Sonny is a turn based RPG game following the story of a man named Sonny, who wakes up on a ship only to find himself turned into a zombie.

The game offers four different classes to choose from, thirty-one levels, six bosses, original soundtrack and voice acting as well. Krin Juangbhanich has made plans to add new levels (10 fights + Boss) every two weeks so that people may continue with their characters.

Name: Sonny
Developer: Armor Games
Category: RPG
Type: Browser

[Hey folks - Simon @ GameSetWatch here. May be popping in occasionally to mention our Indie Game Festival/Summit line-up as GDC 2008 approaches - which is, to be sure, a bit more 'pro'-focused than a lot of the games mentioned here, but has some good crossover potential. In this case, we released info on the Indie Summit at GDC's line-up.]

The organizers of the 2008 Independent Games Summit have announced the majority of the line-up for the February 2008 event, with postmortems of N+ and Schizoid alongside talks from notable creators at Introversion, Queasy Games, Kongregate, WayForward, ThatGameCompany, and more.

The 2008 Independent Games Summit (operated by CMP, as is this site) seeks to highlight the brightest and the best of indie development, with discussions ranging from indie game distribution methods through game design topics, detailed postmortems of independent titles, digital distribution-centric business concepts, and much more.

Once again, the IGS is a sister event to the 2008 Independent Games Festival. Taking place on the Monday and Tuesday of Game Developers Conference 2008, February 18th and 19th, the event follows the successful Independent Games Summit in 2007, for which multiple videos have been posted on Gamasutra in the last few months.

While speakers representing IGF Grand Prize winner Aquaria, World Of Goo, PixelJunk Racers, fl0w/The Night Journey and more already confirmed, the new set of confirmed 2008 Independent Games Summit lectures include:

GameTunnel is currently running a series of articles listing the best indie games released this year in a special countdown which ends tonight. The latest 'What's New in Indie' feature for the month of December is also up.

GameTunnel's Game of the Year Awards 2007

Braid: Jonathan Blow had posted a couple of new screenshots from his upcoming 'platformer' (term used loosely), due out on XBLA early next year.

Jasper's Journeys: Lexaloffle's new game will be released this coming Valentine's Day.

Eschalon Book 1: Basilisk Games' first indie RPG release is now available for the Linux platform.

Lila Dreams: Creatrix Games had posted a small design sketch from their upcoming Kongregate-funded MMO game, Lila Dreams.

Fraxy: mon's Fraxy gets a new update.

Village Destroyer 2000: JTR (Death Worm) had posted a new experimental game in the GMC forums.

The Hawksmill Horror: smila is currently working on a horror adventure game.

From Digital Tools - "Rolling Madness 3D a complete rebuild of the original 1984 Marble Madness with original graphics and original sound. The funky detail here is, that it's rebuild with a 3D-engine and that you can switch between different isometric and perspective views and also turn the game to the 'balls perspective'. Very clever. Playing an arcade classic in a new and interesting fashion."

The download link is located on the top-right corner of the Rolling Madness 3D website.

Name: Rolling Madness 3D
Developer: Luca Elia
Category: Arcade
Type: Freeware
Size: 20MB

A collaborative effort between cactus and alillm (Abstract Sea, Neon 2), MSOIDS is an arena shooter originally developed using the Game Maker engine, then ported to the Flash platform for all to enjoy.

Use the W, A, S and D key to move. Rapid fire is activated by holding down the left mouse button, though this is only temporary as shot frequency begins to whittle down when used for a prolonged period of time. Press the space key to switch background colors.

Name: MSOIDS
Developer: alillm, cactus
Category: Shooter
Type: Browser
Online high score table: Click here

Article by Lim-Dul

DrPetter, a talented programmer from Sweden has taken the indie community by storm with his brilliant sound generator sfxr. It was one small step for him but a giant leap for game developers everywhere since now there isn't a single excuse for not including nice sound effects in a game left.

As nice as sfxr might be, few people are aware of DrPetter's other projects, especially Musagi.

What started out as a simple and intuitive music editor for Peter's brother turned into a fully functional and feature-packed application. Don't be deceived by the humble version designation of 0.1 pre-beta - it works and is more polished than many a shareware or commercial product.

Name: Musagi
Developer: DrPetter
Category: Sound Editor
Type: Freeware
Direct download link
Size: 1.3 MB (Unbelievable!)
Direct download link: Click here
Tutorial: Here

A video walkthrough of Ikiki's new action game, Tekkyuuman. This shows all 12 levels from start to finish, but it isn't a single life playthrough - I edited out my mistakes, so you'll see a few cuts here and there if you watch the whole thing.

Tip for people who are having trouble with the later levels: You can stock up on as many lives as you want in level 9! Everytime you kill the boss you're given two extra lives, so if you kill yourself (by walking off the side) you'll still have one extra. Repeat as often as you like.

Enjoy! - Terry

Antbuster by Marcel Stein is a Flash tower defense game about defending your pizza, um, I mean cake from ants. The towers have branching paths of upgrades, so a lot of the fun of the game is in discovering which branches you like best.

One problem I had is the game is a bit slow, because a lot of the time the ants (much like real ants) wander around aimlessly rather than moving in a line or toward any goal. Oh, and don't get the boomerang tower, that one seemed to be pretty worthless.

Name: Antbuster
Developer: Marcel Stein
Category: Tower Defense
Type: Browser

Amoeba is a short action game consisting of twenty-three levels, in which players have to collect all white microbes while avoiding contact with viruses to complete each stage.

Hold the left mouse button over a part of the amoeba to move it around, and grab a DNA to acquire temporary invincibility.

Name: Amoeba
Developer: Pop Ethos
Category: Action
Type: Browser

Patrick Murphy had posted a new interview with Ron Carmel and Kyle Gabler over at Gamasutra, in which they talk about 2D Boy's upcoming release World of Goo. The game will be out for the PC platform on Valentine's Day 2008, with Mac, Linux and Wii versions to follow.

- Read 2D Boy Interview

Card Sagas Wars is versus fighting game made with MUGEN, featuring popular video game characters such as Link, Samus, Cloud, Chun-Li and others.

A beta version with four playable fighters was originally scheduled for a release before Jan 2008. More screenshots in the extended. [source: Indie Games Group]

Great article by Alistair over at GameCareerGuide.com, listing ten indie and student game competitions which would interest developers who are keen on getting a little attention for their projects or releases.

