General Indie Gaming Thread - Support Indie Gaming, Buy Canabalt on iPhone

[RelentlessRolento]

http://www.majhost.com/gallery/SamHideoLopez/CAG/cagindie.jpg

- Why an Indie thread? -

Because CAG is sorely missing one of the greatest highlights of this generation of gaming. People complain of big budget retail games not retaining the glory of past generations, but if you look at indie games, it's all there 8-)


- But indie games have always sucked or lacked over the years, why or what makes them good now? -

Ever since I'd say recently or around a few years ago indie game developers have finally had the tools that are powerful enough to create high level and unique designs while being relativly cheaper (or free) to make. Thank the tools such as GameMaker (http://www.yoyogames.com/gamemaker) and XNA (http://creators.xna.com/) as well as other dev tools that are out today to the quality of indie games.


- What can I expect of this thread? -

Informative updates on indie developers that should be watched and adored for their lovely work as well as updates on game dev progress, news, demos, releases, and whatnot of what to expect. Don't worry, if you know nothing of indie gaming after this thread has grown in size, you'll be a pro.

__________________________________________________ _____________

Devs to watch:
BLURST (http://blurst.com/)
Cactus (http://www.cactus-soft.co.nr/)
Konjak (http://www.konjak.org/)

more to come over time...

__________________________________________________ _____________

Reccomended Downloads/Play:


Iji

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=33mxD4FjD3w

- Website -
http://www.remar.se/daniel/iji.php

-----

Raptor Safari

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ek4tFLjo9hU

- Website -
http://www.raptorsafari.com

-----


Noitu Love 2

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ysO4YfKM1E0

- Website -
http://www.konjak.org/

-----




Clean Asia

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1alEAHqfPJA

- Website -
http://www.cactus-soft.co.nr/

-----


Passage

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n3o0HFXPfco

- Website -
http://hcsoftware.sourceforge.net/passage/

-----


Cave Story

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cr0CCkH49g0

- Website -
http://agtp.romhack.net/project.php?id=cavestory

-----


Facade

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GmuLV9eMTkg

- Website -
http://www.interactivestory.net/

-----


Samorost

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1pZhT3VWsJM

- Website -
http://amanita-design.net/samorost-1/

-----

Cortex Command

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZV1n4B2QL8A

- Website -
http://www.datarealms.com/

-----

Nikujin

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fo6p40RpzrU

- Website -
http://www.tigsource.com/articles/2007/06/11/nikujin

-----


Truck Dismount

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-n3VDiN9umo

- Website -
http://jet.ro/dismount/

-----

More to come at a later date...

__________________________________________________ ____

Notable Websites

http://www.indiegames.com/

http://www.tigsource.com/

http://www.bytejacker.com/

(note: worth a watch and informative)


more to come...

______________________________________



As always discuss and share away. Try to stay on topic of indie gaming if possible but all discussion is open.

[gunm]

Nice. I don't delve much into this scene, but I'm always open to trying out games that do Treasure fan service type stuff.

[RelentlessRolento]

Nice. I don't delve much into this scene, but I'm always open to trying out games that do Treasure fan service type stuff.


you're in luck because alot of indie shooters harken back to the good times of Treasure. I'll see if I can find some more shooters for you.

[DarthPuma]

I'm down for good shooters too. Just need to get a pad working on my pc.

[heavyd853]

Noitu Love 2 is sex.

[hankmecrankme]

I'm also interested in good shooters. :)

[RelentlessRolento]

I'll have to do my research, but I'll post stuff when i get the time.

[RelentlessRolento]

here's a preview pic of the next game from the guy who made noitu love:

http://www.indiegames.com/blog/images/timw/plexus.jpg

[I_Am_ProZac]

Noitu Love 2 is sex.
indeed.

[Kendal]

I want Raptor Safari on my 360. I would love to see what cheezmintz they would come up with.

[JEKKI]

Restless Roberto you're an asshole... I seriously had the idea to make this topic since 2 days ago but I wanted to let it sink for a bit before I did it for reals.

t(-_-t) take that!!!!

nah jk tho.... anyways the good news is...

I jus beat Noitu Love 2 like an hour ago!!!

it was.... fucking.amazing.

Here's my review... first the bad:

I dont like the controls. This is entirely due to the fact that I am not a PC gamer and am not used to WASD + mouse style gaming... However this definitely is not a problem for most people and with more practice I may be able to get better scores than a C on stages.

Also as a platformer the stage design is uninspired... it's basic get to point A to point B. However, this complaint is moot if you dont look at the game as a platformer but rather as a beat-em-up. The character is very floaty anyways so it's not like a platforming structure level design woulda benefited the game as she doesnt move like Mario or Megaman.

and of course... there's always the staple "I'm riding a vehicle in this stage" level.

ok now the good:

Despite below average level designing, the stages themselves, the environments and whatnot, are freakin insane!! I could care less if the stage was a straight line from point A to B becoz the journey itself would've been an amazing experience... the game is beautiful and you want to replay the stages over again!

Then the bosses in the game... EPIC. Stage bosses and mini bosses. I'm not even gonna explain or spoil it to you... but you jus needa see and play them for yourself.

and this review is OVER!!! all in all... go take $20 right now and freakin buy this game!!! I am going to start play thru 2 very soon!!!

other than that, I'm definitely gonna check Iji out soon as well.

indie gaming is fukkyn true school btw... true school and ultra cheap ass, free games that are far better than most retail games...

and yet gamers are still sleeping zzzzzzzzz

[Moxio]

Someone recommend me a REALLY good RPG.

[mrchainsaw]

Thanks for making such a nice thread, ReRo. I will definitely be checking these out in between classes.

