cactus posts

cactus brings us KrebsWelte, the next Mondo game

by James Murff Jun 16th 2008 @ 3:30PM

cactus, that ever lovable developer of fast and loose indie games, has brought us his next Mondo game. Surprisingly, it isn't a part of his own projects, but rather for the TIGSource Procedural Generation Competition. KrebsWelte is a strangely named platformer where your goal is to reach the end of each stage alive. This is not all, however.

You must reach the key in each stage in order to open the escape door. The key is usually blocked by terrain, though, and it is your goal to destroy the terrain with your trusty weapons to reach it and escape. The stages are populated with traps, enemies, weapons dealers, NPCs, and money. You can also buy extra lives, which are definitely needed as there is no save system. The random generation comes in the form of the weapons and weapons dealers. The game also generates all the levels based on seeds, although there is only a single seed that is used.

Filed under: Action, Adventure, Indie

Freeware Friday: Clean Asia

by James Murff May 30th 2008 @ 1:00PM

Welcome to Freeware Friday, a weekly column showcasing excellent games that you can play free of charge!

Well, we've covered side-scrollers for the past three weeks, so it's time to return to the topic of the very first Freeware Friday: shoot-'em-ups. A genre of fast fingers and faster minds, it's probably the most prolific of all the freeware genres, having countless games in its ranks. One such game, which is also one of the best, is the incomparable Clean Asia by cactus.

Continue reading Freeware Friday: Clean Asia

Filed under: Features, Action, Arcade

Precision plaforms its way into our hearts

by James Murff May 20th 2008 @ 3:00PM

Most platformers have you run, jump, avoid enemies, and collect items. But what if you can't stop? This seems to be the premise behind cactus' latest little game, Precision. You can't stop, you can only slow down or speed up, and you have to collect every green bottle in a level while jumping over gaps. Thankfully, there's no enemies to be seen and a dotted red line shows you how you jumped previously. It's a fun little time-waster, not too difficult, and even has high-score tables for the people who love to show off their gaming prowess. Give it a looksee.

[Via IndieGames]

Filed under: Action, Indie

Kryzta released by cactus, took 3 hours

by James Murff May 15th 2008 @ 6:30PM

cactus has long been established as a complete beast of a developer. The indie developer has developed complete games in the time it takes the normal person to finish Super Mario Bros, as has done it yet again. Working on a competition where the goal is to create a functional game in 3 hours, cactus has make a quirky little arena shooter with unique mechanics called Kryzta.

Your goal is to kill other ships by luring enemies into shooting their buddies. Once an enemy dies, you can collect his little chunks for points. After a while, you can utilize a special shot as well. It's very simple, like most of his games, but very fun and easy to pick up. Pick up the download off of the competition thread!

[Via IndieGames]

Filed under: Downloads, Action, Indie

Interview with the incomparable cactus

by James Murff May 6th 2008 @ 7:30PM

cactus, who we have mentioned before, is an extremely prolific developer, and has an incredible design and graphics aesthetic. GamingWorld recently sat down with him and had a chat, covering everything from current to past projects, and what it is like to be an indie developer who writes simple freeware games. It's an excellent read, and a must for anybody wanting to break into the industry, especially those trying to do it through freeware games. Give it a look, and then head on over to his site and play some of his indescribable games.

Filed under: Interviews, Indie

Brain-Damaged Toon Underworld to feature HD ratio

by James Murff May 5th 2008 @ 7:30PM

Much in the same vein as the amazing Fantastic Blood Boy, Brain-Damaged Toon Underworld is inspired by the VGNG Competition at TIGSource. That's where the similarities end. Made by LoFiMinds, which consist of the genius freeware developers cactus and villek, it's a surreal adventure-platformer romp through bizarre levels and various strange character interactions.

The new trailer has dropped for it, and it's very pretty. As seen above, it feature pixelated retro art at a crisp resolution and framerate, and a distinctly old-school play style. Not only that, but along with the trailer comes the announcement that it will be made for the HD aspect ratio and will have higher resolution, making it that much crisper. Sweet.

[Via IndieGames]

Filed under: Action, Indie, Trailers

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