The rundown (unranked) points to ten events throughout the world in which indie game developers and students can show their works to compete for cash prizes, as well as that first big break in the industry.

Read 10 Indie, Student Game Competitions

Syobon Action is basically a remake of Nintendo's cult classic, but with a little 'creative license' added for kicks. Every platform you stand on could be a death trap in disguise, and collectibles are often booby-trapped if not made extra difficult to acquire. There is also a nod to The Big Adventure of Owata's Life towards the end.

Music is from Cheetahmen II (Super Ghouls and Ghosts for level 4). Videos from stage 2, 3 and 4 are in the extended. Unforgiving! [source: Lord Jezo]

From the comments: The video title says, roughly, 'A Mario-like game I wrote myself and then made my superior (co-worker) try to play.' Text shown with the blue screen is 'omake', which basically means outtakes or bonus footages.

Name: Syobon Action
Category: Platform
Type: Freeware
Size: 2MB
Download: Choose the first link on this page

The Almighty Paintbrush is a level editor for Arthur 'Mr. Podunkian' Lee's game, The Underside. Podunkian has said that the level editor will be released soon, along with a version of The Underside engine that allows for simple mod support, which should allow for people to make their own level sets and stories within the engine. Though no release date has been set, the level editor is nearly complete, and all that really remains is to finish the modifications to the game engine as well as the documentation.

SCRXXX AS3 is nekogames' attempt at remaking Scramble, a horizontal-scrolling shooter in which players have to navigate towards the end zone while avoiding collisions with the terrain and enemy ships. Press the Z key to shoot, and use the X key to bomb objects on land. Fuel can be replenished by destroying the yellow fuel tanks on ground level. Hold the A key to shoot and launch bombs at the same time.

Name: SCRXXX AS3
Developer: nekogames
Category: Shooter
Type: Browser

Here's some news - the Independent Gaming weblog is moving to a new domain and becoming IndieGames.com: The Weblog, as part of the CMP Game Group (Independent Games Festival creator)'s outreach into the independent gaming scene.

Please change your bookmarks to point to IndieGames.com: The Weblog at http://www.indiegames.com/blog - indygamer.blogspot.com will no longer be updated. The Feedburner RSS feed for Independent Gaming has been automatically switched to point to the new site. Comments are being migrated as we speak.

Thanks to the CMP Game Group and Simon Carless for the invaluable support and hosting of the new site; we promise to continue to serve all your indie games news and review needs as we have done before. Here's a word from Simon about this change:

Simon: "Hey folks - you may know me already from running GameSetWatch and also helping to manage various other Game Group properties like Gamasutra, Game Developer magazine, and - of course - the Independent Games Festival, which is definitely the most relevant for this announcement!

This whole concept started a couple of months ago when Tim announced that he might have to shut the Independent Gaming blog unless he got some help in hosting and partly paying for his time working on the site. We wanted to help out, and we'd already launched IndieGames.com to help educate people about independent games, so having him move his blog over here made a lot of sense.

So nothing is really changing here - Tim [EDIT: And other IndyGamer editors who would like to contribute, of course] has still got an open editorial remit to blog and interview who he likes, and we may occasionally pop in to mention IGF and other Game Group-related news - which is likely of interest anyhow. We'll also be working with him to look at whether we can help to better develop the indie scene through setting up better distribution mechanisms for independent games - though we've only just started thinking about this."

Tekkyuuman is a new release by prolific Japanese developer Ikiki, famous for a number of controversial games featuring ninjas, bloodbath and outrageous violence. Usually with all three elements at the same time.

In this game, you must make your way towards the green spiky object and smash it with the flail. Use the control key to swing your weapon and tap the left shift key to jump. A wall jump can also be executed by pressing the same shift key when scaling up walls.

Red switches can be activated either by touch or hitting them with your flail. An extra life is awarded after every boss fight.

Web site address belongs to the musician.

Name: Tekkyuuman
Developer: Ikiki
Category: Action
Type: Freeware
Size: 1MB
Direct download link: Click here
Video walkthrough: Available (major spoilers!)

UPDATE: cactus has decided to update the game due to the feedback he's gotten. The jumping level is now easier and skippable for those who have trouble beating it. There's been a few other changes as well, including vital bug fixes.

This is cactus entry for the winter competition at YoYoGames.com.

"Welcome to Mondo Agency! An eerie cyber FPS with horror and puzzle elements. As an agent it is your mission to kill laser indians and save the president!

Turn off your lights and turn up your speakers for maximum enjoyment!"

Name: Mondo Agency
Developer: cactus
Category: FPS/Adventure/Weird
Type: Freeware
Size: 7.5MB
Download: link 1
Walkthrough: link

Interview by Paul Eres

MDickie is the author of dozens of unique games, and probably needs no introduction for most of this audience so I'll get right to the interview.

1. One thing that's notable about you is how fast you complete games, often in three months; did you ever have problems with procrastination, or is working so fast natural to you? Do you use any productivity tools such as to-do lists or schedules, or do you just work on things as you feel like it?

MD: Well, let's not fly that flag too hard because time is gushing away from me like water at the moment! I estimated it would only take 3 months to turn Reach into a wrestling game, but the project is heading into its 6th month and I'm still working 12-hour days. Of course, 6 months is still pretty astonishing for a game of that size and sophistication. My closest counterpart, "Pro Wrestling X", has clocked up a good 3 YEARS in production - and that's a team effort! As you say, 3 months is the standard for me now though - so my fans get restless at anything longer. After all these years, I guess I just know what I'm doing. I instinctively know exactly WHAT needs to be done, WHEN it needs to be done, and HOW I might best achieve that. It's a lot like a puzzle - I just know how to put all the pieces together as quickly as possible. One of my best tricks is dividing the day into art work and programming work. I create media in the morning and then bring it to life in the afternoon, so there's a nice flow to what I'm doing. Other than that, it's a race against the clock that makes me work so fast. I don't really have a choice! It may be a cliché, but time is money. The longer I spend making a game, the more money it has to make. For instance, if I had spent all year making World War Alpha I'd be out of business now because it didn't fly. Game over. I'm only here because Hard Time arrived and picked up the slack. My scattergun approach makes me failure-proof. If one concept doesn't work, another one is right around the corner to take the next shot. And on and on it goes, evolving towards perfection. The weak concepts die out and the strong concepts live to fight another day...

