[Platform: Download (Mac, Windows)]
Shooters! Shmups! Games where you hit buttons and destroy things! Vertically scrolling, arena, clones, remakes, minimalistic... shooting games! Thusly is the theme of this edition of Weekend Download. Except for that other game at the bottom...
pemKivi#8217;s Underworld/em takes players through a world that is under attack, but the only one that knows the world is under attack is Kivi. He takes it upon himself to save his world. Kivi sets out on one quest, in a role playing (RPG) setting, at a time and each quest progresses the story line. img class=alignright size-full wp-image-3146 title=kivis-underworld src=http://casualgamerchick.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/kivis-underworld.jpg alt=kivis-underworld width=250 height=188 //p
pemKivi#8217;s Underworld/em is a RPG, but it is a bit different from other RPGs. Players still have their characters and have the ability to upgrade their character stats, but this RPG is arcade based. Each quest has a definite ending and the player has the option to stop that quest when it is complete. The other difference with this game is points are very important. The more points you can accumulate through a quest the more ability points you will receive at the end of your quest. Of course, ability points allow players to upgrade their character#8217;s stats, such as health, defense, offense and such./p
pEach quest is almost like a level. Players complete the objective of the quest and can opt to be done with the level, but if they stop there they will probably only get 1 ability point. Each quest has multiple secrets to find and players should attempt to find the secrets because they will increase your score and you can progress your character quicker./p
pPlayers can choose to play Kivi or any of his companions. Kivi and his companions each have different abilities or classes. Kivi is good with the sword (warrior). Kivi has many companions, such as Warlocks, Ninjas and even Battle Mages, which are good with swords and magic. Players pick a character and start out on an adventure./p
pimg class=alignleft size-full wp-image-3147 title=kivi-underworld-2 src=http://casualgamerchick.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/kivi-underworld-2.jpg alt=kivi-underworld-2 width=250 height=188 /On each of the quests the characters have to navigate around the underworld and they are helped out by a min-map in the corner of the screen. The mini-map will show green dots for things that won#8217;t hurt you and red dots for enemies on the screen. Players can break open barrels and discover chests. Some barrels and chests contain power-ups, but only three power-ups can be held at one time. The power-ups are on the side of the screen and can be used by clicking on them. The power-ups are standard role playing power-ups, such as stone skin, haste and regeneration./p
pThe graphics in the game are awesome. The characters contain enough detail to tell them apart when you choose a different character. The enemies are easily discernible as well. Players can easily tell the difference between a skeleton and a zombie. The level art is dark and menacing. Exactly what you think a dark underworld would look like./p
pemKivi#8217;s Underworld/em is a great game that offers lots of fun and challenge. Players get to play an RPG in a casual setting. Players can choose to continue playing or stop when the quest is done. The game offers plenty of game play and a world worth exploring. emKivi#8217;s Underworld/em is a great game for any RPG fan, but would also be a good game for someone looking to discover the magic of an RPG game. I recommend that everyone check out a title=Kivi's Underworld href=http://www.soldak.com/Kivis-Underworld/Screenshots.html target=_blankKivi#8217;s Underworld/a for a great casual RPG./p
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With all my dislike for TV, I treat computer differently. Maybe it’s because I spend at least 60% of my awake time on the computer, and I have an engineering degree. Still, we don’t exceed 30 minutes a day, and it’s always a joint activity. Mostly we are exploring , but eventually I felt to try something new and after some research on Amazon chose a from Reader Rabbit series.
It was a good choice. I am not in favor of software that rewards young children for random banging on a keyboard, and while Baby part of this software has a lot of parts responding to random actions, Toddler part usually requires mouse use. Anna is nowhere near using a mouse, and not even interested, so I navigated for her. It has an engaging beginning, easy presentation of entry points into different playing modules, and modules appear pretty even in their degree of difficulty. Anna liked all of them at various points over about 6 month span. We played the game probably about twice a week. She really liked Alphabet Express section with letters and songs. My only complaint is about numbers section in a Bubble Castle. It always counts to 5, and the bubbles are flying quickly even for me. Still despite minor flows, it’s still the best game I tried with her, and I recommend her as a starting point of entry in the world of computer games.
