…just kidding! Star Traders RPG isn’t about stock brokers–it’s a turn-based, outer space role-playing game where you “trade, battle, pirate & bounty for galactic riches.” Inspired by titles such as Master of Orion and Sid Meier’s Pirates!, Star Traders RPG has a straightforward premise: you captain a starship, and need to make money by trading and performing contracts for various in-game factions.

Your command of the ship is under constant threat, both internal and external. Can you manage your resources, crew, officers well to enough to turn a profit on your contracts and trades? Those that do will be among the Faction’s elite Star Heroes — and those that fail will be branded bandits and Crimelords.

Fail to turn a profit and you become a crimelord? Man, Space Capitalism is even harsher than the regular kind!

Luckily, Space Capitalism doesn’t govern sales of the game itself: you can get Star Traders from either Google Play or Amazon for free. As with Cyber Knights RPG, however, there is also an Elite version available for $1.99. This one adds “2,000 new Sectors, 200 additional Zones…more than 150 exclusive art files…100 ships, 100 planets, more rumors, officers, awards and content.” If that sounds like it’s worth a couple of bucks to you, you can grab the paid version on Google Play or on Amazon.

The premise of Cyber Knights RPG should be familiar to anyone with even a passing familiarity with the conceits of cyberpunk:

The year is 2217 and the world ended a while ago.  Mega-corporations provide the final sanctuaries for humanity in the vast domed cities across our ruined planet.  Isolated for years, as the Global Matrix roars back to life, the world community is once again awakening.

And awakening a new age of competition.  The fires of corporate warfare are being stoked and all eyes are on the limited resources, the remaining metroplexes, and domination of the global technological and arms race.

You will take control of a Cyber Knight and work for these organizations on a need-to-know basis, burning out a living for yourself in this cold war conflict.  You are an urban mercenary–deniable and expendable.  You will assemble and train a team of elite runners, working the most dangerous and critical jobs you can handle, always pressing you limits, always right on the edge.

In the shadows of the metroplex, you will command your team in turn-based tactical combat to deploy skills, equipment and cybernetic implants for maximum effect.  Specialize your team members in stealth, combat or hacking skills. Dominate the mega-corporate landscape with infiltration, battle prowess or be a digital ghost.  Explore a massive persistent world with shops, citizens, contacts, jobs, drops, meetings and danger at every turn.

There’s a gameplay video, though in the execrable tradition of mobile game videos, it’s taken with a camcorder (there are alternatives, folks):

Cyber Knights RPG is currently still in beta, but it’s already playable and available for free on Google Play and on Amazon. Additionally, there is a separately listed “Elite” version of the game that costs money. I emailed the developers for a list of the differences in the Elite version, and got this reply:

For Cyber Knights, in the Elite experience you have access to all of the best equipment, cybernetic implants, gear, and contacts which you cannot get in the free version.  All the best guns and armor, the most alpha-implants–you have to play Elite to get access.  In addition, Cyber Knights allows your Knight to gather and groom a team of Runners who are his or her specialists, muscle, hackers, or negotiators.  In the Elite version, your team can grow up to 3 active Runners, while in free you can only have 1 other active Runner.

As Cyber Knights continues to develop in its BETA phase, we are working on more differences.  Soon there will be professions (such as Droid-master) that are only available in Elite, and I am finishing the art for a third Cyber Knight avatar.  We are working on two different story lines right now for the game, and one of them (the shorter, more tutorial story) will be available in free, while the longer more involved story will only be for Elite players.

Well! There you have it. You can find the Elite version for $1.99 on Google Play and Amazon.

We’ll start with Gurk, a free game that offers “a 3-character party, 24 dungeon levels, 44 different items, 23 unique monsters and a vast wilderness.” It seems fairly basic, but again, it’s free. And at a mere 100 KB, the game is pretty compact to boot.

