| Submitted by costik on Mon, 11/15/2010 - 03:09. |
Developed for a TIGSource contest, Sandy Evolution is a classic sidescrolling shmup with many of the tropes of the form, particularly enemies that attack in predictable patterns, but with a curiously organic yet starkly blank look. Just one level and a boss at present, though the developers say they may take it further, it has, despite the hoary nature of its genre antecedents, a fresh and appealing feel.
Worth a look, in other words.
This game you cannot play, I'm afraid -- at least, not unless you possess a time machine, and can travel to the premises of Carrington Bowles in mid-18th century London to purchase it, or you are among the handful of people lucky enough to own one of the few extant copies of the game. Lacking that, you will have to be satisfied with the image at left (a more detailed one here). It's a scan of the board as it appears in Table Games of Georgian and Victorian Days, which is my primary source on the subject.
"It's like a lot of other
"It's like a lot of other shmups, with less content, but it's in black and white, so that makes it artistic."
I like it
Honestly. It's not different gameplay-wise, but it feels different thanks to unusual looks. It's like a surrealist cartoon, only interactive. The limited colour palette is a good choice - makes all shapes less literal and more of an understatement. Less is more, you know.
It looks like every other
It looks like every other "artsy" game. It's not surreal or original. Black and white is overdone anyway. It's basically a free pass for independent devs to get praise from critics. The indie scene is far lazier and more derivative that the mainstream game industry.
I actually played the game
I actually played the game and found it quite appealing...if you take a second to even look past the screen shot, you can see it was based off of a game cartridge for a competition (http://famicase.com/10/softs/9.jpg) that has a black and white abstract image. Its not "artsy" "lazy" or "a free pass". It was based of a cartridge, and they did a good job carrying over the theme to the game.
Read a little before you point fingers; especially at the whole indie community.