.
PixelNAUTS Games, who last released Lost Orbit: Terminal Velocity on various platforms have released a new trailer for their upcoming space-racing brawler Rocket Rumble. You can wishlist the game on Steam right now which is scheduled for sometime this year.
Mad Devils, the twin-stick shooter from Itzy Interactive got a new gameplay trailer ahead of its May 10th release date. Mad Devils is an arcade co-op shooter set during World War 2 but has Allied special forces hunting down Nazi occultists resurrected as demons
We've known about Russian Subway Dogs coming to PlayStation 4, and PlayStation Vita since late last year, but Spooky Squid Games did announce on the PlayStation Blog that it's coming this year - with some extra friends!
Welcome, comrades! Meet Russian Subway Dogs, a fast-paced action-arcade game inspired by the real-life stray dogs of the Moscow Metro. We have done extensive, totally legal research in order to fine tune this chaotic simulation for what it's like to scavenge for food from Russian commuters.
Lead Designer Miguel Sternberg talked about being able to play as different dogs, including some that are inspired by DrinkBox Studios, and Asteroid Base properties - but the full list is below:
Russian Subway Dogs is planned for PlayStation 4, and PlayStation Vita later this year.
They Bleed Pixels, the 2D-pixel platformer originally released in 2012 is coming to Switch later this year, its first release on console. The Toronto based developer, Spooky Squid, is also working on Russian Subway Dogs which is out on PC and coming to PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita, and Xbox One this year.
Two Toronto developers have announced they'll be taking to Kickstarter to help fund their indie video games.
Figured this would be a good evening to talk about some competition winners. EGLX (which happened this weekend, and was great) had a pitch competition where they gave away a combined $95000 to independent studios/creators in the area.
MightyYell Studios, Oddbird Studios, Falling Squirrel, and Steph were the winners, and we'll have more on their work in the coming months right here on TorontoGameDevs.
Congrats to all #EGLX2018 Pitch Competition winners!
— EGLX (@EGLXofficial) March 11, 2018
The Big Con by @MightyYell Studios: $50,000
Super Random Heroes by @OddBirdStudio: $30,000
The Vale by @FallingSquirrel Inc.: $10,000@stephh3_3's Games Marketing Agency: $5000
Can't wait to see your projects come to life! pic.twitter.com/lEau28LWgD
Continuing our Road to EGLX, we're looking at Arrow Heads from Oddbird Studios - a game we've actually talked about for a while now. It launched back in September, after winning Level Up, and now will be at EGLX for all to play.
If you'd rather play before hand to get some skills and dominate one of its Game Designers Brendan (it won't be hard), you can pick the game up on Steam. Check out the trailer below.
Make sure to pick up some tickets to the show!
Now available for purchase on Steam! http://store.steampowered.com/app/580890/Arrow_Heads/ Grab your friends, neighbors, extended family and that handsome cashier from the grocery store and get ready for some sweet, award-winning, couch and online multiplayer. With your trusty bow, shoot, dodge and deflect arrows in this zany isometric archery game.
EGLX is just right around the corner, and there are a bunch of studios show casing their games at the show - we've already talked about a few and next up is Voidless Studios! They'll be showing thier minimalist adventure game The Forgotten Void.
Many centuries ago, 2 worlds were formed, the Null World and the Overworld. Humanity existed on the Overworld while the Null world was inhabited by Null entities, mystic creatures that brought evil and chaos to the Overworld. When the 2 worlds were created, a portal known as the Gateway was created that that linked the 2 worlds, where humans and Null entities could come in and out. However, 9 other portals were also formed that led to void fragments that were keys to unlock the Void core in the Gateway which would destroy the Null World. Void Guardians were humans of the Overworld that defended humanity against the invaders of the Null world but as time went on, Void Guardians were few and far between while the Null world slowly consumed the Overworld.
As one of the last Void Guardians that survived from the Great War, our hero is suffering from amnesia due to their injuries in the war and as they wake up several months later, they hope to recollect their memories by traveling through the cities of the Overworld.
Greenlight: http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=845802703 ▼ Follow Us Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VoidlessS Twitter: http://twitter.com/voidlessstudios Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCO-uzc4J3TAMMLPnVQIRmw
1 week till #EGLX2018! Get tickets at https://t.co/53MRwswDtL #gamedev #indiedev pic.twitter.com/otdbKfpByh
— Voidless Studios (@VoidlessStudios) March 3, 2018
They'll be EGLX this weekend, and can check out this page to find their (or others) specific booth. You can also pick up tickets to the event here.
