Game Culture — indie gaming

"Rubinite" is a dark fantasy boss rush action game that utilizes the unique mechanic "Focus" to pinpoint enemies' weaknesses and execute thrust attacks.

Follow Ruby a princess who has escaped from the Scarlet Kingdom, embarking on a journey of revenge to reclaim her kingdom.

Battling the Blood Recipients

Ruby's blade cannot easily harm them; only by finding their weaknesses and delivering critical attacks can she carve a way out.

Pure Blood: Blessing or Curse

In her quest to reclaim the Scarlet Kingdom, Ruby will confront various blood recipients – ancient enigmatic cults, undead possession entities, and the source of the plague. She challenges one perilous existence after another.

Exquisite Pixel Environments

Step into beautifully crafted pixelated scenes, where the poignancy and grandeur of the Scarlet Kingdom come alive in every hazardous battle.

Absorbing Pure Blood, Crafting Talismans

With each blood recipient defeated, Ruby absorbs their power, enhancing her abilities for the upcoming fights. Crafting diverse talismans allows you to shape your unique combat style.

Rubinite is developed by CupDogGames.

All assets used in this blog belong to the rightful owner.

Contact CupDogGames via their website!

Wishlist Rubinite on Steam and watch the trailer here: 

Follow our #8DaysofPixelFeature showcase on our Twitter account!

Devil’s Hideout is a horror point and click adventure with pixel-art graphics set primarily in an abandoned town and its nearby equally abandoned hospital. Lauren learns from a mystic that her young sister is still alive, with cultists staging her death. Traveling to the hospital where her sister received care, Lauren plunges headfirst into a nightmare.

The world of Devil's Hideout is pure horror - narratively, aurally, and visually. Playing as Lauren, explore an abandoned hospital and a nearby town to find her young sister. Solve puzzles with the help of her friend Atticus, as you delve the insidious shadows of Devil's Hideout.

Game Features

• Immersive pixel art, saturated with horror.
• Spine-chilling music and sound effects.
• Explore an abandoned town & hospital
• First-person perspective.
• Point and click puzzles & item inventory.
• A tale of an older sister saving her younger sibling from evil.
• Devil cultists.
• Steam achievements!

Devil's Hideout is developed by Cosmic Void.

All assets used in this blog belong to the rightful owner.

Contact Cosmic Void via Twitter!

Wishlist Devil's Hideout on Steam and watch the trailer here: 

Follow our #8DaysofPixelFeature showcase on our Twitter account!

Ribbity rabbity boo! What happens when carrot-hungry moles invade the world? Who's gonna save the day? We believe it's going to be Murti!

Mega Cat Studios had the amazing chance to interview Xavi Gomez the Producer of the up-and-coming fast-paced arcade game Murtop! Count your coins and get ready to hop as we check the development of the game!

How was this game born?

Murtop was born in 2019. But before being a game, it was an arcade cabinet which I built from scratch in my spare time, from 2015 to 2018, to play old arcade games. The name Murtop comes from “Murti” (a bunny that my partner and I had) and “Bartop” (an arcade cabinet without the base, or pedestal, which was the model I was building). Once I had the cabinet built, I decided that I wanted to create my own game to play on it, and that’s when Murtop, the game, was born.

What was development like?

Murtop was a hobby for me for almost 3 years. I was working from time to time, at night, on the weekends, mostly getting used to Godot (the game engine I use). Basically, I was just having fun learning about everything related to game development while creating a game. I didn't have in mind publishing at all. I was casually posting my journey on Twitter and Reddit and people seemed to like it, which encouraged me to keep going. But in a drastic turn of events (in a good way!), Flynn's Arcade, my publisher, contacted me in the summer of 2022 and they offered me a deal to publish Murtop.

From this point onward, I could say I turned into a "serious game developer" by force. First of all, Murtop didn't have any music nor sfx and I also needed some promotional art and such, so I hired a professional musician and an artist to help me. Now, I only had to finish the game, hehe! And having a full-time job, managing game development, work, family, hours of sleep... The last few months of development were challenging. But I made it through and now Murtop is going to be a reality!

What did you learn about yourself through this game?

That I need to learn to focus. Do one thing at a time, and do it properly. I tend to do multiple tasks at once and it nevers ends well. I also learned that I’m actually capable of creating pixel art, which was a new thing for me.

What makes this game special?

It’s a new take on the 80’s arcade games. It has more pace, better playability and controls. It’s also designed and programmed having in mind the restrictions those games had, so it could be easily ported to actual older systems. Murtop can run natively on a "potato computer" (e.g. a Raspberry Pi).

How does sound play a role in the game?

