Super Crate Box Message Board

Is it a bird? No. Is it a plane? No, not really. Is it a sort of pogoing, semi-submersible death machine? Yeah, pretty much. It’s also the new game from Vlambeer, and it’s out today. Here’s what I made of it. … [visit site to read more]

Nuclear Throne is an “action roguelike-like”: a top-down shooter with permadeath, set in a post-apocalyptic wasteland and starring a cast of mutants who need to hoover up radiation to gain in power. It’s fast, frantic, and made by Vlambeer, the two-man indie development studio behind similarly compulsive shooters Super Crate Box and LUFTRAUSER.

Nuclear Throne (formerly Wasteland Kings) is currently available in Steam Early Access, and like those other games, it already feels great. “Feel” is a poisonous word in games criticism though, and I was unsatisfied with the normal language used to describe games like this: “meaty”, “weighty” and “crunchy” only gets us so far.

I wrote to Vlambeer game designer Jan Willem Nijman about how you make pixels bullets feel powerful, and about finding a better language to talk about videogames. He was gracious enough to do the hard work of explaining why Nuclear Throne feels great for me.(more…)

VLAMBEER NEVER STOPS. I know. They told me so. Seriously though, Luftrausers isn’t even off the launchpad yet, and the Super Crate Box developer is already making admirable progress on a very impressive-looking action-roguelike called Wasteland Kings. I actually had the chance to play it and discuss its various ins-and-outs with Vlambeer recently, so expect impressions very soon. But until then, know this: it’s a rapid-fire, deliciously crunchy randomized romp starring a cavalcade of characters from Vlambeer’s past. And the craziest part? The arcade action maestros are going to stream a very large portion of its development – with you playing along at home via Steam Early Access.

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Ever had one of those days where it feels like the whole world’s out to get you? Like you just can’t win? Like you are a magnet whose polarity is perfectly calibrated to attract gigantic, writhing jerkswarms who will stop at nothing to steal everything you love? Congratulations: you might be Super Crate Box and LUFTRAUSERS (among many, many other things) developer Vlambeer. Between countless clones and a recent theft of what basically amounted to their entire company during E3, the two-man team has been plagued by a string of bad luck so crushing that you’d think it was a giant joke.

So Rami Ismail and JW Nijman laugh at it. They laugh and count their blessings.

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There are plenty of game jams happening on a regular basis, but how many are called *crag* This Jam?

The premise of *crag* This Jam is pretty interesting, with creators being asked to create a game within a genre they otherwise detest.

“Through utter ignorance for conventions and hate for the established rules of a genre, beautiful things will happen,” reads the description on the official site.

*crag* This Jam comes from the minds of Vlambeer's Rami Ismail (Super Crate Box) and Fernando Ramallo (Paranormical), and was conceived during a late-night conversation at this year’s Fantastic Arcade. Beers were probably involved.

As someone who helped organize a game jam earlier this year, I’ve found myself increasingly curious about them, especially as I mull over what we could do if another Molyjam happens next year. This one sounds fascinating.

It’s been a while since Super Crate Box originally debuted as a PC download and put the two of us here at Vlambeer in the worldwide spotlight for arcade games. Today, Super Crate Box is available on Mac, Steam and iOS. With the launch of Playstation Mobile, it’ll be available for PlayStation Vita and other PlayStation Certified Devices, too.

For the uninitiated, Super Crate Box is an action-arcade game in which you control a little guy tasked with collecting as many crates as possible while fending off enemies and avoiding your impending death. Every crate you pick up randomly changes your method of attack, so you’d better be ready for anything.

When Sony reached out to us a few months ago to have Super Crate Box launch with PSM, we sent a request to friends and fellow coders to help us out developing it within the limited time we had left to launch. We received some great, professional applications and a single e-mail from a fan. The fan turned out to be an avid Super Crate Box player, and an experienced programmer to boot. He made a small side-note: he would only be able to work at night, because during the day he had a job as a bus-driver. Easy choice.

The game shaped up rapidly and before we knew it, a young man in his bus-driver uniform was working at the office with us to test an early build on a PlayStation Vita. Immediately we knew: we spent ages on perfecting the iOS touch-controls, creating what we still believe are amongst the best touch controls ever – but on PS Vita, Super Crate Box feels right at home; it’s portable, it’s fast and it’s precise.

We’re really looking forward to hearing about your high scores in the comments – the iOS version has 2000+ crates as highscore. After October 3rd, we’ll see for once and for all what physical buttons are worth.

For those of you who’re about to play the game for the first time ever: our sincere apologies for the discgun.

Also, be sure to keep an eye on PlayStation.Blog for information about how to get PSM games such as Super Crate Box onto your PlayStation Vita or other PlayStation-certified device after the PSM launch.

As you may remember from our previous post about PlayStation Mobile, PlayStation’s brand new mobile games platform for select mobile devices has been in the works, and you can try it out yourselves starting today! PlayStation Mobile allows you to get PlayStation-like experiences on a variety of platforms such as PS Vita and PlayStation Certified devices such as select Android phones and a variety of tablets. Downloading content, including games, on PlayStation Mobile is easy for gamers with a SEN account. Simply use your PSN Wallet to purchase PlayStation Mobile content.

While we’ll be constantly expanding our content offerings for the platform, we’re excited for you to check out our initial line-up of launch titles, including Loot The Land, Beats Slider, and Super Crate Box. Let us know which titles are your favorites.

For PS Vita users, as long as you have Internet access, you can use your PSN Wallet to download the full range of PlayStation Mobile content. Simply visit the PlayStation Mobile section within the PlayStation Store on PS Vita and take your pick from the list of available titles. If you purchased PlayStation Mobile content on another PlayStation Certified device, go to [Options] > [Download List] to select the title and download it directly to your PS Vita. With PlayStation Mobile, PS Vita owners are getting yet another way to access PlayStation content on the go!

For owners of select PlayStation Certified Sony smartphones and tablets powered by Android, you can find instructions to access PlayStation Mobile content here.

Here at PlayStation, we’re always looking for ways to improve your PlayStation gaming experiences, and we can’t wait for you to get up and running on PlayStation Mobile so we can hear your feedback. Be sure to check out PlayStation Mobile starting today, and let us know what you think in the comments and in the official PlayStation community forums.

I unlocked all the levels and an extra character, but now 35 crates!?  Impossible!