Free and Worth Every Penny - Issue 21: Star Guard

Bandango · 11-05-2009, 06:10 PM

Green, red, yellow, black, white; all the colors you need to make a game. And a little blue, but not much of it. Star Guard is a side-scrolling shooter/platformer, reductive in both aesthetics and gameplay. Its scope is small and does not overreach in any way. What it does, it does well, and while it doesn't break any new ground, it achieves everything it tries to do while managing to feel both nostalgic and new at the same time.

You play a stick figure in a world of simple geometry. You fight small-bit enemies, all of whom are charmingly animated, and you will contend with difficult jumps and timing puzzles. As you can see from the screenshot, everything in Star Guard seems almost luminescent. The simplicity of the environments and characters (plain lines, solid colors) accentuates this tron-like ambiance. It all feels virtual, if that makes sense, and looks even better in motion. It reminded me of those movies from the 80s where stuff that was supposed to be computer generated was hand drawn in a very colorful way.

The sound extends this unique look and completes the game’s overall feel. Perfect, zingy pew-pews; muted, bass-y jumps; and the soft, electronic echo’s of exploding bad guys all gave me this feeling of being plugged into something.

The only reason any of this matters is because the game plays well. It’s fun and fast paced; challenging, yet not impossible. There are nine stages, each of which brings you deeper into the lair of the evil space wizard. Yup, space wizard. I know this because of the charming story text that appears in the background as you progress. These little blurbs are surprisingly interesting and literate; they won’t provide you with any transcendental revelations, but they do help build the world.

Along the way you meet up with friendly cannon fodder that help you fight the wizard’s minions. Strangely enough I was compelled to protect them. Maybe it was the sob story about their homes being laid to waste; maybe it was because they were green like me. Either way, I found these sequences the most engaging. The lower levels felt a bit lonely without them, especially as the difficulty ramped up. Death is handled via a checkpoint system, and respawns are instant. Death won’t stop you, and will barely slow you down.

The final boss, however, will kick you in the nuts until you give up, most likely.

Star Guard is:
- a pitch perfect side-scrolling, shooter/platformer.
- simple, elegant, and a pleasure to play.
- challenging, but not frustrating.
- mac compatible.

Download it here:
http://vacuumflowers.com/star_guard/star_guard.html

Ravenlock · 11-05-2009, 07:56 PM

I really enjoyed this one about a month back.

However, the final boss did in fact kick me in the nuts until I gave up.

J Arcane · 11-05-2009, 08:12 PM

You know, as much as a part of me likes it, there's another part of me that thinks it would be nice if more of these damn indie games would stop with the bloody low-rez art already.

It just looks lazy at this point, not retro.

LordDon · 11-05-2009, 09:08 PM

Part of me doesn't mind when it's as well animated as it is.

Ravenlock · 11-05-2009, 10:45 PM

Well, let's keep in mind that the "bloody low-rez art" pretty drastically reduces time and cost to make these things, so we get more tight-playing games the less picky we are about how good they look.

I went back and beat this tonight because of this thread. Fuck that wizard, but I finally got him.

Bandango · 11-06-2009, 08:33 AM

Yeah I played this thing again before writing this, and I definately did not have the patience to fight that wizard again.

As for the art, I see where Arcanes coming from. To pull off low-rez, a lot of other stuff needs to happen right. The designer has to be more exacting with what he puts into the game because there's so little extra fluff to distract you from what's there. I might be pushing it with this analogy, but it's kind of like poetry. If you constrain yourself to the limits of structure, ie rhyming, line length, the result is sometimes better than if you just let yourself go all out and do whatever you want.

WillGraham · 12-09-2009, 11:33 PM

Awesome game, was a lot of fun.

