TUMIKI Fighters
Encyclopedia
Blast Works: Build, Trade, Destroy is a side-scrolling shooter video game for the Wii
based on the PC
game Tumiki Fighters
created by Kenta Cho.
Majesco and Budcat Creations
released the game on June 10, 2008 in North America. Blast Works' release date in Europe was delayed to April 3, 2009, and there is no word yet on a Japanese release.
The game features 3D graphics, with enemies and obstacles represented in the form of polygonal toy blocks and propellers. The game also introduces extensive editing tools for the player to make custom content such as entire levels from scratch.
The extra parts, which reanimate and continue to fire their own unique weapons, can serve as shields against enemy projectiles (each part breaks into pieces and falls off upon hit), and all of the augmentations can be retracted into the original ship.
There are a wide variety of different enemies, which provide varying patterns of fire and numbers of points.
. Unlike the rest of Kenta Cho's shooters, TUMIKI Fighters has specific levels, non-random enemy placement, and a definite ending. The game was released as free software
.
The game's name is derived from the Japanese
word , meaning "building blocks"; this word may also be romanized
as tumiki.
version of TUMIKI Fighters, titled Blast Works: Build, Trade & Destroy.
Added to the game is a 2-4 player cooperative mode, ship and level editors, and a "Hangar," which allows players (while inside) to purchase various ship upgrades; the building itself can be defended from attackers, via the motion controls of the Wii Remote
. WiiConnect24
elements will also feature in the game, including online leaderboards and the swapping of custom ships and levels among friends.
The game disc will, in addition to Blast Works, also contain playable versions of rRootage, Gunroar, and Torus Trooper (other games made by Kenta Cho) as unlockables, in addition to the original TUMIKI Fighters itself.
When designing enemies, the player can manipulate projectile patterns, sound effects, movement patterns, hit boxes, and more in the Ship Editor portion of the Blast Works Editor. The player also has the option of fully customizing the ship that they play as. For example, the ship builder lets the player view their ship from many different angles, allowing them to add new pieces, such as wings or weapons, simply by adding shapes to their ship. The basic shapes can be combined to create even more complex constructs, and there are a few moving shapes the player can add to give their ship a bit more life. The player is also given full control over the size, shape, and color of any object they create. This ranges from their main ship to buildings created for custom levels and even enemy craft.
The level designer (the same tool the game's developers used to create the built-in levels that come with the game) also features powerful capabilities. The player can set the basics, such as color scheme or background, then drag and drop enemies into their custom level from either a list of pre-built enemies or custom ships previously created. The player can also set trigger events that can change the orientation of your ship, the behavior of enemy ships, or the movement of the game camera. The player can also add a number of different special effects to their level such as a Virtual Boy
-like effect, which turns everything in the level to red and black, or a water effect, to make background oceans or the level itself appear underwater. After constructing a level, the player can preview it before importing it into the game.
.
Blast Works also received a score of 8.1/10 by IGN
.
Blast Works was also reviewed by three testers in the June 2008 issue of EGM
and received an A, A-, and B-.
The game has thus far seen critical acclaim. It has been applauded for its complex set of editing tools which give players a lot of flexibility in terms of creating their own ships, enemies, levels, and so forth. Also, the game's online "Blast Works Depot" component has been praised for its ease of use and the ability to easily share custom designs, greatly adding to the game's replay value.
The single player campaign has often been overlooked because of the strong creation-based aspect of the game. Most reviewers have said that the campaign portion of the game is challenging but, unfortunately, offers little variety and also doesn't make for very enjoyable co-operative play because there is so much happening at once that it's often hard to keep up with the action and which player is doing what.
Also, some reviewers have complained that the editors - although important assets - tend to be overly complex at times, making for a slightly steep learning curve and requiring much patience from the player.
It received multiple nominations from IGN in its 2008 video game awards, including Best Shooting Game and Most Innovative Design.
