Rock, Paper, Shotgun

Remember when Google made a big deal of running Bastion in Chrome? They made the opposite of that fuss with Mini Ninjas, Io Interactives’s cute little NinjSim. I mean, I only noticed when I was poking around the Chrome store for a browser add-on. I clicked it expecting a webbified version of the game, but as far as I can tell it’s not been fiddled with in the slightest. In less than a minute, I was playing the first level of the game, full screen, with no obvious technical issues. Oh, apart from the bizarre payment model.
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I’m a big fan of games that use existing, but non-game tech in interesting gamey ways. World Of The Living Dead is a Google Maps based zombie survival MMO. You’re a watchful protector trying to guide survivors around real world city streets. You use Maps’ pathfinding to set destinations, and the zombie density reflects US census data. You need to manage the survivor’s fear, fatigue, hunger and route as the zombies increase their grip on the world.
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Things you will need to play IGF award winning rogue-like Desktop Dungeons for free between March 5-10: a browser, Unity, the finger strength of a champion boulderer, ten minutes per game, and, if you’re being picky, a central nervous system, oxygen, the unknowable spark of life that brought us all unto this earth, pants, etc. But mostly it’s a browser and the time. It’s been a while since Alec got hooked on the treat-sized charms of the rogue-like, and I’m frankly still amazed it has the beta tag. It has remained resolutely beta-ed up, with access given to those who’ve pre-ordered. If you were unsure if propping up development was for you, then unless you played the free version that’s been lying dormant for a few years, you can finally test the waters.
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