Mazer Mayhem is an XNA-only arena shooter by Kenta Cho, in which the player is given control of a tank as they attempt to destroy as many orange balls as possible while collecting green objects. The action takes place in a large enclosed area, and some traveling is required to search for more enemies.

The W, A, S and D keys can be used to move your ship. Cursor keys have a similar effect. Press the X key to simultaneously execute the dash move, launch a grenade and shoot. Hold the Z or C key to turn your craft around. This build also provides support for the Xbox360 controller.

Players can store a maximum of a hundred green items at any time, with a counter shown at the bottom right of the screen. When entering hyper mode by pressing both buttons, this count will deplete at a very quick rate. Replenish it by finding and destroying more balls.

To play Mazer Mayhem, simply install Visual C# 2005 Express Edition, its update, and XNA Game Studio 2.0. The click on Mm-Windows-0-1.ccgame twice to unpack the game.

Name: Mazer Mayhem
Developer: Kenta Cho
Category: Shooter
Type: Freeware
Size: 10MB

Requires the installation of XNA Game Studio 2.0.

Review by Anthony Pecorella

Areas, a new Flash game by Ridiculous, is an abstract arena shmup with no color, no text, no sound effects, no keyboard, and no clicking. What's left? A sublimely addictive game that generates a sense of claustrophobia and paranoia. This feeling of fear and desperation is compounded by a haunting musical piece composed by e-d.

The game features a very creative collection of power-ups and special weapons with some impressive firepower. Even more interesting, these power-ups have additive features, encouraging a lot of creativity from the player as they try to survive. With a non-trivial learning curve and 74 levels, Areas will challenge even the most seasoned gamer for hours.

Name: Areas
Developer: Ridiculous
Category: Shooter
Type: Browser

Here is the download link for the new official beta version of Audiosurf, posted by Dylan just a couple of hours ago:

http://media.audio-surf.com/SetupAudiosurf_BetaWeekend2_1.19.08.exe

Caverns of Underkeep is a short roguelike game which will run on any internet browser with Java runtime applet installed. Developed by Joshua Smyth, this release features seven levels, the usual array of character classes and a comprehensive list of equipments to acquire or purchase from the nearby town.

The latest version still has some balance issues to be sorted out, but nothing too serious that a few code fixes can't solve.

Name: Caverns of Underkeep
Developer: Joshua Smyth
Category: Roguelike RPG
Type: Browser

A teaser trailer for Off-Road Velociraptor Safari, the physic-based velociraptor hunting game from Fun-Motion. [source: indiegamer.com]

D.K. has ported Good Luck Natsuki to the GP2X. Almost all of the levels are completely new, and there is a hidden character to be found by clearing all fifty stages and then pressing 'x' 16 times on the title screen.

Name: Good Luck Natsuki
Developer: Alpha Secret Base
Category: Puzzle/Platform
Type: Freeware
Size: 21MB
Platform: GP2X Only
Direct Download: Here

According to Rich, Pedro and Ordep's Space Adventure was made to fund the development of Gamma Bros 2. Script was not written by any members of Pixeljam, but the game does feature a couple of minor additions such as a new end level boss.

Name: Pedro and Ordep's Space Adventure
Developer: Pixeljam Games
Category: Shooter
Type: Browser

[Hey guys, Simon cross-posting in to point out the official announcement of the IGF Audience Award voting, with 10 games submitting playable demos this time. May the best game win - indie hounds may note that this is the first public version of Audiosurf and Goo, and the guitar-controlled Fret Nice is available in demo version again now.]

Organizers of the 2008 Independent Games Festival (IGF) have launched the IGF Audience Award voting website, allowing game fans everywhere to download, play, and choose a favorite all of the eligible Main Competition finalist indie games which submitted a publicly playable demo.

Online voting is open now and continues through the day of the IGF ceremony, taking place alongside the Game Developers Choice Awards at the 2008 Game Developers Conference February 20th. The games with eligible demos/versions are: Goo!, Snapshot Adventures: Secret Of Bird Island, Synaesthete, Gumboy Tournament, Iron Dukes, Clean Asia!, Fret Nice, Battleships Forever, Globulos.com, Audiosurf, and Tri-Achnid.

The winner of the Audience Award will be awarded a $2,500 prize, part of the $50,000 total in prizes being given as part of the IGF Main and Student Competitions. Downloads and web-playable versions of eligible Audience Award games are available at the official IGF Audience Award website; the full list of IGF finalists is available at the Independent Games Festival website.