Wii
The Wii is a home video game console released by Nintendo on November 19, 2006. As a seventh-generation console, the Wii primarily competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's PlayStation 3. Nintendo states that its console targets a broader demographic than that of the two others...
based on the PC
Personal computer
A personal computer is any general-purpose computer whose size, capabilities, and original sales price make it useful for individuals, and which is intended to be operated directly by an end-user with no intervening computer operator...
game Tumiki Fighters
TUMIKI Fighters
Blast Works: Build, Trade, Destroy is a side-scrolling shooter video game for the Wii based on the PC game Tumiki Fighters created by Kenta Cho.Majesco and Budcat Creations released the game on June 10, 2008 in North America...
created by Kenta Cho.
Majesco and Budcat Creations
Budcat Creations
Budcat Creations was a video game developer based in Iowa City, Iowa, United States and was a wholly owned subsidiary of Activision, though they formerly had partnerships with Electronic Arts and Majesco. They were largely responsible for porting titles to non-target consoles...
released the game on June 10, 2008 in North America. Blast Works' release date in Europe was delayed to April 3, 2009, and there is no word yet on a Japanese release.
The game features 3D graphics, with enemies and obstacles represented in the form of polygonal toy blocks and propellers. The game also introduces extensive editing tools for the player to make custom content such as entire levels from scratch.
Gameplay
The player controls an aircraft on a two-dimensional plane. As the player destroys enemies, their debris fall off the screen below. If the player manages to touch these pieces of debris with their ship before they disappear from the screen, these pieces affix themselves to the player's plane in the positions they were caught, providing extra mass and firepower.The extra parts, which reanimate and continue to fire their own unique weapons, can serve as shields against enemy projectiles (each part breaks into pieces and falls off upon hit), and all of the augmentations can be retracted into the original ship.
There are a wide variety of different enemies, which provide varying patterns of fire and numbers of points.
TUMIKI Fighters
TUMIKI Fighters was first released in 2004. It is written in the D programming language, with graphics drawn with OpenGLOpenGL
OpenGL is a standard specification defining a cross-language, cross-platform API for writing applications that produce 2D and 3D computer graphics. The interface consists of over 250 different function calls which can be used to draw complex three-dimensional scenes from simple primitives. OpenGL...
. Unlike the rest of Kenta Cho's shooters, TUMIKI Fighters has specific levels, non-random enemy placement, and a definite ending. The game was released as free software
Free software
Free software, software libre or libre software is software that can be used, studied, and modified without restriction, and which can be copied and redistributed in modified or unmodified form either without restriction, or with restrictions that only ensure that further recipients can also do...
.
The game's name is derived from the Japanese
Japanese language
is a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities. It is a member of the Japonic language family, which has a number of proposed relationships with other languages, none of which has gained wide acceptance among historical linguists .Japanese is an...
word , meaning "building blocks"; this word may also be romanized
Romanization
In linguistics, romanization or latinization is the representation of a written word or spoken speech with the Roman script, or a system for doing so, where the original word or language uses a different writing system . Methods of romanization include transliteration, for representing written...
as tumiki.
Blast Works
On June 27, 2007, Majesco issued a press release announcing a WiiWii
The Wii is a home video game console released by Nintendo on November 19, 2006. As a seventh-generation console, the Wii primarily competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's PlayStation 3. Nintendo states that its console targets a broader demographic than that of the two others...
version of TUMIKI Fighters, titled Blast Works: Build, Trade & Destroy.
Added to the game is a 2-4 player cooperative mode, ship and level editors, and a "Hangar," which allows players (while inside) to purchase various ship upgrades; the building itself can be defended from attackers, via the motion controls of the Wii Remote
Wii Remote
The , also known as the Wiimote, is the primary controller for Nintendo's Wii console. A main feature of the Wii Remote is its motion sensing capability, which allows the user to interact with and manipulate items on screen via gesture recognition and pointing through the use of accelerometer and...
. WiiConnect24
WiiConnect24
WiiConnect24 is a feature of the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection for the Wii console. It was first announced at E3 2006 by Nintendo. It enables the user to remain connected to the Internet while the console is on standby...
elements will also feature in the game, including online leaderboards and the swapping of custom ships and levels among friends.
