﻿Welcome to a new year of Ask Gamedev! We want our first video of 2022 to be about our
amazing community, so get ready for another Ask Gamedev Community Member Game Showcase.
With this New Year edition, we will showcase ten new awesome games that indie game developers in
our community have shared with us. This time, we also asked the devs why they make games,
and we've got some very cool and inspiring insights from every single one of them.
All the games featured in this video were personally submitted by members of the Ask
Gamedev Community over on our Discord. If you want your game to be featured in one of
our Community Game Showcases, join our Discord Server and wait for the next announcement in
the announcements channel where every quarter our team will post instructions for the upcoming Ask
Gamedev Community Member Game Showcase. As always, we want to say thanks again to
all of the Ask Gamedev Community for making these videos what they are now.
And as a special message for this new year, we wish you to never give up on all of your game-dev
dreams along this journey that we all share. We are Ask Gamedev and these are the Top 10
Ask Gamedev Community Members Games for New Year 2022.
Welcome back! We make videos on how to elevate your game development and
inspire others. If after watching this video you want to continue the gamedev conversation, check
the video description for a link to our Discord server. We are now making fresh Ask Gamedev
content on all of the major social networks, so be sure to check us out there too.
The results were very close this time around! Congrats to the game with the
most votes from the Ask Gamedev community… Coming in at 1st place we have Queenchantment
by Lost Tales Studios. Queenchantment is a 2D fantasy tower defense game inspired by the old
days of Warcraft Tower Defense maps. Help the evil lich queen finalize her ritual protecting
her from the Royal King's troops that come to attack her. Build and manage your traps
and troops in real-time in this fast-paced story made out of 30 different stages.
Queenchantment was developed in Unity over the course of 9 months by a team of 5 people.
The devs at Lost Tales Studios, A.K.A. Nara Games, are shooting for their first release
with Queenchantment and are very eager to share their unique ideas with the gaming community. The
title is currently set to release at the end of February. The devs behind Queenchantment told us
they make games "Because it's a passion. We played games for years, now it's time to make one."
You can wishlist Queenchantment now on Steam. Congrats again to the team at Lost
Tales Studios! We eagerly await Queenchantment’s launch!
Coming in at a close 2nd, We've got Bumballon by Angelo Gamedev. Join the cute and colorful
Bumballon in his quest to save the Ballon's kingdom and its beautiful Princess Moon.
Experience 35 levels throughout 7 different worlds, collecting all the gems you run across
and discovering new mechanics along the way. Bumballon was developed by Angelo Nobre,
a Super Nintendo fan that suddenly came across RPG Maker in his youth. Years later, and with
many unfinished games on his hands, he moved on to Construct. Construct is a great drag-and-drop
engine we've covered previously in our videos, click the card above to learn more about it.
With Construct, Angelo started participating in game jams, and in 2020 he finally started
working on what would become his first commercial release: Bumballon.
The moment the idea for Bumballon popped into Angelo's mind, he was playing one of his countless
Donkey Kong Country runs. While playing one of the bonus levels where bananas are being released
from barrels for the player to collect them, he thought "great idea." He replicated this gameplay
mechanic in Construct and started building from there. After one and a half years of development,
his game was finally released in December 2021. During the course of one month,
the game has already amassed more than 20 reviews on Steam, keeping a 100% positive rating..
So why does Angelo make games? He says "I love to create worlds and give life to my
imagination. The only thing I know is that I don't want to stop producing and bringing fun
to everyone who loves video games. That's my big goal as a developer."
You can check out Bumballon on Steam now, and you can also follow Angelo Gamedev on
Twitter where he talks all about game dev and his launch experience.
Concluding our top 3 voted titles, we have SNIPERPUNK by Enter CTRL Studios.
SNIPERPUNK is an online top-down 2D arena shooter where bullets ricochet in maze-like scenarios.
Players can use bullet combos strategically to corner their opponents creating visually
satisfying bullet hells. Each character has a unique weapon, two abilities, and a special dodge
to help them wreak havoc on their opponents. After several failed attempts at making a big RPG,
the team at Enter CTRL Studios decided to scope down and create a game inspired by the Atari
classic Outlaw. Their concept was initially dubbed, “Gundown Showdown.” After two weeks
of development, they had their art style defined and two playable characters. They also renamed the
game to SNIPERPUNK. They were set to finish the game in two months, but their ideas kept growing
and so their development was extended to a year and a half. During this time, the crew grew from
a few, to 11 team members. The team used this time to polish the game, working on networking,
graphics, and gameplay mechanics. Their time was well worth it, spawning a game that feels and
looks like a truly immersive experience. SNIPERPUNK was developed using Game Maker,
and the team hosts a Discord server where they talk all about their game's development.
We'll leave a link in the description below, be sure to check it out.