Gurk II, released last year, is decidedly un-free at $0.99, but it’s also more ambitious. For your minor expenditure, the devs say you’ll get the following in return:

Quests, boats, potions, music, more boats, tons more monsters, items, spells. The super-charged sequel to the famous 8-bit RPG, Gurk II is a huge new adventure with all of the most requested features added: quests, music, sound, potions, and an improved look! Fans of the original will be shedding tears of joy as they roll for their character’s stats, board ships, summon monsters and cast powerful area of effect spells. Players not previously familiar with the realm of Gurk will simply stare in slack-jawed wonder at the beautifully pixelated graphics, all the while being serenaded by the lush and authentic MIDI soundtrack. Only the viscerally-compressed sound FX and challenging new combat tactics will snap them back to their senses.

I’ve found at least one review that says Gurk II is a tactically involving game well suited for playing in short bursts, and a second that strongly recommends Gurk II over its free predecessor. Interested? You can grab Gurk II for less than a buck right here.

The developer description of the game is rather confusing, in that it uses the terms “character” and “player” interchangeably (perhaps a relic from the days when a player was a PLATO user, and had only one character?) The developers also refer to the game as “multiplayer,” and I’m not sure if that’s in their weird, “player-really-means-character” sense or in the “multiple actual human persons playing together” sense.

Each player (character) in the game is created from one of eight player races, which vary in attributes such as strength, intelligence, dexterity and durability. Elves are highly intelligent and (potentially) immortal, Orcs are strong with short life spans, Dwarves are strong with high wisdom, Kobolds are quite weak in most areas but advance more quickly.

Depending on these attributes, each player will be qualified to join a limited number of player classes (occupations). More balanced players will have more choices, including Hirebrand (fighter), Mage, Priest and Thief. Less commonly, players may be qualified for a highly selective class with special skills such as Ranger, Sage, Paladin, Samurai or Ninja.

Unlike games which focus on a single player against multiple opponents, Oubliette allows a party of up to 10 players with complementary skills to face the various types of monsters found in the dungeon. There are more than 160 different monsters, and to deal with them, more than 150 different pieces of equipment, which may be enchanted with special properties or skills.

So, I’m pretty sure that this is a single-player game where you can create a party of up to 10 characters. If I’m wrong, someone please feel free to correct me in the comments.

Oubliette is available for iPhone, iPad and Android, though I admit to being a little perplexed by differences between the versions on each platform. From what I can tell, both versions involve in-app purchases. (Among them: the opportunity to set a “save point” and ward off perma-death for your party.)

The game version and price of entry differs among platforms. You can pick up version 2.1.1 of Oubliette (last updated in April 2012) for Android on Google Play or Amazon for $3.99. To assist in determining whether you want to shell out for the Android version, there is a free demo available right here.

Meanwhile, version 1.2 (last updated in September 2010) is available free-of-charge for iPhone and iPad in the Apple App Store. It isn’t immediately clear why the iOS version hasn’t been updated–particularly so given that the developers were evidently working on updating it last year–but it’s hard to argue with free.

First up, we have a first-person dungeon crawler by the name Deadly Dungeons (created by an unnamed team consisting of Jacob Ensign, Philip Beal, Micha Hoeylarts, Martin Lande and Jillian Hurst). This is a real-time grid-based crawl, very much in the same vein as Dungeon Master–or, more recently, Legend of Grimrock. Unlike those two games, however, Deadly Dungeons is not party-based; you’re all alone down there with a single character!

The basic premise follows:

After being separated from your adventuring party, you must navigate a deadly dungeon, and fight your way through hordes of creatures in a desperate attempt to escape alive.  What first begins as a simple escape to the surface turns into a fight for survival, a confrontation with an ancient evil, and a descent to hell itself.

Interestingly, Deadly Dungeons seems to be something of a roguelike (note the second entry on the feature list):

• Massive and deadly dungeon environments to adventurer through.
• Randomly generated dungeon levels, creatures, and items.
• Pages worth of dialog, journal entries, and environmental descriptions of the dungeon environment.
• Continuous monthly updates that enhance and extend the RPG game.
• First-person dungeon crawling rendered using OpenGL ES.
• Touch-based interface.

