Thursday, October 16, 2014

Humble Mozilla Bundle - Voxatron




I stumbled onto the Humble Mozilla Bundle while at work.  It appeared to me when I brought up the Google Search page using my Firefox web browser.  Google often has games linked to the search page, so I wasn't completely taken aback.  However, I had a happy moment of recognition:  this was a game from the very first Humble Bundle I ever bought:  Voxatron.

 Voxatron is a platform/shooter game that uses controls similar to Smash TV.  You move in the four cardinal directions and you shoot in those directions as well, independently of your movement.  You can also jump, which is important, though clunky and difficult.  Still, the game's style is charming, and totally worth playing.  The sound effects are cute, and the graphics are unique, built using something called Voxels, rather than Pixels or Polygons.

Similar to Minecraft, everything is designed in a very blocky style.  My understanding is that this is because it is made up of 3 dimensional pixels called Voxels.  I guess the resolution is still low on these things.  However, they make for some delightful graphical effects, as enemies melt into existence, or blocks and pillars are smashed into tiny pieces.  I gather this is much easier to do with Voxels than it is with polygons, and the results are neat-o.

Anyhow, it was a lot of fun to squeeze out a little game play at work  (shhhh)  And- if you haven't already, I recommend giving Voxatron a shot.

-D






Here's Voxatron in Action






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