The most anticipated games at Develop

This week I had the pleasure to attend Develop:Brighton; if you missed it, these are the most anticipated games showcased in the Expo floor.

Fragments of Him | SassyBot Studio | website

Some games are not about puzzles or mechanics: they’re about emotions. This is surely the case of Fragments of Him, which explores how the loss of a loved person affects the life of four different characters. Since when I saw its first trailer, I’ve been very excited about this game. It’s interesting, for once, to play a game which has something to say. Even more interesting is the choice of SassyBot Studio to feature a relationship between two men. In a gaming culture where women are still under-represented, LGBT characters are even rarer. During Develop:Brighton I had the chance to talk with Mata Haggis (lead designer) and Elwin Verploegen (lead programmer) about this aspect of the game. Fragments of Him is a game featuring a relationship, which happens to be between two men. As Mata told me, is “a game about love, made with love“.

Q.U.B.E.² | Toxic Games | twitter | website

If you’ve never heard of a game titled Quick Understanding of Block Extrusion, it’s probably because that game is better known as Q.U.B.E.. Released in 2011 by Toxic Games, it has quickly reached popularity due to its slightly Portal-esque aesthetic and clever gameplay. The team who brought the original Q.U.B.E. into existence is now reunited for its sequel. Dan Da Rocha, Dave Hall, and Jonathan Savery announced they are working on Q.U.B.E.²  and have already released some alpha gameplay footage. I had the chance to play the game during Develop:Brighton and even if it is still in early development, Q.U.B.E.²  already has some good puzzles. And while you’re waiting for these super shiny, Unreal-y cubes, Q.U.B.E. Director’s Cut is coming on console.

Mutiny! | Hidden Armada | steam

The first time I’ve met Will Wright, director of Hidden Armada, was during The Jump Game Jam at Abertay University. In that occasion he had developed a super sexy game projects on the three sides of a cube. After that, his studio has been working on Mutiny!, a local multiplayer game which features both cooperative and competitive components in its gameplay. Players are pirates, trying to survive the attacks of enemy galleons, treacherous sharks and (of course!) each other’s weapons. You can have up to sixteen players, but with just four the mayhem is already insane. If you like games such as Gang Beasts, you’d better watch out for Mutiny!.