[luvcraft]

For anyone who missed this post in the dev forum, Xbox Live Indie Games (formerly Xbox Live Community Games) is now available to the Japan, both in the getting of games and in the making of games.

So, the natural progression is that a doujin shmup appears on the XBLIG!



and also there's this upcoming Japanese game, which looks like it might play like Virtual On:



the description on the peer review page says "Please break down a large enemy"

also in review are TWO other games by nakfiv, the creator of that shmup; a renai game (naturally) and what looks like some sort of one-on-one tactics game (??). There's also a mahjong game (naturally), a tank game that looks like a cross between stun runner and spectre, a puzzle game, and something that looks like an abstract space station sim (can't post screenshots as they're still in review). These last three (the tank game, the puzzle game, and the space station game) and Shining Blood will be available in English, the rest are Japanese-only.

[luvcraft]

Sorry, I should've specified; they're Japanese LANGUAGE only, not Japan only, so you should be able to get them.
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[luvcraft]

no, it will be accessible to US accounts, or at least it looks that way so far, since that link lets you buy the game off the US marketplace even though it's all in Japanese.

There IS, however, the option for creators to choose what countries do and don't get their games, so if someone creates an awesome game and then decides for some crazy reason to NOT release it in the US they can do that. It would be very dumb of them to do, but judging from the "THIS GAME IS NOT FOR AMERICANS." warning screen on Akatsuki BK (a Japanese PC game) it seems likely that someone will do it at some point. Although I would think that if you hated Americans enough to prohibit them from playing your game then you also wouldn't be likely to buy and make games for the American console.

[luvcraft]

FOLLOW UP:

Crescendo Symphony and Shining Blood are TERRIBLE. Nakfiv's renai game is also out, but I don't know enough Japanese to play it, and since Crescendo Symphony was terrible I strongly suspect it will be, too.

So! At this time, we have nothing to fear from the Japanese. I'm really hoping that some of the more talented doujin circles move to XNA, though, like ZUN and Platine Dispositif. A good doujin fighting game would be nice, too, but most of those are made in Fighter Maker, which obviously can't be ported over to the 360. I know Kenta Cho made an XNA game, so maybe he'll make something for XBLIG.
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[luvcraft]

well, you can check out the demo if you want. It mostly seems like an exercise in blooming effects; everything is black with red blooms, and it gave me a terrible headache very quickly. Otherwise you run around collecting crystals that are barely visible with all the blooming, and shooting at very bland enemies. On the second level there was some jumping on and off of moving platforms, but the platform interaction was badly programmed (you shake if the platform you're on is moving down), and since it uses up energy to jump that you have to refill by finding crystals, I didn't get very far on that part before I decided I didn't like the game.

also, although there's a controls splash screen, all the in-game controls instructions refer to mouse and keyboard, which isn't terrible but is annoying.

it seems to work OK for what it is, it's just that what it is isn't very good.

[luvcraft]

[luvcraft]

sweet, there's a Kunio-kun dodgeball clone in playtest right now. It looks suspiciously like it uses sprite rips, though, so it probably won't make it through review.


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[luvcraft]

I forgot to mention this before, but a couple weeks ago, specifically in reaction to some of the new Japanese games that have shown up on XBLIG, Microsoft revised their "prohibited content" guidelines to include "verbal reference to or preference for; a sexual act involving a minor". That and both of the other revisions clearly indicate that at least one of the new Japanese devs submitted a game that rewards you at the end with some good old-fashioned loli hentai.

Ick.

EDIT: And here's the offending material. Classy.

[luvcraft]

UPDATE! It looks like the people making that Kunio Dodgeball game actually DO have a license, and they're the same people who made the Famicom port back on the day.

So! Keep an eye out for Downtown Dodgeball on XBLIG in the next couple of weeks!
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[luvcraft]

Today's interesting observation about the Japanese games on XBLIG:

Several of the Japanese XBL indie games specifically say in their descriptions that the whole game is available in the trial version, and can be played in the 8-minute trial time limit. Downtown Dodgeball, on the other hand, has sprung from the womb clutching an 800 point price tag, and will hold onto it as long as it can, even though it came out AFTER MS announced that the 800 point price tag would be discontinued, because there's been lots of discussion on the (English section of) the Creators Club forums about how 800 point XBL indie games just don't sell.

So this ads to my myopic outsider perspective that everything in Japan is either ludicrously overpriced, or free. There is no middle ground. Perhaps The Tim or The Rudie can offer more insight on this.
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[luvcraft]