Why do they make games? "We all agreed that games can be seen as a multifaceted
tool that many people use to fulfill different needs in their lives. Whether it be an escape,
a way to socialize, or a way to unleash their creativity there is something for everyone.
We make games because we want to give others the chance to create their own experiences. "
You can wishlist SNIPERPUNK on steam now, where it's set to release as a free-to-play experience
during this 2022. Congrats again to the top 3.
The rest of the community games in this showcase are in no particular order.
Next up is Minigame Madness, by Chaotic Entertainment.
Minigame Madness is an online multiplayer party game filled with, you guessed it, minigames.
The game is a massive, ever-growing collection of fun, frantic and unique free-for-all minigames!
And they mean massive - the team has over one-hundred minigames planned!
The idea for Minigame Madness has existed for more than 6 years now. It started to take form
in the mind of Enrico Niezen when he was in his teens. Things got real when he finally decided to
team up with his best buddy Peter Jan in 2019. This is when Chaotic Entertainment was born.
Since then, they've poured all their time into the game and, after two and a half years of full-time
development, they are setting their sights on an Early Access launch on Steam in 2022.
Minigame Madness came to be because Enrico wanted to play a game that was made up of all
the pure fun aspects of video games (completely skipping everything that feels dull, repetitive,
and grindy). From what we've seen so far, the team is making that vision come to life. And,
Chaotic Entertainment is not stopping there. Their plan is to make Minigame
Madness their "forever game", adding minigames and content indefinitely to their creation.
So why make this type of game? The team explains: "Another reason we're
making Minigame Madness is because we're terrible at developing one game at a time,
as many developers can relate to. So we decided to make a hundred mini-games instead!"
You can wishlist Minigame Madness on Steam now. You can also follow @ChaoticDevs on
Twitter to learn from all their past and future posts related to their development journey.
The next title on the list is Watcher Chronicles by Third Sphere Game Studios. Don't let the
cartoony style of this game fool you. Watcher Chronicles is a challenging 2D souls-like action
RPG set in a dark... wait, very colorful... purgatory where unholy threats have invaded.
Explore a vast 2D interconnected world, play solo or on local multiplayer,
and enjoy the torture of a meticulously crafted souls-inspired non-linear story
filled with tough-as-nails combat mechanics.
Yet another solo dev from our awesome community, Stephen Peppers is the mastermind behind Watcher
Chronicles. He developed a prototype for the game while he was studying Computer Science in college.
He realized the scope of the project was too big for his skills at the moment,
so he let it rest for some time. After a few years of working as a software
engineer, he felt he was ready and decided to take on his idea again. This time he gave it love,
patience, and dedication. He developed it using Unity over 4 years during his free time, while
still keeping his full-time job. According to Stephen, Watcher Chronicles is the hardest thing
he's done in his life to date. Stephen told us he makes games because it's his life goal, "I wanted
to make at least one game in my life. I'm proud of it, whether it's successful or not."
Watcher Chronicles launched in 2022, you can check it out on Steam now.
Our next entry is Stack Up! (or dive trying) by PixelConflict.
This is a party platformer game with a very simple yet addicting core loop: get as high as you can,
stacking objects, and NEVER touch the water below you. This colorful and cartoony experience
can be played solo or with friends. Stack Up! (or dive trying) is the debut
game of the indie studio PixelConflict. Based in Italy, PixelConflict was founded by three
life-long friends who teamed up during the pandemic lockdowns. They soon found
themselves re-living their younger days when they developed small games as a team for fun.
This time they intend to master the art of game development and their first attempt
is StackUp! (or dive trying). They worked on the title for 18 months
using Unity, and everything was done as a remote collaboration between the three of them.
You can learn more about their gamedev journey via their devlogs on their YouTube channel.
You can also check out PixelConflict's Discord server where you can ask them
anything about their game and development. Stack Up! is partly inspired by retro games,
where the main goal is usually to get your name plastered on the high scores screen. The devs see
the game as an open reinterpretation of Tetris, as it is easy to pick up but difficult to master. The
game is also highly influenced by the real-life scenario that the devs were living in when they
created it - a subconscious picture of being under lockdown and feeling spaces getting tighter.
The devs at PixelConflict told us they make games because "Releasing a game and
seeing people’s reaction to something you have created is a reward in itself, and that certainly
paid off when we saw a bunch of streamers and YouTubers have a laugh playing Stack Up."
Stack Up! (or dive trying) launched on July 2021 and you can find it on Steam right now.
Next up is Beyond the Long Night by Noisy Head Games. Enter the Dark Mountain, a 2D subterranean
world where Beyond the Long Night takes place. Experience a roguelike action-adventure game where
you traverse through three randomly generated areas filled with secrets, puzzles, and foes.
