PAX East 2014: Chasm (Discord Games)

Spring has arrived, and with that, another PAX East has sprung up, inviting gamers and game developers from all over the world to Boston, all to show upcoming games and revel in what the industry has in store.  We at Third Rate Minion were there, and we got to try out a sampling of what was there on the showfloor!

---

Interview with founder James:

 

Gameplay footage:

Tony:

At PAX East 2014’s Indie Megabooth, developer Discord Games demonstrating their kickstarted adventure title, Chasm, and we were able to get some hands-on time with it and chat with founder James Petruzzi about the project.

PAX East 2014: Transistor (Supergiant Games)

Spring has arrived, and with that, another PAX East has sprung up, inviting gamers and game developers from all over the world to Boston, all to show upcoming games and revel in what the industry has in store.  We at Third Rate Minion were there, and we got to try out a sampling of what was there on the showfloor!

---

 

In less than a week, gamers will be able to experience the second title from the hit indie developer Supergiant Games: Transistor. The game looks to retain similar gameplay elements from Bastion, the company's first game, while adding in a new strategic twist to the mechanics.  We did not get to play the game ourselves (the line was very long pretty much the whole convention), but we have a snippet of gameplay taken while making our trip around the showfloor.  Enjoy!

PAX East 2014: Playism (Kero Blaster, Astebreed, and La-Mulana 2)

Spring has arrived, and with that, another PAX East has sprung up, inviting gamers and game developers from all over the world to Boston, all to show upcoming games and revel in what the industry has in store.  We at Third Rate Minion were there, and we got to try out a sampling of what was there on the showfloor!

---

Interview with Joshua Weatherford:

Kero Blaster Footage:

Astebreed Footage:

La-Mulana 2 Footage:

In the Indie Megabooth, there was a new exhibitor present to show off indie games from Japan, Active Gaming Media, known to run the service Playism.  Showcasing three Japanese indie games, AGM wanted to make sure everyone knew of some games coming stateside, both now and into the future.  We got to chat with Joshua Weatherford about the games and the aim for Playism as a platform.  Not only that, but we had some time to play all three games they were showcasing.

PAX East 2014: Duet (Kumobius)

Spring has arrived, and with that, another PAX East has sprung up, inviting gamers and game developers from all over the world to Boston, all to show upcoming games and revel in what the industry has in store.  We at Third Rate Minion were there, and we got to try out a sampling of what was there on the showfloor!

---

In the Indie Megabooth, developer Kumobius was present to show off its mobile affairs in larger-than-mobile experiences.  One of those games was Duet, the team's latest mobile release involving rotating two beings along a circle and avoiding any objects as they make their way down the screen.  Trust me, it is not easy at all!

The game is available on the App Store now, and it recently had a major update, complete with the voice acting you hear in this video!  Check out more at the game's official website!

PAX East 2014: Hack 'n' Slash (Double Fine)

Spring has arrived, and with that, another PAX East has sprung up, inviting gamers and game developers from all over the world to Boston, all to show upcoming games and revel in what the industry has in store.  We at Third Rate Minion were there, and we got to try out a sampling of what was there on the showfloor!

---

Gameplay:

 

Alex:

Just outside of the Indie Megabooth, both Capy and Double Fine shared a booth dedicated to upcoming games from each company.  One of those games was a Zelda-like adventure title with a programming twist: Hack 'n' Slash.  We have some gameplay footage for you all, and we also have some brief impressions on the experience.

Hack 'n' Slash is one of a number of projects created by Double Fine during a round of Amnesia Fortnight, a two-week period during which multiple teams work together to create new projects for development in the future.  While Hack 'n' Slash was not the top selected game from its respective Amnesia Fortnight, the game is still a fun and unique take on the typical overhead action adventure title, and so the team is bringing it out in full-force via Early Access.

In Hack 'n' Slash, players assume the role of a young hero who, after stumbling upon a broken sword, finds the ability to hack into particular objects, changing the fabric of the world.  For example, by stabbing a doorway, traits for the door appear, and the player can modify the locked status from TRUE to FALSE, allowing for easy opening.  What could not be immediately destroyed by the hacking blade could likely be modified by it.  Other items that could be changed included bushes (changing their contents and whether they were on fire) and rocks (how many pushes can be made as well as how big the pushes are).  These changes are necessary to solve particular puzzles in the world.

Unfortunately, I am not that great at programming nor Zelda puzzles and was not able to progress very far from the early demo. Either way, I did find it to be a neat idea with a fun artstyle.  The game has a look which seems comparable to old Saturday morning cartoons, fitting of the humor displayed in each of the game's conversations.  Meanwhile, the demo itself is exceptionally early, so it was fairly rough in its presentation and character movement.  Honestly, it will take further development to find out whether the game will be great or merely decent, but at the very least, it has great potential!  I can't wait to see what crazy puzzles the team at Double Fine concoct for this game later on!

You can try an Early Access version of the game now, so check it out here.