[JEKKI]

Someone recommend me a REALLY good RPG.


do u really have to ask?!?!?!

no seriously... do you????

http://chef.avalanchestudios.net/Barkley/backley.PNG

Charles mother ducking Barkley!!

the best game most havent played... a game made by pure love!!!!

http://chef.avalanchestudios.net/Barkley/barkley1.PNG

http://chef.avalanchestudios.net/Barkley/barkley3.PNG

-EDIT-

here's the link to the game:

http://www.gamingw.net/forums/index.php?topic=68488

and if u need the patch then go here:

http://games.on.net/file/15001/Barkley_Shut_up_and_Jam_Gaiden_v1.08_Demo

[Kyo]

?!

Isn't that the same church in Chrono Trigger?!

[JEKKI]

lol good find.

Moxo, one more:

http://www.indiegames.com/blog/2008/08/freeware_game_pick_hikkikomori.html

http://cache.kotaku.com/assets/images/kotaku/2008/07/Hikkikomori-Quest.jpg

http://cache.kotaku.com/assets/images/gallery/9/2008/08/medium_2721032085_9c110f0deb_o.jpg

it looks real interesting... I've actually had the install file in my computer for a while now but I still have yet to run it

[RelentlessRolento]

yeah, I can say both of those are top notch RPGs.

I'm still surprised microsoft/sony/nintendo don't approach some of the better known indie devs to make digital downloads... it'd be a gold mine.


here's a shmup for treasure fans... I have yet to play it so I don't know how good it is:

http://www.nona.dti.ne.jp/~kbz/img/v2_00.jpg

http://www.nona.dti.ne.jp/~kbz/soft00.html




also:

8 bit killer... I have yet to play it, but looks nice

http://www.locomalito.com/images/screenshots/8bit_killer_04.gif

http://www.locomalito.com/juegos_8bit_killer.php


a personal fave of mine i started playing last week...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sksf21yJyoc

http://db.tigsource.com/screenshot/image/364/original/dinorun4.png

http://www.pixeljam.com/dinorun/

[RelentlessRolento]

for spastics:

http://www.farbs.org/RCFAnimatedSmall.gif

http://www.farbs.org/games.html

[JEKKI]

btw Rolando my idea for the thread was to make like a list on the 1st or 2nd post (well first since gunman owns post 2 now) that linked to posts within this thread whenever a notable game was posted.

and also to update the thread title whenever such a notable release is made news to all so it says like "Indie Thread... Noitu Love 3 is here!!!" or something like that

[The Crotch]

*watches a few videos*

*hits the Passage video*

*downloads Passage*

[RelentlessRolento]

btw Rolando my idea for the thread was to make like a list on the 1st or 2nd post (well first since gunman owns post 2 now) that linked to posts within this thread whenever a notable game was posted.

and also to update the thread title whenever such a notable release is made news to all so it says like "Indie Thread... Noitu Love 3 is here!!!" or something like that


I'll try and make it a point to keep records up tot date in the OP. good layout idea.

I'll also keep the OP titles up to date as well like you said.

I need to look for more shooters since people seem to want them...


also, Virtual On fans here's your answer:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lvXlNcnbwAY

http://mirrormoon.org/projects/windom

[Moxio]

Thanks for the RPG suggestions, keep em coming. 8-)

[RelentlessRolento]

bedtime for me... I'll be on a computer all day tomorrow busy, but if I have time while working I'll be posting other things as well as adding a database (categorized by genre) to the OP like JEKKI mentioned.

[modium]

Only one I can think of that's not covered here is Execution. It's more along the lines of Passage, more experimental art than game, but I think it's great. It's very, very short, just take the site's advice and play the game right as it downloads, without reading anything else. It's a lot better that way.

http://gmc.yoyogames.com/index.php?showtopic=375097

There's also The Marriage. It's pretty interesting, mostly if you're interested in seeing how one can attempt translate a metaphor into rules within a game.

http://www.rodvik.com/rodgames/marriage.html

[RelentlessRolento]

Only one I can think of that's not covered here is Execution. It's more along the lines of Passage, more experimental art than game, but I think it's great. It's very, very short, just take the site's advice and play the game right as it downloads, without reading anything else. It's a lot better that way.

http://gmc.yoyogames.com/index.php?showtopic=375097

There's also The Marriage. It's pretty interesting, mostly if you're interested in seeing how one can attempt translate a metaphor into rules within a game.

http://www.rodvik.com/rodgames/marriage.html



I've played The Marriage. the concept is strong but my main complaint is that that's all there is to back it up, the concept. I wish it was a little more engaging.

[JEKKI]

Cave Story fans!!!

CAVE STORY FANS!!

I'm calling all yallz out!! u gotta GOTTA check this shyt!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pPm0hfbv18U

it's called The Underside... it's not out yet but it's definitely got me hella hype!!

official site: http://www.insignificantstudios.com/

go go get hype!!

[RelentlessRolento]

yeah, I've been eying that "mod" for a while. good shit.

also be sure to watch the new bytejacker... hella good show even if you hate the host:

http://www.bytejacker.com/episodes/013

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aZHmhmBVYdI

good show for reviews of downloadable games as well as indie games.

[RelentlessRolento]

Looks hot! scrap metal!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WpBISpGlje4

[Doomed]

Only one I can think of that's not covered here is Execution. It's more along the lines of Passage, more experimental art than game, but I think it's great. It's very, very short, just take the site's advice and play the game right as it downloads, without reading anything else. It's a lot better that way.
Self explanatory my ass. I can't tell you how many PC games there are where escape does nothing and you have to alt+tab, alt+F4, or control+alt+delete out of to exit. I unloaded a large amount of bullets into the corner of the screen and saw that there was no way to win. Good idea but awful execution.
By the maker of passage, but much better IMO:
Gravitation (http://hcsoftware.sourceforge.net/gravitation/)

[RelentlessRolento]

if people like what the guy who makes passage does, he's a regular writer on http://www.escapistmagazine.com/

also watch kokoromi.org

[RelentlessRolento]

Microsoft's XNA Dream-Build-Play just finished and the winners have been announced... be sure to check the videos of the games in the link... also expect a few of these to hit XBLA sometime.

http://www.gamerbytes.com/2008/10/xna_dreambuildplay_winners_ann.php#more

[heavyd853]

I dunno, the dishwasher samurai game won the last one, and it still isn't out yet on xbla!




