Introversion Blog

The Humble Store has a number of Linux games: http://pcgamingwiki.com/wiki/Humble_Store Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri is a favourite of mine, not sure how easy it is to get a copy of these days though. DEFCON, Darwinia: http://introversion.co.uk/ Wesnoth is a great turn-based strategy game and has an unusual amount of polish for a FOSS game. SpringRTS is a really fun RTS, if you can look past the many bugs in the launcher/lobby: http://springrts.com/

May I also add here for those interested in the screens, the brilliant Introversion games: Defcon and DefconVR. https://www.introversion.co.uk/defcon/

I always replay the end-game of Uplink [0] in my head when I read news like this. Great game with great music. [0] https://www.introversion.co.uk/uplink/

RimWorld is kindof a cross between a sci-fi variant of Dwarf Fortress and Prison Architect, whose art-style it ripped off wholesale, with the permission of Introversion. I figure Prison Architect is surely worthy of a mention in this thread. (http://www.introversion.co.uk/prisonarchitect/pc.html) Like DF and Rimworld, PA has that 'imperative' style, where your prison staff are given instructions, but may have problems carrying them out. Also, with the real-life setting, it might help stimulate some thinking about the nature of the penal system and the prison-industrial complex, while, at the end of it, still being a fun game.

> The pollution from nuclear missiles contributing to global warming make the endgame frustrating too because the computer loves to use nukes, and you are punished for their pollution squares as well as your own. Sigh, time for a new game. lol For a more realistic and complex treatment of nuclear warfare, I strongly recommend DEFCON. https://www.introversion.co.uk/defcon/ || http://store.steampowered.com/app/1520/

On that note, you might find Introversion's (cancelled) 'Subversion' project interesting. Dev blog: http://www.introversion.co.uk/subversion/ Post 12 is especially relevant to the 'convincing city' discussion: http://forums.introversion.co.uk/viewtopic.php?t=41634 Edit to add: Amazing to think that this was happening 8 years ago. I wonder what it would turn out like if they took another crack at it today.

For a larger scale case of exactly this I recommend people read about Subversion[1] from Introversion. Regardless of the game being a failure, the tech behind it was incredibly cool, and you can understand how obsession with the technical side of things can distract from gameplay. [1]: http://www.introversion.co.uk/subversion/

There are probably some indie games that come near to what you like. Prison Architect (http://www.introversion.co.uk/prisonarchitect/) with a video Lets Play here (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DXiJHJ2_Hwg) Towns (http://www.townsgame.com/) with a Lets Play here (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AD5tbKITBT4) and probably a bunch of others. But then again, it's okay to not like games apart from the few you play. I love Total Annihilation, and haven't tried the various later 'versions'.

I don't know about the others, but Uplink was just a port from Introversion - http://www.introversion.co.uk/.

Introversion Software, who made the movie-style hacking game Uplink, also have a game called DEFCON which is an atmospheric, minimalist global nuclear war simulator. http://www.introversion.co.uk/defcon/ "The World's first Genocide 'em up! It's Global Thermonuclear War, and nobody wins. But maybe - just maybe - you can lose the least." I love those guys :)

I'd love to see a larger scale version of something like Defcon (http://www.introversion.co.uk/defcon/). Closer to realtime too (rather than a huge multiple) - which would make close to 24x7 interaction necessary, requiring automation, teamwork, mobile device interfaces.... Damn - yet another project to think about :-) Edit: I've just noticed that they are trying to encourage the development of nuclear war fighting bots within Defcon.

There are plenty of indy game companies who are producing fun and innovative games without spending millions. Of the top of my head: Braid - http://braid-game.com/ Toribash - http://www.toribash.com/ Everyday shooter - http://www.everydayshooter.com/ Cortex command - http://www.datarealms.com/games.php Introversion Games in general - http://www.introversion.co.uk/ Velociraptor safari - http://raptorsafari.com/play.php Armadillo run - http://www.armadillorun.com/ Love (not released yet but so promising) - http://www.quelsolaar.com/ I predict that the combination of poorer customers and more accessible distribution channels (steam, iphone, kongregate) will result in a string of successes for such games - maybe enough to change the way the industry works.

