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Messages - cupogoodness

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A Valley Without Wind 1 & 2 / Re: You guys are awesome

« on: April 28, 2012, 12:12:45 PM »

Quote from: jabrazelle on April 28, 2012, 10:40:18 AM

If I see you guys at PAX again next year, I'll get you a beer. (or maybe you'd just prefer more powerbars!)

Nope! Beer will be fine.

Thanks so much for the kind words, really appreciate them!

A Valley Without Wind 1 & 2 / New AVWW Reviews and GGTL's Livestream Event

« on: April 28, 2012, 04:06:06 AM »

Originally posted: http://arcengames.blogspot.com/2012/04/new-avww-reviews-and-ggtls-livestream.html

A few new A Valley Without Wind reviews we wanted to pass along, plus a live event taking place this weekend to mention.

In Armaan Khan' review on TruePCGaming he felt had barely scratched the surface in terms of content during the 12 hours he spent in the game. As he puts it: "a time in which I could have played out most other modern games at least twice."

Peter Parrish aptly provides his take on the game in his incgamers piece 'A Valley Without Wind Review - It doesn't blow.'

The Controller Online thought the concept was bold and interesting, though didn't believe the game was for everyone.

Tierra Gamer gave the game an 8.5/10, raving about the gameplay, soundtrack and background visuals. (Spanish)

Gamer's Guide To Life Livestream

I'll be joining a couple of the guys from GGTL for a livestream of Valley this weekend. The show will start at Noon ET today (Saturday, April 28th) and run for around an hour. We'll be talking about the game as they play, I'll be taking questions, and there's going to be a giveaway as well. Stop in if you're hanging around!

A Valley Without Wind 1 & 2 / AVWW Launch Week Press Continues To Roll In

« on: April 26, 2012, 05:50:38 AM »

Originally posted: http://arcengames.blogspot.com/2012/04/avww-launch-week-press-continues-to.html

Some wonderful surprises arrived today on the press front for A Valley Without Wind, highlighted by Kate Cox's feature on Kotaku where she raved about the game so eloquently we had to have one of her best quotes added to our game page on Steam.

Rob Manuel gave us a very nice shout out in the 'What You Should Be Playing' portion of his That Indie Game Column.

Will Porter featured AVWW in Hookshot Inc.'s Hot Shot column, calling the title 'a pure-brew indie game.'

Still More Launch Coverage

PCGamer -- A Valley Without Wind out now, demo available

Rock, Paper, Shotgun -- A Valley With A Demo Version

Indie Game Magazine -- 'A Valley Without Wind' Now Available On Steam

PikiGeek -- A Valley Without Wind Released, Gets a Demo

More Videos Too

Check it out: A Valley Without Wind

A Valley Without Wind Gameplay

UserFriendlyGaming -- A Valley Without Wind

A Valley Without Wind 1 & 2 / AVWW Launch Day 1B Press

« on: April 25, 2012, 04:46:25 AM »

Originally posted: http://arcengames.blogspot.com/2012/04/avww-launch-day-1b-press.html

A Valley Without Wind 1 & 2 / A Valley Without Wind Hits 1.0, Released on Steam

« on: April 24, 2012, 04:25:09 PM »

Originally posted: http://arcengames.blogspot.com/2012/04/valley-without-wind-hits-10-released-on_24.html

Arcen Games is proud to announce the 1.0 release of our procedurally-generated, open-world sidescroller A Valley Without Wind. This marks the debut of the game on Steam, and the game remains available through the Arcen Store, GamersGate, Impulse, IndieCity, and MacGameStore. In celebration of the launch, the title will be 10% off the standard $14.99 price tag until May 1st.

The PC/Mac title brings over 100 achievements along with 2-8+ player co-op multiplayer with cross-platform play. Also on offer is a "buy three get one free" pack to help groups of friends jump into multiplayer at a discount.

After 15 months of active development, which included a six month open beta with showings at MineCon and PAX East, the game has evolved in ways we couldn't have imagined at the start. We don't plan on stopping here either. Those who know of our post-release support standards for AI War will be happy to hear that we have the exact same plan in mind for A Valley Without Wind.