pWhilst travelling home on the bus today I was doing some Ki Breathing (deep breathing to my centre, 2 inches below the navel) because I had a headache and was worried I might be getting a flu (two other family members have had it for about a week now). So I was focusing on exhaling negativity and toxins, and breathing in fresh new energy to cleanse my system. The headache went away surprisingly quickly and I felt tension in my shoulders and neck ease off (oh and I was listening to Jean-Michel Jarre on my iPhone too which helped)./p
pThen I began to put myself into a positive mindset by thinking about being healthy and lucky (I often feel gratitude for my life situation). Just then the bus stopped and because I was sitting on a side seat I could see out of the window on the opposite side. Straight ahead of me was a sign above a shop door that said #8220;Are You Lucky?#8221;. I thought this was funny and suddenly my focus shifted to shop signs as the bus began moving. I saw words moving past like Open, Dollar, Bank, Fitness etc. and thought it was interesting that my mind was picking out these positive words. So for the rest of the journey I continued to look out the window to see which words floating by struck a chord with me and there were many fun positive words. When I got back, I felt great!/p
pMany people put up positive affirmations around their house or in a particular area, and some people make dreamboards. I did this in my last house and it worked well. In fact I need to do it again soon. The simple act of reading positive words (and saying them aloud to yourself) puts you in a better state of mind. This is why I choose not to read negative news and not to join in with people having negative conversations, I#8217;ve really got no use for them - but if there is some great news or people laughing and joking, then, yes please, I#8217;d like some of that img src=http://greyaliengames.com/blog/wp-includes/images/smilies/icon_smile.gif alt=:-) class=wp-smiley / /p
pA friend and associate, Roman Budzowski from Anawiki Games, interviewed me a couple of weeks ago and you can read the results of my rather lengthy interview a href=http://anawiki.com/sellmoregames/2009/02/11/interview-with-jake-birkett-grey-alien-big-fish-games-lead-programmer/here/a. I wrote so much stuff - I#8217;m sure I could have turned it into a ton of blog posts! Anyway, it#8217;s well worth the read if you haven#8217;t seen it already./p
pThere are also 3 other really interesting interviews on Roman#8217;s site:/p
pa href=http://anawiki.com/sellmoregames/2009/02/23/interview-with-chanon-sajjamanochai-executive-game-producer-of-viqua-games/Chanon Sajjamanochai/a (creator of First Class Flurry and Shop n Spree)/p
pa href=http://anawiki.com/sellmoregames/2009/02/04/interview-with-cliff-harris-cliffski-positech-games/Cliff Harris (Cliffski)/a (well known Indie developer and owner of Positech games)/p
pa href=http://anawiki.com/sellmoregames/2009/01/26/interview-with-yaroslav-yanovsky-berserker-ceo-enkord/Yaroslav Yanovsky/a (CEO of Enkord, creators of many Indie and Casual games)/p
pAll these are well worth a read, so hop over there now and keep an eye out for future interviews./p
pIt#8217;s 28th day and I#8217;m 28 years old now. I thought to look back and see some lessons I#8217;ve learned during this time. I know I#8217;ve wrote a bit about a href=http://www.gameproducer.net/archives/game production/a in this blog during the last few years, so I#8217;ll give some bit different thoughts #038; comments#8230; mainly on something else than game development. /p
pb1981/bbr /
It#8217;s good to be born on a day when it#8217;s a national #8216;put the flags on those poles#8217; day. That way everytime it#8217;s my birthday, they put flags on poles. Makes a good story, plus helps you remember when your birthday is./p
pb1982/bbr /
Cry baby./p
pb1986/bbr /
Getting your eye burnt from a broken lamp (or something) isn#8217;t exactly a good idea./p
pGood lesson though./p
p(a href=http://www.gameproducer.net/about/No, I don#8217;t look like a zombie today/a (I think), and didn#8217;t lose my eye or anything like. It was one of those child things that happens to boys when they run too fast or something, and then the wound heals at some point. I personally don#8217;t remember the incident but I#8217;ve seen pics where my eye/head was partially#8230; well close to black.)/p
pb1987/bbr /
It#8217;s good to dream. I had this vision that #8220;some day I#8217;m able to write #038; speak English#8221; (after listening to one young 6-year old Finnish boy speaking #8220;American language#8221;). I wanted to do that too./p
pb1989/bbr /
Those older big bullies are only as tough as you think they are. /p
pb1991/bbr /
Coding is sooo cool. Commodore 64 had awesome graphics. Amazing toy./p
pb1992/bbr /
Pen #038; paper role playing games don#8217;t equal to satan worshipping. /p
pb1995/bbr /
Being a skinny tall guy rocks. Why give a rat#8217;s ass about what others think about your appearance?/p
pb1996/bbr /