A piffling $2.99 on Google Play or Amazon will net you Deadly Dungeons in its entirety. In the meantime, MeAndMyAndroid has a review to help you decide. Unfortunately, Deadly Dungeons is an Android exclusive, so I’m afraid iPhone users will have to give this one a pass.

Swordigo’s feature list is sort of generic, and the website says absolutely nothing about the game’s plot, so I’ll simply observe that it looks a lot like a modern take on Zelda II: The Adventure of Link, minus the overworld. Check out the trailer and see for yourself:

The app is currently free for a limited time; after today, it reverts to its normal price (which I can’t seem to find anywhere). Nab it here.

Despite (or perhaps because of) the convoluted method in which it was created, Chain of Retribution sports a simple premise:

When two mercenaries accepted an escort job–thought to be a swift and easy– they found themselves involved into a global conspiracy that would shake the very core of the earth.

The devs (Archeia_Nessiah, Ocean, GreatOldOne, Skie Fortress, JIHAUS, marimo, Khos, and mellytan) state that CoR features a few unique mechanics. In particular:

*New twist on the battle system: Each character is divided into 3 categories. Striker, Balance or Passive. Striker types regain MP in battle by attacking only. They’ll gain 20 MP this way, and are usually more for saving up for a big attack.
Balance types regain 10 MP regardless of what command is used. Their skills tend to cost less but are not usually focused on having a big final attack to use.
Passive types regain 30 MP when you defend. They also start with the most MP in a battle and are Mage-types.

*Encounter Gauge which fills up as you fight encounters (which are seen on the map). Once filled, you can open up a special chest in the area.

The game is free–to nab it, simply head here and download away.

Hit the jump for the games that inspired Age of Fear’s mechanics, details about the sequel’s multiple branching campaigns, and the developer’s one (surprising) regret about Age of Fear: The Undead King.

Hey Leszek, thanks for taking the time to chat with me. Can you tell me a little about your studio?

Hey Craig, honestly speaking my studio is where my laptop is. My friends, who helped me develop Age of Fear, work the same way and we share code repository (thus everyone has access to latest resources/code).

What is your background? What got you into making games?

I am professional software developer. I have been freelancing for a while and one contract involved writing a strategy game. The project was quickly abandoned for the lack of potential profits, but I liked turn-based strategies and I picked it up.

What are your favorite strategy games?

Battle of Wesnoth, Fantasy Wars, Panzer General and Warlords 2. So far my favourite is Battle of Wesnoth. It’s great game, however the ranged attacks and magic system are pretty basic. The main drive for Age of Fear was to make tactic combat more interesting (positioning, artillery support, unique skills, etc.)

Where did you come up with the idea for Age of Fear? Did any games in particular influence its design?

I guess Battle of Wesnoth, Warhammer and Warlords 2 have their impact. However, the design evolved later on and current game iteration is far away from what it was initially. There were many improvements and features between 1.0.0 (initial release) and 1.4.5 (current version): multiplayer, new units, new battles, items, graphics improvements, evolve-able attributes, etc.

Where did you get the idea for free movement, specifically? Was that from playing tabletop strategy games where you move units with a ruler?

I have have played Warhammer quite extensively several years ago – you are using ruler there.

The problem with grid/hex system is every unit has the same size, it’s not possible to reflect situations like few small infantry units taking on big target. In Age of Fear, group of small goblins can easily immobilize and kill lone knight. However, if knight has few footmen protecting his back, the situation will be reversed. That’s the kind of challenges you will find in Age of Fear.

I remember seeing characters in Age of Fear: The Undead King gain certain attributes based on things they did in combat (e.g. “Skeletons Slayer” or “Goblin Slayer”). However, it was never made clear in the game what (if anything) these attributes actually did. Will that change in the sequel?

Slayer provided +1 Attack bonus against certain creature type/race (like all zombies). It is small bonus, but as we did not have evolution system – it urged player to keep his soldiers alive (or raise them in case of Undead).

Tell me about the sequel. What’s going to be different?

Like I mentioned above, there were many features between initial version and current one. Sequel is mainly new story (much less linear like current one). There will be whole new army set and probably editor (but not immediately).