Genetos is a vertical shooter by Tatsuya Koyama featuring stages with design styles from different eras of arcade gaming classics. Use the cursor keys to move your ship, and tap the Z key to shoot. Press the X key to launch a bomb if available.

Name: Genetos
Developer: Tatsuya Koyama
Category: Shooter
Type: Freeware
Size: 5MB
Direct download link: Click here

Midwinter Rites is an incomplete interactive fiction adventure made to mimic the look of a Commodore 64 release. There are few commands to use but important objects and characters are always highlighted.

Name: Midwinter Rites
Developer: Mattias Gustavsson
Category: Adventure/IF
Type: Demo
Size: 1MB
Direct download link: Click here

RGCD is a downloadable CD-ROM based magazine containing retro reviews, features and developer interviews. Each issue of RGCD contains direct links (to files on disc) of each game, emulator or tool reviewed irrespective of platform.

Previews of each issue are available at www.rgcd.co.uk, but in order to actually read the rest of the articles and reviews you'll need to download the .ISO image and either burn it to disc or mount it on a virtual drive. There is also a cut-down 'lite' version (excluding all games and emulators) provided as a downloadable .ZIP archive.

RGCD is 100% spyware free and all files are virus checked before uploading. Magazine contents are posted in the comments section.

Pen Pen Xmas Olympics is a skiing game with seventeen events consisting of slaloms, downhill races and ski jumps. In the first two categories, players must attempt to reach the end of each track under the qualifying time to progress or lose a credit if they fail.

Use the cursor keys to control the protagonist's speed or direction of travel, and press the space key to jump over obstacles.

Name: Pen Pen Xmas Olympics
Developer: Army of Trolls
Category: Action
Type: Freeware
Size: 1MB

In Frozzd, you take the role of an astronaut tasked with the mission of freeing orange-colored creatures named Mubblies from their frozen state. You begin each level with King Mubbly as your companion, who has the ability to unfreeze his subjects or attack the Frozzds with a tap of the space key. Drink coffee to increase your suit's temperature, and use the points you've acquired to unlock new stages.

Each of the twelve levels introduces a different enemy, and points acquired from previous stages can be used to unlock new ones.

Name: Frozzd
Developer: Jesse Venbrux
Category: Action
Type: Freeware
Size: 5MB
Direct download link: Click here

Kei Mesuda's Arcanacra Black Label is an update of his earlier browser-based vertical shooter release. Another Mode can now be accessed right from the start, and replays of any level by the top ranked players can be watched even if you have not attempted that particular stage yet. Bomb stock is also increased from three to five.

Click on the screen to add credits. Press the Z key to shoot and hold the shift key to target enemies with your ship's homing lasers. Switch between rapid and spread shot by holding either one or both shoot buttons. The boss of each stage can be beaten easily once your ship has a persistent lock on it, especially when the lock weapon has been upgraded.

Push the right arrow key when the main menu is displayed to view the high score table.

Name: Arcanacra Black Label
Developer: keim
Category: Shooter
Type: Browser

Eyeball 3: Rorschach Dungeon is a short game in which both of the main characters can be controlled with the same mouse. Left click on an area to approach it, and hold the right mouse button to use your eye beam. Right clicking on one of the character's pupil will cause it to generate a shield, protecting it's caster while damaging other enemies on contact as well.

The health indicator at the top of the screen is shared by both eyeballs, and can be increased by colliding with enemies of the same colour.

Name: Eyeball 3: Rorschach Dungeon
Developer: Sergio Cornaga
Category: Action
Type: Freeware
Size: 2MB
Direct download link: Click here

The North, Pohjola is a strategy game which resembles David Galindo's The Sandbox of God. Players have to help a tribe survive a harsh winter season by making decisions limited to the four cards drawn in each round. The game ends once all thirty cards from the deck have been exhausted, and scores are then calculated for online submission.

Population count is represented by a percentage at the top left of the screen. Temperature can be manipulated by choosing the right cards to maintain a warm surrounding for your tribe. Certain cards award bonus points, and may only affect proceedings when their specific conditions are met.

Name: The North, Pohjola
Developer: Fire Dragon
Category: Strategy
Type: Freeware
Size: 10MB
Direct download link: Click here

R-Theta 2: Expanded Edition is a game based in polar coordinates. Every point in the game is assigned a radius and theta value, denoting the distance of the point from the centre, as well as the angle it makes with the x-axis.

The player is in control of a triangular shooter, built into a constantly rotating radar-scope which must be protected from collision with other enemies. Use the up and down arrow keys to decrease or increase the ship's radius from the centre. Hold the X key for rapid fire, tap the C key to shoot and use the Z key to launch a destructive missile. Keys can be reconfigured by pressing the F2 function key at the title screen.

This updated version includes nine new enemies and an adjustable difficulty setting.

Name: R-Theta 2: Expanded Edition
Developer: Theta Games
Category: Action
Type: Freeware
Size: 2MB
Direct download link: Click here (Vista version)

Interview by Eden

I interviewed Jon Blow, creator of upcoming XBLA (and PC eventually!) game Braid, and found him to be an wonderfully nice and insightful fellow.

EB: How do you go about designing a level? In Braid, the levels are sort of no-nonsense. They're very efficient.

The game is about understanding what it means if time behaves in certain ways -- exploring the consequences of these hypothetical laws of spacetime, and the puzzle pieces you collect are concrete tokens representing the understanding you have gained. So, every puzzle in Braid has a very specific point; it is there to tell you one thing.

Because I wanted the game to be focused (and not long and bloated with filler), I decided early on that the levels would only contain the elements necessary to create the puzzles inside them. There aren't lots of random enemies to jump on or big levels to just sort of wander through. Everything is in the game for a specific reason. After being in the game for a while, the player might start to pick up on some of the nuances (why certain puzzles are grouped together, for example).

What I've said here only applies to Braid, though; if designing a different game, I would probably take a different approach.

