Link Dump Friday
January 25, 2008
Note: the following games have nothing to do with this paragraph about plywood. It's just fun to know that a vast number of varieties of plywood exist, tailored for all manner of conditions and uses. Softwood plywood is usually made either of Douglas fir or spruce, pine, and fir. Decorative plywood is usually faced with hardwood, including red oak, birch, maple, lauan (Philippine mahogany) and a large number of other hardwoods.
Iron Dukes - A gorgeous RPG/action hybrid where you play a scientist/greedy treasure hunter in a fictional version of the late 19th century. Pilot your ship through storms, dive for gold and defeat crazy steam-powered foes all in the name of getting rich and buying more cool stuff to equip. Iron Dukes is up for Best Web Browser Game in the 10th annual Independent Games Festival, so if you like the game, head over to the audience awards page and cast your vote! (One level demo, contains strong language.)
Tailtag - Like ladybugs? Who doesn't! This rather cute arcade game has a simple goal: form a chain by brushing the last in line against a free-roaming bug. Different bugs are worth different points, and the faster you work the higher your score.
Dupligon - Think you're the best polygon drawer this side of the internet? Time to put your skills to the test with this short brain teaser-type game. A polygon appears for a few moments, then vanishes and the screen shifts to a drawing board. You must place points and try to mimic the polygon's angles.
FWG Pinball - A great-looking pinball game with simple controls and a nice arcade-style feel. The camera is a bit shaky, especially at higher speeds, but otherwise it's a smooth experience. You know, if luck-driven pinball doesn't frustrate you.
JIG Poker Night - gets bigger each week (oh yes, it does!) every Saturday. Check this page each week for time of day (usually 4PM Eastern), then make sure you're there in the JIG lounge because the tournament starts promptly. In other words, you can't join the tournament after it has started, so get there early. The winner each week qualifies for a championship tournament in the spring where we'll give away an iPod Nano and a Nintendo DS!! What are you waiting for? Come join in on the fun!
I always miss the tournament! I hope to make it this week. Dupligon plays very oddly.
Dupligon is a nice little one.
The ball physics of FWG is simply appalling. The ball makes strange bounces every now and then and seems sepecially keen on resting spinning on corners and edges for a long time even when they are not horizontal.
Shame because it would be a good idea.
Oh come on, John. Plywood? Now you're just getting lazy.
Tailtag is really fun. Dupligon gets incredibly frustrating beyond shapes with 3 sides.
I very much enjoyed Iron Dukes. Perhaps it should be mentioned that it's just a demo though?
Iron Dukes is just a demo. You can't go further than the first boss.
Also, because the enemies scale, it was trivial to get the most powerful equipment available long before I even made it to that boss. You get more powerful equipment, the enemies get "harder" (though still often 1 or 2 shots) and give better equipment, the whole thing accelerates. Plus, the best equipment was less than 10,000 per piece.
It's a nice idea for a game, and a very nice presentation, but it's fairly shallow.
"Iron Dukes" is a preview of a game, not a full game. It is one short chapter of an unfinished game.
It is not up for any prizes in IGF, it is not even a finalist. There are almost two hundred other games submitted - by their authors - to the 2008 round.
It looks like a very fun game when finished but for now, it is proof of concept preview, not a game.
Methinks the author has been promoting it too aggressively.
Also a web-based game with cartoon characters should not use obscenities so freely.
Just FYI, I wouldn't call some of the language in "Iron Dukes" appropriate for kids. I saw the f-bomb and sh** there before I closed the game out, I don't do that kind of thing.
Iron dukes was really fun, until I found some treasure worth 10,000, bought one of the best possible items, and from then on I could kill anything in one hit and everything dropped ridiculously good stuff. Really, really nice game, just needs a little balancing and polish.
Dupligon is a neat idea, but some of those highscores can't be honest. Somebody got two perfect scores... I imagine they used a screen capture.
Iron Dukes was a fun little game, but the language is definitely not for kids!
i liked the dupligon nice i got a B+ both times i played then looked at the highscores ah well lol still its fun
Iron Dukes is really good, the full version will be amazing.
Nice work, Jay and team!
Agreed with the above posters about Iron Dukes. Very well designed at the overall engine level, very weak in the details. Needs a lot of balance tuning and some more variety in the minigames. Plenty of potential but the potential definitely isn't realized yet.
I got a B- average on my first try in Dupligon. Funny, we're studying geometry in school.
Yeah, I second the comment on the dupligon high score list. There are a few 100% results and it's very hard to believe they are real results.
What makes anyone cheat in a game like that - under a nickname??? Can't even boast with it later...
If I could even begin to understand them...
Wonder how Dupligon counts the scores of each draw.
I'm pretty sure Dupligon measures the angles at each vertex and compares them to the original polygon to calculate score.
It's a pretty cool game, if a little difficult. And, yeah, to be perfect would be nigh on impossible, thought it is at least conceivable...
Also, first comment. Yay.
i can copy - paste from wikipedia too...
A vast number of varieties of plywood exist, with many conditions and uses. Softwood plywood is usually made either of Douglas fir or spruce, pine, and fir, and is typically used for construction and industrial purposes.[5] Decorative plywood is usually faced with hardwood, including red oak, birch, maple, lauan (Philippine mahogany) and a large number of other hardwoods.
...citation needed!
I got an average of 85 in four levels. Funny,I got a higher score on Level 4 than 3
I can't seem to beat my 92% top score - but, hey, I'm happy with that :)))
iron dukes is a great game, but i didnt notice any cussing at all.
FWG Pinball was... eeugh. I expected a little more diversity of levels, and it did little more than swap out the shapes of the bumpers. And I can understand making the bumper more transparent when your ball is in the upper part of the screen, but really -- THAT transparent? When you're almost inherently watching it out of the corner of your eye?
Tailtag was rather adorable, though.
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