I'm still working on a Tiny Barbarian DX interview, but a 2nd game came across my desk today that I want to let you know about, and this one's got a demo you can play right there in your web browser, if that's your thing.
I got an e-mail this morning from Antoine Guerchais, who, along with four other intrepid gentlemen, made Deadlock as an entry in the 7 Day FPS Project. It's a puzzle platforming FPS, which is to say it's more like Portal than it is like anything else, but it stands on its own without too much trouble.
Like Portal, you're navigating a hostile environment in first person. Like Portal, your enemy is a malignant AI setting traps for you and hunting you. Like Portal, a single non-violent "weapon" is your only advantage.
Unlike Portal, in Deadlock the focus is much more on fast, precise movement and the neutralization of threats. Instead of a "portal gun", what you have this time around is a "switch gun", which has the ability to enable and disable mechanical devices. This includes both beneficial and malicious machinery; you'll swap rapidly between de-activating weapons systems tracking you, and turning on jump pads to allow you to reach the next vertical platform in your path.
Oh, it's also really vertical. You're gonna do a lot of jumping in Deadlock. Don't worry, it works pretty well.
Here's a look at the game in action:
If you like what you see, they're running a Ulule campaign (Ulule is very similar to Kickstarter) to develop Deadlock into a full fledged game in early 2013. You don't have to take it on faith - there's a demo you can either download from the project page, or play right in your web browser through the Unity plugin.
They've got my support. I had a great time with the demo and I want to see what they can do with a full game.