Towns

How do you review a game that is not completed yet?  You don't. Fortunately this isn't really a review it's a heads up to my readers.  Towns is a neat game, in the vein of Dwarven Fortress, but easier to understand.  The game is graphic, instead of text based and very basic at the moment.  Currently a city builder/management rts game, but who knows where it will go in the future.

Xavi Canal is making this game, which is progressing nicely, and is a really approachable guy.  Check out his blog, at the moment he has time to reply to comments, questions and requests for help.  New features are appearing in each build.  This is a great solution for folks who attempt to play Dwarven Fortress but just can't get into it.  I've tried a number of times to play DF, with mods which make the game easier, to no avail.  I just can't get into it.  Towns fills a niche within a niche.

Check out the Let's Play series on Youtube.  Or learn a bit more about town layout.  For the full playlist of uploaded videos go here.

I'm curious to see where Towns goes, and what it becomes.  Will the game be inherently less intricate than DF because it's based on graphics?  Will it be a nice compromise for folks who just can't get into DF?  Will this game follow the same business model of Minecraft?  Will it have the same underground following of developers as Dwarven Fortress?  Only time will tell.  I am however very interested in seeing how things play out.