Uplink Creators Surreal It Up With Darwinia

Thanks to DIY Games for its story noting that Introversion Software, "creator of the critically acclaimed hacker sim Uplink", has announced its next game: Darwinia, a "...monstrously fast [PC] shoot-'em-up, influenced by Cannon Fodder and Syndicate", according to PC Gamer UK. There's a very basic official site with the first screenshots, but fansite Darwinia Warfront has some further information on the early-in-development title, quoting PC Gamer as explaining you'll be "playing as a gamer, inserted into the network of retro videogame consoles... you're shooting sprites, stick men, and space-invaders - objets d'art from the annals of videogame history."

Re:ROFFLE BOFFLE

[gonaddespammed.com]

While I have to agree. This game does look interesting... I guess... hrmmm got pre alpha?

Helpful translation

[Andy Smith]

objets d'art from the annals of videogame history

For those who don't speak French, roughly translated this means dart objects. Oooh, scary!

Too bad

[Calydor]

Sigh. I would much rather have had an Uplink II. Perhaps multiplayer, that'd be neat.

Shoot'em'ups are old school, VERY old school, and using Space Invader sprites does not conceal that fact, it's mocking it.

Re:Too bad

[reluctantengineer]

I agree, Uplink II would have been sweet. The first one was one of the few games I've bought! (Meaning I don't play many games not that I don't pay for the ones I do play. )

Re:Too bad

[mahdi13]

Space Invader sprites does not conceal that fact, it's mocking it.

I'd say those sprites are just place holders until the modeling and textures are done. Of course in the (very short) General Questions they mention that there are two(2) guys working on it (Chris Delay and Andy Bainbridge) and it's meant to have a 'retro' feel, so maybe those are the near-final graphics?

And they mention the Mac/Linux ports are still a maybe =(

Re:Too bad

[Grakkar]

Sigh. I would much rather have had an Uplink II. Perhaps multiplayer, that'd be neat.

Yeah, I hear you...Uplink II would be good. Especially using some of the ideas on the super-secret Introversion server. Like the Mission Impossible 2 idea: having someone hack a place from the outside and someone else move in, guns blazing. However, If someone could just make a good enough mod that has multiplayer, fixes all the bugs, adds more than one or two new things to do, and makes it so that you can actually

Non-photo-realism

[moosesocks]

I really like the trend in indie gaming twoards non-photorealism. These games are supposed to look GOOD, but not REAL. This allows developers to focus more on gameplay. The retro kick makes it even cooler.

Two freeware examples of surrealist games (which are a hell of a lot of fun) that come instantly to mind are :
Noiz2sa [asahi-net.or.jp] (OS X Port [victoly.com])
RRootage [asahi-net.or.jp] (OS X Port [victoly.com])

Non-photo-realism = Indie in movies?

[superultra]

I really like the trend in indie gaming twoards non-photorealism.

Indie movies are the same, to some degree. There's no way they can compete with the special effects of Spider-Man 2, or something along those lines. So they make up for it with experimental presentation, inexpensive ways to communicate the same thing special effects could. I think the same thing is happening in games. It's way too expensive to pay 40 guys just to texture everything. So, what do you do? You make great games that don't

Re:Non-photo-realism = Indie in movies?

[Bastian]

It'll only be a matter of time, I think, before the major publishers perk up and start to realize that these indie games are setting the trend, not them

In terms of graphic design aspects of, well, anything, I think this has been true for a long time. I first started seeing games that used photograps as sprites in the indie world long before Mortal Kombat and the like came out. Fashion trends always follow some subculture, && I've seen a lot of graphic styles used by demosceners make their way on

Re:Non-photo-realism

[Qzukk]

Here's one with a bit of a non-standard play mechanism: Every Extend [cool.ne.jp]

I've also worked out how to recompile noiz2sa on Linux (it uses SDL, it just needs a makefile change and changing "\" to "/" in file paths) and thanks for the link to the other game there, I'm going to try building it on Linux as well.

Re:Non-photo-realism

[Kevin143]

Tranquility [tqworld.com] is another game with great, surreal graphics.

Unnnnf.

[Alazoral]

Well, I came.

"Darwinia" by Robert Charles Wilson

[dpilot]

This game looks like it has nothing to do with the Robert Charles Wilson book, where Europe disappears and is replaced by a primitive jungle. I had mixed feelings about the book, but I guess it could have been turned into a good shooter.

Re:"Darwinia" by Robert Charles Wilson

[Cyno01]

I liked the book, even tho it got all trippy at the end, but what shooting was there, the battle at the end? Lends itself more towards an adventure game like myst or that really good dinotopia game.

Re:"Darwinia" by Robert Charles Wilson

[dpilot]

I was thinking more of shooting at the animals trying to eat you, and add some more human enemies.

Where's the Syndicate?

[Nebu]

Syndicate was one of my favorite games, and I often dreamed of Bullfrog making a first person shooter based on the Syndicate world. I don't see how this game is influenced on Syndicate though. Looks more like Rez [gamershell.com] to me.

Re:Where's the Syndicate?

[JabberWokky]

I have a feeling that all those abstract figures are controllable a la Syndicate. Think Syndicate in the world of TRON.

I'd like to see an RTS in the world of INWO. Build up your influence, encourage the drowth of your organizations and takeover various factions. Black helicopters and MiBs, orbital platforms, nanotanks and tinfoil hat armor upgrades. Then have the Xists arrive.

--
Evan

the screenshots.,...

[British]

....look like a cross between Tron and Tribes 2 on its lowest graphics settings. I like it!

Hmm...

[Orne]

So this is what happens when your art department is too lazy to come up with new sprites...