Post by pershainovitsh on Aug 15, 2012 19:16:27 GMT 1
I just stumbled upon some cool-looking horror games set in a sci-fi environment. They also both feature perma-death.
First up is Routine.
www.rockpapershotgun.com/2012/08/15/deserves-some-buzz-routine-is-amnesia-on-the-moon/
www.routinegame.com/
www.lunar-software.com/
You just basically try to find out what's going on on the space station: why has everyone disappeared. You'll be solving puzzles and apparently hiding from evil robots. Some say it is being made with the Arma engine, which would explain the dead zone aiming and full body awareness.
"More info points to a non-linear story on a fully-explorable Moon base, but with randomised puzzles and AI. There’s no HUD, no points, no health bars. When shit hits the space fan, you run and you hide, and if you die then that’s it for your progress. Perma-death, just like on the real moon."
To me this sounds really cool.
The second game that is surprisingly similiar in terms of setting and of being so interesting is Moonhelm.
www.guardian.co.uk/technology/gamesblog/2012/jul/17/eight-indie-games-from-develop
twitter.com/moonhelm
"And just when you thought it was safe to venture into near-space, here's Moonhelm, another rogue-like sci-fi FPS. This time you're exploring a space base that's riddled with hostile aliens, accompanied wherever you go by an AI helper. In a nod to The Thing, however, you must select your ally at the start of the game and, at some point, he may actually turn out to be a deadly extraterrestrial in disguise. Add in the procedurally generated environments and permadeath mechanic that ends your game after a single mortal injury and you have an intriguing hardcore RPG/FPS that promises an intense and jumpy experience. The game is coming to PC and Mac in January 2013, with an iPad version following."
Again, sounds incredibly good. Execution is a whole different matter. I haven't heard of these little independent studios before so don't get your hopes too high. Of course they could surprise us with awesome games, and that's what I hope. A (John Carpenter's) Thing-game sounds like a really great game if it works. I know one official game exists already but I haven't tried it. Maybe it could get to the feel of the movie (despite not being in any way tied into the film other than by having shape-shifting aliens in it) and go even further, make it even more tense. I liked the first two Alien films, but they weren't very scary. I knew pretty well what to expect. But when I played a demo for the 2000 Alien vs Predator game, it was something so much better that it blew my mind. I was fighting for my life and being very paranoid about aliens jumping out of nowhere. I think it was much better than the movie experience. Speaking of Alien games, stay away from the new one. It's just a FPS using the CoD template with Aliens put in. They are really weak and instead of biting your head off immediately when they get close enough to you, they just dance around or the player punches in the face. And when you kill an alien, a text pops up saying: "+100 points!". This game doesn't have the feel. It feels like a game. AvP 2000 was surviving while being covered in sweat and screaming.
I hope Moonhelm could do the same with The Thing. I can only imagine the amount of paranoia in the air when you can't know if your friend is actually an alien (not to be confused with the aliens from the Alien franchize) and you have to kill him.
First up is Routine.
www.rockpapershotgun.com/2012/08/15/deserves-some-buzz-routine-is-amnesia-on-the-moon/
www.routinegame.com/
www.lunar-software.com/
You just basically try to find out what's going on on the space station: why has everyone disappeared. You'll be solving puzzles and apparently hiding from evil robots. Some say it is being made with the Arma engine, which would explain the dead zone aiming and full body awareness.
"More info points to a non-linear story on a fully-explorable Moon base, but with randomised puzzles and AI. There’s no HUD, no points, no health bars. When shit hits the space fan, you run and you hide, and if you die then that’s it for your progress. Perma-death, just like on the real moon."
To me this sounds really cool.
The second game that is surprisingly similiar in terms of setting and of being so interesting is Moonhelm.
www.guardian.co.uk/technology/gamesblog/2012/jul/17/eight-indie-games-from-develop
twitter.com/moonhelm
"And just when you thought it was safe to venture into near-space, here's Moonhelm, another rogue-like sci-fi FPS. This time you're exploring a space base that's riddled with hostile aliens, accompanied wherever you go by an AI helper. In a nod to The Thing, however, you must select your ally at the start of the game and, at some point, he may actually turn out to be a deadly extraterrestrial in disguise. Add in the procedurally generated environments and permadeath mechanic that ends your game after a single mortal injury and you have an intriguing hardcore RPG/FPS that promises an intense and jumpy experience. The game is coming to PC and Mac in January 2013, with an iPad version following."
Again, sounds incredibly good. Execution is a whole different matter. I haven't heard of these little independent studios before so don't get your hopes too high. Of course they could surprise us with awesome games, and that's what I hope. A (John Carpenter's) Thing-game sounds like a really great game if it works. I know one official game exists already but I haven't tried it. Maybe it could get to the feel of the movie (despite not being in any way tied into the film other than by having shape-shifting aliens in it) and go even further, make it even more tense. I liked the first two Alien films, but they weren't very scary. I knew pretty well what to expect. But when I played a demo for the 2000 Alien vs Predator game, it was something so much better that it blew my mind. I was fighting for my life and being very paranoid about aliens jumping out of nowhere. I think it was much better than the movie experience. Speaking of Alien games, stay away from the new one. It's just a FPS using the CoD template with Aliens put in. They are really weak and instead of biting your head off immediately when they get close enough to you, they just dance around or the player punches in the face. And when you kill an alien, a text pops up saying: "+100 points!". This game doesn't have the feel. It feels like a game. AvP 2000 was surviving while being covered in sweat and screaming.
I hope Moonhelm could do the same with The Thing. I can only imagine the amount of paranoia in the air when you can't know if your friend is actually an alien (not to be confused with the aliens from the Alien franchize) and you have to kill him.