The launch trailer is available to view now, with demos for both PC and Mac versions available through the game's website and on Steam.

About A Valley Without Wind

"I can imagine this game opening up under continued exploration to be one of those all-encompassing experiences that you can't help sinking an unhealthy tract of time into." - Rock, Paper, Shotgun

"A Valley Without Wind by Arcen Games is what happens when you try to make a Super Nintendo game today. A super polished limitless 2D metroidVania adventure game." - Thrifty Nerd

A 2D sidescroller without a linear path. An action game with tactical combat and strategic planning. An adventure game that lets you free-roam a vast, procedurally-generated world. A Valley Without Wind defies genre stereotypes. Unlike other procedurally-generated games, you also get a logical progression in difficulty, plus helpful tips and checklists to guide your travels (should you need them).

Choose for yourself how to prepare to face the vastly stronger Overlord. Complete a variety of missions to earn arcane rewards, or roam the wilds to uncover secret missions and stashes of magical loot. Customize your characters with unique combinations of enchants and spells that change how you move, jump, and fight. Or rescue people and bring them back to your settlement, recruiting them to help you in return.

You choose how to play, and the world adapts around you.

The full version is available now on PC and Mac. A demo is also available, and grants full access to the game/multiplayer with only some tier restrictions. Even though AVWW has launched, it continues to grow with new content and improvements added nearly every weekday. Follow the game and its updates/discussions on Facebook, Google+, Reddit, and Twitter. To be a part of how AVWW evolves in any and/or all of its aspects join the ongoing discussion taking place within our forums.

For members of the media: review keys and press kits are available upon request

About Arcen Games

Arcen Games entered the PC indie scene in 2009 with their cult classic AI War: Fleet Command, which was named the 40th best-reviewed PC game of the year by MetaCritic. Their second year was a busy one, seeing the release of The Zenith Remnant, the first full expansion for AI War; Tidalis, an innovative block-based puzzle with casual appeal and hardcore depth; and Children of Neinzul, a micro-expansion for AI War with all profits benefiting the Child's Play charity, of which Arcen is a platinum sponsor.

AI War's third and largest expansion Light of the Spire marked Arcen's first release of 2011, and now the company has shifted its focus and excitement to the development of A Valley Without Wind. Originally a one-man shop, Arcen Games has grown to have half a dozen part-time or fulltime contributors to its various titles. For all the latest news, media coverage, and some of our other musings, follow us on our developer and individual game pages on Facebook or on Twitter: @ArcenGames; as well as Arcen lead Chris Park's Games By Design blog.

A Valley Without Wind 1 & 2 / AVWW Launch Day 1A Press

« on: April 24, 2012, 04:02:33 AM »

Originally posted: http://arcengames.blogspot.com/2012/04/avww-launch-day-1a-press.html

As you may have heard today's A Valley Without Wind's launch went well in several ways, but the day wrapped with us having to move the game's release on a couple distributors (Steam and Gamestop) back until tomorrow. Everything is progressing well, we just ran out of time tonight.

Reviews, Impressions, and Interviews
Still there was a great amount of press regarding AVWW already popping up that we wanted to share right away.

GameZombie.tv gave the game a 4/5, informing us the title brought 'some of the coolest gameplay in a 2012 game.' Nice!

TruePCGaming ran a terrific interview with Chris which ended up being featured predominantly in /r/indiegaming.

RTSGuru's Christina Gonzalez found a lot for strategy gamers to like about AVWW and seemed pleased to discover us and our booth at PAX East, as she explains in her piece An Adventure With Strategy Game Roots.

KingIsaacLinksr has begun an extensive, and on-going review of the game over on his blog.

Game Rant compared and contrasted the title favorably to some other (fairly popular) open world indie affairs out there.

VGMMDI gave the title a 'solid' 7/10, delighting in the replayability factor.