Your goal is to escape this place and reach the overworld,
but it appears you are caught in a time loop. Explore the deepest corners of the Dark Mountain
to reveal the secrets that may set you free. Steve Hollis, former Frontier Developments
audio programmer, is the lead behind Beyond the Long Night. In late 2019,
Steve left his job and started working on a game of his own. Over the course of the following year
he developed solo using Unity, and along the way he learned about art, VFX, animation, marketing,
and game dev workflows. In 2021, he brought in two former colleagues to join the team
and work on the game's sound design. So why does Steve make games? "They've been
a huge part of my life from a very early age, and it's one of the best art forms for those
who like to exercise both sides of their brains while creating. I find it difficult to imagine
not working in the gaming sector. Ultimately my number one goal with creating Beyond the
Long Night is to create an experience that is both fun and thought provoking to others.
The game is made with a lot of heart, and one of the greatest experiences so far of my game dev
journey has been watching other people play the game. Especially when those people have
no real world connection to me, it's an amazing feeling to see someone enjoy the experience."
Beyond the Long Night has been in development for two years now and its release date is yet to be
confirmed. In the meantime, you can wishlist it on Steam, and you can head to the game's website
at noisyheadgames.com where you'll find the latest downloadable demo.
The next Ask Gamedev Community game is Exodus Borealis by Smug Marmot Studios.
Exodus Borealis is an RTS city builder set in a fantasy world where you command a humanoid
species called Vupfox. Your mission: help them build a city equipped with
tower defense mechanisms and prevent demonic hordes from invading their settlement.
Exodus Borealis was developed by solo developer Mike Skowron, A.K.A. Smug
Marmot. After graduating college, Mike decided to go into enterprise software development.
15 years later he quit his job and started self-funding his own game dev studio.
Smug Marmot worked on Exodus Borealis for 16 months using Unity. You can check out
a detailed development blog over at his website smugmarmot.com. In it, he writes about everything
from art and assets to game mechanics to launch strategies. Regarding the mechanics, Mike was
heavily inspired by Banished for the city-builder aspect of the game. The fact that Banished itself
was created by a solo dev also inspired Mike to finish his own game. The tower defense
aspect was inspired by all of the Warcraft III Tower defense mods he played in his youth.
Mike told us he loves making games because he loves designing and building things. "Creating
games is the ultimate form of this creative construction. The idea of applying many small
and elegant rule sets to see them work together to create a complex world is really exciting."
Exodus Borealis is currently available on Steam, where you can also find a downloadable demo.
If you like the game, remember to wishlist it to help this awesome dev.
Now, onto our next entry, we've got Usurper: Soulbound by Caspian Interactive,
a spooky 3D top-down dungeon crawler set in a gloomy dimension where you possess,
well, everything that moves. In Usurper: Soulbound you have no physical body of your own. On your
journey you possess your enemies, discovering different abilities along the way.
Caspian Interactive, the devs behind Uspurper: Soulbound, is a team of remote
indie developers. Sohrab Azar, programmer, and Corey Matthews, artist, met online and started
working together in their free time. Corey was doing simulation work at the time in Florida
and Sohrab was working in the steel industry doing code in Sweden. Game dev was a great
escape from the normal grind for them, so they felt great working on a game casually. Later on,
Kim Haug hoped in as the third member and community manager of Caspian Interactive.
Corey Matthews, the game's artist, told us "I just like making things in my free time
so I thought it would be the best way to share my hobby with others. Also, I want
to make a game my dad will enjoy playing." The game launched in November 2021 as an Early
Access title on Steam. You can also check out Caspian Interactive's YouTube channel,
which is packed with videos about the development and early stages of their game.
And last but certainly not least is Picokaiju, by spoike. Picokaiju is a
small roguelike game where you, as a Kaiju Monster, smash, roar, and chomp your way
across a procedurally generated map. Picokaiju was developed using Pico-8,
one of our favorite engines. We at Ask Gamedev, love that community members are using Pico-8 to
develop games. If you want to learn more about this tool, click the card above
to see a video we made about it. Spoike, the creator of PicoKaiju,
is a front-end web developer by day and a game dev tinkerer by night. He loves to experiment
with game ideas and has released several of his games on his itch.io page. Making Picokaiju took
him less than a month and his idea came from games like "Chomp" by Picardy Entertainment (which was
a 7DRL game jam entry from 2017) and "Crush Crumble and Chomp" by Epyx (a game from 1981).
Additionally, he is clearly a die-hard fan of Kaiju movies and tv shows.
Spoike told us he makes games "To have fun with obscure game genres,
see if I can make them more accessible and see others have fun with the games."
We'll leave a link in the description below to spoike's itch.io website,
where you'll find Picokaiju along with other games he has developed.
Thanks for watching! And thanks again to all the devs for submitting their amazing games and
sharing gamedev journeys. Just a reminder that if your game wasn’t featured today,
you can still submit for future showcases. For more Ask Gamedev check out this other
community game showcase, or this playlist of all of them!