Indie Gaming: Hyperbolica

The ceiling beams and walls in this screenshot are not curved! They only look warped because they’re in a hyperbolic universe….

I did a Q&A with the creator of Hyperbolica for Game Developer a few months ago. It’s out now, on itch.io and Steam!

It’s really an awesome idea: an exploratory kind of game set in a hyperbolic space. If you’re wondering how someone could even make such a thing, developer CodeParade did a great series of YouTube videos on how he made it. Hyperbolica neatly upsets many of your intuitions of how basic motion and rotation work. It uses the processes of playing video games to communicate ideas in a deeply intuitive way.

If this looks like your kind of thing, you might consider looking into ZenoRogue’s HyperRogue (SteamAndroid), which is a one-hit roguelike set on a hyperbolic plane. Or the similarly brain-bending Manifold Garden from William Chyr (SteamSwitchXboxPS Store).

The Mana World is coming to Steam!

The ‘Mana Launcher’ App appeared on Steam. Slated to be release on December 1st, this open source MMO has entered a new phase of development.

The Mana World (TMW) is a free 2d open-source MMORPG. With a team of volunteer developers, it has been a labor of love for a decade, and on April 5th they celebrated officially getting on Steam.

Explore the multiple unique universes. The Mana world team is focused on building detailed worlds, unique quests using classic retro graphics. Currently you will find four unique universes that are being developed into it’s own unique world.

It is my hope the community will blossom with its release to steam.

I am quickly reminded of Tibia online or Nexus: The Kingdom of Winds as I was learning the ropes. I was greeted with a few players willing to help me warm up to the universe and get started. TWM has a unique retro style questing system and a magic system not for the casual gamer. If you are looking for a new 2d home I would recommend exploring ‘The Mana World.’

It even works on ARM computers!


If you can’t wait until December 1st for the release of ‘Mana Launcher’ on Steam, you can download the client today at The Mana World and explore the magic of this retro-style MMO.