FOSSwire

Okay: what rock have I been living under? Why have I not been introduced to this amazing game before? I’m serious: this game cannot be simply read about; you must download a copy and try it out for yourself. But maybe I’m getting too far ahead of myself.

The game is called Teeworlds, and it would be the result of a shooter, a 2D platformer, and some weird puffball creatures all thrown into a blender. You end up with a game (and an analogy) that sounds a little weird, but is crazily addictive. The Teeworlds website describes this as a “retro multiplayer shooter,” but I can’t exactly figure out what’s so “retro” about it. It’s a design that feels very fresh and fluid. Come to think of it, this feels vaguely like Wormux but as real time shooter.

The basics: you are a small puffball with feet. You can move and jump all over a fairly large map. Now throw in shotguns, hammers, grenades, and a bunch of other obstacles, and you have the image below.

If that doesn’t scream “awesome,” then, well, you may not like video games. The game’s design and effects sure make me chuckle: bullets and grenades are flying everywhere, yet in the background you can always hear the high-pitch squeal and glee of the characters as they shoot and get hit.

Perhaps one of the things I like most about this game is its learning curve. The controls are very simple: directional keys (default wasd-style) to move, space to jump, and point & click to shoot. Anyone can jump in on a match and not feel like they’re the dead weight, even with little to no prior experience with the game. Even the camera system is very fluid: while you point to aim, you can move the reticule towards the edge of the screen and the camera will begin to follow, but you will never be able to lose track of where your character is.
That doesn’t mean the game is easy: there are plenty of tricks to keep you playing. A grappling hook can be used to climb up walls or even grab rivals to bash with your hammer. A sword appears in a hidden location every few minutes to allow anyone to scoop up a few kills. It’s an excellent formula that makes this game attractive for novices and advanced players.

One thing I must note, however, is that this game must be played online (or on a local area network). There is no “campaign” or single player mode, so this game requires a few friends to enjoy the game with locally. Though, if you can’t round up a few coworkers, there is always the option of online play, which I highly encourage. The maps are varied from capture-the-flag to a classic free-for-all deathmatch.

There is an interesting aspect to online play, and that is the amount of modifications available. Teeworlds even has a hidden level editor, and I’ve seen some excellent maps created with it. Some were even designed using a capture-the-flag method but played as a platformer race – whoever got to the flag first won a point. There are plenty of opportunities to get creative.

I can’t recommend this game enough. It may not exactly be the thing your kids should play, but it provides a very enjoyable, long-lasting experience. These are the kinds of games I want to see more of in the future. If you aren’t already downloading, do so now.

(Images from http://www.teeworlds.com/)

It's been some time since the last Games post here at FOSSwire. Free software isn't all work and no play, right?

We have briefly mentioned both subjects of this Games post before, in a round-up of 13 great open source games, but never in much detail.

Neverball

First of all, to Neverball.

If you've ever played a certain game containing the words Ball, Monkey and Super, but not necessarily in that order, you'll be right at home. The aim of the game is to direct the ball on screen to collect the coins and then get to the targeted exit.

You control the ball by moving the mouse, which tilts the 'board' and hence makes the ball move across it. It sounds simple, but on the harder levels quickly becomes challenging. If you tilt too much, the ball starts moving very quickly and is very difficult to precisely control!

It's a simple concept, dangerously addictive and it might even cause you to tear just a little bit of hair out at times.

Neverputt

Neverputt is based on the same engine and Neverball and is often packaged together with it. As the title suggests, however, Neverputt is a golf game.

To be more precise, it is more of a mini-golf/crazy golf game with an arcade feel. There are three different courses available, each varying in difficulty.

Again, the gameplay is refreshingly simple. You just aim the mouse in the direction you want to drive, pulling it back for more power and click to make your shot.

Of course, I mentioned 'crazy', so as you progress through, you will meet different obstacles which will make getting the ball into the hole a little more interesting.

Neverputt is personally my favourite of the two, especially when you make use of its hot-seat multiplayer feature. Just make sure you play alone for a while to get some practice first!

How and Where Can I Play?

Neverball and Neverputt should be available in almost all modern Linux distributions in one package called neverball. Search for that in the software management program and choose to install the package (or try clicking Install Now at the top if you're on that machine right now).

You will need a machine that is configured to have 3D acceleration enabled and a reasonable level of graphics horsepower, as both games make use of fancy OpenGL graphics.

Windows and Mac OS X versions can be downloaded from the Neverball website.

Interestingly, there's also a version of Neverputt available for the iPhone and iPod touch platform. It's not free (£0.59 here in the UK store or I'd imagine $0.99 in the US) but it is based on the open source Neverball engine and is created with full permission of the original author. It can be found on this iTunes Store link.

Back in December, I looked at Wormux, a crazy turn-based battle game where you pitch (FOSS-inspired) animated characters against each other to find the last man standing.

Recently, the team announced the release of the new 0.8 version of the game. The new release boasts a new network play feature as well as loads of new maps, several additional weapons and other upgrades.

The new network multiplayer option allows you to play online, as well as on a local network. A game such as Wormux really is most fun when you are playing a human opponent, although a quick match vs the computer is good too. If geographical distance isn't an issue, it was always possible, and still is, to play hot-seat at a single machine.

This new feature though eliminates that requirement, however. As with any network game, firewalls might be an issue, but as the game runs off a single TCP port, it should be trivial to add exceptions.

Anyway, the point is that these new additions make an already highly entertaining game a lot more fun. Blasting the characters belonging to someone across the other side of the world is now as possible and satisfying as a real-life opponent in the same room.

It's worth noting right now that for Linux users, the static binary download is still only at version 0.7.9, and doesn't benefit from these new features. However, you can download the latest source and compile yourself.

If you still haven't given Wormux a try, I'd highly recommend it. Downloads for Windows, Linux and Mac OS X are available.