World of Goo 
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Holy balls, after 15 years they're actually making World of Goo 2 and it's coming next yearDec 7, 2023 - PC GamerI loved World of Goo when it came out way back in 2008, and I've always thought it was too bad they never made another one. So it was really great to hear at The Game Awards tonight that finally, they are... Read more.Stories Untold is the Epic Games Store's next freebieMay 2, 2019 - PC GamerWibbly-wobbly physics puzzler World of Goo is free on the Epic Games Store now, and in a couple of weeks it will be followed by spooky narrative experiment Stories Untold. World of Goo has been around for so long now and has been part of so many sales and bundles that I can't imagine anyone not owning it for multiple devices, but maybe there are still a few of you. You can get it for free between now and May 16. It's good! I mean I don't think I have the energy to play it yet again, but if you've missed it, it's a cracking physics puzzler with loads of character. Stories Untold is a bit more exciting, though. No Code's eerie compilation is a clever, unique romp that you're absolutely better off experiencing blind. You'll get to fiddle around with archaic machines and in text adventures across four stories, always interacting with chunky bits of tech, from CRT monitors to old radios. Check out Andy's Stories Untold review for more. You'll be able to grab it in a fortnight. No Code's also working on the intriguing Observation, where you'll play a space station AI that spends it days watching the station's inhabitants. It's due out in May on the Epic Games Store. World Of Goo free on Epic Games Store right nowMay 2, 2019 - Rock, Paper, Shotgun I whoo, you whoo, we all whoo for World Of Goo. Following the recent update that brought a “gentle remastering” making it play nice on modern systems, 2D Boy’s modern-day classic puzzler is now free for keepsies on the Epic Games Store if you grab it within the next fortnight. That’s not a pun. While I think of World Of Goo as one of those games everyone must have played by now, given how great it is and how often it’s been mega-cheap, but… it’s ten years old so I many won’t have played it. Hey, youse, it’s real nice and it’s free right now. (more…) World Of Goo remastered in free update ahead of giveawayApr 30, 2019 - Rock, Paper, Shotgun That wonderful World Of Goo, a modern classic of a puzzle ’em up, gets polished up for the present day in a new free update. Coming over ten years after the game’s release, the update brings support for modern widescreen resolutions, art reworked to look better at our shiny new high resolutions, less bugginess on modern operating systems, interface improvements borrowed from newer versions like the Nintendo Switch release, and other welcome tweaks. Loading it back up just now, gosh, World Of Goo really is still charming so I’m glad that returning is now less of a bother. Epic will be giving the game away free in a few days too. (more…) World of Goo is getting updated and going free on the Epic StoreApr 18, 2019 - PC GamerThe next free game on the Epic Games Store, as of May 2, will be World of Goo, the bizarre, sticky, and exceptionally good structure-building puzzle game from 2008. Even better, after years of languishing in a not-quite-right state, it's been given a significant update to ensure that it runs properly on modern PCs. "The last time we built the PC version of World of Goo was ten years ago, way back in 2009. The game ran at a 4:3 aspect ratio and at a resolution of 800x600. Most computers now can't even enter that old 800x600 mode without the screen flashing or glitching. The game would also crash your computer if you had more than one monitor hooked up," World of Goo designer, artist, and composer Kyle Gabler explained. "So over the last few months, we've rebuilt the game for Win / Mac / Linux and it should now work nicely again on everyone's modern computers. It'll run by default at a modern widescreen 16:9 aspect ratio, and at whatever size you want. We also made a lot of improvements over the years for other platforms, like Nintendo Switch, so we brought over those improvements as well." Those improvements include doubling the resolution of all graphics—800x600 does not look super-great on big, modern displays—with "high quality upscaling tools to start," and then tweaking by hand. For die-hard old-school types, an option to use the