Richard linked me to a video of this today, and I felt compelled to pass it on. Igneous is short little game by a group of DigiPen Institute seniors calling themselves Going Down In Flames. Inadequately described as an “action platformer”, the game has you rolling a little stone totem guy through a vast underground cavern, with flowing lava bearing down on you all the way. There are four main areas – any of which you can pick from a chapter menu – and two difficulty settings. The graphics and physics are impressive considering it has all been done from scratch in 16 months; the game is definitely worth a look.
It may seem like there isn’t much more to the game than vaulting forward at top speed, but it isn’t as simple as that. Not only must you keep up the pace so as to stay ahead of the lava and crumbling floor, but you must jump over cracks and chasms – some of which may be created suddenly by falling rocks. Add to this a thumping soundtrack of tribal drums that brings a certain urgency, and you have a game with a real sense of speed not unlike that found in the Burnout games.
The download clocks in at 114MB, and can be obtained here, but do have a look at the hefty system requirements first. The video trailer that enticed me is embedded after the jump.