Fan Art

After seeing the concept art below, a 3D artists named Milivoj Popovic

contacted us and asked if he could take our concept to 3D.

Here is what he did. It's pretty cool looking. 

You can see more of his art here:

www.lemonade3d.com/milivoj 

He may even put up a tutorial describing how he did it.

Game in a Day Follow-up: Drawrmy Updated

The game in a day event is done, but we're still making improvements. Drawrmy got an update! The new version includes a working gallery, a working hidden enemy feature, better AI, and  improved visuals and effects. Music was disabled (feedback was it got old fast). We'll keep you posted on future updates! Have fun with the game! Please share with your friends!

Drawrmy (Updated version) - http://ninjabee.com/stay/cur/game/drawrmy.html

Drawrmy (Original Game in a Day version) - http://ninjabee.com/stay/build808/game/drawrmy.html

Curse of the Space Mummy - http://www.ninjabee.com/stay/Curse_of_the_Space_Mummy1.zip 

(Download to play)

Mission Accomplished! 2 Games in 11 hours!

The games are complete! Both Drawrmy and Curse of the Space Mummy are done - 14 people, 12 hours, 2 games. Give 'em a spin, tell us what you think!

Curse Of The Space Mummy - http://www.ninjabee.com/stay/Curse_of_the_Space_Mummy1.zip

(Download to play)
This game can be played with either a controller, keyboard and mouse, or just keyboard. If your ship gets destroyed look for the green smoke to see the enemy you are possessing (re-spawning).

Drawrmy - http://ninjabee.com/stay/build808/game/drawrmy.html

(Play in-browser)
Draw your units to create your drawrmy. The colors you choose affect your attack and defense stats (think Rock, Paper, Scissors). Red is strong against blue, blue is strong against yellow, yellow is strong against red. Keep this in mind when creating your characters and when choosing which units to attack.

Let us know what you think! We can only do so much in such limited time, but if people like the games we might just keep working on them :)

(PS - XBLA Code winners are Skylar Wolf, Andrew (posted 5:25 p.m. on Friday), Mark Litzinger and Chun Lau. If you haven't been contacted send an email to contest@ninjabee.com with your contact info and we'll pass you your code. Congrats!)

Game in a Day - Game Descriptions

Time to introduce you to the games with a short overview - let's start with Drawrmy (yep, Draw + Army, pronounced dr-army).

Maybe one way to describe this game would be to say it's like Stratego meets Pictionary meets Rock Paper Scissors. It's a army creation and battle game where the player first creates their own units and pits them against enemy forces in turn-based battles. The colors you draw with are strong and weak against other colors. For example, red beats blue, blue beats yellow, yellow beats red. The catch though, is that you can't see the enemy's forces. So be careful because attacking reveals your strengths, and weaknesses, to your opponent.

Now, for Curse of the Space Mummy. A game where the player takes control of an ancient curse as it possess enemy ships, exacting vengeance on those who disturbed its tomb. But a curse can't die. If your host ship is destroyed the curse possesses the enemy ship that destroyed it. The game uses a classic, dual-stick scheme.

Both games are for PC and you'll be able to play them for free if we can finish in time!

Here are some pics of the team - working like crazy to get these done.

Game in a Day - And the game will be...

Last night we got together, pitched our game ideas to the team and voted on which game to make. We started with 10 awesome game ideas with everything ranging from puzzle alchemy games to zombie napoleon platformers. But in the end the voting came in and we picked...

TWO GAMES!

We're going to be ambitious. Team got split into two games. And they are...

Drawrmy

and 

Curse of the Space Mummy

More details about the games are coming as the day moves on, but the teams are ramped up and working feverishly to get the games up and running. Images, video and game details to follow.

Post questions in the comments section and we'll try to provide info in upcoming blogs. Keep checking back, we're trying to post every hour, so stay tuned! (Don't forget, commenting on posts today gets you a chance to win XBLA codes)

NinjaBee Game in a Day!

We want you to come to our game in a day event tomorrow! Well, not really. What we mean to say is we want you to virtually come to our game in a day event.

Tomorrow, Saturday May 5, a bunch of the devs at our studio are getting together to try to make an entire game in just one day... and then release it!

We're going to be doing hourly updates throughout the day so you can follow our progress as we go. Keep checking back here on the NinjaBee blog and follow us on twitter @NinjaBeeGames to get more real-time updates.

Obviously, if we don't finish in a day we can't release it, so make sure you're here to cheer us on! We may just give out an XBLA code or two randomly to people who comment and any of tomorrow's (or this) blog posts. *wink*wink

We're choosing what the game will be tonight. Any requests?

Ninja Lightning Pack!

Usually a ninja strikes in silence from the shadows, but sometimes it uses lightning.
That's right, lightning.

www.indieroyale.com is hosting a sale of 5 NinjaBee games on PC: Ancients of Ooga, Cloning Clyde, A Kingdom for Keflings, Outpost Kaloki, and Band of Bugs!

The quicker you jump in and purchase, the cheaper you can get the bundle. Or, if you're feeling generous, pay extra, which knocks down the current price for others. This deal is only going to last for the next 100 hours, so you gotta be quick to catch the lightning!

The Friday Review: Serious Sam 3 BFE (PC)

Serious Sam 3: BFE
review by Stevil

Take the story, character development, and tactical cover mechanics in today's shooters and throw them on the ground, you're an adult!

What you have left is a challenging first-person shooter experience in its purest form.

This game is all about the combat. If you are looking for an epic story to go along with the explosions then look elsewhere. While a game that's light on story may cause more elitist gamers to jerk their noses up in disgust so violently they barrel roll off the sofa, I'm fine with minimal story as long as it sufficiently explains character motivations and the context of events. In Serious Sam 3 the story goes something like "Aliens are bad, we need to kill a lot of them."

