Steven Strom

Steven "The Future of Games Journalism" Strom plays entirely too much Dota 2. He sometimes plays games when he's not too busy writing about them and their place in our culture, and thinks maybe they're not just a fad after all.

News
March 25, 2014
Newsgames Hackathon wants to make journalism an interactive experience
By Steven Strom
"Gamification" is a dirty word. Most don't mind seeing RPG elements worm their way into every genre of game, but mention doing it with fitness, learning, or your diet and those same people will likely roll their eyes.Europe's first-ever Newsgames Hackathon stands a chance of changing that.A "newsgame" is a gamified method of presenting journalism - be it a feature, opinion piece or a standard new story. The concept was successfully employed by the New York Times' "How Y'all, Youse, and You Guys Talk," an interactive quiz that became the site's most visited "story" of 2013. A hackathon (aka game jam) is when a group of artists, writers and designers gather in one place and build games in a very limited amount of time. It's a popular concept in independent development, and now The Good Evil and the Cologne Game Lab are teaming up to bring the concept to journalism.
News
March 25, 2014
Train Jam: the 52 hour cross-country game jam
By Steven Strom
Game jams have become an increasingly popular way of helping developers connect, both to one another and back to their passions. It's interesting, then, that the first-ever Train Jam, a 52-hour game jam set entirely on a train from Chicago to San Francisco, their final destination GDC, was themed as "disconnection."Like any jam, the idea is to conceive, conceptualize and create a game in the allotted time based on the preconceived theme. Gamasutra's editor-in-chief, Kris Graft, ran a lovely trio of features on what sounds like just the first of many successful Train Jams and the games that resulted. Zoe Quinn, creator of the game Depression Quest, worked on a project about maintaining social connections while running the indie game convention circuit. Rami Ismail, one half of Vlambeer, the company behind Ridiculous Fishing, Super Crate Box and Luftrausers, was there as well. He made an Android game requiring him to physically fend off players from tapping an onscreen "D" (for Disconnect, the name of the game as well as the theme) on a tablet strapped to his back.
Walkthroughs
March 24, 2014
The Collectables Walkthrough
By Steven Strom
The Collectables is a real-time strategy/collectible card game from Crytek and Mobage. In this game, you lead a squad of soldiers through multiple scenarios, backed up by special action cards that can heal or damage units. Gamezebo's walkthrough will provide you with some tips and hints that will help you get a good start on committing soothing acts of vandalism.
News
March 24, 2014
Apple kicks off Indie Game Showcase with Device 6
By Steven Strom
Findingquality games on the App Store is notoriously hard. Historically, Apple doesn't consider games to be a primary pillar of their service, despite the millions of people playing (and spending money on) games on iOS devices every day.The Indie Game Showcase will hardly fix that, but it is a step in the right direction. The new section on the App Store highlights critically acclaimed, independent games and the developers who make them."Often made up of just a few dedicated members, independent studios prove that what really matters is the size of your dream," the showcase reads. "In each Indie Game Showcase, we celebrate a popular game and its creative team, highlighting the developer's titles along with their favorite games from other studios.""
Walkthroughs
March 24, 2014
Luftrausers Walkthrough
By Steven Strom
Luftrausers is a 2D aerial combat game from Vlambeer. Gamezebo's quick start guide will provide you with some tips and hints to brave the skies and last as long as possible in this punishing arcade experience.
Reviews
March 21, 2014
Luftrausers Review
By Steven Strom
After several hours with the game, I can't tell you what Luftrausers means. I don't speak German, and the best Google Translate can tell me is that "luft" means "air" and "raus" means "out." I can, however, tell you what it's about.Luftrausers, the latest game from Vlambeer (Ridiculous Fishing, Super Crate Box) is about pushing back against the inevitable. From the moment it introduces you with the message "PRESS UP TO RAUS" you're fighting against gravity, trying to keep your unlikely World War I/II amalgam aircraft out of the water below.Seconds later you're bombarded with all manner of biplane, fighter jet, dirigible and battleship. Suddenly it's about surviving against the overwhelming tide of onscreen projectiles with controls I will generously describe as "loosey goosey."
News
March 21, 2014
5 Games You Can Finish in Under 10 Minutes
By Steven Strom
Games today are cheaper and more plentiful than they've ever been. That's great news for players, but finding the time to actually complete something -- to find that sense of finality -- can be a challenge.Luckily, the independent game scene is often less interested in 20-hour campaigns and repetitive score-chasing. There are plenty of great games out there offering a complete experience in the time it takes to install most big-budget action titles.These are five such games.
News
March 21, 2014
Luftrausers profitable after only two days
By Steven Strom
After just two days, developer Vlambeer's latest game, Luftrausers, is already profitable according to a tweet from the company's official account.Luftrausers is a 2D aerial combat game that launched on PC, Mac, Linux, PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Vita that spent two and a half years in development The game will eventually cost $9.99, but launched (and remains) at a 10% discount on Steam and a 20% discount on PlayStation Network for PlayStation Plus subscribers, making the fast turnaround on profitability just that much more impressive.Nearly a year ago, the game was cloned on the App Store long before release. The story caused a bit of a ruckus as Vlambeer's previous game, Ridiculous Fishing, went through a major cloning ordeal itself.Vlambeer is also the studio behind Super Crate Box and the upcoming Nuclear Throne (formerly Wasteland Kings) for PlayStation 4 and PC. You can currently pick up the prerelease version of Nuclear Throne through Steam Early Access.