Somewhat relevant, a guy designed the ultimate city, Magnasanti, in Simcity 4. Here's his video [1] and an interview [2]. Choice quote from the interview: Vice: I think most people’s natural inclination after watching your video would be awe, followed by fear. Vincent: I am in agreement. That was part of the intent of the video, for those that know, play, and love the game. Introversion, an indie game company in the UK who created hacker favorites like Uplink has unfortunately shelved their game project played in a fully procedurally generated city, from the major neighbourhoods down to the individual floors of the buildings. You could get a demo of the city generator from the recent Humble Bundle. There are still some fascinating videos to find on their blog [3] or on youtube [4] [1] http://youtu.be/NTJQTc-TqpU [2] http://www.vice.com/read/the-totalitarian-buddhist-who-beat-sim-city [3] http://www.introversion.co.uk/subversion/ [4] http://youtu.be/J30i0gABfS8 [edit]: better link for the Subversion video

That would be Uplink. https://www.introversion.co.uk/introversion/#games

Another beautiful example of a procedural city generator is that of the Subversion game once in development by Introversion software, makers of Uplink, Defcon and Darwinia: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FR9xI0GgrBY It was their intention to generate the entire city including building interiors and game elements. 20-part blog series with broken images can be found here: http://introversion.co.uk/subversion I learned only now that the generator was apparently distributed once with a Humble Bundle.

"Uplink" by Introversion Software perhaps? https://introversion.co.uk/introversion/#games It's on GOG, https://www.gog.com/game/uplink_hacker_elite , probably among some other options.

FYI there's a summary and video on the root domain: https://h4ck1t.com Edit: Turn your speakers down when you play the video if you don't like modem sounds. This game looks fun. Reminds me a little of Uplink from 2001 (https://www.introversion.co.uk/uplink/).

People who like this might like the very similar PC game "DEFCON" http://www.introversion.co.uk/defcon/

Reminds me somewhat of DefCon (http://www.introversion.co.uk/defcon/). No one wins. Try to be the one who loses least...

And I thought of Introversion's posts on their now-cancelled subversion game http://www.introversion.co.uk/subversion/. Particularly the early posts, though I think this is the last one they did about the city generator: http://forums.introversion.co.uk/viewtopic.php?t=41634

Wondering if Introversion Software had to deal with this when they made Defcon (http://www.introversion.co.uk/defcon/)...

For anybody looking for another nuclear-apocalypse-based low-graphics game, DEFCON (http://www.introversion.co.uk/defcon/) did a really good job of expanding into an RTS.

Incidentally, for those not in the know, Uplink has recently been ported to iPad and Android tablets: http://www.introversion.co.uk/uplink/ Another port that wasn't in-house, if I remember correctly -- some enterprising individual just decided to port it to iOS, Introversion liked the result and decided to publish it properly. http://www.modojo.com/features/uplink_interview_with_introversion_soft…

> “But look at that AI… look at those colors… look at that particle explosion!” Unfortunately, while I admire all of these things, there's not good selling points for most consumers anymore. Because of AAA titles, people come to expect things like good AI and good explosions, and are only disappointed when their expectation aren't met. To truly break out in the indie gaming market, you've got have very unique gameplay and a good bit of luck with marketing. Two indie games that have done a really good job of this lately: FTL: Faster than Light http://www.ftlgame.com/ Prison Architect http://www.introversion.co.uk/prisonarchitect/ As far as mobile games go, most people aren't looking for depth. It's all about quick fun -- e.g. Angry Birds

Introversion (Uplink, Darwinia, Defcon, Multiwinia) have released all source code of their previous games (they no longer working on) and afaik plan to do the same in the future (Prison Architect). The code was included in the Introversion Bundle, including read access to their developer svn repository. Still available here: http://www.introversion.co.uk/store/

Suddenly, I feel like I'm playing DEFCON. http://www.introversion.co.uk/defcon/

Here is an another cool city generator: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VnWUp9JnLyc&feature=related This is for the Subversion game that is in development since long ago: http://www.introversion.co.uk/subversion/

There's always Uplink: http://www.introversion.co.uk/uplink/2/ It's got UI and plot issues and could be improved upon. (For instance, it's sometimes quite hard to let the game know you did the mission.)

Introversion Software released a lot of development stuff for their game Uplink (tagline: Trust is a Weakness) on a separate CD. You can download the contents of the CD from their site as well: http://www.introversion.co.uk/uplink/otherfiles.html

Darwinia? [0] [0]: https://www.introversion.co.uk/darwinia/