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More than 80 games will be on display in the Indie Megabooth at PAX East 2017
PAX East 2017 will open its doors in exactly 336 hours, and the Indie Megabooth has finally announced which games it’ll have on display at the Boston-based convention this year.
Dozens upon dozens of indie titles will get a chance to shine in a couple of weeks, including some of our favorites from years past. We selected Vertex Pop’s Graceful Explosion Machine, Hypersect’s Inversus, and Pocketwatch’s Tooth & Tail for our Best of PAX East 2016 roundup and all of them will be on display in the Indie Megabooth this year. Refactor, an alumnus of our Best of PAX East 2014 roundup (when it was known as Tetropolis) has also earned a spot in the PAX East 2017 edition of the Indie Megabooth.
The Indie Megabooth continues to grow and change, and this year, in addition to the Minibooth area and the Tabletop area, it’ll also have a “Visual Novel Reading Room” within its carpeted confines for PAX East attendees.
You can find the full list of games set to be included in the Indie Megabooth at PAX East 2017 after the break. (more…)
Posted in Mobile, News, PC, PS4, Switch, Xbox One
Tagged Graceful Explosion Machine, Inversus, PAX East 2017, Refactor, Tabletop Games, Tooth and Tail
The PAXpocalypse List: The Best of PAX East 2016
Believe it or not, we’re not living in a post-apocalyptic hellscape (depending on your political affiliation, insert your own Trump/Hillary joke here). But you’d never know it if all you had to go by was the 2016 PAX East show floor, which was overrun by dozens of titles that took place after the collapse of society… and a lot of them were pretty good.
But what if some disaster did befall the world and force PAX East attendees to forever wander the halls of the Boston Convention and Exhibition, feasting on whatever mac and cheese bowls or turkey legs they may find? That’s where Warp Zoned’s PAXpocalypse List comes in, because these are the games we’d keep playing if we could never venture outside again… (more…)
Posted in 3DS, Features, Mobile, PC, PS3, PS4, Top Story, Vita, Wii U, Xbox 360, Xbox One
Tagged 20XX, Catlateral Damage, Cuphead, Flinthook, Graceful Explosion Machine, Inversus, Just Shapes and Beats, PAX East 2016, Pit People, Refactor, Streamline, Tooth and Tail, Tumblestone, Uncharted 4: A Thief's End
Dear Diary: Friday at PAX East 2016 I Played…
The Boston Convention and Exhibition Center has opened the doors for PAX East once again. And once that overwhelming feeling went away, I managed to pay a visit to more than a few indie developers on Friday. So here’s a quick look at what I managed to play on the first day of PAX East 2016… (more…)
Posted in 3DS, Features, Mobile, PC, PS3, PS4, Top Story, Vita, Wii U, Xbox 360, Xbox One
Tagged Deathstate, Graceful Explosion Machine, Inversus, PAX East 2016, Pit People, Refactor
Indie Megabooth will showcase 87 games at PAX East 2016
The Indie Megabooth has announced they’ll provide space on the PAX East show floor for more than 80 developers during this year’s convention.
The PAX East 2016 lineup includes 87 titles, and several of them have previously appeared in our twice-yearly Best of PAX roundup. This year’s PAXpocalypse alumni include 20XX from Batterystaple Games (PAX East 2015), Refactor from NextGen Pants (PAX East 2014), Scale from Cubeheart Games (PAX Prime 2013), and Tumblestone from The Quantum Astrophysicists Guild (PAX East 2014 again). Graceful Explosion Machine, a semi-sequel to Vertex Pop’s We Are Doomed (a PAX Prime 2013 selection) also has a spot in the Indie Megabooth’s Minibooth this year.
Personally, I’m also a huge fan of single-stick shooter Deathstate and heady puzzler Gnog, so be sure to check those two out if you’re attending this year’s PAX East convention, which will be held April 22nd through the 24th.
A complete list of titles included in the PAX East 2016 Indie Megabooth is available after the break. And more information on every one of those games can be found at the group’s official website. (more…)
Posted in Mobile, News, PC, PS4, Xbox One
Tagged 20XX, Graceful Explosion Machine, PAX East 2016, Refactor, Tabletop Games, Tumblestone
Tetropolis resurfaces as Refactor and it’s coming to PC, PS4 in 2016
Refactor originally popped up on our radar back in 2014 (more specifically, at PAX East 2014), when it was known as Tetropolis. Even back then, the action took place within a Metroidvania-style world that players explored through the eyes of a shape-shifting tetromino. The little guy was deemed inadequate to appear in “The Game,” but his powers gave him the perfect chance to escape.