As mentioned in the earlier post about the EGLX gaming schedule, we'll be doing a lead up to EGLX by taking a look at all the local (and non-local) game studios at the show. First one up is Salvadora Studios which is working on The Floor Is Made of Lava.
"Our primary goal is to create great games. Great games that feel fun to play, and reward you for using your brain. We plan on remaining as independent as possible. We want to make our own choices and make our games unique. We all believe that fun in games should be a given, and the relationship between developer and player be a friendly and mutually beneficial one."
The Floor Is Made of Lava is about imagination, just like how when we were kids we would imagine the floor is made of lava - Salvadora Studios takes a similar approach.
"As Jimmy searches for his brother within his house, his imagination gets carried away and whisks him off on a grand adventure through many worlds. Face off against pirates, escape from stampeding dinosaurs, or take on a proud dragon!
As a mix of genres somewhere between Mario and Megaman but not quite a Metroidvania, Jimmy will need to defeat bosses in order to gain the equipment they guard. Use these to battle or avoid enemies in new ways or figure out combinations to break through tricky sections of platforming. Most of all, go find those secret paths that you couldn't access earlier! They may lead to interesting upgrades or challenges!"
They actually have a demo up on the site, and will be at EGLX next weekend. You can follow the game on Steam as well which is set to release soonish.
It's official! We've got our #Steam page! :D https://t.co/ZLZYHwbt94
— SalvadoraStudios (@SalvadoraStudio) October 4, 2017
(Now you can add Lava to your wishlist ;D) #indiedev #gamedev
COLHEX: https://t.co/e5mkeNQ9m0 Lucky VR Job: https://t.co/GpA7GRYPpT Far Cry 5: https://t.co/jR2Lc0DNTx Follow Jake at: https://www.youtube.com/c/jakebutineau https://twitter.com/jakebutineau http://www.torontogamedevs.com/
Friend of the site Galal Hassan will be releasing a new game later this month on Christmas Eve - puzzle game Robo X will be out for iOS, Google, and Windows.
"Join RoboX as he collects the data clusters to restore the energy back to RoBo City.
RoBo City is out of energy and the robots are losing their mind. Take the challenge and solve the puzzles to restore the energy and save RoBo City."
Can’t be more excited! We just submitted #roboX to the #Apple #appstore the game will be available on the 24th of December! #madewithunity @madewithunity #gamedev #IndieGameDev @TorontoGameDevs #screenshotsaturday pic.twitter.com/saM6g00bbF
— The Pixel Crushers (@ThePixelCrusher) December 16, 2017
Solo indie dev expert and longtime friend-of-the-site Devon Wiersma joins us to talk their latest release Centauri Dark, working across AAA, mid-sized and solo indie dev and how to fix this goshdarn industry.
David B joins us from the west coast best coast to talk about the upcoming Quiver Games Incubator!
Bizdev extraordinaire Eric Beer joins us to give his Hades II impressions and chat v-bucks subsidized game preservation.
We break down Baldur Gate 3's unprecedented success & the knock-on effects it'll have on the industry and how we make games moving forward. We also speak to Ontario-based indie game devs Twinolli about their upcoming action-puzzler Highlighters which just got a (Dad Deck-verified) Steam demo!
We speak to Québécois game dev Dragon Slumber, creator of Tech Support, Aethernaut and many more!
We reveal the winners of our ‘23 Community Awards poll and discuss Drinkbox’s latest teaser for their next project- and more!
This week thousands more game developers join Stephan in the "terminated by evil, stupid people" camp as layoffs hit tons of studios all over Canada and the world. We discuss Sonic as well. Sonic supports Unionizing your Workplace!
Stephan got terminated but that’s okay he just has more time to cover Canadian games now.
Last we heard from Alessandro Profenna we interviewed him for his game COLHEX, which is out now on iOS (iPhone, and iPad). You can play the multiplayer game for free, but make sure to bring some friends for the hectic finger tapper. You can check out some of the iPad screenshots below.
COLHEX is an iOS arcade game that can be played on an iPhone or iPad with up to 6 players locally! Each player chooses one of 6 colours to play as. The game field is a matrix of hexagons, where the goal is claim as many hexagons with your colour in 30 seconds!
Head over to the Apple Store to check out the game.
We've known about Dragon of Legends for a while now, but now that's all coming to a Steam Early release December 15th (tomorrow). The pixel action RPG will be in Early Access until "it is finished", and Thrive Games mentioned on their Steam page about why they did Early Access.