Frantic battles against truly absurd numbers of bad guys are where this game really shines. Single levels can contain 1000+ enemies and they enjoy attacking suddenly, from more than one direction, and in massive waves. The fact that enemies are pouring in from all directions really keeps you on your toes and encourages a running gun battle through the large and very well designed levels. Enemies come in many shapes and sizes, as well as unique behaviors and inherent weaknesses that can be exploited. While there are some great new monsters, fans of the franchise will recognize many a familiar face among the hordes—such as the nimble and deadly Kleer Skeletons, as well as different varieties of the heavy-weapon toting Biomechanoids.

Each enemy type is best defeated by combinations of different tactics and weapons and you can expect to find many different enemy types in each battle. Battles are dynamic and your already slim chances for survival are maximized when using the right tool for the job, much like a muscle bound Bob Villa spreading intergalactic justice one smoking barrel at a time.

One of the areas Serious Sam 3 really shines is in the large selection of weapons it offers, 13 to be exact. Each weapon plays well, has its own feel, and covers a unique area in which it excels. Earlier I mentioned that using the best weapon for the job is your best bet for making it out alive; however it is still very possible to stick with just the one or two weapons that strike a resonance with your inner Chuck Norris and survive. I had a great time taking on some of the biggest and baddest enemies in the game with my sledgehammer, just to see if I could, and if I played my cards right I usually could. Very challenging but also very satisfying.

Serious Sam 3 runs on Croteam's new Serious engine and on higher settings it does look pretty; although at times I felt like the lighting could get a little weird (too much/little light intensity and some other very minor issues). The environments are detailed and well rendered as are the enemies. Be sure you're hardware is up to the task—those sweet graphics are going to tax your system. There are engines out there that are superior, however I think the Serious engine has potential and look forward to seeing it developed further.

 I would recommend this game to anyone looking for a solid, fast-paced shooter. It delivers in all of the important areas and it delivers on them well. I would also recommend playing with a friend,

CO-OP is an absolute blast. Seriously!

The Friday Review: X-Com: UFO Defense (PC)

X-Com: UFO Defense
-review by CJ

Why am I reviewing an 18 year old game? Because if you haven't played it yet, you should. Considering that it is an 18 year old PC game, there's a very good chance you haven't. Even if you aren't normally a fan of the tactical turn-based strategy RPG horror shooter genre... Oh wait...that's not a genre. It's a game called X-Com: UFO Defense. Mixing a bunch of genres can be risky, like when you throw a bunch of vegetables and stuff into your juicer in hopes of downing your daily dose of "healthy" as quickly as possible, but end up creating a sickly brown liquid that may or may not actually be edible anymore. However, X-Com this is more like a well concocted blend of ingredients that you might not think work together, but then when you try it you just can't get enough. Like cinnamon on chocolate ice cream (seriously). Ok, so what is it? X-Com is, at its heart-of-hearts, a turn-based strategy game. You move your men around a map trying to find sneaky aliens and kill them before they kill you. Between combat scenarios you research new tech, expand your base, build new bases to increase your global coverage, and basically wait in fear of the next announcement of "UFO detected". Now let's get right down to what you can expect to find.

PROS:

-Complex yet simple. There's a lot going on in X-Com, but the game mechanics are simple enough that even without any guiding hand (see CONS), you can figure it out. Even though there's a lot to do, it doesn't feel overwhelming.

-Emotional. It may be just me, but every time I hear an alien shot I tense up. I watch with horror as it hits one of my soldiers, ending their lives forever. Or sigh in relief as it passes them by, a near miss.  The mortality of your soldiers makes you care about them, especially when they've survived three missions, have been promoted to Captain, and are the best shot in your army.

-Mystery. Never knowing what lays beyond the ramp of your dropship at the beginning of each mission makes each battle feel like a new experience. What enemies will I be facing? How many? Where are they? Each map is procedurally generated, and when and where UFO's appear is random as well. Besides that, you never know what's happening just out of range of your base's sensors. As I guard Africa, is Europe being invaded?

-Great environment. The quiet, creepy music, the fog of war, the empty farm houses and fields of wheat, the creak of a door opening when all you can see is a screen that says "Hidden Movement" during the alien's turn...this is what an alien invasion should be like! Few gaming experiences are equal to your first encounter with extra-terrestrial life in X-Com.

-Many, many more! Seriously, it's $5 on Steam ($2.50 at time of writing, yay sales!). Just try it.

CONS:

-No help. I don't mean in the game, I mean about the game. If you're downloading the game it's not likely to come with a manual (my Steam version didn't). A nice F1 screen that told you what all the different buttons did would be a great start. An explanation about how research and manufacturing work would be awesome. These are things you can figure out on your own, but by the time you do you will probably want to start a new game, so that you can take advantage of all your new found knowledge from the beginning.

-Possibly impossible. After dozens of hours of playing, you may find yourself between a rock and a hard place. Money is running out, and alien forces are becoming increasingly overwhelming. This can happen from just plain laziness, of course, in which case it's your own fault, but even if you are being careful, the randomness of the game can put you in these positions while you remain ignorant, until it's too late to fix. Although this is rare, when it happens it is extremely frustrating.

SUMMARY: X-Com: UFO Defense is a unique game that every gamer should play at least once. I have played it multiple times, and still find myself enjoying it whenever I pick it back up. Although there is a new version coming out later this year (by a studio I trust with such a mission, and that I'm very excited for), I can't imagine it ever fully replacing the original.