Last year there was some event called the Crystal Games Challenge, and unsurprisingly they're holding another one this year from June 13 to 15. That's really all I know, aside from their plans to feature the entries on a convention panel somewhere like they previously did at Everfree Northwest.

They have an exclamation-plagued announcement at http://www.thegamingcolts.com/2014/01/15/announcing-the-crystal-games-challenge-2014/

 When Wishdream announced Part 2 of the My Little Game Dev Marathon, he said that sites would have to wait a couple days after the event's end to post things while he whipped up a compilation video. Thing is, "a couple days" turned into two bloody weeks, and the video purposefully leaves out several key games to make room for ones that were either a part of the previous marathon or not even entries at all, but separate games that he just decided to throw in there. I'd say that's more than a tad dishonest: kind of makes me wish that I'd never agreed to wait for this in the first place (especially since it comes out on Sunday, which of all days is supposed to be my day off).

Given how poorly things were handled I'm not even going to bother posting the video, so I'll just post the games separately and give them the attention they deserve instead of shoving them all into one big compilation post.

That's right - Lyra's List is back! After a short break, Lyra's List will now be returning to the first day of every month. If you're wondering what Lyra's List is all about, I'd suggest reading up on this post - it'll tell you all you need to know. The deadline for Lyra's List #17 submissions will be October 31, 2013 (Nightmare Night, anyone)? Anyways, the months of August and September have some pretty great submissions, and you can find them all after the break...

A bit later than usual yes, but once again it's time for Lyra's List! Everything you need to know about Lyra's List, if you're unfamiliar, can be found here. Submissions for Lyra's List #16 should be in by July 31, 2013. You can check out the submissions for the month of June after the break...

Zilven Sparkle, the developer of Super Smash Ponies, has released another video of the work in progress, showing off the AI this time around in a good ol' fashioned man vs. machine Twilight Sparkle showdown. Super Smash Ponies is making some great headway, and the little glimpse of Rarity at the end provides a hint  towards future development. Enjoy!

Download it Here! Note: You'll need 7zip or similar extraction software to play on Windows, plus additional software to play on Mac or Linux.

If you were at Everfree NW this past weekend (it was an absolute blast, by the way), you may have noticed this game being played extensively in the Gaming Room. It's called Quickspell, and it was created in 48 hours by Sind and Amadiro for the Crystal Games Challenge. It was programmed using the LÖVE Framework, and features sprites from Urimas and music from RoccoW.

After playing several games from the recent My Little Game Dev Marathon, I realized that I couldn't review them in our standard format. For one thing, it would be unfair to hold a game created in two weeks to the standards I'd expect from a larger project. For another, it would be impossible to do them all justice!

Instead, I tackled three of my favorites at once and graded them against their peers. Find Pinkie or Not Pinkie, Primaeval Threat, and The Moon below the break!