The evolution of physics games which involves drawing objects using basic lines or circles. (post updated with download link for Chalk Physics)

Chalk by Joakim Sandberg
download, 3.85 MB

Crayon Physics by Petri Purho
download, 5.63 MB

Bonus: Video walkthrough for Aquaria, full version

The IGF organizers have announced the 12 recipients of the 2008 Independent Games Festival Student Showcase awards from a field of over 125 entries. Each student showcase finalist will receive a $500 travel stipend to help aid their trip to GDC 2008. The $2,500 Best Student Game prize winner will be announced during the same event this coming February.

View the list of twelve entries (after the main competition finalists)

Winter's Heart is probably my favorite of the over 100 Game Maker winter contest games I've played so far. It's made by Bit Pimp aka Darthlupi, who is responsible for some of the best classic Game Maker games (such as Mage Craft, Raging Skies, The Cleaner, and Legend of Shadow). It fits in no one genre, it has puzzle and action elements, and RPG-like upgrades.

Use Z to hoist and then strike with your staff, holding it longer produces more forceful blows. This however cannot harm enemies, but it can be used to knock snowballs into them, which can create chain reactions and temporarily stun enemies -- and while they are stunned, use the staff again to banish them. You can also use X to roll up snowballs for this purpose if you run out of a level's starting set, although this drains your freeze meter. Press C to use a spell (which takes away from your score), and press A and S to cycle between your spells (which you can buy and upgrade using your score).

I like that it isn't just a set of levels, but there's a background story, bosses, and really great music. One thing I like about the game is that it's very economical with its elements, you only have two meters. The freeze meter doubles as health (you have to restart the level when it fills) and, because it's constantly moving down, also triples as your time limit. Your score and doubles as your magic points, because you use it up when you cast spells, and it triples as your currency, because you use it to buy new spells and upgrade them.

Name: Winter's Heart
Developer: BitPimp/Darthlupi
Category: Arcade/Action/Puzzle/RPG
Type: Freeware
Size: 3.2 MB
Direct download page: Click here

Review by Paul Eres

Same Cube is an addictive puzzler which involves using the Z and X keys to rotate four tiles clockwise or counterclockwise to make a match of four blocks with the same color. Remove the blocks quickly to increase time, and complete all ten levels to unlock the unlimited mode.

Glass tiles are automatically removed if an entire column or row of these exists when the game is in progress. (direct download link)

Clock Tower's Secret is a platformer in which players have to figure out a way to reach the exit portal by activating the correct switches to rotate the entire world towards the direction shown by the blue arrows.

Hold the Z key to zoom out, and tap the C key to jump. Press the X key when your character is next to a switch to activate it. Developed by ssi for a recent Three Minute Game competition.

Name: Clock Tower's Secret
Developer: SSI
Category: Platform
Type: Freeware
Size: 1MB
Direct download link: Click here

Grilled Box is an action game which resembles Every Extend, developed by TERU-soach for a recent Three Minute Game competition. Blocks appear from the top of the screen at a steady rate, and players have to destroy as many blocks as they can before they reach the bottom. Left click on a block to start a chain reaction, or right click to use the magnet and bring the blocks closer to each other. Use these two actions sparingly, as clicking rapidly will decrease their charges faster and render them inactive for a short while when completely depleted. A time penalty is incurred for every block that escapes intact.

Name: Grilled Box
Developer: TERU-soach
Category: Action
Type: Freeware
Size: 1MB
Direct download link: Click here

MinishoterRS is a horizontal shooter by Peposoft which features multiple ships to choose from, each with it's own strengths and weaknesses in combat. Hold or tap the Z key rapidly to alternate between your ship's primary and secondary weapons. Use the X key to activate a temporary speed boost, handy for dodging bullets or reaching a certain spot on screen quickly. Press the F2 function key to cancel a selection or exit a game in progress at any time.

This release boasts more than ten stages, with different routes to undertake and end level bosses to defeat. Press the Alt and enter key to switch between full screen and windowed mode, or use the Q, W and E keys for the same effect. Additional omake bonuses are unlocked when you have beaten the game and fulfilled certain conditions.

Name: MinishoterRS
Developer: Peposoft
Category: Shooter
Type: Freeware
Size: 10MB
Direct download link: Click here

Santa Claus Vs the Ice Demons by Ablach Blackrat is another Game Maker winter's contest entry. This one's a danmaku game. I found it pretty easy until level 7, then increasingly difficult. Use Z to shoot and X to move slowly for more accurate movement. Your belt buckle is your hit-target.

It's not too special compared to the better games in the danmaku genre, and is pretty rough in a lot of places, but it's sometimes fun to have a nice warm cup of danmaku now and then in the cold winter months. I recommend that you turn effects off if you have a slow computer, it really helped the frame rate for me.

Name: Santa Claus Vs the Ice Demons
Developer: Ablach Blackrat
Category: Danmaku/Shmup
Type: Freeware
Size: 6.5 MB
Download Page: Click Here

Review by Paul Eres

BenW's Chain Reaction is an arcade game with a simple premise, in which players have to continuously move towards the right of the screen while trying to avoid falling off collapsing tiles or contact with red blocks. Use the cursor keys to move your block around, or press the Alt and F4 function key to quit at any time.

Name: Chain Reaction
Developer: BenW
Category: Action
Type: Freeware
Size: 10MB
Direct download link: Click here

In Rakukore, the aim of the game is to guide a ball towards it's end level destination while attempting to collect as many black dots as possible. The left and right cursor key can be used to change it's screen position. Tap the left shift key to jump. Press the same button repeatedly to execute a double or triple jump. Use the control key to pause the game or cancel a selected option.

Name: Rakukore
Developer: Cheese
Category: Action
Type: Freeware
Size: 1MB
Direct download link: Click here

The Yore is an exploration game to be released by Crobasoft in February 2008.

Samurai High Jump is a new Flash release from GamePure with a passing resemblance to Nanaca Crash, but not quite as addictive. Left click to plant the pole, then repeat the same action to control your ascent. The game doesn't end unless you make three mistakes consecutively, while the height of the bar is incremented progressively for each successful jump.

Name: Samurai High Jump
Developer: GamePure
Category: Action
Type: Browser

Unbound: A Wound Vignette is a sequel to Heartland Deluxe, and the second in a series of three short introductory games based on the backstory of an upcoming full-length game entitled: Wound. This release is shorter than it's predecessor, and will take less than five minutes to complete.

