Nothing says run far, far away quite like a giant floating amorphous blob of flesh. In No More Flat Days by Deniz Cetinalp, you’ll run as fast as you can to avoid the beady, worrying eyes of this giant creature that chases you.
We have this and more in Cool WIP, Polygon’s weekly roundup of eye-catching clips and screenshots of works in progress. Each week, the Polygon staff scours the internet for the most interesting games still under construction, to give you a sampler of the coolest up-and-coming projects.
This week we also have not one, but two robots navigating alien worlds; a stunning action-adventure game where the character transforms into animals; and an intricately designed forest infused with the colors of the rainbow.
A giant pile of morphing flesh chases you
Deniz Cetinalp created this morphing pile of flesh for his game, No More Flat Days. A clip of Centinalp’s game shows the main character running from it as it contorts and chases down the protagonist. The amorphous blob has multiple faces, and while we don’t have a backstory for it, I’m not quite sure I want to know its origins. There’s no release date for the game yet, but you can follow updates on the developer’s Twitter account.
#NoMoreFlatDays | One more look at this abomination. Next week I will show you what's underneath all that flesh🤔 | #screenshotsaturday #gamedevs #IndieGameDev #gaming #madewithunity #indiegame pic.twitter.com/fqQgm8LOsn
— Deniz Cetinalp (@416_dc) August 7, 2021
A bumbling rover manages to get back on its wheels
Ian MacLarty is an Australian game developer who has created more than 40 small, non-commercial games. His work skews toward the experimental and often has players traversing trippy, mind-bending digital spaces. The latest project he’s been posting about is a game about a little rover in space called Mars First Logistics, and a recent GIF shows that rover struggling to carry a giant pipe. Although it tumbles around a bit, it manages to get back on its feet — er, wheels. You can follow MacLarty’s progress on Mars First Logistics, and his other work on his Twitter account.
Whoops-a-daisy!#screenshotsaturday #gamedev pic.twitter.com/I6gob4UDFp
— Ian MacLarty (@ianmaclarty) August 7, 2021
The smoothest transition animation you’ll ever see
This clip from Charles Cox shows a clip from an untitled game. In the video, you can see the main character running and transforming into a deer-like animal. The transition is stunningly smooth, as the character glows and changes into multiple species as they run. The game looks like a type of action-adventure game reminiscent of The Pathless, but there isn’t a ton of information on it yet. You can check out the developer’s work on their Twitter account here.
I added a Deer-like animal form to my game! I also worked on the sounds/particle system for different surfaces. I would love your feedback, as always!#UnrealEngine #ue4 #gamedev #IndieGameDev #animals #blackartist pic.twitter.com/PwLqpQgMaM
— Charles Cox (@CharlesCoxArt) August 7, 2021
A robot trudges through a roaring sandstorm
This game follows a robot who lives on a Mars-like planet. A clip from the developer, Pyotr, shows the lonely robot slowly making its way through a dense sandstorm and taking an elevator. The sharp, angular look of the robot contrasts with the fuzzy storm that rages around it, and manages to capture a desolate feeling. There’s no title for this game yet, which Pyotr describes as a “static camera survival horror game,” but you can check out the developer’s progress on their Twitter account.
Finally, some respite from this storm.
Getting the elevator to work with my procedural foot placement was a minor pain but it works now. Next I want to add animations and sound to it so it doesn't just glide down at a constant rate.#screenshotsaturday pic.twitter.com/hbwNkCGPAF
— Pyotr (@PyotrAlexRoma) August 8, 2021
The most colorful and intricate of forests
The rainbow beaches in Planet of Gloob pulled me in the moment I saw them. This world’s design is incredibly intricate and colorful. It’s like someone took a color wheel and infused it with a miniature world. The isometric camera angle gives you a bird’s-eye view of this intricate world. This video shows its main character, a little walking blob, romping through a forest with a river running through it. As you walk around, the player rotates the camera to make different paths more visible. There is no developer or release date listed on the game’s website, but you can catch regular updates on the game at its Twitter account.
Biomes #gamedev #indiedev #madewithunity pic.twitter.com/WUP7cs2cmD
— Planet of Gloob (@PlanetofGloob) June 12, 2021
Source: Polygon