Darwinia posts

Developer Introversion Software got a lot of attention with their releases of the strategy-sim games Darwinia and its multiplayer-based companion game Multiwinia. Now the developer is giving anyone a chance to play with the source code behind both titles but there is a pretty big catch involved.

The source code for both games has been released on Introversion's web site but unlike other developers who have done similar things for free Introversion is charging to download its code. You can get the source code for $45 via Introversion's online store.The codes come with passwords to Introversion's development forums where people can chat with others on how to modify the game's programming.

[Via Blue's News]

Introversion Software was one of the first small innovative indie game development teams to emerge in the new digital download era. Games like Uplink, Defcon, and Darwinia showed a preference for simple graphics but terrific gameplay. For some time the company has been working on their next big project called Subversion. Now Rock Paper Shotgun reports on a brief gameplay demo of the title that was shown at a BAFTA event in London.

While the dev team said the demo is very early, the report describes the game as using a procedural system to generate a virtual city. Then the action shift to one floor in one building in the city where the objective is to take out a server room. From what is described, Subversion seems to be about spies, infiltration and sabotage. The game is still a long way off (indeed the developer hints that a proper demo for the game is still a year away) but it certainly seems to fit in what Introversion has done in the past.

If you want to celebrate the end of 2009 by playing a classic or new PC game, the folks at Valve have a selection of games on their Steam service that have had their prices cut for one day only. The games include the recent PC port of Street Fighter IV which can be yours for $9.99 for the next 23 hours.

Other games on sale include Half-Life Source for just $2.49, Shattered Horizon for $4.99, the Multiwinia and Darwinia bundle for a mere $2.99, Crysis Maximum Edition (with Crysis and Crysis Warhead) for $13.59 and Medieval II: Total War for just $4.99. Remember, Steam still has a ton of games and game bundles on sale that will stay that way until January 5.

Update: The web site has apparently changed the sale prices since this post was released. We have changed the prices accordingly.

Not to be outdone by Direct2Drive's previously announced indie game sales bundle, the folks at Valve have decided to hold their own sale on Steam that lowers the cost of getting into the indie games scene. From now until Monday you can buy all the games below in one collection for just $29.99. That's a price cut from $119.90 if each game were bought seperately

Audiosurf
Blueberry Garden
Braid
Crayon Physics Deluxe
Darwinia
Everyday Shooter
Gish
Mr. Robot
The Path
World of Goo

If that's just too much indie game action for your blood you can also purchase Blueberry Garden, Braid, Everyday Shooter, The Path and World of Goo together in a bundle for just $19.99. That's compared to a normal $59.95 price

UK-based Introversion Software had had a number of major successes for a small indie developer, releasing acclaimed PC games like Darwinia and Defcon. However the year 2008 did not turn out the way the company thought it would. In a rather extensive three part article on the company's blog site, Introversion's Chris Delay goes into detail on what went wrong in 2008.

In summary, Introversion had a number of projects either be delayed or fall by the wayside in 2008, including a planned DS port of Defcon, a game called Chronometer for the UK-based TV network Channel 4 and Darwinia +, a still-unreleased merger of Darwinia and Multiwinia for Xbox Live Arcade. Even the release of Multiwinia for the PC this year generated poor sales.

In the end, Delay states, "By all accounts, 2008 was a disastrous year for Introversion, characterised by an incredibly positive start and a noticeable increase in ambition, but not a single genuine success throughout the whole year." The good news? Introversion managed to stay alive and kept everyone on the team employed even though it had to cut costs considerably to do so. Delay also stated that the beginning of 2009 has seen "alternative funding through grant schemes". Their main project now is to finish Darwinia + and while Delay admits "This is not a situation we would ever deliberately put ourselves in – all eggs in one Microsoft shaped basket," he adds that "the first time in a long while, I'm feeling confident."

Download the Multiwinia demo at Big Download

Valve's Steam service has announced its regular weekend sales reductions and this week we have a couple of deals to let you know about. The first is for Multiwinia which just had a new demo released. The Introversion Software multiplayer strategy game is now available on Steam permanently for just $9.99. This weekend only, you can also get the first game in the series, Darwinia, for free with any Mutiwinia purchase.

The other weekend sale is for The Ship, the innovative first person action game from developer Outerlight. The game just got a major content update via Steam that adds a new map, new gameplay modes, new player characters and more. For this weekend only you can download and purchase The Ship for just $4.99, a 75 percent savings.

And just as an aside, Steam has added quite a few small and indie based games to their service this week including Spectraball, Galactic Bowling, Space Trader: Merchant Marine and Baseball Mogul 2009.

It's been years since the Darwinia hit Steam, exposing the digital world populated by flat stick figure inhabitants, to an audience looking for something new and original. For all its charm, winning the game numerous accolades, it lacked a multiplayer mode to bring it all together. In comes Multiwinia: Survival of the Flattest, the long-awaited follow-up to Darwinia. More of a spin-off than an actual sequel, the little Darwinians have evolved into a new breed called Multiwinians, divided into colored factions and all competing for supremacy. Multiwinia takes all the uniqueness and charm of little inhabitants and puts them at war with each other in all-out battles across six different competitive game modes.

The follow-up game to the acclaimed independent game, Darwinia, Multiwinia lets people play competitively using flat Multiwinian soldiers across a variety of maps and game types.

Multiwinia: Survival of the Flattest is "the ultimate retro-arcade multiplayer experience! Choose from a selection of six hilariously fun, action-packed game modes, set in one of the most beautiful game environs you will ever set eyes on. Challenge your opponent to a game of stick-man slaughter, and watch digital-war unfold, as your Multiwinian army struggles to complete a chosen task faster and better than your rival's."

Download the Multiwinia Demo (49 MB)
Check out all the Multiwinia Downloads

Multiwinia, the follow-up to the critically acclaimed Darwinia, presents it sixth and final game mode called "Assault." As the video illustrates, the defenders are holding a weapon of mass destruction, and it's the job of the invaders to take out the weapon within a limited amount of time. Players won't have to wait long before putting Assault and other game modes into action, since the game is scheduled to release on September 18th.

Download the HD Multiwinia Assault Trailer (43 MB)
Check out all the Multiwinia Trailers

Valve continues to put in some nice packages for pre-ordering upcoming games from its Steam download service. The latest is for Multiwinia, the upcoming multiplayer strategy game from UK based Introversion Software. From now until September 19, people can purchase the $19.99 game and receive Darwinia for free.

Darwinia, which normally also costs $19.99, is basically the earlier single player version of Multiwinia which has an somewhat retro art arcade art style as you control strange sprites in an odd computer generated world. Multiwinia has these sprites battle each other for control of the world in six different game modes. Introversion is selling special editions of the game at its web site.