The game disc will, in addition to Blast Works, also contain playable versions of rRootage, Gunroar, and Torus Trooper (other games made by Kenta Cho) as unlockables, in addition to the original TUMIKI Fighters itself.
Editor
Blast Works comes with a powerful editing tool that allows extensive customization to the game. Players can construct their own ships, enemies and bosses with the editor, as well create their own backgrounds.When designing enemies, the player can manipulate projectile patterns, sound effects, movement patterns, hit boxes, and more in the Ship Editor portion of the Blast Works Editor. The player also has the option of fully customizing the ship that they play as. For example, the ship builder lets the player view their ship from many different angles, allowing them to add new pieces, such as wings or weapons, simply by adding shapes to their ship. The basic shapes can be combined to create even more complex constructs, and there are a few moving shapes the player can add to give their ship a bit more life. The player is also given full control over the size, shape, and color of any object they create. This ranges from their main ship to buildings created for custom levels and even enemy craft.
The level designer (the same tool the game's developers used to create the built-in levels that come with the game) also features powerful capabilities. The player can set the basics, such as color scheme or background, then drag and drop enemies into their custom level from either a list of pre-built enemies or custom ships previously created. The player can also set trigger events that can change the orientation of your ship, the behavior of enemy ships, or the movement of the game camera. The player can also add a number of different special effects to their level such as a Virtual Boy
Virtual Boy
The was a video game console developed and manufactured by Nintendo. It was the first video game console that was supposed to be capable of displaying "true 3D graphics" out of the box. Whereas most video games use monocular cues to achieve the illusion of three dimensions on a two-dimensional...
-like effect, which turns everything in the level to red and black, or a water effect, to make background oceans or the level itself appear underwater. After constructing a level, the player can preview it before importing it into the game.
Sharing content
Majesco has set up a website (www.blastworksdepot.com) specifically for players to upload (after registering) and download user-created levels, shapes, objects, and enemies from the website to their Wii. Users can browse by levels, enemies, or shapes, with all content including a thumbnail preview and a rating.Reception
Blast Works received a score of 8.5/10 in the June 2008 issue of Nintendo PowerNintendo Power
Nintendo Power magazine is a monthly news and strategy magazine formerly published in-house by Nintendo of America, but now run independently. As of issue #222 , Nintendo contracted publishing duties to Future US, the U.S. subsidiary of British publisher Future.The first issue published was...
.
Blast Works also received a score of 8.1/10 by IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
.
Blast Works was also reviewed by three testers in the June 2008 issue of EGM
Electronic Gaming Monthly
Electronic Gaming Monthly is a bimonthly American video game magazine. It has been published by EGM Media, LLC. since relaunching in April of 2010. Its previous run, which ended in January 2009, was published by Ziff Davis...
and received an A, A-, and B-.
The game has thus far seen critical acclaim. It has been applauded for its complex set of editing tools which give players a lot of flexibility in terms of creating their own ships, enemies, levels, and so forth. Also, the game's online "Blast Works Depot" component has been praised for its ease of use and the ability to easily share custom designs, greatly adding to the game's replay value.
The single player campaign has often been overlooked because of the strong creation-based aspect of the game. Most reviewers have said that the campaign portion of the game is challenging but, unfortunately, offers little variety and also doesn't make for very enjoyable co-operative play because there is so much happening at once that it's often hard to keep up with the action and which player is doing what.
Also, some reviewers have complained that the editors - although important assets - tend to be overly complex at times, making for a slightly steep learning curve and requiring much patience from the player.
It received multiple nominations from IGN in its 2008 video game awards, including Best Shooting Game and Most Innovative Design.
External links
- Official Blast Works homepage
- Blast Works Depot
- Official Tumiki Fighters site
- Linux port by Evil Mr. Henry
- Mac OS X port by Entangled Space
- Kotaku article about Blast Works announcement