Though its coming soon supposedly.

[RelentlessRolento]

well, when you factor in that dishawasher is made by 1 guy apparently then it makes sense.

[GuardianE]

I started playing Facade because I really liked the concept, but they almost NEVER understand what I'm typing to them. :-( Has anyone else had problems? I've tried typing full complete sentences and also key word phrases.... they always misinterpret or get offended or completely miss the point. For all the research that went into it, SmarterChild on AIM seems to have better AI text recognition.

Am I doing something wrong?

[RelentlessRolento]

i typed as if I was talking normally and it seemed to recognize what I meant most of the time.

[GuardianE]

It's really just bizarre. Did you use punctuation?

I would type something like "The apartment looks nice." upon entering and they would both get horribly offended (this was before they asked me about the design outright). Or I might type something like "Just calm down." and they would think I'm complimenting them... just strange stuff.

[Rodimus]

I'm not sure if this falls into this catagorey but I just preorder Pier Solar. Anyone else picking this up?

[under_scorer]

do u really have to ask?!?!?!

no seriously... do you????

http://chef.avalanchestudios.net/Barkley/backley.PNG

Charles mother ducking Barkley!!

the best game most havent played... a game made by pure love!!!!

:shock:

my god....that may well be the coolest rpg, nay!, the greatest piece of art I have ever seen.

must download.....now.....

[Jest]

ReRo are you still taking care of this thread?

Everyone play Aquaria, best indie game of last year. http://www.bit-blot.com/aquaria/

[RelentlessRolento]

yes I am, but I'm more busy than usual and I'll be updating whenever I feel. everyone esle should as well...

on that note if you like this work go buy his released portfolio CD:

http://edmundmcmillen.blogspot.com/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O19OmpJRPWE

even IGN did an article on it:

http://pc.ign.com/articles/928/928037p1.html (http://pc.ign.com/articles/928/928037p2.html)

[sniping_dreamer]

Sorry for bump...but I just saw this thread.

Oh dang, indie games? This thread should be my home. I suggest adding the Digi-Pen giant list of games made by their students:
https://www.digipen.edu/?id=1170&catAll=15

I suggest playing:
Synaesthete (Beatmania and Robotron 2084 combined...basically)
Narbacular Drop (The same team that Valve hired to create Portal. Yes...THAT Valve)
Empyreal Nocturne (Think Shadow of the Colossus with giant bosses, except it all takes place in the air.)

I have tons more (about 6 gigs+ of Indie games...mostly shmups)

[JEKKI]

haha awesome!

[RelentlessRolento]

sweet! superb link :) thx for sharing...

I need to post more... I will but I've gotta paint some fake buildings for the next 2 weeks.

[LancerEvoX]

Cortex Command is $9 for Black Friday (today is the last day). I haven't tried it yet so I'll give it a shot.

I'm surprised no one mentioned Soldat (www.soldat.pl). Definitely one of my favorite indie games.

[RelentlessRolento]

wow... never seen soldat to be honest. I'll be sure to check it.

[sniping_dreamer]

I've played Soldat...for 750 hours or so. I was an active Realistic Survival player before; bit well known.
It's too awesome, seriously. Actually OP, I wanted to make an indie thread too, but I guess I'll just help with contributions :)

Wait CC $9!? Gaaaaaaaah! Titan Quest or CC :(

Some hearty recommendations are for the SHMUP fans: Kenta Cho's SHMUPs.
http://www.asahi-net.or.jp/~cs8k-cyu/index_e.html
Games you NEED to play;
rRootage-5 SHMUPs in one...INCLUDING IKARUGA. Yes, that's right. Ikaruga-style gameplay. This was included in Blast Works for Wii...I think the price of admission itself is worth rRootage. Play it.

Titanion-Fun Space Invaders type, except really hyped up and a combo system.

Tumuki Fighters-the predecessor of Blast Works; Katamari Damacy SHMUP.Yes, that's right.

Gunroar-Amazing ship-hunter game, hectic. Try it.

Mu-Cade-Your a snake in a box thing, with your goal is to NOT get knocked off. Great use of physics.

[JEKKI]

they have rRootage ported onto PSP.

I useta play it so much back in the days

[LancerEvoX]

GeneRally, my FAVORITE racing game ever, its like less than 5MB.

http://generally.rscsites.org

[RelentlessRolento]

It's Released!!!!!!!!!!!1 Been waiting forever to play this!

Don't miss it, it's so good!!!!!!!!!!!!


Minotaur China Shop

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FApQjiqC05k

http://blurst.com/minotaur-china-shop/play

[RelentlessRolento]

This is very good in terms of concept... go play!

http://www.ratloop.com/body/gfx/mightier/scan-sector.jpg

http://www.ratloop.com/?games/mightier

[heavyd853]

Minotaur China shop looks hilarious.

[RelentlessRolento]

Minotaur China shop looks hilarious.


it is and plays just the same in a good way. so good. I love it to death. it's a browser game so no real big installs.

[JEKKI]

I saw this on gaf... it looks hella cool so I gotta find somewhere to put it for future reference.

http://forums.tigsource.com/index.php?topic=4017.0

Spelunky v0.98.1

http://www.derekyu.com/games/spelunky_screen.png

Submitted for the approval of The Midnight Society, I call this story... SPELUNKY! This is my latest game release and my first Game Maker game.

Probably the easiest way to describe Spelunky is that its (kind of) like La Mulana meets Nethack - every time you play the levels, items, monsters, and so forth, are all procedurally-generated. And the terrain is destructible and there are quite a few ways in which the various game elements can interact with one another.