original graphics will also be available. One thing that won't be available, unfortunately, are leaderboards. Gabler said they never worked very well anyway—"Our poor server constantly got stressed out and shut itself down"—and so they were taken offline for good a few years back. "In all recent versions of the game, including the version launching on the Epic store, we've redesigned bits of the game to accommodate this change," he said. He also pointed out that leaderboard support is offered by GooFans.com, saying that it's "a much nicer leaderboard system than we ever had." The updated version of World of Goo will eventually be released everywhere, but the Epic Games Store will be first. If you want to know why you should play it, read this. World of Goo is still magnificent 10 years onJan 2, 2019 - PC GamerHaving long since forgotten the plot of world of goo but not its glorious, weird jelly Meccano physics, I think I was expecting this reinstall to be a mainly sensory experience. Something like Peggle—great music, appealing cartoonish aesthetic—but with a slippery puzzle element instead of pinball, and a streak of black humour involving some goo balls going through a mincer. I had forgotten the observations about how companies use data and cookies (World of Goo operates in a GDPR-less world), about idiotic, wasteful product launches, about the value of physical beauty and so on. These observations are relatively broad-brush—corporations that put financial gain over consumer welfare, the ugly being trampled by the beautiful—but it’s a tang of playful cynicism I haven’t seen much in games recently. That’s not to say we’re less cynical now, but there’s a specific flavour of breezy side-eye which feels very much rooted in the late-’00s and is interesting to encounter now. These were the heady days when we were only questioning some, not all, of our metastructures. The result is that its shots still hit their targets (we’ve only really doubled down on what the game calls out) but the mood it adopts is peppy and perky rather than exhausted. Certainly a curio to me right now, at any rate. The jiggly, chirruping construction side is as excellent as I remember. Have you played World of Goo? If you haven’t, the idea is that you have these sentient blobs which like to attach to one another by sending out tendrils to other blobs. You’ll use this to create structures—2D lattices of varying levels of messiness. Loose goo blobs swarm over the structure, their weight and movement contributing to the instability of the whole thing, sometimes sending it tumbling to one side. The point of these structures is that you use them to bring the loose goo swarm to an exit pipe which will suck them up. But the pipe only activates when the goo structure is close enough, hence you can’t just fire goo balls into the air and hope they get slurped up. Build up At a bare minimum, the challenge is to build a structure and reach the pipe with enough loose goo balls to meet the level’s target. Later on in the game it’s about factoring in the different properties of the different types of goo, about navigating obstacles, and even moving larger non-goo objects around. The levels start off relatively simply. You have one type of goo and plenty of it, meaning it’s easy to meet the level targets. The starter goo is wonderfully uncomplicated. It puts out two tendrils and you can’t detach it once it’s in place. It naturally lends itself, then, to building robust triangular shapes and thus is relatively stable. These early levels remind me of the weird team-building exercises we had to do as part of a few corporate aw...World of Goo creators announce new puzzle game 7 Billion HumansJan 24, 2018 - PC Gamer7 Billion Humans is a people-powered programming puzzle game set in a world ruled by machines. It was announced by developer Tomorrow Corporation today as a direct follow-up to 2015's Human Resource Machine. The announcement trailer is bleak, but the premise is interesting. Essentially, you order office workers to complete tasks by treating them as variables in a unique programming language. Tomorrow Corporation says 7 Billion Humans improves on the language used in Human Resource Machine with the addition of multi-worker execution—again, bleak. "You'll be taught everything you need to know," the game's Steam page says, presumably trying to comfort the people who look at programming like a gazelle looks at a lioness (hello). It seems there are also more puzzles this time—over 60 in all. Tomorrow Corporation is a small studio consisting of World of Goo designer Kyle Gabler, Henry Hatsworth in the Puzzling Adventure designer Kyle Gray, and former EA developer Allan Blomquist. They released their first game, Little Inferno, in 2012. 