There#8217;s only two types of logic: #8220;wrong#8221; and #8220;women#8217;s#8221;. /p
pI had to do the dishes on one school class and I asked the (woman) teacher how hot the #8220;soap water#8221; in the left side sink needs to be? She said #8220;as hot as possible#8221;. /p
pI did as was told, and after that I poured #8220;clean water#8221; in the right side sink (to wash that #8220;soap water#8221; away from the dishes) and asked #8220;and how hot this needs to be?#8221;/p
pShe replied: #8220;even hotter#8221;./p
pTo this I replied: #8220;but umm#8230; if the water on the left is #8216;as hot as possible#8217; how come the water on the right can be #8216;hotter#8217;#8221;?/p
pI never got a reply (and that question still puzzles me nowadays), but apparently that#8217;s not the point. The Dishwashers Rule Is: do you want to be right, or do you want to get home the time when others are leaving since you smart ass will be staying late./p
pb1998/bbr /
Bridge (the card game) is not only for old ladies. It#8217;s a bloody nice game, and beating those old #8216;masters#8217; in a local tournament is awesome. /p
pb2000/bbr /
#8220;The Day of Peace#8221; is a good day to get away from the army (we have mandatory at least 6 months military training here in Finland. It means mainly eating loads, doing what other people told you and then eat more). Makes a good story you can tell some day./p
pLike today./p
pb2001/bbr /
It#8217;s all relative. Some people say that city (area) of 140 000 citizens (counting all the near towns too) is small#8230; but moving from a town of 1 400 citizens to a city of 140 000 citizens makes a difference./p
pIt#8217;s good to have somebody to help you out in the new place where you are moving to./p
pb2004/bbr /
Getting married #038; being in marriage works fine if you just remember The Modified Dishwasher Rule: do you want to be right, or do you want to be happy? (same rule can be applied to workplaces #038; friends as well) /p
pb2005/bbr /
Founding a company has a big meaning mentally. Even if it means just filing some papers, it also means a change in how your mind works. /p
pb2006 and later#8230;/bbr /
a href=http://www.gameproducer.net/archives/See here/a./p
pb2008/bbr /
As smart as I think I am, I#8217;m still a human and I can be brainwashed to do stuff based on emotions. Yep, that#8217;s true. I#8217;m not invincible even though I think I am. Even though I #8220;think the opposite#8221; and #8220;am independent#8221; and #8220;wise#8221; and #8220;smart#8221; and #8220;logical#8221; and #8220;sensible#8221; and who knows whatever megalomaniac thoughts I have, I still do stupid stuff like: ibuy stuff that I have absolutely no use/i. I#8217;m brainwashed and people are messing with my mind and making me do stuff ithey want/i#8230; From this, I realize that to get people to do stuff you want, you gotta affect them on an emotional level. /p
pAny game producer can try logically convince his teammates to do stuff - but if they aren#8217;t emotionally convinced, it just won#8217;t work. (And I#8217;m not suggesting that you try manipulating anybody, that#8217;s not a good long-term solution nor short-term solution and probably just backfires big time). I#8217;m just trying to make a point here that whatever logic says, the real big decisions are made on an emotional level - and that game producers should be aware of this side and they should not focus too much on the logical level. /p
pAnd no, I#8217;m not going to use give you any ilogical/i reason why this is so, and I#8217;m not going to try give you any ilogical/i arguments why this is so. /p
pIf you disagree me, that#8217;s totally cool. I have no plans to argue about this: I#8217;ve gone through the Dishwasher Rule. That#8217;s enough experience for me./p
pb2009/bbr /
Amazing how the time flies when you are having fun./p
pCheers everybody! /p
piP.S. If you really want to a href=http://www.amazon.com/wishlist/O9X9KEVWT8TB/ref=wl_webget me a birthday present/a that#8217;s totally cool. There#8217;s plenty of room here in our flat for all kinds of stuff. Amazon wishlist stuff has books I could use and of course I#8217;m open to a href=http://www.gameproducer.net/contact/offers via email/a in case you want to give me something. Not that I would beg or anything./i /p
pa href=http://www.amazon.com/wishlist/O9X9KEVWT8TB/ref=wl_webimg src=http://g-ecx.images-amazon.com/images/G/01/gifts/registries/wishlist/v2/web/wl-btn-74-b._V46774601_.gif width=74 alt=My Amazon.com Wish List height=42 border=0 //a/p
bIf you liked this entry, feel free to a href=http://www.gameproducer.netvisit GameProducer.net/a to read more similar articles./b
[Platform: Download (Windows)]
The Wizard is missing and with the help of his magical pen you must conjure up all that is hidden to find him. This game is about finding what's missing, both by revealing pictures in magical books, and figuring out from the word clues which items are NOT in the scene. With the magic pen you reconstitute the mysterious invisible world to make it visible.
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