Sound is crucial in Murtop. Thankfully, Valen Haralambidis, a great musician, helped me with the music and sfx. He designed the whole sound to be resemblant of the old arcade sounds but with a modern twist. This type of games rely a lot on sound because the graphics are kind of basic.

What games influenced this one the most?

Murtop is mostly based on Dig Dug and Bomberman. I took the digging and killing subterranean enemies with rocks from Dig Dug and the bombs and their explosions in multiple directions from Bomberman.

Any fun stories or wild moments during development?

I would say that the wildest moment was when Flynn’s Arcade contacted me. I was in my bed, ready to go to sleep, scrolling through Twitter, when I received a DM asking if I would like to publish Murtop on the Nintendo Switch. I just couldn't believe it! First of all, someone wanted to publish my game, which was bonkers, and secondly, on none other than on a Nintendo console, which are the consoles I grew up playing with.

Do you think preserving older gameplay mechanics in new games is important?

Yeah, I think it is important because usually older gameplay mechanics are easy to understand and the players can pick up and play the game more quickly. But preserving older gameplay mechanics doesn't necessarily mean that new games can't introduce new mechanics or innovate in other ways or mix them with older ones. This can lead to a more enjoyable and satisfying gaming experience.

What's your favorite memory as a gamer?

In terms of arcade games, I remember fondly playing Pang and Puzzle Bobble with my father in the bar next to my childhood home. I spent so much money on it! I also remember having a blast playing multiplayer games with my friends, such as Age of Empires, Warcraft, and StarCraft. We also liked to gather to play GoldenEye 007, Perfect Dark, and later on, TimeSplitters 2.

Who will enjoy this game the most?

I believe that everybody will enjoy Murtop, but I think people who played arcade games in the 80’s and the 90’s will appreciate it the most.

Bottom line, why must someone play this game?

Because it’s so funny to see a cute little bunny poop bombs! 

How do you want this game to be remembered?

I would like Murtop to be remembered as a “classic new arcade” game.

What's next?

I’m in talks with some companies to release Murtop on their platforms. I would love to  see a physical release of Murtop and I would also like to have a dedicated “Murtop” arcade cabinet, with a vertical CRT monitor, its own art and controls and so on. So I will do everything that’s in my power to make those things happen.

Anything else you'd like to add?

Thank you all for having me. It’s been a pleasure. Let’s keep arcade games alive!

Check out Murtop on Steam

Check out trailer here:

Follow Hiulit on Twitter, Github, and Youtube to get the latest updates from them! Support them on Ko-fi and Patreon!

*Ding ding ding! Think slapstick, pixel art, and boxing rolled into one. This is how our showcased game for this month is seen. Mega Cat Studios had a chance to interview one of the founders of Soupmasters, Martin Calander, about their upcoming slapstick boxing game, Big Boy Boxing! Ready for the punch? Here’s how it went! 

How was this game born?

The game was born after we created many funny characters with personalities during school time. And we needed a game to showcase them, first, we tried to make traditional smash bro like fighting game, but that didn't work out. After a while, we decided to try making a punch-out-esque game with our characters, and it evolved from there.

What was development like?

We are still in the development phase, but it's been souper fun!

What did you learn about yourself through this game?

I've learned that things take double the time I think they will when developing a game!

What makes this game special?

The characters, the slapstick humour, and the fast-paced boss-rush gameplay!

How does sound play a role in the game?

In gameplay, sounds are used as "tells" for the bosses' attacks. And the voice acting gives the characters another level of personality and relatability.

What games influenced this one the most?

Punch-Out!! for the Wii, Cuphead by Studio MDHR, and Undertale by Toby Fox.

Any fun stories or wild moments during development?

One really fun thing I've worked on is new approaches and ways of animating Pixel-Art, which hasn't really been developed since 3D in games was introduced.

Do you think preserving older gameplay mechanics in new games is important?

Yes, definitely worth preserving.

What's your favorite memory as a gamer?

My time creating plugins and mods for Minecraft.

Who will enjoy this game the most?

Lovers of 2D Animations or pixel art will surely enjoy this game.

Bottom Line, why must someone play this game?

You won't find another retro pixel art game with this level of animation and over-the-top characters. 

How do you want this game to be remembered?

I want the players to remember the characters in the game, and the journey those characters have been through! 

(Here are some of the characters that will appear in the game!)

    

What’s next?

We are working on getting this game ready for testers!

Anything else you’d like to add?

Be sure to wishlist Big Boy Boxing on steam! It's the easiest and best way to support us for now!

Check out Big Boy Boxing trailer:

Follow Soupmasters on Twitter, Instagram, Discord, and Youtube to get the latest updates from them!