Name: Unbound - A Wound Vignette
Developer: LimpingFish
Category: Adventure
Type: Freeware
Size: 30MB
Direct download link: Click here

Simon had posted a selection of five titles considered the best freeware games released in 2007 at GameSetWatch.

peruse the article here

Dino Run: Pixeljam had posted eight new screenshots from their upcoming browser game.

Army of Trolls: A new game from Army of Trolls will be made available for download this Christmas eve. [previous mention]

Blackwell Convergence: Two new screenshots from Dave Gilbert's upcoming adventure game posted at the Wadjet Eye Games' web site.

Resonance: Another sprite art from Vince Twelve's upcoming adventure game posted.

MarkUp Issue 10: MarkUp issue 10 (the official GM magazine) is now available for download.

War Angels: Apparently Hamish's arena shooter has been picked up by Hail of Bullets Software for a future release on the Xbox Live platform.

Your Electronic Arms: dessgeega has released a new game. [TGQ forum thread posting]

A Diary of a Little Aviator: Orange-Juice has released a demo for their upcoming Comiket 73 release. [direct download link]

Winter's Heart: darthlupi has released his entry for the YoYoGames Winter Competition. [GMC posting]

Binary Zoo: As indicated by fog, Binary Zoo's next release after Tension could possibly be a puzzler.

Punishment 3: messhof had posted a teaser image for his upcoming platformer, currently titled Deep Space.

Metanet's N+: The metablog updated with a link to the trailer for their upcoming XBox360 release.

pxTone: Pixel is currently working on an update for his popular music editing software. [pxTone tutorial]

Cactus Software: cactus had uploaded a whole bunch of screenshots from his upcoming projects in a recent forum thread posting.

"You might want to wait with taking a look, since some of them will be finished rather soon, though." - cactus

Motnxoqe is a rather clever strategy game of a variety that I don't recall ever seeing before. You have no direct control over the units in your "army", instead placing and removing road blocks on the map with the left mouse button. Any units that encounter an obstacle, either a wall or a roadblock, will turn 90 degrees clockwise and continue on their way.

You must guide your army (represented by the blue numbers) to the enemy base and destroy all enemy units on the screen to clear each stage. The key to victory is passing your units through the PI symbols located around the map, which will increase the value of your units and allow them to take out multiple enemy units before before being destroyed.

You can shift your view around with the arrow keys or the right mouse button, although I found the mouse technique to be somewhat cumbersome.

Name: Motnxoqe
Developer: N.I.
Category: Game
Type: Freeware
Size: 76KB
Download page: Click here
Direct download link: Click here

Review by oranda

Possibly one of the most useful application that a game developer could have. DrPetter has written a program which randomly generates a sound effect based on selected options and slider settings. The results can then be saved as .wav files, ready for use in any projects.

Name: sfxr
Developer: DrPetter
Category: Application
Type: Freeware
Size: 1MB
Direct download link: Click here

G-Force: Oddbob's Game Maker project updated with new build. Press F10 to toggle text messages on or off. [multiplier instructions, direct download link, right click to save]

Ludum Dare 10: Progress logs for entries in the latest Ludum Dare (48 hour game development) competition can be found on this page.

Robotology: The PC platform release for Robotology confirmed. (comment no. 18)

Armed Seven: DHC has announced their upcoming Comiket 73 commercial release.

Awards

Top Casual PC Games of 2007: Avault had published their annual list of the best casual games released last year. [source: Mathieu Lopez]

GameTunnel's GotY Awards: Russell has begun posting GT's Game of the Year Awards for 2007.

Thule Trail is a remake of The Oregon Trail set in the present day, with an automobile replacing the wagon as your main mode of transport. Players must make a number of decisions during the course of the two thousand mile journey from Chicago to Santa Barbara as they attempt to guide a group of road travelers to the Atlantis Music Festival safely.

There are several mini games disguised as competitions in which cash prizes can be won if you happen find yourself a little short on cash for supplies. A good score can be acquired by keeping your passengers happy, though having some spare greens in your pockets would contribute just as much.

Name: Thule Trail
Developer: Thule
Category: Adventure
Type: Browser

Jonathan Blow (Braid) is seeking participants for the Experimental Gameplay Sessions 2008, an event held during the GDC in which attendees are encouraged to showcase their games, prototypes and ideas to an audience with a keen interest in innovation. Submissions should be sent to workshop2008 [a] number-none.com, before January 15th 2008 for consideration.

- The Experimental Gameplay web site

An interview with Arthur 'Mr. Podunkian' Lee, developer of The Underside.

Hi Arthur, let's begin with an introduction of yourself.

Okay, I'm a college student. I use pretty much entirely Multimedia Fusion and GraphicsGale for most my games, but recently I've gotten into some sound design with old toys and homemade electronics. And I made Punishment 1, 2, and Flywrench. But before that I made Wally, Bool, and Booloid.

I'm just kidding, let me get serious here.

Hi, I'm Arthur "Mr. Podunkian" Lee, I'm a college student and I guess I've been making video games for 13 years now, and that's more than half of my entire life, which makes me either an expert in making video games or a big fat nerd.

Are you trying to interview me so you can ask me to show you a picture of a project I'm working on because if you are lemme tell you, you're going to find yourself in a world of disappointment!

You caught me red-handed. Actually, I'm just trying to make sure that The Underside isn't abandoned.

What games have you made so far? I mean, just name the games that you want people to Google for. I know about your past projects, but unfortunately some people think you've only done The Underside. Oh wait, can I use the words 'Cave Story rip-off' excessively in this interview? Or just sparingly?

Yes, preface every question with it!

Haha... can I end each question with the same words as well?

The Winter Solstice is an arena shooter by Mr. Chubigans, developer of The Sandbox of God and Acidbomb series. The game features six playable levels plus several unlockable modes which can only be acquired by collecting medals through achievements. Use the W, A, S and D keys to move your lantern around, and hold the left mouse button to shoot.

Name: The Winter Solstice
Developer: Mr. Chubigans
Category: Action, Arcade
Type: Freeware
Size: 10MB
Direct download link: Click here

Nanosmiles is a new arena shooter from Yaruhara, in which players have to collect inactive options scattered around each area and use them to inflict damage on the enemies. Hold the Z key to activate your targeting system. Your weapons will automatically fire at targeted enemies if the same button is held down. Use the X key to make your ship travel quicker.

