By John Walker on September 14th, 2011 at 9:27 am.
Laura Shigihara got in touch with us to let us know about another project she’s been working on. Coming to fame via singing the Plants Vs. Zombies theme, Shigihara recently worked on To The Moon, and now she alerts us to Celestial Mechanica. Created by Roger “rComplex” Hicks and Paul “Super Crate Box” Veer, Shigihara provides the vocals to the (impressive) music. And the game? A pixel-platformer with Metroidvania progression. There’s a trailer below.
I’ve had a very quick play (until I got stuck) and it seems a sweet little game. Nothing astonishingly original so far, but solid and interesting. The only issue I’ve come up against is the double-jump button seemingly firing itself off too early, causing lots of failed jumps. I’ve been playing with my 360 controller (which I much prefer for platform games), which involves running a separate app called JoyToKey along with the game (included), which may be the cause of that issue.
The game is already available, although it’s being demoed at the Tokyo Game Show this week. You can buy it in Japan here, and for the US and UK (and presumably elsewhere), here. It’s a weeny $5. I’m going to give it a proper play and come back with some impressions soon. Meanwhile, form your own impressions of the trailer:
14/09/2011 at 09:36 LionsPhil says:
This, frankly, looks like someone’s unfinished The Games Factory project.
14/09/2011 at 09:58 Hoaxfish says:
I think the early trailer is way better: http://vimeo.com/23953456
Not sure why the decided the splice it up for the new one, take out the actiony gameplay section, and put girly music over it. Maybe that’s what they think will sell in Tokyo.
14/09/2011 at 11:03 AndrewC says:
I like the music.
14/09/2011 at 18:31 Sensai says:
That trailer is, in fact, the better of the two trailers, haha.
14/09/2011 at 10:04 faelnor says:
K, back to my cave story
14/09/2011 at 10:34 Lazaruso says:
Just the other day I was saying to myself, if only there was an indie platformer out there. Just one. And here it is.
TAKE MY MONEY, ALL OF IT
14/09/2011 at 10:50 noodlecake says:
There are tons! Unless you were being ironic… Text as a medium doesn’t really do tone very well which no matter how silly people think they are, those emoticon things are quite a handy way of conveying that. You can be quite misleading and confusing with them also.
I love you so much. Would you like an ice cream? >:(
Have you seen that new series on HBO? It’s quite sublime. -.-
14/09/2011 at 10:52 noodlecake says:
although I guess the second one is just sarcastic… But you wouldn’t know it! Not without the face! See!?
14/09/2011 at 11:00 Lazaruso says:
At this point I think there might be more indie platformers than AAA FPSs. O_O
14/09/2011 at 15:11 Dances to Podcasts says:
One day we’ll look back at these times as the glory days of indie platformers and AAA shooters. And wish for them back. :)
14/09/2011 at 21:07 BathroomCitizen says:
@noodlecake: The fact that many people here can convey tone very well without the use of smilies is one of the many reasons why I love RPS.
Damn, I love you guys. :’)
14/09/2011 at 10:36 sonicblastoise says:
tis not a bad title, though the soundtrack is way better than the game itself truth be told.
I dropped a fiver on it when it was first released and burned through it rather quickly. It’s a bit choppy at some parts, but it’s got a lot of charm and very cool sprites. In retrospect I’d probably just buy the album rather than the game. It has been updated a little bit since release though, but none of the major issues have been overhauled.
album = $8 on bandcamp
game = $5
14/09/2011 at 10:44 Miodrag Kovachevic says:
I did a review of the game after it was released and it seemed rather unfinished. I later read in an interview with Roger Hicks that the game was originally supposed to be a free flash title, but they turned it into a real release as it was closer to being finished (or something like that). It really shows with the final product. I hope they spend some time polishing it and expanding on it, since with some more work, it could be a great game.
And Roger Hicks is probably the most savvy dev I’ve seen in a while. A really cool guy.
14/09/2011 at 13:15 nobody says:
“I later read in an interview with Roger Hicks that the game was originally supposed to be a free flash title, but they turned it into a real release as it was closer to being finished (or something like that). It really shows with the final product.”
Even worse, they turned it into a commercial release not because it had grown in scope to the point at which it deserved one, but because they couldn’t secure a sponsorship deal.
I’m loathe to be so negative about any indie release, but while this one would fare fine as a free flash game (and I’d likely be praising it as above average among those peers), as a paid title it really doesn’t compare well to what else is out there.
Edit: Also note that unless it’s been expanded since release, this is a 30-40 minute game, and even that length is mainly due to some insufficient sign posting early on.
Edit2: At the bottom of the page I linked to, the developer comes back to the thread with more info, including suggesting that they’re going to be doing more with the Celestial Mechanica world. To temper my negativity a bit, let me say that I’d definitely be interested in seeing a more polished, more fleshed-out sequel. I’d probably even pay for it (again).
14/09/2011 at 14:33 Miodrag Kovachevic says:
I’d definitely be interested in a more fleshed out version. The basis is good, but sadly, that’s all the game is at the moment, a basis for something else.
However, I highly recommend buying the OST, which is ironically more expensive than the actual game, but it’s very good and you can preview all the tracks even.
14/09/2011 at 10:45 noodlecake says:
I’ve seen other trailers for this and it looks really good. This one doesn’t do it justice. Although I doubt that it will top Cave Story. I’m definitely interested though
14/09/2011 at 10:55 Koozer says:
All these metroidvanias make me realise how bloody good the Metroid games actually are at what they do, especially getting the atmosphere and pacing just right.
14/09/2011 at 10:58 JFS says:
I love the headline.
14/09/2011 at 12:33 Meesh says:
Why on earth would you prefer the xbox 360 controller? It’s got probably the worst d-pad in history…
14/09/2011 at 21:09 BathroomCitizen says:
I was really surprised by the fact that I’m better at Trackmania with my keyboard than with my xbox360 joypad.
So… that thing is actually quite bad?
14/09/2011 at 13:32 MadTinkerer says:
Hope it comes to Steam or some other download service soon.
I wish more indies would realize that relying on other companies for marketing & digital distribution does not preclude developing the game independently. But publishing the game yourself without going with a download service is usually a deal-breaker for me.
There’s a very simple reason for this: I have over six hundred games in my Steam list, over a hundred on GoG.com, dozens on Impulse, and soon I’ll probably give in and get some from Desura. Not to mention my Battle.net account with one of each Blizzard game, et cetera. It is hard enough to keep track of all these as it is.
Humble Bundles are the one exception to this, because they’re nice and bundled together. Easy to track. Individual games are a pain to keep track of.
I am speaking from experience here. There are a few indie games I bought directly from the creators and then lost track of them. I almost bought Irukandji and Bullet Candy three times because twice I forgot I had already bought them.
14/09/2011 at 17:58 Coriform says:
Finally! A Mischief Makers sequel!
14/09/2011 at 18:07 BeamSplashX says:
SHAKE SHAKE!
14/09/2011 at 18:22 Sagan says:
Looks like it might be my kind of game. I would like a demo though, please.