Launch Coverage
On top of all those great in-depth pieces, we received launch day coverage from some very awesome outlets:

The Verge/Polygon -- A Valley Without Wind Hits Steam Today

Rock, Paper, Shotgun -- The Final Draft: A Valley Without Wind

IndieGameMag -- As I Walk Through The Valley: A Valley Without Wind Gets Release Trailer

IncGamers -- A Valley Without Wind Breezes Out Of Beta

Game Connect -- Arcen Games Releases A Valley Without Wind

We also caught sight of a few new gameplay videos in the wild.

More to come tomorrow we expect!

A Valley Without Wind 1 & 2 / New Wave Of A Valley Without Wind Press Includes First Reviews

« on: April 22, 2012, 10:28:05 PM »

Originally posted: http://arcengames.blogspot.com/2012/04/new-wave-of-valley-without-wind-press.html

On the eve of A Valley Without Wind's release we have several bits of press coverage to share including the first two reviews for the game.

James Allen enjoyed nearly all aspects of the title giving the game a 7/8 on Out of Eight. James also posted a sizable YT video entitled 'Battleground, Building and Cave Exploration, Stealth Assassination.'

SmoothTown gave the game a 4/5, complimenting the game's deep and addicting gameplay as well as how the world reacts to your actions. The outlet also conducted an interview with Chris after the review was released.

Tap Repeatedly included AVWW in its 'Indie Impressions from PAX East.'

Finally, Fun or Frustration wrote up an extensive impressions piece, taking a deep look at various aspects of the title.

Keep an eye out tomorrow and all this week as we have several interviews and other coverage in the pipeline.

A Valley Without Wind 1 & 2 / More PAX East 2012 Coverage For A Valley Without Wind

« on: April 19, 2012, 10:32:08 AM »

Originally posted: http://arcengames.blogspot.com/2012/04/pax-east-coverage-for-valley-without_19.html

PAX East coverage for A Valley Without Wind continues to roll in...

Just Press Start's Jeff Ortloff got the full tour of the Arcen Booth, posting audio interviews with both Chris and Pablo.

Gameinpublic posted the first ten minutes of the indie game talk I took part in. This was day two (we did a similar talk with different devs each day of the conference).

Andrew Whipple III of Gamer's guide to Life seems very pleased we're fleshing out a title in the sidescrolling action genre.

Patrick Lindsey put together a solid preview of the game over on BeefJack as well.

The Mash Those Buttons guys talk about the game for a decent chunk of their PAX East podcast.

Luigi Guarnuccio of Gamers Haven called AVWW 'a gem of a game' in his preview.

Matthew Jay discovers there's more to the game than what can be gathered at first glance in his preview over on Snackbar Games

OnLiveFans' Jeremy Burg mentioned us as one of the gems he got to play on the show floor in his round-up of the event.

Finally, GiantBomb snapped and posted a shot of the Arcen Games booth, check out those sweet banners. :)

Oh, one last item: 2nd Opinion Podcast's Chris Dunham will be live streaming A Valley Without Wind today at 3:45 PM ET for a good couple of hours. Tune in then to his Twitch.TV channel for a longer form, on-the-fly look at the game.

A Valley Without Wind 1 & 2 / Re: So how was PAX?

« on: April 13, 2012, 03:19:34 AM »

I posted this in its own thread, but wanted to share it here: http://www.arcengames.com/forums/index.php/topic,10235.0.html

Lots of interviews, AVWW previews, and video footage of us at PAX East.

100

A Valley Without Wind 1 & 2 / PAX East Coverage For A Valley Without Wind

« on: April 13, 2012, 03:10:43 AM »

Originally released: http://arcengames.blogspot.com/2012/04/pax-east-coverage-for-valley-without.html

We spent much of our time at PAX East chatting it up with press, filling interview appointments and having them take a quick tour of A Valley Without Wind.

Here's the coverage to come about from our trip to Boston thus far:

John Polson interviews Chris in an excellent piece on IndieGames.com entitled Indie Devs Weigh in on Imitating Versus Innovating.

Platform Nation's Gaming Hands On Quick Hits touches on AVWW's surprising amount of depth.

