Finger guns can be deadly, as it turns out. In Handcop, the first-person shooter coming soon from Brazilian indie developer Jeff Ramos, you run and gun your through a neon city as an anthropomorphized hand brandishing a pistol.
We have handguns and more in Cool WIP, Polygon’s weekly roundup of eye-catching clips and screenshots of works in progress. Each week, the Polygon staff scours the internet for the most interesting games still under construction, to give you a sampler of the coolest up-and-coming projects.
This week we have a game that lets you rewind time and watch archeological ruins rebuild, doors that bug out and lead to cursed corridors, an Animal Crossing-esque adventure, and the coolest skateboarding game I’ve ever seen.
Check out these finger guns
Ramos’ Handcop is about a cop that’s literally a hand. The first-person — I mean first-handed — shooter brings an entirely new definition to the concept of “finger guns.” The protagonist, a detective named McWrist, is giving me major Thumb-Thumb vibes from Spy Kids. Handcop doesn’t have a release date yet, but you can check out Ramos’ progress on his Twitter account.
Don’t mess with him!#screenshotsaturday #gamedev #game #indiedev #characterdesign #animation #character #3Danimation pic.twitter.com/cZcHzxJc6T
— Jeff Ramos Michael McWrist (@jeffaramos) September 18, 2021
Play with the passage of time
Video games have long been used as educational tools, especially for history. Mona, a puzzle exploration game from a French history student, V. Aalbertsberg, plays with archeological sites and the passage of time. Players can turn the clock forward and backward to see ruins at different points in time. A clip posted by the developer shows this mechanic in action, as what appear to be fallen ruins transform into gorgeous pillars. Mona doesn’t have a release date, but you can follow updates on the developer’s Twitter account.
Early prototype of a new mechanic, the ability to scroll through time to turn ruins back into buildings. #indiedev #indiegame #madewithunity #unity3d #screenshotsaturday pic.twitter.com/GWcvugz7rz
— A Beginner’s Dev Blog – Mona On Steam (@ABeginnersDevB1) September 18, 2021
This door doesn’t work how you’d expect it to
Doors work like portals in games. They transport us and connect us to the places we need to go to finish various objectives. Sometimes, it takes a bit of work to get doors up and running. This clip from John Szymansk, maker of the horror game My Friendly Neighborhood shows what it’s like to open a revolving door as if it were a regular old door with hinges. The result is a dizzying bug that sends the person through a warping corridor. There’s no release date, but you can follow Szymansk’s work via their Twitter account.
I am super nailing these door animations, as you can obviously see.
This happened when I accidentally added the single door animator onto the other door types. Super weird.#screenshotsaturday pic.twitter.com/y5GULXuh70
— John Szymanski, Ducky Dev (@Ducky_Szymanski) September 18, 2021
An Animal Crossing-esque indie
Tynk! and the Final Phonorecord is an action-adventure where you play as a catgirl. The game, developed by VirtualMoth, looks like a combination of Animal Crossing and Earthbound. A clip posted by the developers shows a conversation between two cats: the main character and a buff gym cat who’s stuck under a rock, but can’t quite seem to acknowledge their own weakness. The goofy dialogue and quaint setting immediately charmed me. And while the game doesn’t have a release date, you can get more information on the studio’s Itch.io page.
Andy. #WeightTraining #GameDev #PixelArt pic.twitter.com/ZXWNDk8n1U
— Tynk! and the Final Phonorecord (@TynkGame) September 23, 2021
Please behold, one of the most gorgeous skateboarding games I’ve ever seen
This skateboarding game called Skate Story shines, literally. In it, you cruise along as a diamond-like skateboarder whose tricks are just as slick as their character design. Everything in this clip just oozes style: from the abstract scenery to the blue explosions, to the smooth landing. What’s even more unbelievable is that it’s being developed primarily by one person, Sam Eng. Skate Story currently doesn’t have a release date but is coming “soon,” according to its website. Until then, you can keep up with the game on the developer’s Twitter account.
obligatory building-falling-and-breaking-the-path-ahead-of-you scene pic.twitter.com/pnYcN2Hoou
— SKATE STORY (@skatestorygame) September 27, 2021