Australia is still burning, but over the last couple of days they’ve actually had some rain! While this is a big help to certain areas, there are still 83 fires blazing around the country, and there’s a lot of people and wildlife still in trouble. It’s good job then that there are even more game devs, companies, and communities banding together to help out our friends down under.

A new Humble Bundle, a donation from the makers of Warframe, and a charity initiative run by Eve Online players are just three more ways the games industry is raising money, and you can get involved to show your support too.

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You know what’s better than chilling out and relaxing to your music in peace? Being attacked by it. We know what that’s like from 2010, when Beat Hazard came along and turned our Mp3 files into levels in a twin-stick arena shooter. Beat Hazard 2 is now back to do that again, only this time it can generate bads from anything that’s playing on your computer. Boot up the freshly released early access version with Spotify running and you’ll be fending off Goldfrapp before you know it. (more…)

Back in 2010, Beat Hazard riffed on the ‘feed the game music to become levels to play through’ Audiosurf idea to turn MP3s into twin-stick shooter arena battles. The flow of battle would follow the flow of music, all resulting in a lot of colours and explosions – vital for any shmup. I blasted through a few albums back in the day myself, enjoying the colours and, y’know, the explosions. Creator Steve Hunt has been working on a sequel for a while, and is now starting to talk more about Beat Hazard 2 as he aims to release a beta version this summer. (more…)

The Steam summer sale is in full blaze. For a while it even blazed so hot that the servers went on fire and all the price stickers peeled off the games. Either that or the store just got swamped with cheapskates looking for the best bargains. Cheapskates like you! Well, don t worry. We ve rounded up some recommendations – both general tips and some newly added staff choices.

Here are the things you should consider owning in your endless consumeristic lust for a happiness which always seems beyond reach. You’re welcome.

… [visit site to read more]

The Steam summer sale is in full blaze. For a while it even blazed so hot that the servers went on fire and all the price stickers peeled off the games. Either that or the store just got swamped with cheapskates looking for the best bargains. Cheapskates like you! Well, don t worry. We ve rounded up some recommendations – both general tips and some specific staff choices.

Here are the things you should consider owning in your endless consumeristic lust for a happiness which always seems beyond reach. You’re welcome.

… [visit site to read more]

John is our usual Amanita correspondent but he’s off on hollybobs so I get to poke about in the gorgeous world of Machinarium [official site] this time! The reason the eight-year-old game is back in our newsbox is because it’s swapping Adobe Flash for a custom engine. So far so technical. What does it actually mean?

WELL!

“It’s using DirectX and the game feels much smoother, but most importantly, Machinarium now plays in full screen, even on modern Full HD and 4K displays.”

This sounds DELICIOUS. … [visit site to read more]

The makers of Samorost, Botanicula and Machinarium have announced a new game. It s called Chuchel [official site] and judging by these two teasers it looks in keeping with the studio’s tradition of odd games with even odder names. We don t have much else to go on yet, however, just a couple of short trailers showing off what I m guessing is the grumpy protagonist. Come and enjoy his garbled ranting. … [visit site to read more]

It’s rather lovely when you learn of a tiny company consistently making splendid games is succeeding, rather than struggling to stay alive. Amanita Design, who RPS have championed for their witty, beautiful and smart adventure games since we launched, sent us some very interesting sales information about their robotic point-and-clicker, Machinarium [official site], after its four millionth sale.

… [visit site to read more]

The Eufloria universe, the game series surreal strategy enthusiasts will remember as That Thing Wot Was Probably Once A Dream Jim Morrisson Had In The ’70s, is expanding with a new RPG game based on the now-dead Eufloria Adventures.

It’s fittingly called Eufloria RPG [official site], a game in which you command a ship which can plant colonies where it travels. This is being developed on the old Eufloria Adventures engine by series slatwarts Omni Systems Limited, along with a little crew known as Tuna.

… [visit site to read more]

At the intersection of three of my greatest passions – plants, wandering, and watching plants grow – sprouts a new work-in-progress look at the tech behind Starboretum [official site]. Also trees. Lots of trees. They sprout, rise, branch out, and spread their leaves, powered by magical procedural generation. Starboretum’s made by Alex May, one half of the duo behind arboreal RTS Eufloria. As an expert virtuatree-watching wanderer, I must say this video is just the ticket for a Friday afternoon.

… [visit site to read more]