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Tumblestone

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Tumblestone
The cover art of Tumblestone showing characters battling colored blocks known as tumblestones.
Developer(s)The Quantum Astrophysicists Guild
Publisher(s)Nighthawk Interactive
Designer(s)Ty Taylor
Programmer(s)Alex Schearer
Artist(s)Mario Castañeda
Writer(s)Justin Nafziger
Composer(s)M.J. Quigley
Engine
Platform(s)Linux, macOS, Wii U, Windows, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Android, iOS, Nintendo Switch
ReleaseLinux, macOS, Wii U, Windows
July 12, 2016
Xbox One
July 16, 2016
PlayStation 4
July 26, 2016
Android, iOS
July 31, 2017
Nintendo Switch
October 5, 2017
Genre(s)Match-3, Action
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer

Tumblestone is a 2016 match-3 indie game digitally released in the Nintendo eShop[1] and launched for PC, Mac, and Linux on July 12, 2016. It was published on the Xbox One on July 16.[2] Additionally, the game was ported to Android in September 2015.[3] It was developed by The Quantum Astrophysicists Guild (QAG), and released for retail on the Wii U and PlayStation 4 by Nighthawk Interactive on August 30.[1][4] The Nintendo Switch version was released on October 5, 2017.[5] Since its debut, Tumblestone has been critically acclaimed for its take on the puzzle genre.

Gameplay

Tumblestone is a 2D puzzle game that tasks the player into clearing every square, known as tumblestones, from the board. In Tumblestone's story mode, the player progresses through a map of 12 different worlds in a way that is similar to the layout of Super Mario World. Each level has an enclosed space filled with colored squares; the player must keep matching three squares of the same color until the space is clear. Modifiers are added to the gameplay for each world, ranging from gray blocks that toggle on and off ("togglers"), to multicolored blocks ("wildcards") that when selected, can pair up with any color on the wildcard itself.[clarification needed] The player may choose to skip levels with tokens earned midway through a world.[6] At the end of each world, the player battles in a "puzzle race" — a challenge where the player must clear a grid three times before the upcoming character does.

Modes

Single-player

There are three single-player arcade modes: Heartbeat Mode, Marathon Mode, and Infinipuzzle. Heartbeat Mode involves the player constantly having to eliminate blocks from a descending wall. Marathon Mode has a glass wall as its main twist. Infinipuzzle has an infinite grid of blocks where the player has to focus on clearing grids for as long as possible.[7]

Multi-player

Plot

The game starts off with Queen Cleo, the ruler of the desert kingdom, encountering colored blocks with faces known as tumblestones. While she is looking for the Tumblecrown, an all-powerful artifact, she meets many of her friends along the way.

Development

While developing The Bridge, founder of The Quantum Astrophysicists Guild Ty Taylor met artist Mario Castañeda. Taylor, in an interview, stated that "once [he] learned how to make videogames, [he] was always doing it".[8] With the game's release on Steam, The Bridge has won in the 2012 Indie Game Challenge for Achievement in Art Direction and Gameplay.[9]

The concept for Tumblestone was invented during a 48-hour game jam, where he met writer Justin Nafziger and programmer Alex Schearer — with Schearer having prior experience at Microsoft.[10] Game jams require a team to work with their given parameters; according to Taylor, those were "Rainbows and Perseverance".[11] He worked with Nafziger, Schearer, and Castañeda to produce a prototype that started off as a Space Invaders-like game where the player has to shoot three of the same moving colored ships in a row into still blocks using that specific concept.[12]

In PAX 2015, Tumblestone was part of the PAX 10, where 10 indie games are selected for the public to playtest.[12]

Reception

On the review aggregator website Metacritic, Tumblestone had average scores of 71, 91, and 82, for the Xbox One,[13] PC,[14] and Wii U versions,[15] respectively.


References

  1. ^ a b Theriault, Donald (June 29, 2016). "Tumblestone Dated For Retail And eShop". Nintendo World Report. Retrieved June 4, 2023.
  2. ^ Riaz, Adnan (June 28, 2016). "Action Puzzle Game Tumblestone Receives a Release Date for Console, PC". Hardcore Gamer. Retrieved June 24, 2023.
  3. ^ Kaplan, Zach (March 9, 2015). "[PAX East 2015] Tumblestone, a new multiplayer puzzle game that will be coming to Android soon". Droid Gamers. Retrieved June 24, 2023.
  4. ^ Federico, Philip (June 30, 2016). "Nighthawk Interactive to Co-publish The Quantum Astrophysicists Guild's Action-Puzzle Game Tumblestone™ on Playstation®4 and Wii U at Retail, Coming Aug. 30". Capsule Computers. Retrieved June 24, 2023.
  5. ^ "Tumblestone (NS)". VGChartz. Retrieved June 25, 2023.
  6. ^ Janes, Ryan (November 13, 2017). "Tumblestone Review". Nintendo Insider. Retrieved June 4, 2023.
  7. ^ Latshaw, Tim (July 29, 2016). "Tumblestone Review (Wii U eShop)". Nintendo Life. Retrieved June 4, 2023.
  8. ^ Taylor, Ty (January 15, 2019). "Seattle Indies Spotlight: Ty Taylor" (Interview). Interviewed by Anthony Ritchey. Retrieved June 25, 2023.
  9. ^ Tach, Dave (December 15, 2012). "GameStop cancels this year's Indie Game Challenge, future unclear". Polygon. Retrieved June 24, 2023.
  10. ^ McGrane, Clare (January 23, 2017). "Seattle's 'thriving' indie game community gets creative at the Global Game Jam". GeekWire. Retrieved June 25, 2023.
  11. ^ Taylor, Ty (April 8, 2014). "Ty Taylor on Tumblestone" (Interview). Interviewed by Steve H. Somnambulant Gamer. Retrieved June 25, 2023.
  12. ^ a b Taylor, Ty (August 26, 2015). "A Fiendish Conversation with Ty Taylor" (Interview). Interviewed by Seth Sommerfield. Retrieved June 25, 2023.
  13. ^ a b "Tumblestone for Xbox One Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved October 4, 2023.
  14. ^ a b "Tumblestone for PC Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved October 4, 2023.
  15. ^ a b "Tumblestone for Wii U Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved October 4, 2023.
  16. ^ Hancock, Patrick. "Review: Tumblestone". Destructoid. Retrieved June 4, 2023.
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