Indie Game Round-Up - "City Tuesday" + Brief Interview with creator Chris Zukowski

So a while ago I stumbled upon a neat looking XBLA game called 'City Tuesday', where you play a man who has to try to prevent bombs from blowing up in a city. What really caught my eye however was the style and presentation for the game, which seemed to have taken its inspiration from the 'infographic' commercials that often crop up (most notably in the Portal games).

The gameplay is simple enough however each task of retrieving the bomb requires for you to pay close attention to your surroundings, utilising the people and objects around you to complete your objective. The catch is you have to work against a clock, adding a certain level of desperation to the puzzle solving.

As mentioned before, the style of the game is very minimalistic and it results in something that feels fresh to look at. There are plenty of nice little touches to the game too such as the random facts that pop up when you interact with certain objects. They aren't life affirming but it's a neat gimmick that adds that little bit more to the experience. Another great feature is when using the time ability (you can fast-forward and rewind time in the game) it distorts the screen a-la VHS, which I found to be a rather awesome visual flourish.

Bear in mind this isn't a very long game (I clocked in just under an hour) however for an indie title there are plenty of great ideas that amount to an enjoyable experience and it hopefully marks the start of a promising career for creator Chris Zukowski.

I managed to get into contact with Chris just to find out a bit more about the game.

How long have you been making games?

This is my first one. It took me about 1.5 years to make.

 

What inspired you to make the game?

I was inspired by the standardized graphics all around train stations and airports. I love those. And video games is my medium of choice so I decided I should try to create something about them.

 

Can we expect to see this title for the PC (such as Steam)?

I would love the game to be on Steam but they are very selective. I think the game is just going to be XBOX live Indie Games

 

Any thoughts on future projects?

I am in the process of making an iOS game named Rotato. Watch for it within the year.

 

 

City Tuesday is out now on the Xbox Live Arcade and will set you back only 80 Points.