7 Billion Humans does not yet have a release date, though Tomorrow Corporation says it's "initiating soon." Humble Indie Bundle returns with a "Greatest Hits" collectionJun 10, 2015 - PC GamerThe Humble Indie Bundle is back, but this time with a greatest hits collection featuring some of the best games from past bundles. It's an amazing selection for anybody that's new to indie games, or gaming in general. For everyone else, there's a pretty good chance you already own most of what's here. As usual, the action is split into multiple categories depending on how much you're willing to pay. Whatever you pay, you'll get Super Meat Boy, World of Goo and Dustforce DX. Beat the average (currently $4.78) and you'll also get Dungeon Defenders Collection, Limbo and Braid. Finally, if you pay $1 over the average price (currently $5.78,) you'll get Risk of Rain and Antichamber. Whatever price you settle on, you'll need to pay $1 or more to get Steam keys for the bundled games. After settling on a price, you can then decide exactly where that money will go. The sliders allow you to set how much of your cash will go to the developers, to Humble and to this bundle's two charities, Child's Play and Watsi. The bundle will run until next Tuesday, June 16. The 25 Best Puzzle Games Ever MadeMay 8, 2015 - Rock, Paper, ShotgunThe world’s most accurate ranking of the 25 best puzzle games ever to reach a computer. Plucking the peak of PC puzzling, we break down what makes them so special, and put them in the correct order. Read on for more time travel, rearranged tiles, hidden objects and hexed cells than you could ever want. … Have You Played World Of Goo?Jan 22, 2015 - Rock, Paper, ShotgunIt is literally impossible that World Of Goo is from SEVEN YEARS AGO. That absolutely, categorically cannot be the case. There has simply been a malfunction in chronology. We had that world exclusive review maybe three years ago at most. … The World of Goo Soundtrack Had No Business Being So Crazy GoodJun 28, 2012 - KotakuThink about it: World of Goo. Simple game, simple premise. Move the goo, stack the goo, get to the ending point. There was some kind of narrative, but that didn't matter so much, did it? The game is good. Really good, really fun. But my favorite thing about it, hands down, is Kyle Gabler's flabbergasting soundtrack. It combines the superheroic, soaring choral melodies of Tim Burton with all kinds of various ethnic and cinematic influences to create a musical pastiche that is at once epic, driving, hilarious and surprisingly emotional. What possessed Gabler and 2D Boy to imbue their silly puzzle game with such a grand soundtrack? We may never know. We can just be glad they did. Best of all, you can download the entire thing for free at Gabler's website. He talks about the process he used to make the soundtrack: The majority of the instruments you'll hear are computer instruments, with a few live performances on top to add a bit of warmth. For the older music, I used one of those Sound Blaster cards that let you load samples into memory. More recently, I've been using the freeware sfz soundfont sampler. I have an m-audio keystation 49e midi keyboard for picking out melodies. Influences include Danny Elfman, Vangelis, Bernard Herrmann, Hans Zimmer, Ennio Morricone, and all the big movie guys. I grew up listening to them, and they remain a big influence in everything I write. Man, anyone who cites Danny Elfman, Vangelis and Ennio Morricone as influences is cool in my book. Here are some of my favorite tracks from the World of Goo Soundtrack. Though they're all favorites, really. "World of Goo Theme" Beetlejuice meets, well, Beetlejuice—you can just picture the gears spinning, the goo flying, the oddly cheery, sinister world welcoming you. "Brave Adventures" This track reminds me of nothing so much as the noble "Agent Cruller's theme" from Psychonauts. Epic in its own way, but I love this kind of stuff. Another one with a killer modulation. "Tumbler" Man, this is an easy favorite. Spinning, cycling, growing, changing, tumbling. "Jelly" This is like, some extreme superhero music, straight to the epic build at