My goal was to create a fast-paced platform game that had the kind of tension, re-playability, and variety of a roguelike. In roguelikes, the gameplay tells the story, and I wanted to give Spelunky that type of a feeling... but make the player rely on their reflexes rather than their brain (or knowledge of what 50 billion command keys do!). If there's a best of both worlds, that's what I was trying to go for.

But yeah, I'll leave it to you to decide whether I got the mix right or failed miserably! The game is not quite v1.0, but it has most of the elements that I wanted to get in. Hope you enjoy it, and I am eagerly awaiting your feedback, whether it's good, bad, or frickin' beautiful. I'm crossing my fingers that it doesn't break!

Many, many thanks to the beta testers, without whom this would not have been possible! Seriously, they contributed a ton of feedback, bug reports, and ideas to the game. If it wasn't for the constant tears in their eyes from my cruel lashes, I might have thought they even enjoyed it a bit. And thanks, ChevyRay, for letting me use your nifty screen-scaling code. Once I got it to work, it worked pretty beautifully.

[RelentlessRolento]

wow! looks great for a gamemaker game!

that's the same program I use to make some of my games :)

[RelentlessRolento]

Some good news people!

Noitu Love 2 is now $10!!!

http://www.indiegames.com/blog/images/timw/nlove3a.jpg

get!

http://www.konjak.org/nolove2.htm

[modium]

http://img255.imageshack.us/img255/2715/love2ayb3.png

http://trunks.fireball20xl.com/love/index.html

Love is an awesome 2D platformer in a tiny window. Be sure to use a joypad instead of the arrow keys. Also, be sure to notice you can manually place checkpoints for yourself anywhere, it took me an embarrassing amount of time to figure that out. :dunce:

[RelentlessRolento]

there's also an indie procedural landscape MMO named love that is just as good.

http://www.gametrailers.com/player/41942.html

[JEKKI]

saw this on gaf:

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=348422

Eversion is a freeware platform game, available for download here. (http://zarat.us/tra/offline-games/eversion.html) I wrote up the following, for http://todaysfreegame.com/ :

http://todaysfreegame.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/screenie-300x225.png

To say that Eversion isn’t the platformer it initially appears to be is a bit of an understatement. I feel that the entire experience is much more impactful if the player goes into it not really knowing too much about what they’re getting into (as I did), so I suggest you just hit the download link above and run through it (it’s only about seven levels) before coming back and reading this write-up. All you really need to know is that the platforming gameplay itself is very solid, and the sugary-sweet title screen and first few levels are pretty goddamn heavy misdirection.

The game was created for TIGSource’s Commonplace Book Competition, and was inspired by the Lovecraft quote “sounds - possibly musical - heard in the night from other worlds or realms of being.” The creator describes his game as “A cute platformer with a dark secret.”

The core platforming gameplay is familiar - run, jump on enemies’ heads, collect gems, etc. The hook is that you also have access to an “everse” button. At specific points in a level the music will change and the background will fade a little. This is your cue that you can “everse” into a parallel version of the same level. The layout remains basically the same, but you might now be able to step on clouds instead of passing through them, or break blocks that were previously unbreakable. The mechanic introduces some light puzzle elements, as you might need to everse to the proper phase of a stage to collect some tricky gems.

The mechanic also introduces what makes Eversion so damn creepy. It seems like every time you everse, you’re taken to a world that’s a little more… well… Lovecraftian. It starts out subtle - in Stage 1, the flowers might be wilted and dying instead of happy and cheery. It very quickly becomes not-so-subtle:

http://todaysfreegame.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/picture-102-300x225.png

http://todaysfreegame.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/picture-121-300x225.png

As the landscapes become more hellish, so too do the other elements of the game. The gameplay becomes more than difficult - it gets downright tricky and mean. The music becomes considerably more foreboding. The little “Ready!!” message that appears before a stage begins changes to “I see you.” at one point, which I found especially disconcerting, for some reason.

I think the reason Eversion’s creepiness stuck with me longer than more traditional horror titles is because it really is a gradual descent. There’s no shock scares, here. Just a slow realization of what’s going on, as you progress through the levels.

so much crap I needa play... almost done with Persona tho lol

[RelentlessRolento]

thx JEK, I'll try it out tomorrow night.

[Liquid 2]

Announcing Marian (http://infiniteammo.ca/blog/announcing-marian/).

[RelentlessRolento]

Announcing Marian (http://infiniteammo.ca/blog/announcing-marian/).


nice!

I loved their Paper Moon so I look forward to this.

[Liquid 2]

Paper Moon was interesting, but incomplete, I think. There's no included music, for one thing, and I'm not particularly sure there's an ending or a goal.
They say it's about a boy and his moon, and yet, the moon gets very little attention, and you always have that horrid timer (I absolutely hate time limits in most games) screaming at you. Furthermore, the popping mechanic seemed pretty underutilized and anything involving it was quite simple.

I also don't own 3D glasses. :(

Despite all Paper Moons problems, I'm looking forward to Marian. The art is fantastic.

[pete5883]

I tried eversion last night, but I got stuck and frustrated and gave up.

[Nohbdy]

I tried eversion last night, but I got stuck and frustrated and gave up.
What stage?

[pete5883]

4-5

[Liquid 2]

Beat Noitu Love 2 today. Loved it. :)

I would have beaten Noitu Love 1 first, except my CPU would probably commit suicide before I finished it.

[pete5883]

How hard is Noitu Love 2?

[Liquid 2]

It's pretty easy on Normal difficulty.

[pete5883]

I went back to eversion and got the bad ending. It was aiight.

[JEKKI]

Noiyu Love is easy to play and beat,

but it's hard to get good scores... mostly coz I'm not a PC gamer and am not used to the whole WASD control scheme

[Nohbdy]

I went back to eversion and got the bad ending. It was aiight.

Now get all the gems.

[pete5883]

Now get all the gems.
Yeah, I don't enjoy it enough to go back to it.