Fast forward to today, and developer NextGen Pants has announced a partnership with Sony to bring Refactor to the PS4 and PC. Writing on the PlayStation Blog, lead developer Bob Webb expounded a bit more about the game’s mechanics:
For example, the square shape can be used to combat enemies or the line shape to leap great distances. These shapes can be further augmented by special abilities found throughout the world. While these powers are fairly standard for the metroidvania genre, we’ve turned it up a notch and have given you the ability to rearrange the map in a puzzle-like manner.
Set in a world that is a puzzle itself, you can literally turn the world upside down by rearranging the map. The rooms that make up the map can be reordered, moved around and even rotated, all in real time. It is up to you to construct new pathways to previously inaccessible areas, to solve mind-bending puzzles, and to uncover secrets in the world of Refactor.
Refactor will be released for the PC and PS4 sometime later this year.
Indie Megabooth lineup for PAX Prime 2014 announced
After a successful trip across the Atlantic, the Indie Megabooth is coming back to North America with a massive PAX Prime 2014 installation. But before I begin this news article, I’d like to congratulate Warp Zoned’s Nicole Kline and Anthony Amato, who will be sitting in with this iteration of the Indie Megabooth with their card game, Resistor.
But if you’re looking for some video games, there are plenty of great titles on display. All told, 78 games will be available within the confines of the Indie Megabooth… 58 featured games and 20 more as part of the Minibooth. Some of this year’s heavy hitters include a new game from Team Meat (A Voyeur For September), the next game from the Threes guys (Close Castles), the intriguing Oculus title Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes, and N++ (a game which needs no introduction). Over in the Minibooth, you’ll three of our favorites from PAX East 2014: Max Gentlemen, Catlateral Damage, and Tetropolis.
You want more? You can find the complete lineup after the break and more details on every game at the Indie Megabooth’s official website. (more…)
Posted in Mobile, News, PC, PS4, Vita
Tagged Catlateral Damage, Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes, Max Gentlemen, N++, PAX Prime 2014, Refactor, Tabletop Games
NextGen Pants launches Kickstarter campaign to complete Tetropolis development
Tetropolis was one of our favorite games on display at this year’s PAX East convention. The Metroidvania-style puzzle platformer puts players in the minos of a pair of deformed tetrominos as they attempt to escape the obstacles laid out before them. It’s an interesting new take on the genre and I’m looking forward to the rest of its progress.
However, developer NextGen Pants announced today that they’re need of a bit more money to complete Tetropolis and they have launched a Kickstarter campaign in their quest to complete its development. The team is seeking $50,000 to finish the game and hopefully eager backers won’t be as elusive as one of those line pieces.
In addition to the previously announced PC edition of Tetropolis, the game is in development for Mac and Linux. An Ouya version is also in the works and NextGen Pants is participating in their FreeTheGames Fund, which will provide matching funds up to $250,000.
If all goes well, Tetropolis will be available sometime next Summer. In the meantime, be sure to check out the demo available through the Kickstarter page.
New trailer for Tetropolis promises 2015 release date
The last time we got our hands on Tetropolis, it won a PAXpocalypse Award as one of our favorite games of PAX East 2014. Since then, developer NextGen Pants has been hard at work adding “new content and challenges” to their puzzle platformer. After making all of these improvements (which are chronicled in an update to their development blog), the team is ready to show off some new gameplay footage as well as tease the dystopian society at the center of the game:
Tetropolis is a non-linear puzzle platformer set in a world obsessed with falling block puzzles. In the city of Tetropolis, thousands of game pieces are manufactured every minute in order to meet the demands of “the game.” You play as a square-shaped tetromino that has failed the quality check and has been discarded for not being perfect. Unlike other discarded pieces, you obtain the ability to change into different shapes, each one possessing its own unique ability that you can use to traverse the world.
Tetropolis will be available for the PC (and possibly other platforms) in 2015.