Indie Games To Play

[Kensei]

Right, amidst all this hype for the next big AAA game title, there are a heap of excellent indie games that should be played by all.

Since some people don't read Dev.Mag (Check it out here) I shall punt the 'good word' here on the main gaming forum.

On the 28th April, the boys (hmm, no girls...) published a short news article on a game called Glum Buster.

As the other articles state, it is hard to explain the game without giving too much of it away. needless to say it is a refreshing change to the standard platformer games and really enjoyable to play. It is categorized as 'charityware' which means it is free to download and if you like it you can donate money to their cause.

[Kensei]

Ok, well, see there is immense interest for this :p

Came across an interesting game in the Community Games section of the Xbox marketplace (amidst all the weird and strange games). Titled 'Time Flows but does not return' it reminds me of the game Passage if any of you played it.

A simple game that seems kinda boring and lacks true staying power, but plays out almost like an art piece rather than an actual game. The idea is to play the game and then read the developer's commentary on the concept. Like Passage (wonder if it is the same guy), this game features lacklustre graphics and a minimalistic soundtrack, but the message is deep and meaningful.

Give it a go if you have the time (pun intended), only 20mb download.

[dislekcia]

I saw Time Flows a while back on XBCG, do you have to buy the full to experience the whole thing, or is it designed to ignore the whole demo limitation on CG stuff?

[Kensei]

It still has that annoying time limit when you play the demo (like all Community games) but during that time it is enough to experience the game and its message. In fact, the demo timed out after I had stopped playing and gone back to the main menu to read the explanation of the game.

[Cleric]

Will check out Glum Buster this weekend. Art style looks a bit meh, and the art is what's attracted me to most of the indie games that I've enjoyed.

[Kensei]

Well this is becoming more a 'Games as Art' thread but anyways...

The boys (Q-man specifically) did a review on an interesting game called Judith, a fascinating 'interactive storyline' game in its own right, but it is Pathways (made by the same people) that has piqued my interest.

It is a case of play once for the experience (which seems to be the case with most games of this genre) but this game did make me think for a while after completing it.

In short, the game is more an experiment in interactive storytelling, you control a character that can only move forward (except when some locations where you can move up or down). There are eight paths to follow, each with a different result. The idea that you can only move forward is symbolic in its own right, the idea that you can only take one path at one time and you cannot go back on that path.

I will not spoil the last path, I'll leave that for you all to look at yourself :)

I have not played The Path (Where is the DukeOfPrunes when you need him) but I would assume that it would be the same kind of experience. In fact, I think that will be the next on my list.

A big thank you to the creative and intelligent people in Dev.Mag :) Chippit, you and your team rock ;)

Edit: This is a bit of an old topic but Eurogamer's thread on Indie games

[Cleric]

Which XBLive community games are worth picking up? I've got some points to burn

[dislekcia]

Which XBLive community games are worth picking up? I've got some points to burn

Not many. Unfortunately :(

The Halfbrick Studios stuff (they call their games Halfbrick Fridays or Sundays or something like that) are pretty cool though, worth the 200 points at least. Otherwise there's Biology Battle if you could do with more Geometry Wars type shooting and maybe Weapon of Choice if you're into side-scrolling platformer shooters with really odd weapons. I found it a bit loose and the weapons a bit meh for my own tastes, bit it's still pretty cool.

There's also the stuff by the guy who did The Dishwasher (which if you have points and don't own, you should totally get - second player can co-op with a guitar peripheral!) they're all called ZP2K9 or ZPblahblahstuff, etc.

In general, download what looks/sounds interesting in the list and go from there. Like I said, there's not that much of quality up there - until our games come out, that is ;)

[Graal]

Just got a demo for an indie game called And Yet It Moves. It's a fun side-scroller where you are a guy trapped in a cave system made of...paper! You navigate the cave by moving around and tilting the world, whilst avoiding falling rocks, hitting the ground too fast and black holes which are actually holes in the 'page' through which you can fall. A really fun platformer that can rank with other games like Braid and World of Goo (in the sense that it's fun). Going to buy the game as soon as I get the money for it. Just google it to download the demo and AFAIK it's available through STEAM too, though I'm not sure of that.

[Kensei]

I wasn't too keen on And yet it Moves. To be honest, I actually preferred Nandrew's Variance game (MOAR WORK ON THIS GAME PLZKTNX) - I spent too long in the demo trying to remember which way to turn that I ended up uninstalling it.

But I suppose that I am not a huge fan of puzzle games really...

@Cleric, I played a really good community game the other day but I can't remember what it was >:(
Isn't Blow a community game, D? If so I recommend that game, it was quite therapeutic.

I'll take a look tonight and see if there are any games worth buying

[G8crasha]

Braid is considered an Indei title I think, & I've just started playing it, and it's pretty cool. Real "Think outside of the box" type of stuff, and the soundtrack is brilliant.

[Kensei]

Indeed it is, G8crasha, and a very good example of what an indie developer can do (let's not think about the budget he had :P ) Glad you enjoy the game.

[dislekcia]

I can't believe I forgot about Blow... We lost Nandrew to it for an entire day when we showed it to him. Very cool game, I'd say the best on Community Games so far!

[Kensei]

I think that Colosseum was also a cool indie game (Hurray for Microsoft changing the name) but the time limit on the demo didn't really let me get a feel for the game.

And, of course, Carneyvale: Showtime, last years DreamBuildPlay is also a great time waster, and the demo should give you enough of a feel of a game to know if you want the full version.

[Almost A Hero]

Man, I play a ton of indie titles. There's so much talent out there, we're really spoiled for choice. I'll list some of the more recent ones I've played.

Aquaria
If you enjoy 2D sidescrollers, exploration in a unique setting mixed with a little shooter action, you can't go wrong with Aquaria. It's easily one of my favourites.

You Probably Won't Make It
Grab this if you love platforming but hate yourself. You will rage at level 14 - and if you get past that, let me know.

Spooks
I'm a big fan of point-and-click adventure games, and while Spooks is quite short, it nevertheless has a dark sense of humour in line with the kind of wit shared by The Secret of Monkey Island and the like.

Gravity Hook
"In a secret base below the surface a civilian wonders how deep they are..." Simple, fun and an interesting take on grappling mechanics.

http://www.indiegames.com is a great place to visit if you're interested in indie development.

[Kensei]

Oooh, nice one Almost A Hero, thanks :)

Will take a look at all the games you linked

[Nandrew]

I can't believe I forgot about Blow... We lost Nandrew to it for an entire day when we showed it to him. Very cool game, I'd say the best on Community Games so far!

It's like crack.

Still, I'd really suggest Trino as a good Xbox Community Games offering. It's receiving surprisingly little attention in comparison to, say, "Massage Master Pro 9000", which really is a shame.

[Cleric]

Thanks for the responses guys. Will look at Blow. Tried Dishwasher Samurai, but while I'm mad about the general style of the game, the fighting mechanics felt a little too "loose" for me.

[Kensei]

I didn't really like Dishwasher the Dead Samurai, I dunno it felt, as you said, a bit loose. And was bloody hard, even on the easiest difficulty on the first damn level :/

[dislekcia]

Trino is yet another of the cool games on CG that I keep forgetting :(

I think the Dishwasher is built for people like me that couldn't get enough Ninja Gaiden. Oddly enough, the controls don't feel loose at all - exactly the opposite in fact. To me the fighting controls are tight and let you do whatever you want to do. Strange... Could that be because it doesn't "lock" you onto enemies?