[Liquid 2]

I can't figure out what to do in the Charles Barkley RPG.

I get past the opening cinematic, go to Chin's shop, talk to everyone, and...nothing happens. Any tips?

[RelentlessRolento]

JEKKI would know

[JEKKI]

I cant remember... dont u gotta go back home to check up on Hoopz??

[Liquid 2]

I go and talk to him and he just asks me if I'm okay because I look pale. :/

[JEKKI]

dont u gotta buy something from Chin??

[Liquid 2]

Chin gave me free stuff.

[JEKKI]

ah. I looked up a faq, did u go to the church??

your homies are waiting for u there.

[Liquid 2]

ah. I looked up a faq, did u go to the church??

your homies are waiting for u there.

Got it. I had tried going onto the church before, but I was trying to walk in through a window, which looked like a door. The door looks like a boarded up window though. #-o

Thanks, JEKKI. :]

[Nohbdy]

Yeah, I don't enjoy it enough to go back to it.

You're missing out on the better ending.

[Liquid 2]

I can't believe how connected I'm getting to the characters in the Charles Barkley RPG. :rofl:
I get chills when Charles meets up with former ballers, and especially when they're ghosts who died in the purge. It's so sad. :[

What a fantastic game.

[JEKKI]

hey Liquid make sure u do all the sidequests too!!

apple bottoms!!

[Cao Cao]

Looks like there are some interesting student games that became finalists in the Independent Games Festival:
http://kotaku.com/5137393/student-showcase-finalists-include-tetris+meets+simcity-game?skyline=true&s=x

Might try out City Rain.

[JEKKI]

dood I saw that! City Rain looks awesome!!

anyway I beat Braid last nite, but I heard there are hidden stars u needa get to get the real ending or something...

since I finished Persona, it's good to play a lot of small games now...

I'ma play one of my most backlogged indie games of all time... Eternal Daughter

I think I started that game in like 2003 lol

[Doomed]

I want to play Tag, but my PC is too ghetto.

[Cao Cao]

I want to play Tag, but my PC is too ghetto.

I just tried out Tag, and it's a pretty fun little paint puzzler. It kinda reminds me of Portal.

[RelentlessRolento]

Konjak is at it again!

Fucking good ass shit!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g0IL66pagbA

such a great ripoff, makes me wish it was official.

[I_Am_ProZac]

I'm definitely going to check out the Zelda-ish game. Loved Noitu Love 2.

Here's one I didn't see anywhere in the thread and I think is worth a download:

Gravity Bone
http://www.blendogames.com/

[RelentlessRolento]

The Meat Boy game is coming to WiiWare, so I'm happy to hear that. I'm guessing the controversial ending will be removed.

[RelentlessRolento]

cool. i like the concept of this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TgFlkbCbCg8

[heavyd853]

That looks freakin awesome!

[zenintrude]

sam, i know you'll appreciate this shit...

You Have To Burn The Rope: http://www.mazapan.se/games/BurnTheRope.php

[RelentlessRolento]

sam, i know you'll appreciate this shit...

You Have To Burn The Rope: http://www.mazapan.se/games/BurnTheRope.php


Yeah, I played it on release and loved it. Most epic ending music ever.

[crystalklear64]

http://nifflas.ni2.se/index.php

Knytt is a fantastic exploration/platformer game.

[JEKKI]

yes, Knytt is on my backlog, I have heard that it is one of the best platformers ever.

EVER.

not sure which one tho...

[RelentlessRolento]

been meaning to play knytt.

[SL4IN]

So, I dug up this thread to try out some of the indie games posted and I've enjoyed what I've played so far. Also thought I'd contribute, and tell everyone to download Little Fighter 2 (http://www.lf2.net/). It's a multiplayer brawler/beat em up with local and internet play.

[RelentlessRolento]

So, I dug up this thread to try out some of the indie games posted and I've enjoyed what I've played so far. Also thought I'd contribute, and tell everyone to download Little Fighter 2 (http://www.lf2.net/). It's a multiplayer brawler/beat em up with local and internet play.


nice! never seen that one! I'll try it out :) thx

I want to update this thread more but I've been and will be very busy for a while.

[JEKKI]

the new episode of co op is covering games from the IGF

http://area5.tv/blog/co-op-0105-indie-special-roundup-of-the-best-of-the-igf.html

and

http://revision3.com/coop/indies

btw... every body better be watching co-op regardless.

[RelentlessRolento]

yeah, I saw that... genna watch tomorrow at work since I watch Co-Op every Wed at work now to kill time.

Co-Op is the best shit out there IMHO... wish more reviews were the way they do it.

[Nelo Ice]

dont kno why but i just picked up noitu love 2 and its pretty fun
also preordered zeno clash when it was $10 and it looks like it'll great as well

[Cao Cao]

I'm surprised that no one has posted Mega64's IGF videos in this topic yet, though they have been up for a while:
Have you played, World of Goo? Feels like God is kissing you. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S9mzkZ0XKWc)
IF YOU'RE NOT INDIE, **** YOU!!! (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=617lGZjYyNo)

[cochesecochese]

lol good find.

Moxo, one more:

http://www.indiegames.com/blog/2008/08/freeware_game_pick_hikkikomori.html
I'm playing through this right now. It's fun but I can't find the super secret dungeon in new game plus.

[Katieskye]

You guys should check out Zatikon its a free indie multi player strategy game. The graphics may be a little old school but the game itself is a lot of fun.

http://www.chroniclogic.com/image/zatikon/zat_2.jpg

[Nelo Ice]

so anyone else pick up zeno clash? just finished preloading it :)
edit: heres a review
http://www.indiegames.com/blog/2009/04/review_zeno_clash_ace_team.html

[RelentlessRolento]

zeno clash is a bit weird for me but very ambitious.

[Nelo Ice]

i bit when it was $10 on steam based off hype and it lasting only 24 hours ><
but yeah the game looks batshit insane and the story even more so

[RelentlessRolento]

it looks really nice though so props to the devs...