the end. "My Virtual World of Goo Corporation" This one deserves a spot just for variety—suddenly, out of nowhere, we've got a chippy freakout. Perfect. "Best of Times" Such drama! Such emotion! Again, I remind you: This is a game about goofy little balls of goop. "Red Carpet Extend-O-Matic" I mean, what is this even? Part club-jam, part aria, part I-don't-even-know-what. I would dance my ass off if this played the next time I was out dancing. (What? I totally go dancing sometimes.) There are a bunch more, and they're all good. And as a reminder, you can download the whole soundtrack for free at Gabler's website. Humble Indie Bundle heads to AndroidJan 31, 2012 - EurogamerThe long-running Humble Indie Bundle initiative has finally made the leap to smartphones. The latest pack includes Android-compatible indie gems Osmos, Edge and Anomaly: Warzone Earth. What's more, you'll also get versions for Mac OSX, Windows or GNU/Linux. As is traditional, you decide how much you pay, and what proportion of your donation goes to the developers, to charity (choose Child's Play Charity or the Electronic Frontier Foundation) and to the Humble Indie Bundle organisers. If your payment is above the current average ($5.29 at the time of writing), you'll also get World of Goo thrown in. The pack has got off to a solid start, with over 24,000 sales so far and revenue of $131,000. World of Goo hits 1 million App Store downloadsJan 10, 2012 - EurogamerAcclaimed physics puzzler World of Goo has been downloaded one million times from the iOS and Mac App Store in the 13 months since launch. According to Gamasutra, 29 per cent of those sales were for iPhone or iPod Touch, while 69 per cent were for the iPad. Mac App Store downloads only contributed two per cent, though a separate Mac version has been on sale since 2008 when the game first launched on PC and WiiWare. iPhone/iPod sales made up 17 per cent of all revenue, whereas the more expensive iPad version constituted 79 per cent. The Android version, which only launched in November 2011, has racked up 70,000 sales, although a free demo has been downloaded 450,000 times. The game sold 180,000 downloads over the same period of time following the iOS launch one year previous. Life-to-date sales figures for the original PC and WiiWare versions have not been made public. Not played the 2D Boy-developed gem yet? You really should give it a whirl - Eurogamer's Kristan Reed attempted to award it 11/10 in his World of Goo review. Enough Zelda! Here Are 5 Less-Common Video Game Themes Orchestras Should TryNov 1, 2011 - Kotaku From Zelda to Final Fantasy, we've seen plenty of dedicated video game orchestral concerts over the years. Only a week or so ago, there was a huge Legend of Zelda concert in Los Angeles, and next week will see the release of a collection of video game music from the London Philharmonic. I've listened to much of the Philharmonic album in advance, and I found that the tracks I enjoyed the most were the ones I'd never heard played by an orchestra. Orchestras tend to be going for a mainstream thing with these performances, so they focus on the themes we all know and love. But while I'm all for hearing the Mario "1-1" music or Cloud's Theme from Final Fantasy VII, I found that I was really digging hearing a full orchestra play the opening music from Grand Theft Auto IV, or the theme from Angry Birds. I thought it might be fun to list five pieces of music that aren't the first choices for game concert programmers, but which I would get excited to see on a concert program. (And for the record: I know that image up top isn't technically from Far Cry 2 due to the weird compass, but I still really like that image and theoretically we're in an alternate universe anyway so whatever.) Instruments ready? Everyone tuned up? And a 1, 2, 3, 4…. You can contact Kirk Hamilton, the author of this post, at [email protected]. You can also find him on Twitter, Facebook, and lurking around our #tips page. World of Goo — "Beginning" Actually, I'd almost be up for an entire segment of a concert dedicated to Kyle Gabler's wonderful soundtrack from World of Goo - it's this unhinged, Elfman-like thing, all momentum and balancing. I listen to the soundtrack from World of Goo and I hear a clown on a unicycle, wearing a one-man-band outfit, riding in desperate circles around a big top, trying to stay upright. In other words, it's about as perfect a fit for the game as could be. I'd