11-05-2009, 06:10 PM	#1
Bandango Colonial Join Date: Nov 2008 Posts: 1,090	Free and Worth Every Penny - Issue 21: Star Guard Green, red, yellow, black, white; all the colors you need to make a game. And a little blue, but not much of it. Star Guard is a side-scrolling shooter/platformer, reductive in both aesthetics and gameplay. Its scope is small and does not overreach in any way. What it does, it does well, and while it doesn't break any new ground, it achieves everything it tries to do while managing to feel both nostalgic and new at the same time. You play a stick figure in a world of simple geometry. You fight small-bit enemies, all of whom are charmingly animated, and you will contend with difficult jumps and timing puzzles. As you can see from the screenshot, everything in Star Guard seems almost luminescent. The simplicity of the environments and characters (plain lines, solid colors) accentuates this tron-like ambiance. It all feels virtual, if that makes sense, and looks even better in motion. It reminded me of those movies from the 80s where stuff that was supposed to be computer generated was hand drawn in a very colorful way. The sound extends this unique look and completes the game’s overall feel. Perfect, zingy pew-pews; muted, bass-y jumps; and the soft, electronic echo’s of exploding bad guys all gave me this feeling of being plugged into something. The only reason any of this matters is because the game plays well. It’s fun and fast paced; challenging, yet not impossible. There are nine stages, each of which brings you deeper into the lair of the evil space wizard. Yup, space wizard. I know this because of the charming story text that appears in the background as you progress. These little blurbs are surprisingly interesting and literate; they won’t provide you with any transcendental revelations, but they do help build the world. Along the way you meet up with friendly cannon fodder that help you fight the wizard’s minions. Strangely enough I was compelled to protect them. Maybe it was the sob story about their homes being laid to waste; maybe it was because they were green like me. Either way, I found these sequences the most engaging. The lower levels felt a bit lonely without them, especially as the difficulty ramped up. Death is handled via a checkpoint system, and respawns are instant. Death won’t stop you, and will barely slow you down. The final boss, however, will kick you in the nuts until you give up, most likely. Star Guard is: - a pitch perfect side-scrolling, shooter/platformer. - simple, elegant, and a pleasure to play. - challenging, but not frustrating. - mac compatible. Download it here: http://vacuumflowers.com/star_guard/star_guard.html

11-05-2009, 07:56 PM	#2
Ravenlock Thx for the scarf, Sadie! Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Pittsburgh, PA Posts: 6,198	I really enjoyed this one about a month back. However, the final boss did in fact kick me in the nuts until I gave up. __________________ Steam ID: Ravenlock -- XBL / GFWL Gamertag: Ravenlock80 -- Twitter: Ravenlock 3DS Friend Code: 4725-8046-8330 <Whore> Listen to me rant on the Immortal Machines PC Gaming Podcast! I also run Erratic Gamer, and sometimes write about games there. </Whore>

11-05-2009, 08:12 PM	#3
J Arcane Bedroom Wall Press Join Date: Sep 2008 Posts: 16,557 Blog Entries: 1	You know, as much as a part of me likes it, there's another part of me that thinks it would be nice if more of these damn indie games would stop with the bloody low-rez art already. It just looks lazy at this point, not retro. __________________ Arcana Rising - An Urban Fantasy Roleplaying Game, powered by Hulks and Horrors. Now on Kickstarter! Bedroom Wall Press - Games that make you feel like a kid again. Hulks and Horrors - A Sci-Fi Roleplaying game of Exploration and Dungeon Adventure Heaven's Shadow - A Roleplaying Game of Faith and Assassination

11-05-2009, 10:45 PM	#5
Ravenlock Thx for the scarf, Sadie! Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Pittsburgh, PA Posts: 6,198	Well, let's keep in mind that the "bloody low-rez art" pretty drastically reduces time and cost to make these things, so we get more tight-playing games the less picky we are about how good they look. I went back and beat this tonight because of this thread. Fuck that wizard, but I finally got him. __________________ Steam ID: Ravenlock -- XBL / GFWL Gamertag: Ravenlock80 -- Twitter: Ravenlock 3DS Friend Code: 4725-8046-8330 <Whore> Listen to me rant on the Immortal Machines PC Gaming Podcast! I also run Erratic Gamer, and sometimes write about games there. </Whore>

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11-06-2009, 08:33 AM	#6
Bandango Colonial Join Date: Nov 2008 Posts: 1,090	Yeah I played this thing again before writing this, and I definately did not have the patience to fight that wizard again. As for the art, I see where Arcanes coming from. To pull off low-rez, a lot of other stuff needs to happen right. The designer has to be more exacting with what he puts into the game because there's so little extra fluff to distract you from what's there. I might be pushing it with this analogy, but it's kind of like poetry. If you constrain yourself to the limits of structure, ie rhyming, line length, the result is sometimes better than if you just let yourself go all out and do whatever you want.

12-09-2009, 11:33 PM	#7
WillGraham Junior Member Join Date: Dec 2009 Posts: 7	Awesome game, was a lot of fun.