I'm tossing around the idea once again to form a local indie dev team in my area... I just gotta find at least one other person to work with.

[RelentlessRolento]

wow... both these games are hot!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9dXbNoHNrrk


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bb5DjyoDObA

[punkmaggit]

I was watching the shadow physics game and all I could think about was who the hell still says "that's tight"? :lol:

[RelentlessRolento]

well if anything this is "tight" >_<


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qTY494iujdA



as always I'm a huge fan of cactuses work...

[sniping_dreamer]

Awesome, anything by cactus are genius.

I personally like Shotgun Ninja and Fractal Fighter.

[metaly]

Wow, I just randomly clicked in here and a few minutes later I'm playing lilt line. It's really fun although pretty short. I can't wait till there's a game like this that uses your own music.

In the meantime I'm going to hunt down some of the soundtrack.

[Nelo Ice]

this is looking pretty freaking nuts for a community game and its supposed to be out this month!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7TkG6J2CWvU

also just saw halfbrick echoes is out
http://www.xnplay.co.uk/2009/04/26/halfbrick-echoes/
http://marketplace.xbox.com/en-US/ga...0200?cid=SLink (http://marketplace.xbox.com/en-US/games/offers/00000000-0000-4000-8000-000058550200?cid=SLink)

[Nelo Ice]

clover is out
http://marketplace.xbox.com/en-US/games/offers/00000000-0000-4000-8000-000058550205?cid=SLink

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uTi7PLQXhTc&fmt=22

[RelentlessRolento]

clover looks nice but my main problem with it is that the main character dosnt seem to fit in well with the rest of the world...

[pete5883]

That is some really embarrassing character animation.

[RelentlessRolento]

man, shank is looking hot (made from peeps who did Eets)... go to link for video

http://shankgame.com/

http://shankgame.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/shank_bg_cocept1-530x290.jpg


http://shankgame.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/junglecamp_base-copy11-530x195.jpg

[Nelo Ice]

xna 3.1 was released
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=16266424&postcount=1090

You spoke and we listened! We’ve added a number of new and improved features to XNA Game Studio 3.1 enabling hobbyists, academics, and independent game developers to easily create video games for Xbox 360, Windows, and Zune digital media players by using optimized cross-platform gaming libraries based on the .NET Framework in the C# programming language. This release is incremental to Game Studio 3.0 and contains many new and improved features:


Avatar Support: Render and animate Avatars to use in your game to represent gamers and other characters within your game.
Xbox LIVE Party Support: Enabling gamers to communicate, even when each gamer is not playing the same game in the same multiplayer session. LIVE Party supports up to an eight-way group voice chat for gamers and keeps gamers connected before, during, and after a gameplay session, persisting across title switches.
Video Playback: XNA Game Studio now supports the ability to play back video that can be used for such purposes as opening splash and logo scenes, cut scenes, or in-game video displays. This set of XNA Framework APIs supports the following features:

Full screen video playback
Video playback to simple textures in game
Control of playback such as pause/resume and stop
Retrieve properties of the video, such as playback time, size, and frame rate
Determine the type and usage of the audio track, such as if it has music, dialog, or music and dialog
Play back multiple video streams at the same time

Audio API: 3.1 has a new usage pattern of SoundEffect.Play. Sound instances created by Play calls are disposed automatically when playback ends, and SoundEffect.Play returns a Boolean to indicate success or failure.
Content Pipeline Enhancements: improvements making it much easier to add customer types (custom attributes for run-time of an object and run-time type version of an object, and the ability to determine if deserialization into an existing object is possible).
XACT3 Support: includes support for XACT3 with new features including the ability to enable a filter on every track, and support for the xWMA compression format.
Visual Studio Changes: XNA Game Studio 3.1 supports both 3.0 and 3.1 projects, and it includes support for upgrading projects from 3.0 to 3.1.


Submitting 3.1 Games
XNA Game Studio 3.1 games can be submitted to Xbox LIVE Community Games starting late July. Please note! Currently, if Premium Creators want to submit or service their game to Playtest and/or Peer Review, those games must remain XNA Game Studio 3.0 projects. On July 23rd, you can submit games upgraded or created as 3.1 projects to playtest and/or Peer Review, but they will not go live to consumers until we are able to upgrade Xbox LIVE Community Games Marketplace later this Summer.

Name Change
We’ve got one last surprise for you today! Savvy Creators that carefully read the documentation for XNA Game Studio 3.1 will note one big change we’re making in direct response to your feedback. The launch of XNA Game Studio 3.1 begins the process of renaming Xbox LIVE Community Games to Xbox LIVE Indie Games. We’re starting the communication about this transition with you – our incredible Creators. With your help hopefully this name change (along with other new features such as User Ratings!) will increase understanding and discoverability of your games! Late July, when we update Creators Club Online, we will begin revealing the name change to the Consumer side of our business. We believe this name better represents the independent spirit of XNA Game Studio gaming and creations!

[RelentlessRolento]

looks like I'll be an ipod touch owner on monday!

yay!

a large portion of indie gaming focuses on ipod/iphone stuff so I'm psyched.

here's a good article on cheap/free indie game promotion:

http://www.devmag.org.za/articles/78-ZERO-BUDGET-INDIE-MARKETING-GUIDE/

[RelentlessRolento]

I'm currently doing research on good touch games and came across this which I'm very much wanting:

http://mountainsheep.net/

http://mountainsheep.net/media/1/hardgore_screenshot_01.jpg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WKbL01x55sc

[Raconteur]

I didn't like my itouch at all. Was neat at first, but got quite annoying between the screen and accelerometer.

[RelentlessRolento]

I'm just glad to get it to support more devs to be honest.

[JEKKI]

haha this looks awesome

http://www.dejobaan.com/aaaaa/

[RelentlessRolento]

yeah, been watching that one for a while... insane title.