Nearly 15 minutes of Front Towards Gamer's latest Gametwerp Podcast is taken up by a live interview with Chris.

The intriguing Ditto Monster stopped by for an enjoyable and surprising interview with Chris.

Anthony of TryIndie was trying his backside off all weekend, providing a ton of coverage for us. He has written up interviews with both Chris and Pablo, plus recorded some video footage of the indie game dev panel I submitted and participated in.

Zach Martin of PikiGeek apparently enjoyed his time with AVWW on the first day. He went and published his preview just hours later. Awesome that we caught his attention!

We made Trouble Thinking's list of The Stuff You Should Have Checked Out.

The Gamer's Guide To Life Channel took a short test drive of the game, as well as recording a live interview with Chris on the show floor.

Thrifty Nerd's preview concludes that they can't wait for the April 23rd launch.

Lastly, we were also glad to finally meet Nick Puleo of Co-Optimus. We have several other interviews and coverage still in the works with other outlets—so keep your eyes peeled for those in the coming weeks.

101

A Valley Without Wind 1 & 2 / AVWW Heading To PAX East And Steam In April

« on: April 03, 2012, 11:51:52 PM »

Originally posted: http://arcengames.blogspot.com/2012/04/avww-heading-to-pax-east-and-steam-in.html

Arcen Games is excited to announce A Valley Without Wind, our upcoming co-op 2D sidescroller of near-infinite proportions, will be on display at PAX East April 6-8 in Boston. We're also thrilled to reveal AVWW 1.0 will coincide with the title's Steam release on April 23.

AVWW has heavily evolved since we began openly developing it back in January 2011; with elements of platforming, puzzle, shump, strategy, and other genres streamlined into the core game mechanics. The world of Environ is truly alive and now bursting with missions, mysteries, and so much more.

We invite attendees to stop by Booth #364 during the three day expo to play the game as it prepares to exit the beta phase later this month. Along with four demo stations, we've got plenty of swag to hand out including those all alluring buttons, cards, and other fancy items.

To get a taste of what the booth will look like, head over to our CEO/lead programmer Chris Park's Games By Design blog for a peak at the banners we've put together from the game's concept art. Those interested in the system requirements for the PC/Mac title can check them out on Arcen's news blog as well.

See you in Boston!

About A Valley Without Wind

The full beta version of A Valley Without Wind is available now on PC and Mac for pre-order at a 33% discount from the game's official launch price of $14.99. Customers gain instant access to the latest available build and all subsequent releases through 1.0 and beyond. The game can be purchased and downloaded directly through the developer as well as on GamersGate, Impulse, and MacGamesStore. The game's launch on Steam is set for April 23. A demo is also available, and grants full access to the game/multiplayer with the only some tier restrictions.

AVWW is currently in beta and as such is constantly in development. It continues to evolve, with new content and improvements added all the time as it progresses toward official launch (as well as long after its 1.0 release). Follow the game and its updates/discussions on Facebook, Reddit, and Twitter. To get more involved with how AVWW evolves in any and/or all of its aspects be sure to stop by our forums.

About Arcen Games

Arcen Games entered the PC indie scene in 2009 with their cult classic AI War: Fleet Command, which was named the 40th best-reviewed PC game of the year by MetaCritic. Their second year was a busy one, seeing the release of The Zenith Remnant, the first full expansion for AI War; Tidalis, an innovative block-based puzzle with casual appeal and hardcore depth; and Children of Neinzul, a micro-expansion for AI War with all profits benefiting the Child's Play charity, of which Arcen is a platinum sponsor.

AI War's third and largest expansion Light of the Spire marked Arcen's first release of 2011, and now the company has shifted its focus and excitement to the development of A Valley Without Wind. Originally a one-man shop, Arcen Games has grown to have half a dozen part-time or fulltime contributors to its various titles. For all the latest news, media coverage, and some of our other musings, follow us on our developer and individual game pages on Facebook, Google+ and/or on Twitter: @ArcenGames.