This trial version for the upcoming Comiket 73 release has only four playable levels.

Name: Nanosmiles
Developer: Yaruhara
Category: Shooter
Type: Demo
Size: 5MB
Direct download link: Click here

An interview with Dave Gilbert of Wadjet Eye Games, creator of the Blackwell series and The Shivah.

Hi Dave, let's begin with an introduction of yourself, and what you do.

Sure thing. My name is Dave, and I'm an indie game developer from New York City. I started writing freeware games back in 2001 and in June of 2006 I decided to give the commercial thing a whirl. A year and a half later, I'm still making them.

What are you currently working on at the moment?

At the moment I'm working on the 3rd game in the Blackwell series, entitled "The Blackwell Convergence". It's a return to the present day, meaning you'll see Rosangela again instead of Lauren.

Passage: Jason Rohrer explains his latest creation in detail. [download Passage]

DHC: DHC is working on a new horizontal shooter.

Competitions

2007 HSP Contest: Results for the 2007 HSP (Hot Soup Processor) Contest are out, with Another Bound bagging first place. [descriptions and screenshots for all entries]

Ludum Dare: Ludum Dare 10 (48 hour game competition) will begin this 14th of December.

Adventure, Roguelikes

Dwarf Fortress: Dwarf Fortress updated. [change list]

Incursion: A Mac port for the freeware roguelike game Incursion is now available.

Heartland series: Unbound - A Wound Vignette will be released next week. [Heartland Deluxe]

ScummVM: ScummVM updated with support for AGOS games.

Remakes, Ports

Wizball: Wizball now available for the Mac.

Army of Trolls: Tomaz Kac (Push Push Penguin, Head Over Heels) will release a new game soon.

Game Maker

The Windy Witch: Pug Fugly (Return to Sector 9) is currently working on four different projects, with one of them being an entry for the YoYo Games Winter competition.

RPGCreations: Orchard-L might develop a new horror game after Fedora Spade 4 is released.

Miscellaneous

Braid: In a rare forum posting over at TGC, Jonathan Blow had mentioned that he has every intention on working on a new game after Braid. Both PS3 and PC versions were not ruled out.

GameTunnel's 2007 GotY: GameTunnel's 2007 Game of the Year Awards calendar posted. Russell is currently polling for the Player's Choice Nominees.

Audiosurf: IGF finalist Audiosurf will be released in February 2008.

Space Dynagon: A trial version for Murasame's new game, Space Dynagon is now available.

An interview with Messhof (Mark Essen), creator of the Punishment series and Flywrench.

Hi Messhof. Let's begin with an introduction of yourself, your tools of trade, and the creations you've released unto an unsuspecting world..

Alright. I'm a college student. I use pretty much entirely Game Maker and MSPaint for most of my games, but recently I've gotten into some sound design with old toys and homemade electronics. And I made Punishment 1, 2, and Flywrench. But before that I made Wally, Bool, and Booloid.

Old toys? How do you record them?

Like old toy guitars from goodwill. I just rewire them so they output to quarter inch cables then run them through pedals or software filters I design. You can get some pretty crazy stuff just by running through their demo songs in different ways. This is something I've been doing with friends though, I don't want to take all the credit for that.

Ok, I've got to ask. How did you get the idea to make games as sadistic as the Punishment series?

A one hour video of the IGS panel has been posted at GameSetWatch. Participants include Derek Yu (Aquaria/Bit-Blot/TIGSource), Greg Costikyan (Manifesto Games), Mark Morris (Introversion), and Eric Zimmerman (Gamelab). I found the conversation pretty interesting, especially the analogy at the beginning that Greg started and Derek moved into hilarity.

Aquaria has been released. I'll review the game after I finish it and edit this entry later with more information, this is just early notice for those who were waiting for it.

Name: Aquaria
Developer: Bit Blot
Category: Underwater Metroidvania?
Type: Shareware
Size: 63 MB
Direct download page: Click Here
Direct download link: Mirror 1, Mirror 2
Buy the game: Click here

Lux is a chain reaction game. When you click on a pattern of light, it expands, and any other pattern of light in that range also expands, continuing in a chain reaction. You receive more points for longer chains. There are also lights which expand on their own and give you negative points unless you click them quickly, and there are special lights which give you extra points. There's also an online high score table. The game doesn't have very much depth, but it's pretty relaxing.

Name: Lux
Developer: ryguydavis / Creative Ink
Category: Chain Reaction Game
Type: Freeware
Size: 4.3 MB
Direct download page: Click Here

Aveyond 2 has been released. Because it's an RPG I didn't have time to complete the whole thing before posting this, but I enjoyed the first one and its freeware prequel and from what I've played so far it seems solid, so if you like this genre of game it's probably worth trying out.

One thing I do think has improved over the earlier games by the same author is mouse control, you can now move around and talk to people using either the mouse or the keyboard.

This seems to be a big week for shareware indie game releases -- Democracy 2, Aveyond 2, and Aquaria.

Name: Aveyond 2
Developer: Amanda Fitch / Amaranth Games
Category: Japanese-style RPG
Type: Shareware
Size: 35 MB
Direct download: Click Here

Democracy 2 has been released. It's really only recommended to people interested in politics (like me), but for those who are it's pretty fun seeing how the author of the game arranged politics into this neural net of interacting cells each feeding into other cells. It's a very deep game.

The author of the game is from the UK so some of the terms might not be familiar to people in the US (for instance, Pensions instead of Social Security). As in most of the author's other games I tend to think a few of the ways the system interacted is a bit unrealistic -- for instance, in this game, having no tax on cars almost always leads to an asthma epidemic, which makes all parents vote for someone else. But those don't detract too much from the play experience.

One feature which I would have preferred the game have (and which was in similar games such as Balance of the Planet by Chris Crawford) would be a worldview editor -- where the assumptions of the strengths and directions between each of the nodes in the network would be made adjustable, so that the player could build in his own assumptions into the game (for instance, anarcho-capitalists have different assumptions about how the different political issues relate to each other than socialists or environmentalists and so on).