[metaly]

WTF... I want to play that.

I remember seeing that on Gamespot a few weeks ago, but they didn't have any info on it so that was disappointing. I liked the name, though. Glad to see that it actually looks fun.

[RelentlessRolento]

just got lilt line today on my new touch... love it. might not be worth it to most but I love it. Been playing Eliss Lite as well, but I plan on buying the full version later... great sense of style.

I also didn't know passage was released for iPhone... cool.

Also thinking of getting Ruben and Lullaby since the concept is so unique.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TgFlkbCbCg8

[RelentlessRolento]

While I am currently in development of an indie game, I just released one of my older interactive artworks on the interwebs for all to enjoy now:

http://forums.tigsource.com/index.php?topic=6927.0

[RelentlessRolento]

Suh-weet!

winner of the TIGSource cockpit competition got ported to the iphone

http://www.enviro-bear.com/

http://www.enviro-bear.com/eb%20ss%201.gif


just got it and love it. There's a windows version as well.

[RelentlessRolento]

Boo!!!!!

http://blogs.watoday.com.au/digital-life/screenplay/2009/07/14/closedshop.html

[Gigan22]

That's horrible news, but I can't say it's surprising. XBLA is an extremely popular service and even companies like Square Enix have released games on there. Microsoft is known to be strict with their release schedules(retail and XBLA) so with them only releasing 1-3 games per week and only 52 weeks in a year, there's only so much room. I would bet that's why they've tried so hard for the Community(now Indie) games section to grow. So sadly, games like Clover never have a chance to be an XBLA game.

However, based on another article(I forget where I read it) games in the community games section haven't recieved the sales numbers many had hoped for. Microsoft tried to help the situation by upping the trial time from 4 minutes to 8 minutes. Whether that worked or not I don't know. I think the main issue though, is not enough marketing. Outside of the download section in the Marketplace, there is no advertising or even recognition of their existance. I know many gamers either don't know about them, or have this pre-conception that they all suck. The thought of "if it isn't a game made by an actual development company, it must be horrible." Even CheapyD and crew have said, "who buys those things?" It also doesn't help that the service is flooded with rumble massagers, quick-time button pressing sessions, and loads of other crap. Thankfully big sites like IGN post small reviews which helps a bit, and I've seen a few trailers pop up on Gametrailers.

Another problem, no achievements. I don't think a lot of people realize how much of a push that really is. There are some games(Biology Battle and Carnyvale Showtime) which already have them implemented in. They were obviously geared for an XBLA release until either Microsoft couldn't fit them in, they decided it a better option to put it in the CG section, or whatever. Even if it were 50 points worth of gamerscore, it would get people to download them. While some may play just for the achievements, it would at least get people to recognize the CG section exists and give the developers some cash.

[RelentlessRolento]

yeah the article ur talking about was posted on the indie games blog.

Community games can be good, but the problem is that the quality control is pretty bad. At least on iPhone the SDK somewhat forces the devs to make their stuff look good. XNA allows for alot of shitty stuff.

In all honesty, as someone else who posted a response on the indie blog, there needs to be more open use of development tools. Gamemaker would be a easy choice for MS if they actually cared since it takes alot of the coding problems and lets the maker focus on the design aspects (speaking from experience).

oh well... as XBL and PSN become more exclusive, the iPhone/Touch seems to be welcoming more of the indies.

so far in the next few weeks I'm hoping to get some iPhone dev off the floor. This is an open invitation to any CAGs ;)

[Gigan22]

I have just been officially blown away...

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_YTn0O5xdL0o/SgXXImCuGgI/AAAAAAAAAF8/g7oWCofWU-Q/s400/crater_entrance_ITSP.jpg

Over at Gametrailers they have an exclusive trailer for a badass looking game called Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet. Crazy name yes, but just bask in its 2D HD glory.

http://www.gametrailers.com/video/exclusive-extended-insanely-twisted/52779

According to the devs blog they're looking for somebody to pick it up, so no announcements have been made as to when or how it will be released. It does say they have presented the game to Microsoft so it seems like they're pushing for an XBLA release. From the sounds of things, it should happen.

[RelentlessRolento]

Yah Twisted Shadow planet has been in dev for roughly at least 2 years. I remember seeing it and showing it friends about 2 years ago. looks better than the initial stuff.

[AgentMOO]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=00i0OaJtTEk

I'm releasing a game I've been working on in XNA, Agent MOO: Maximum Overdeath. I've tried to make something that was fast paced, 2d, and just plain fun. It's in peer review and will be out soon for 200pts, with a demo available as well. I've created playable characters for the people who have inspired me to go beyond playing games and actually make one.

Among the vehicles and weapons are a sack of oranges, a "moo hole" teleportation gun, trip-out inducing trank darts, pink convertibles and attack choppers. For multiplayer and standalone you can do goldeneye-style split screen, bot matches, or games over XBOX Live.

I hope you guys enjoy it - I've had a lot of fun developing and testing it!

[RelentlessRolento]

nice! I'll check it out. Great Destructoid repping :)

[RelentlessRolento]

Well, Minigore has been submitted to apple and just needs damn release:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=smdQE8OI2cE

[RelentlessRolento]

project ! lookin hot...

http://wii.ign.com/dor/objects/22975/q/videos/project_q_proto.html

[Nelo Ice]

some of these entries for the DPB comeptition this year look insane
http://www.youtube.com/groups_layout?name=dbp09
here some highlights ppl posted from gaf
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g-6fBVjouPU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tR7vE6l1MN0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rl7JD0Kcdio
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YS6TGv8uCjs
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ed5D0g4BFmE

[Phunin]

Lol, I like the look of that Band of Bears game.

[Liquid 2]

Did y'all see the Indie Gaming pack deals on Steam this weekend? $20 for 5 games or $30 for 10.
I got the 5 game pack. It has Blueberry Garden, Braid, Everyday Shooter, The Path, and World of Goo.