In sequel there is already more than 80 units and over 100 skills/attributes. The whole new army set (Chaos Demons) will offer strategy based off summoning and destruction spells. IMO, the most interesting unit so far is Will-O-Wisp, which can take control over hostile unit and then jump to another enemy (if current host is killed). If used properly, Will-O-Wisp is real killer. But there is always a mage who can dispel energy from Will-O-Wisp, rendering it helpless…

Another meaningful difference are branches in single player campaigns. In Age of Fear player could find 90% of content in single play-through, in sequel, player will need 3-4 plays to visit everything. Also, we have hidden several bonus levels/units and few Easter Eggs.

We are also experimenting with RPG-like leveling system, where unit can exchange experience points for various upgrades (bonuses to statistics and also special skills). It’s based off players’ feedback, thus I am not sure in which direction it will go.

You mentioned branching campaigns. How will the game branch: from making choices in between battles, from accomplishing (or not accomplishing) certain objectives within battles, or some combination of the two?

There are both types:

- certain battles could be lost and it did not mean the player ends game. For example – try to lose first battle in human campaign. Or better try to lose it twice for Easter Egg
- in AOF2, the player will be given a choice what to do (i.e. attack castle straight away or prepare for nightly assault). In sequel there is 40+ possible battles in both campaigns, but player needs to win like 12-13 battles (in each campaign) to finish game.

Can you give an example of a time when the campaign branches?

Few examples:

- Mission 5 (Krill vs human patrol). if battle is lost, Krill is resurrected as Wight (great bonuses vs human and orcs, but Lich is not available later in game)
- Mission 7 (Krill vs orcs), losing battle starts bonus level (Krill vs Human vs Orcs) – my favourite level anyway

What did you learn from releasing Age of Fear: The Undead King?

I have learned how to build proper and flexible architecture, how to enforce modules separation, how to be good team coordinator and how to motivate people. Those skills come very handy in my job and it’s hard to acquire them without practice. Thus I think any aspiring programmer should have its own project.

Money-wise, being indie is hard, especially when you are lacking marketing muscle. It takes thousands of development hours and the result will not always be like you imagined. Nowadays, people are expecting to pay very little or even none for games and it’s hard to make reasonable profit. Also piracy does not help.

Is there anything you would do differently if you had it to do over?

Not really, maybe settle for simple geometry like grid instead of free movement. It would be much simpler to implement.

Thanks for your time.

Age of Decadence has had a combat demo out for quite some time, but this latest demo release isn’t just battling–this one is the real deal. From my brief time with it, I can confirm that there are elaborate branching quests, dialog choices, a whole slate of skills to choose from, and numerous skill-checks that open up new ways of approaching different situations.

Go ahead and download it, see what you think. (It seems the game is Windows-only, unfortunately, given that it’s running in Torque.) The full game is due for release in Spring 2013. If you’re moved to support the developers in advance of that date, you can pre-order Age of Decadence right here.

Luckily, a studio in the Bay area called BitFlip Games exists, and they are developing a game that seeks to remedy the problems that I (and many other financially/spatially challenged gamers) have faced. Minion Master takes the depth of a tabletop war game, combines that with the fun of trading cards and deck building, then tops it off with a charming and fun-filled approach to art design. As of this writing, Minion Master features 30 minions to summon and do battle with, and over a hundred modifier cards. Both cooperative and versus multiplayer games are supported, and a level editor is included for those who like to tinker with terrain.

The best part? You’ll never have to waste your time setting up and cleaning  your gaming space. You won’t have to waste your time arguing about math or rules since the game engine will do all that for you. You won’t have to bench your overpowered cards and characters, as BitFlip is promising that “Cards are constantly tweaked to keep things balanced. There is no need for the dreaded ban hammer.”

BitFlip Games is planning to release the full version of Minion Master late in the year, but the pre-order allows you to play it right away and participate in its alpha and beta phases. In a classy move, BitFlip games is also going for an “open development” approach, meaning that you can see what they’re working on, see when new features will be finished, and provide instant feedback to the developers via their website. If you’ve ever been interested in seeing how games get made and being a part of that process, this is a great way to get involved.