Name: Democracy 2
Developer: Cliffski / Positech Games
Category: Political Strategy
Type: Shareware
Size: 30.5 MB
Direct download: Click Here

FLYWRENCH has been released. It is this game, for those who remember the video but not the name.

The arrows are the only controls, and depending on which you press, your color changes: up flaps you up and turns you red, left and right move left and right and turn you white, and down rolls (protecting you from the walls) and turns you green.

The main goal is to get between two points in a series of stages, with increasingly complex obstacles in your way: the trick is that you can move through an obstacle if you are the same color as it. The level design is probably the best part of the game, I had a lot of fun with it. I also liked the movement system, where you have to flap to keep you aloft; it's a rare movement system that I can only remember being used previously in the Atari 2600 game Fathom.

Name: FLYWRENCH
Developer: Messhof
Category: Action
Type: Freeware
Size: 12MB
Direct download: Click Here
Mirror download: Click Here

New screenshots from Metanet Software's upcoming XBLA release N+ are up on IGN.

- screenshots from N+
- visit the metablog

Sean Cooper's upcoming Boxhead sequel, Boxhead: The Zombie Wars. Made using the same engine, but features tile graphics by Daniel Cook.

The game will be released sometime around Christmas 2007.

- Play Boxhead
- Sean Cooper's site

The finalists for the 2008 IGF competition have been announced.

Seumas McNally Grand Prize:
* Audiosurf
* Crayon Physics Deluxe
* Hammerfall
* Noitu Love 2: Devolution
* World of Goo

Best Web Browser Game:
* Globulos.com
* Iron Dukes
* Tri-Achnid

Design Innovation Award:
* Battleships Forever
* Fez
* Fret Nice
* Snapshot Adventures: Secret Of Bird Island
* World Of Goo

Excellence in Visual Art:
* Clean Asia!
* Fez
* Hammerfall
* Synaesthete
* The Path

Excellence in Audio:
* Cinnamon Beats
* Fret Nice
* Audiosurf
* Clean Asia!
* OokiBloks

Technical Excellence:
* World of Goo
* Goo!
* Audiosurf
* Axiom: Overdrive
* Gumboy Tournament

Visit the IGF site for a complete list with screenshots and descriptions.

Garden Gnome Carnage is one of the better games created for the Game Maker winter contest so far. It's a pretty unique arcade game where you move a building left and right to swing a gnome who is attached to the top of it around in order to protect that building from invading elves. The gnome can also pick up bricks from the building and throw them at the invaders.

Mastering the movement takes a little getting used to because you can only pull the string he's attached to left and right, but isn't as difficult as it sounds. There's also a lot of depth to it, such as a combo system where you can knock elves into other elves and cause chain reactions.

One of the nicest touches is that each time you complete the game you get a new tip, and some of these tips reveal new abilities and techniques, giving it a lot of replay value. (I also love what happens when you reach 80,000 points.)

Name: Garden Gnome Carnage
Developer: Ultimortal
Category: Arcade/Action
Type: Freeware
Size: 5.4MB
Direct download page: Click Here

Guess what. It took two sleepless nights, but a new mirror for Rückblende is finally up.

- download Rückblende (593 MB)
- previous mention

A lengthy interview with Erik Hermansen of Caravel Games, the industry veteran who gave us the DROD series - recently featured on Kotaku's Five Indie Picks. He is also currently working on Frogs and Mice, an exclusive game for InstantAction set to be released early next year.

Let's begin with a little introduction of yourself, and some background info on Caravel Games as well. (for those who are not familiar with DROD - though however unlikely that is)

Alright, so I'm a guy that has made computer games for fun since I was 13. And then at one point I thought I'd try selling them. It more or less worked.

DROD was the game I made that was what I wished someone else would make so I could play it. And after I got it out to the world, I found out that there were a smallish number of people that really, really loved it. I think because they have brains like mine.

Flipside tells the tale of an escaped insane asylum patient who has a split personality. He sees everything in cardboard, and cheerful or depressing depending on which personality he's using.

This is a Half-Life 2 mod, and contains only one short level. The game was previously featured in PC Zone, reviewed by Mod DB, and was submitted as a student entry in this year's IGF competition. Has decent music as well, sort of a Caribbean feel. (mmm, fondues...) And yes, there are plenty of working mirrors this time.

Midnight Synergy (Wonderland series) has compiled a selection of 10 freeware games released in 2007, complete with proper descriptions and download links. Definitely worth a gander or two.

Meanwhile, an unofficial Grand Theft Auto IV web site had also posted a list of top 20 free games of 2007, though this article is done with poor judgment as more than half of the titles included were either released in 2006 or before that. There is also at least one game that comes with the Starforce protection - proceed with extreme caution, or avoid entirely.

First concept art from Aquaria posted.

The Streets of Rage Remake project gets a new web site.

mon's Fraxy gets a new update.

The GarageGames' web site gets a face-lift.

Kloonigames has released a new monthly project entitled Humpsters.

HIZ is working on a new vertical shooter.

Monty's Christmas Special released. [gameplay video]

Buster (Iwanaga, Vacant Ark) is working on several new projects and prototypes.

Information about Submachine 5 revealed. The revamped Submachine 1 will be posted on Pastel Games soon.

Cryptic Sea had posted a new version of Ramjets.

Nucleosys (Scratches) is currently working on two different projects, with one of them being a freeware 2D adventure game developed for the Argentine government as an educational title.

IGF 2008 Main Competition finalists will be announced this Monday.

Photos from the Gamma 256 event recently held in Montreal, in which a selection of games with a display of under 256 pixels were being showcased.

- Célu
- Dive (download)
- Doomed Planet (download)
- Mr Heart Loves You Very Much (Terry's review)
- More photos from Gamma 256, taken by Simon Law
- Musical performances

Update: More photos from the Gamma 256 party.

Let's begin with an introduction of yourself.

My name's Derek Yu. *waves* I'm the editor-in-chief at TIGSource, one of the developers behind Aquaria, and I'm obsessed with a certain part of my body that I can't talk about in front of the children.

Aquaria is set for a release next Friday (7th of December, 2007). I'm assuming that it's finished and ready for the world - how does it feel to have finally completed this massive project?

It feels pretty darn good, although I have to admit, I'm so tired I'm not sure I'm fully appreciating it. Alec and I are really happy with the game, though.

You knew this was coming. Why $30?