Blueberry Garden is fantastic. You play a bird in a "garden" where the fruits give you abilities or affect the environment, and the point of the game is to not drown as the water level rises. You find massive objects to raise your starting level. It's quite the experience.

Everyone knows about Braid and Everyday Shooter.

The Path is a neat horror spin on Little Red Riding Hood. Some genuinely creepy moments and really fantastic imagery.

World of Goo is a puzzler where you get a beginning amount of goo balls and have to connect them such that the remaining goo balls can ascend the structure and enter a pipe. You can get the demo on steam.

[Matthew Doucette]

this is looking pretty freaking nuts for a community game and its supposed to be out this month!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7TkG6J2CWvU


This is my game! It should be out pretty soon!

[Halo05]

Jesus Grandmother, that looks pretty good.

Any idea about the price yet?

[Matthew Doucette]

Jesus Grandmother, that looks pretty good.

Any idea about the price yet?

With the recent drop in XBLIG prices, we are pretty sure we are dropping the 400 price point, which leaves 240 or 80 as options, but only 240 if we cannot squish the game below 50MB. The amount of music in the game may make this impossible. It would be pretty cool to have a game with significant content priced at only $1. No one has done that yet!

Short answer, we are not sure about the price, but we are pretty sure it will not be 400pts.

[Nelo Ice]

spelunky comin to xbla
http://www.gamerbytes.com/2009/09/spelunky_coming_to_xbla.php

[Nelo Ice]

DBP 2009 finalists announced
http://g4tv.com/thefeed/blog/post/698917/Here-Are-2009s-Dream-Build-Play-Finalists--.html


Dust: An Elysian Tail
Kaleidoscope
Max Blastronaut
Hurricane 2X Evolution
Sol Survivor
Rotorscope - The Secret of the Endless Energy

glad dust became a finalist and unless something crazy happens im thinking it'll win 1st prize

[RelentlessRolento]

all you cockheads, i told you shiv was genna be awesome:

http://www.gametrailers.com/player/55491.html

[Nelo Ice]

btw this thread title makes no sense with xbla getting some big indie games like fez pb winterbottom and spelunky

also RR what do u think of the DBP finalists?
dust definitely looks the most the deserving of getting an xbla contract

[RelentlessRolento]

the OP is old and needs to be updated... I'll update it.

I agree that Dust prob deserves it the most but I have yet to really sit down with them all.

[Nelo Ice]

the OP is old and needs to be updated... I'll update it.

I agree that Dust prob deserves it the most but I have yet to really sit down with them all.

heres a youtube page with 100 something entries from the competition
http://www.youtube.com/group/dbp09

on the last page i posted some highlights that ppl posted on gaf

[Flak]

http://creators.xna.com/en-US/news/dreambuildplay2009winners

Dust wins Dream Build Play! I foresee great things.

[Nelo Ice]

http://creators.xna.com/en-US/news/dreambuildplay2009winners

Dust wins Dream Build Play! I foresee great things.

was just about to post that :lol:
dust is going to be fucking amazing

[Matthew Doucette]

was just about to post that :lol:
dust is going to be fucking amazing

Being a "Creators Club" member, I've already had the chance to playtest this one on my Xbox! :) Dean's work is amazing. Truly professional work. And as much as everyone goes on about his artwork, it blows me away that someone who hasn't programmed for 20 years or so (since the TI-99/4A which was my first home computer) can come out and even program a game like that. He did everything but the music. For him to win it all, so amazing.

BTW, Duality ZF came 7th... so close to making PAX! Here's the top 20 (before the voting at PAX picked the true winners):
http://xona.com/2009/09/05.html

[Nelo Ice]

Being a "Creators Club" member, I've already had the chance to playtest this one on my Xbox! :) Dean's work is amazing. Truly professional work. And as much as everyone goes on about his artwork, it blows me away that someone who hasn't programmed for 20 years or so (since the TI-99/4A which was my first home computer) can come out and even program a game like that. He did everything but the music. For him to win it all, so amazing.

BTW, Duality ZF came 7th... so close to making PAX! Here's the top 20 (before the voting at PAX picked the true winners):
http://xona.com/2009/09/05.html

any release window yet for ur game?
excited to see urs and a few others in the top 20 like cloudberry kingdom band of bears and whatever other trailers i posted on the last page :lol:

[Matthew Doucette]

any release window yet for ur game?
excited to see urs and a few others in the top 20 like cloudberry kingdom band of bears and whatever other trailers i posted on the last page :lol:

No definite date, but it will be pretty soon. XBLIG is going to take off with all these amazing entries coming to the plate.

[Nelo Ice]

No definite date, but it will be pretty soon. XBLIG is going to take off with all these amazing entries coming to the plate.

hopefully ratings will help spur sales in the right direction so ppl can get the good indie games for ludicrously cheap prices :D

[RelentlessRolento]

check this out... seems pretty badass

http://trashman.x10studio.com/

[Flak]

http://adamatomic.com/canabalt/

Awesome one-button 'platformer' with excellent music. My record is 3000m.

[LinkinPrime]

Platypus coming soon with co-op:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u5GiSZ0L86A&feature=player_embedded
http://www.platypusthegame.com/

Looks pretty sweet, love the visuals.

[CaptainJoel]

PLatypus' visuals remind me of Smurfs.

[RelentlessRolento]

as the title says: support indie games by buying this game...

http://murderfeed.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/Canabalt.jpg


either that or just buy any game from any indy you feel deserves it.


been so busy I havent had time for much, but oddly that has helped me be more on one end of indie gaming more now: the iphone/itouch indie games.

out of all the commercial platforms, currently the strongest one has to be on the iphone/itouch even if not profitable. XBLA use to be the strongest, but has sagged in the wrong direction lately even with indie games now, most not as good.

though this release on XBL Indie Games is the best so far:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NxlvAuJPtHI