say the orchestra could bring out a featured accordion soloist for this one, maybe Rob Reich or something. #justathought Final Fantasy Tactics A2 — "Exceeding the Hill" As much as I enjoy the opening music from this game (which plays when you hit "play" on the above video), my favorite track from this entire game (and, for some weird reason, one of my favorite pieces of video game music full-stop), is the second part, "Exceeding the Hill," which comes on at 1:50. It captures everything Tactics is to me—playful, thoughtful, and tense in an enjoyable way. Also, it is called "Exceeding the Hill," which is one of the best song names I have ever heard. Just listening to it and I want to start placing my party around the grid. Watch out for my juggler. The Secret of Monkey Island — "Intro" Of course, this game has a much beloved soundtrack. And while it would just be cool to see an orchestra tackle its iconic themes, something I've found with this theme is that it actually sounded different depending on your sound card. As a result of that, the video I've posted above is what I think...Xbox Live Arcade hasn't peaked - analystsOct 5, 2011 - EurogamerHas Xbox Live Arcade really peaked, as World of Goo creator Ron Carmel yesterday argued? No, analysts have told Eurogamer. "But Microsoft should take a look at Ron Carmel's piece," declared Billy Pidgeon of M2 Research, "which eloquently makes the case (and backs it up with data) that XBLA has peaked for a specific group of independent developers who are responsible for high quality games that outsell the average XBLA game. "Sony is acquiring more unique content for PSN, and in many cases it's exclusive content, which will cost Sony more but will clearly differentiate their online games store from XBLA and other competition." "In terms of digital games delivered through a home console, Microsoft will continue to be the market leaders," stated Jesse Divnich of EEDAR. "I am not disagreeing with Mr. Carmel, I believe some of his points are valid and any digital service provider has its own restrictions and hurdles. Not every game is the right fit for every service. "We certainly are seeing some fracturing among developers, and Xbox Live and PSN are no longer the only option for game distribution." "That doesn't sound right to me," said Michael Pachter of Wedbush Morgan, responding to Carmel's claim. "If anything, there are more titles than ever, but we haven't had a Braid or Limbo so far this year. "As the 360 price comes down and the installed base continues to grow, there should be a significantly larger addressable market for XBLA games, so I think it continues to grow." Ron Carmel surveyed 200 independent developers. His results, which he admitted weren't sacrosanct, showed dwindling support for Xbox Live Arcade. Part of this is due to laborious XBLA constraints. The other part can be attributed to the rise of PC, Mac, iOS and Android gaming. Billy Pidgeon said that "viable alternative marketplaces" are "good news for developers and gamers both". Whereas Xbox Live Arcade and PSN are "predictable", he said, other markets can be "risky". "Indie games are like indie songs: most of them suck, but the ones that don't are unique and deserve to be bought, played, talked about, discovered and awarded." Billy Pidgeon, analyst, M2 Research Divnich said the investment in social and mobile gaming "is not necessarily at the cost of XBLA and PSN titles". There's greater flexibility there, but "the recipe for success is not as established". "Of all the online games markets," added Pidgeon, "I think Steam may have the best offering for gaming enthusiasts so far. The PC is the ideal platform with the most reach, Steam's timed specials help games sell more but hedge price erosion, and it's a great experience for gamers who use it. "Nintendo's online shops are getting better, but still have a long way to go. The App Store has got great reach, but the best games get lost in the crap and rapid price erosion is a given. Android download stores are the worst, with all the downsides of the App Store and none of the upside due to fragmentation." Apple has made iOS an ea...XBLA has "peaked" says World of Goo devOct 4, 2011 - EurogamerWorld of Goo developer 2D Boy believes Xbox Live Arcade "peaked" last year (2010) and that "Microsoft is not yet aware of this". Studio co-founder Ron Carmel surveyed 200 independent game makers, some of which are responsible for significant - but undisclosed - XBLA titles. He discovered that more developers want to make PSN games now than titles for XBLA. He also found PSN and XBLA seventh and eighth in a list of target platforms for 2011. The most popular was Windows, followed closely by Mac, iOS, Linux, Flash/browser and Android platforms. Nearly three quarters of the developers surveyed said ease of working with a platform holder was paramount - followed by installed base and platform suitability. When asked about specific platform holders, the majority deemed Steam, Facebook and Apple "very easy" to work with. Sony's PSN majority, like Google's Android, was "so-so". Most people found WiiWare "difficult", whereas Microsoft's XBLA was "excruciating". "Given that ease of working with the platform owner was voted the most important factor in choice of platforms, it becomes perfectly clear why XBLA, despite being a very strong channel with a large audience and huge earning potential, is dropping in popularity among these developers," observed Carmel. "But if things keep going the way they are, and XBLA keeps losing talented developers, I believe the diversity of games available on XBLA will diminish, quality will suffer, and revenue numbers will drop as players start to move away from an unremarkable portfolio of games. We will see a lot more 'genrefication' and big publisher franchises." "XBLA is no longer the king it used to be. Microsoft is no longer in a position to demand exclusivity now that PSN has more developers and is growing." Ron Carmel, co-founder, 2D Boy "Once players start to leave in large numbers it will be too late to turn things around," he added. "Given that it takes at least a year or two to make an XBLA game, no developer would want to start working on one knowing that XBLA is declining in popularity and could be significantly weaker by the time the game is ready. Carmel believes full-scale gamer "migration" away from XBLA is "a few years away", which allows "more than enough time for XBLA to change course". To this end, Carmel shared "10 Things Microsoft Can Do To Improve XBLA". * Create a fair contract that doesn't require negotiation. "It's the most exploitative, one-sided distribution contract I've seen. We each waste months of our time and Microsoft's time negotiating the same stuff out of the contract, over, and over again."; * Solve the content discovery problem. "The platform owner needs to make it super easy for their users to buy software."; * Stop requiring independent developers to publish through MGS. "Every other distribution channel allows independent developers to self publish, without a producer, and I see no evidence that having a producer on a game makes it better."; * Drop the TCRs, make updating easy. "T...There's A World of Goo For Your Android Device TooOct 3, 2011 - KotakuWorld of Goo, already a hit on WiiWare, PC and iOS, is building a gooey bridge to Android. Yes, that means phones and tablets, says 2D Boy, which is "working out the final kinks in the machinery." Steam Gets The "WiiWare Where People Can Find It" BundleSep 20, 2011 - Kotaku The "Indie 2D Bundle" has gone on a super-Steam-sale: you can grab Bit.Trip Runner, NightSky, NyxQuest: Kindred Spirits, Swords and Soldiers HD, and World of Goo for just $9.99 total. Each game normally costs $9.99 (discounted to $39.99 for all five), so it's basically five for the price of one. When Kotaku chatted with NightSky producer Tyrone Rodriguez earlier today, he mentioned that all five developers know each other, and wanted to do a kind of "indie friend bundle." Aww! If you've yet to give these games a try, I recommend giving 'em a spin. (And by the way, that headline was all Totilo. Props.) indie 2D bundle Midweek Madness - Indie Packs, 5 games for the price of 1!Sep 20, 2011 - AnnouncementMidweek Madness! Grab a special collection of Indie titles for one low price! The Indie 2D Bundle includes: Swords & Soldiers HD, Bit.Trip Runner, World of Goo, NightSky, and NyxQuest. The Indie Strategy Bundle includes: Revenge of the Titans, Sanctum, Sol Survivor, Defense Grid: The Awakening, and Anomaly: Warzone Earth. Offer ends Thursday at 4PM Pacific Time. Daily Deal - World of Goo 50% off!Jun 5, 2011 - AnnouncementToday's Deal: Save 50% off World of Goo! Look for the deals each day on the front page of Steam. Or follow us on twitter or Facebook for instant notifications wherever you are!
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