Yeah, I saw people discussing it! $20 seems to be the midpoint for indie games, and we just felt that with all the content that we put into the game, $30 was pretty reasonable. It includes a full level editor, as well.

Alec has announced that Bit Blot's debut release Aquaria will be available for purchase starting next Friday, 7th of December 2007. Fans can expect daily updates to Bit Blot's web site, up to the day Aquaria is released. A demo will be made available for download on the same Friday; the (roughly) 200 MB full version for PC retails at USD $30.

- Aquaria release date announcement
- Derek Yu's web site

A collection of games made by members of Poppenkast in roughly three hours.

Arms: A new platformer by cactus with odd controls and unique gameplay mechanics. The game has a couple of puzzles and action sequences but it's more of an experimentation piece than a proper release. Use the W, A, S and D keys to move. Other actions are controlled with the mouse. Press the space key to restart.

Nevada Thompson and the Temple of Scorpions: The gameplay is pretty much described by it's title. An action game with limited controls, where players can only attack sideways. Use the Z or X key to whip, and tap the A or S key to shoot. Ammunition is limited, but can be replenished. There are two large rooms to explore in total.

Once in Space is a platformer by Arvi Teikari with emphasis on collecting stars to complete each level. The challenge is to figure out how to approach them, as most stars can only be acquired when your character is oriented in a certain direction as indicated by the small red arrows.

Use the cursor keys to move, and tap the left shift key to jump. Hold the control key to change gravity, though this is only possible on platforms with rounded edges marked red. Press Y and control to change key configuration settings. The game features music by Nifflas.

Name: Once in Space
Developer: Hempuli
Category: Platform
Type: Freeware
Size: 5MB
Direct download link: Click here

The team at Gamasutra had posted transcriptions for a couple of sessions from the Montreal International Games Summit (MIGS), taking place on the 27th and 28th of November. Jonathan Blow (Braid) offer his opinions about current game design practices, while Kellee Santiago (thatgamecompany, FlOw) reveals new details about their upcoming PS3 release, Flower.

The full details for Kellee's speech will be posted at Gamasutra at a later time.

- download Jonathan Blow's lecture
- Jonathan Blow's session
- Kellee Santiago's session

Update: Jonathan Blow's speech in audio format now available for download. The zip package also includes the original PowerPoint file used during the presentation. A video version will be made available soon.

There's a new Gamasutra article written by Russell Carroll (Reflexive, GameTunnel) about increased profitability for developers and small studios from not innovating - making lots of money by creating clones of existing games which are popular.

According to him, a Hidden Object game, Click Management clone (Nanny Mania), and a Match-3 game sold nineteen copies more than a title belonging to any other genre, based on Reflexive Entertainment's sales statistics from the last three years. Essentially this means that developers who put out a clone tend to sell at a ratio of twenty copies as opposed to just one if it was based on anything resembling an original idea.

- Cloning Created the Casual Game Business

Julian Winter has made the entire Haluz 2 soundtrack available as a free download. This collection of thirteen songs took Julian an entire year to compose, and showcases the musician's knack for ambient and soothing music. The album was originally sold at a price of USD $6.

Alec Holowka had also released a track from his side project Célu in MP3 format, though the actual game itself will only be made available to the general public sometime in 2008. A lot of tracks in Aquaria have a similar vibe, so you can get a feel of Bit Blot's debut release just by listening to this song alone.

Against All Odds is a Flash game created as an attempt to educate players about refugees in general, and also indirectly provide information on the work that UNHCR does.

There are twelve scenes in total, with each act consisting of a small game, but no reward is offered when all three chapters are completed. More than half of these consists of multiple choice questions or trial and error situations, where players have to guess answers to a series of questions correctly to proceed.

The third act can be a little tricky to solve, because escape is only possible once you've found the man indicated by a green dot, hiding in one of the alleys near the heavily guarded exit.

Name: Against All Odds
Developer: UNHCR and Statoil
Category: Action, Adventure
Type: Browser

Have the guys at Digital Eel gone bonkers? First they offer Plasmaworm for free, now they're giving away both Big Box of Blox and Dr. Blob's Organism away - for nothing!

Dr. Blob's Organism was an IGF 2004 winner of both innovation in audio and visual art categories. Mac versions for these two games are also available.

I was sort of expecting the games to open Digital Eel's web site when exiting, but nothing of that sort happened.

- Digital Eel announcement
- Plasmaworm
- Big Box of Blox
- Dr. Blob's Organism

Phil Fish is lead designer for the forthcoming 3D-pixel game Fez, which is a contender in this year's IGF. Phil has been making games since he was two years old. After attending both art school and game school, he got his industry start at Ubisoft Montreal, and he currently works in the industry as a level designer.

He also makes up one fourth of the Montreal-based game-art collective Kokoromi, and these days he's busy organizing their second annual GAMMA event (which doubles as the closing party for the Montreal International Games Summit).

You can read full interview over at Arthouse Games.

Slidon is a new puzzler from the prolific Yoshio Ishii, in which players are given a number of tiles for each level to match and remove entirely, but only by sliding a tile horizontally or vertically per move.

Hold the left mouse button when the cursor is over any tile to select it, then choose a direction to slide a tile to it's new position. Players are given a limited number of moves in each level.

The delete option can be used to remove any tile on the board.

Name: Slidon
Developer: Yoshio Ishii
Category: Puzzle
Type: Browser

Warning: Contain scenes of violence, blood and gore.

South is an action game partly inspired by Castlevania, in which only three action keys are required for all moves and attacks. Tap the S key rapidly to slash, and use the A key to jump. Press the D key to use any additional weapons acquired during your adventure.

The game features two complete levels and a preview of the third.

Name: South
Developer: Wingboy
Category: Action
Type: Freeware
Size: 10MB

SchattenJagd is a short noir style adventure game with a point and click interface, made by Johann Scholz using the Visionaire engine. The author has included two separate endings for players to discover.

Name: SchattenJagd
Developer: Johann Scholz
Category: Adventure
Type: Freeware
Size: 30MB

Wind and Water: Puzzle Battles is puzzle game with anime-style cutscenes, several playable mini games, and two-player versus battles. Originally developed for the GP2X handheld platform, a demo for this Christmas release is available for download and features roughly twenty-five percent of the story mode itself.