102

Tidalis / Steam Deal: Tidalis $2.50 Today Only

« on: March 25, 2012, 12:04:00 PM »

Originally posted: http://arcengames.blogspot.com/2012/03/steam-deal-tidalis-250-today-only.html

Steam has our 'easy to learn, hard to master' puzzler Tidalis at 50% off today only as part of their Daily Deal promotion. With the game's recent price drop that brings the PC/Mac title down to just $2.50.

If you know much about our games, you know that's quite a bit of content for around the cost of a cup of coffee. Plus no calories (directly).

The sale ends tomorrow (Monday, March 26th) at 10:00 AM PT. Reluctant? Demo. Tidalis Lite (browser version).

103

A Valley Without Wind 1 & 2 / AVWW Interview On First Drop Show

« on: March 25, 2012, 06:37:54 AM »

Originally posted: http://arcengames.blogspot.com/2012/03/avww-interview-on-first-drop-show.html

Chris and I had a solid chat last week with Eddie Milanes on the First Drop Show podcast.

We cover a variety of topics regarding the design, development, and upcoming official release of A Valley Without Wind, including scrapped concepts, future possibilities for the game, why we try to only develop features in that we'd want to play, etc.

If you're looking for some in-depth discussion about the game, or just have an hour to kill, definitely give it a listen.

104

A Valley Without Wind 1 & 2 / GDC 2012 Wrap-Up

« on: March 20, 2012, 08:23:32 AM »

Originally posted: http://arcengames.blogspot.com/2012/03/gdc-2012-wrap-up.html

Earlier this month I attended GDC in San Francisco, it was my first time doing so and it ended up being quite an experience.

I was pulling double duty, covering the event itself and its happenings as a journalist for DIYGamer and MCV during the day, and talking Arcen and indie game development in general in the evening as well as other downtime periods.

The conference itself was fun, informative, and (as expected) utterly exhausting. Over 22,000 industry folk were in attendance, though it never felt overcrowded thanks to the layout. Despite seeing a few great talks, it felt like there were dozens of good panels I completely missed. Regardless, interesting developments tended to spread like wildfire, with plenty of new reveals to muse upon and advice to debate over seemingly everyday.

I spent a ton of time with Retro City Rampage developer Brian Provinciano, and went out quite a bit with Lorenzo Scagnolari and Marco Pivato of 93 Steps. I also caught up with my pals Terry Cavanagh, John Polson of Dejobaan, Paul Taylor of Mode 7 Games (huge congrats to them for winning the IGF audience award for Frozen Synapse), and Adam Rippon of Muteki Corp. Additionally I had the pleasure of meeting Rami Ismail of Vlambeer (way taller than you'd expect), Dan Griliopoulos (one of my favorite games writers), my new work affiliates at Indie Game Magazine, MCV, and Develop, and spend bits and pieces of the week with many other industry friends both new and old. Food, drink, and/or discussion nicely sums up the majority of these meetings.

A quick aside: Super Duper Burger is as advertised — amazingly good food. I ate lunch there a couple times and regret not going more throughout the week. San Francisco really has great food and drink in general.

As for A Valley Without Wind, I was able to set-up impromptu demo sessions with a few press that weren't entirely swamped by their schedules, and talked casually about it to more people than I can count. On top of that, I had a few dozen people demo it at the very awesome POW party put on by Morgan Tucker (aka Crash Faster) at the DNA Lounge.

The venue was really impressive, especially when it was packed full of GDC attendees and San Francisco locals all beered up and ready for some excellent chip tune performances. Here's a video I took with my phone right before the doors opened:

I took a few pictures that night as well. Next up: PAX East! (Which Arcen will be attending in much more of an official capacity, what with a booth and everything.)

105

A Valley Without Wind 1 & 2 / Re: How Is GDC Going?

« on: March 15, 2012, 04:26:05 AM »

Ah, just saw this! I'm planning a blog post with some pictures from the event I was able to show AVWW at. Should be up soon, just haven't had a spare moment since I got back from San Fran.

- Erik