“Game development is largely an iterative process, and games that incorporate player feedback become something truly special. We understand and embrace this philosophy whenever possible, as we have planned to bring Dragon of Legends to the Early Access platform since its initial inception. Our private community of Kickstarter backers have provided a tremendous help in improving and shaping the game, and now we would like to invite the Steam Community to join us on our journey.”
⚔️Become Legendary⚔️#DragonOfLegends swoops onto #steam EA December 15, 2017. Add it to your wishlist now: https://t.co/QBxBUOilKb #gamedev pic.twitter.com/7vJDydEZbz
— Thrive Games (@Thrive905) December 7, 2017
Want to relive 1980's arcade magic? Thanks to developer Digital Leisure you can now play the Dragon's Lair trilogy on PlayStation 4.
Now's your chance to own the definitive edition of the games that revolutionized the 1980s arcade. Dragon's Lair, Dragon's Lair 2: Time Warp and Space Ace are now available together in the Dragon's Lair Trilogy - available today on PlayStation 4! pic.twitter.com/LP9mOR0JyX
— Digital Leisure (@digitalleisure) December 12, 2017
In Dragon's Lair, you play the heroic Dirk the Daring, a valiant knight on a quest to rescue the fair princess from the clutches of an evil dragon!
Space Ace will have you take control of Ace - Defender of justice, truth, and the planet Earth! Ace is being attacked by the evil Commander Borf. Struggle with Dexter to regain his manhood. Destroy the Infanto-Ray. Defeat the evil Borf! Be valiant space warrior, the fate of Earth is in your hands!
Dragon’s Lair II: Time Warp once again has you leading Dirk on a perilous quest! Spirited away to a wrinkle in time by the evil wizard Mordroc, Princess Daphne will be forced to marry the wicked Mordroc unless Dirk can save her. Once the casket of doom has opened, Mordroc will place the death ring upon Daphne’s finger in marriage, and she will be lost forever in the Time Warp.
Solo indie dev expert and longtime friend-of-the-site Devon Wiersma joins us to talk their latest release Centauri Dark, working across AAA, mid-sized and solo indie dev and how to fix this goshdarn industry.
David B joins us from the west coast best coast to talk about the upcoming Quiver Games Incubator!
Bizdev extraordinaire Eric Beer joins us to give his Hades II impressions and chat v-bucks subsidized game preservation.
We break down Baldur Gate 3's unprecedented success & the knock-on effects it'll have on the industry and how we make games moving forward. We also speak to Ontario-based indie game devs Twinolli about their upcoming action-puzzler Highlighters which just got a (Dad Deck-verified) Steam demo!
We speak to Québécois game dev Dragon Slumber, creator of Tech Support, Aethernaut and many more!
We reveal the winners of our ‘23 Community Awards poll and discuss Drinkbox’s latest teaser for their next project- and more!
This week thousands more game developers join Stephan in the "terminated by evil, stupid people" camp as layoffs hit tons of studios all over Canada and the world. We discuss Sonic as well. Sonic supports Unionizing your Workplace!
Stephan got terminated but that’s okay he just has more time to cover Canadian games now.
Bleed is already out on Steam, Xbox One, and PlayStation 4 and now it will be making the jump to Nintendo's console-portable hybrid December 14th (tomorrow !!!). Check out the details below:
Wryn is a girl with a big arsenal and big dreams – she wants to be the ultimate videogame hero! Help her take down the Greatest Heroes of All Time in an action-packed bid to claim the title for herself and show the world what a true hero looks like! Bleed is an action-platformer focused on stylish, acrobatic dodging and fluid, challenging gameplay. There's no filler – just you and your skills against seven levels of enemies, obstacles, breakneck set-pieces and inventive bosses!
Release date: 14 December 2017 Wryn is a girl with a big arsenal and big dreams - she wants to be the ultimate videogame hero! Help her take down the Greatest Heroes of All Time in an action-packed bid to claim the title for herself and show the world what a true hero looks like!
For Honor: https://t.co/U7oYXwoHlv Guacamelee! 2: https://t.co/yCzUcosexh Full Metal Furies: https://t.co/TClHkxG1iK Follow Jake at: https://www.youtube.com/c/jakebutineau https://twitter.com/jakebutineau http://www.torontogamedevs.com/
Tribes of Midgard Season 3 drops later this month which comes with a slew of free updates, including a new Saga Boss, a revamped survival mode, new weapons, enemies, armors, and more.