Kú goes live on Steam this St. Patrick's Day

Bit Smith Games today announced that Kú: Shroud of the Morrigan will be released on Steam on 17 March.

Kú is a top-down 2D game with action-rpg elements. Bit Smith released the game on iPad last year but now, after a protracted Steam Greenlight campaign, it's finally getting a full re-release for PC.

Versions of the game are already available on the developer's website for Android, PC and Mac.

The game is a twist on the Táin, the story of Cúchulainn, set in a future Ireland.

In a statement on their Steam page today the developers said: "What better way to celebrate St. Patricks [sic] Day than to consume yourself in some ancient Irish history."

Kú was not without its problems on iPad - but a lot of my frustrations came from the controls. The game has full controller support on PC. There's no detail on pricing yet but I'll keep you informed.

Watch it - Steam Dev Days

Valve, the US developer and owner of the Steam digital-distribution marketplace, has published a series of talks and panels from its Steam Dev Days event. The developer focused event was held over two days in Seattle this January.

The 28 videos and accompanying presentations have been published on http://steamdevdays.com/. The series includes both general information and highly technical talks.

There are talks on music in Valve games, on the company's push into virtual reality and the lauch of 'Steam Boxes' - Valve's new Linux-based hardware platform.

There are discussions on economics, Steam Early Access, developing for Linux and using OpenGL.

Below is a video looking at the development of the new Steam controller by Eric Hope and John McCaskey of Valve.

 

Watch it: Gabe Newell talking economics and design

Gabe Newell, founder of Valve Corp, can be heard here talking a little about game design and a whole lot about economics and the organisation of corporate structures.

The conversation ranges from awe-inspiring to terrifying. The focus on productivity over the emotional impact of gaming is worrying. So far Valve haven't put a foot wrong, so for as long as they keep on making engaging games I'll be happy.



The man is a confident, intelligent speaker. Take a look.

Thoughts on 2013

The  new year carries the promise of new consoles, Steam-boxes and big name releases. But there's an interesting new trend that emerged in 2012 that hopefully won't get lost  - the rise of successful story-driven indie releases.

Source: Freebird Games

There's been a huge growth in the indie scene since the launch of the Xbox 360. Small releases are gaining acceptance and generating financial returns on platforms from Xbox Live Arcade and Steam to a slew of indie-focused marketplaces like Desura.

Retro aesthetics and arcade mechanics defined the space for years - relegating more thoughtful works to the shadows. But 2012 seemed to change that. Small teams of indies, with the specific goal of engendering a given emotional response, popped upduring the year. The style of simple, focused design is similar to what Team Ico achieved a decade ago.

These days indies and smaller studios are just as likely to experiment with story-telling as they are with mechanics, and long may it continue. The Walking Dead may have raised some questions about what constitutes a 'game,' but it still took numerous game-of-the-year awards. 

I've already written about Dear Esther at length. Here are some of the other games that stood out:

I Love it When a Plan Comes Together

With Mass Effect 3 behind me, it's time to get down to business here at Hackett Out - I've started to chart a route through that backlog. A post every couple of weeks should do it. I won't have much time in front of the TV but 14 days should be long enough to get stuck into any game. And, hopefully, there'll be something interesting to say at the end of it.

I'm beset by reminders of the triple-A releases I'm missing out on - Max Payne 3 is calling to me. There's nothing for it but to launch into some old-school action to cleanse my pallet. 


I grew up without videogames. The PlayStation had launched by the time I convinced my parents to invest. I got my hands on a heavily discounted Sega Mega Drive when I was 11 or 12. I moved on to Sony's console a couple of years later. As a result, Nintendo's golden era passed me by. My first Mario game was Mario 64 and my first Zelda - Ocarina of Time. I've never played Super Metroid, A Link to the Past or Yoshi's Island. I have lots of homework to do on the Nintendo front - if only to figure out why the American press seems so obsessed with those games.

It's all rainbows and chip-tunes in Bit.Trip: Runner

The past few weeks, I've been playing a little Bit Trip: Runner on Steam. A subtle blend of euphoric platforming perfection and teeth-grinding, rage-inducing horror. It's got me pumped for yet more 2D challenge. So I'm going right back to the source. My first task here on Hackett Out will be to complete Super Mario Brothers. 

Only 27 years late!