In addition to those available to play via digital download, all finalist games will be playable at the IGF Pavilion, February 20-22, on the Game Developers Conference (GDC) Expo floor. Finalists were chosen from a record 173 entries and represent the growth of the independent games movement with innovative games of excellent quality, across various platforms. GDC, CMP Technology’s annual conference dedicated to the art, science and business of games, takes place Feb. 18-22, 2008 at the Moscone Convention Center in San Francisco.

“The independent game movement is truly about giving everyone a voice, so it is always important to us to echo that sentiment by giving the public their chance to give out an IGF award,” said Matthew Wegner, IGF Content Director.

The IGF was established in 1998 by the CMP Game Group to encourage innovation in game development and to recognize the best independent game developers, in the way that the Sundance Film Festival honors the independent film community. Wizards Of the Coast’s Gleemax.com is the 2008 Platinum Sponsor, alongside Microsoft’s XNA division and Sony as the Silver Sponsors, and DigiPen is the Platinum Student Showcase Sponsor.

For more information on the Independent Games Festival and to register for GDC, please visit the official Game Developers Conference website.

Gnome's Lair has a new article up, called 100 Excellent Free Games - featuring a selecting of remakes, mods, IFs and freewares galore to tickle anyone's fancy.

A demo for The Blackwell Convergence is now available for download. The first section of the game is playable, and includes a short tutorial plus voiced dialog.

The full version is scheduled for a release sometime in mid of 2008.

Name: The Blackwell Convergence
Developer: Wadjet Eye Games
Category: Adventure
Type: Demo
Size: 20MB

Audiosurf is a music game that works with any song you choose. Music that gives you an adrenaline rush are converted into wild roller coaster rides full of color and motion. Tunes that calm you down appear as cool colors against a relaxing sky.

In Audiosurf, you race down a futuristic and colorful highway. The highway, the traffic patterns, and the scenery are all synchronized to the music you have chosen from your own collection. You earn points for clustering together cars of the same color on the highway, and can compete with others on the internet for the high score on your favorite songs. Audiosurf builds a highway for any music CD, MP3, iTunes M4A, WMA, or OGG song you choose, so the experience that you have is totally up to you.

Audiosurf is one of only two games to get finalist status in three IGF categories (Seumas McNally Game Of The Year, Excellence In Audio and Technical Excellence). The winners of each category will be announced at the IGF awards ceremony at GDC, February 20. [Gamasutra interview]

Name: Audiosurf
Developer: Invisible Handlebar
Category: Action
Type: Demo
Size: 60MB
Download: from 2008 IGF Audience Award page

http://media.audio-surf.com/SetupAudiosurf_BetaWeekend2_1.19.08.exe

Dragonforce in the extended.

Goo is a soft body fluid physics game which can only be played using an Xbox360 wired controller. The goal of Goo is to surround enemy goos using your goos. When you surround a piece of enemy goo, you'll assimilate its mass and earn points. Like oil and water, goos don't mix, but they can be pulled and pushed around to surround or cut through each other.

You control a goo via the cursor called a Pilot. This Pilot can move around in 2D by using the left or right analogue stick. Moving the pilot around the Goo slightly perturbs the liquid near it. By pressing the right or left trigger, your Pilot will suck nearby goo, creating a dense patch of goo.

Name: Goo
Developer: PillowFort
Category: Action
Type: Freeware
Size: 30MB
Download: Click here
Requirements: Xbox360 controller

2008 IGF Audience Award page

Just a small collection of platformers by Lazrael that will never see the light of day. [Poyo]

Just wanted to thank everyone for their continued support, and also to two special people who helped out with some small changes to the site today. DrPetter sent an image fix for the header, and oranda assisted with adding permalinks to the title of each post.

If you're still having problems with the absence of formatting from the RSS feed, do let me know. We'll also try to provide a more comprehensive site search feature as soon as possible. Thanks!

Beluga Mk II is a brilliant throwback to a simpler era, when nobody cared that playing games and having seizures were synonyms. With a splash screen that proudly advertises "Four Colors System" and "8-bit Color Computer" in red, blue, and yellow, you know you've got a winner.

The list of things you can do in this game is simply huge, and translating all of the instructions out would be crazy. Generally speaking, though, pretty much everything is controlled by the 'z' key, with your attack changing based on where you are, what button you are pushing, and what direction you are moving. For example, pressing down while on the ground and firing will launch some mortar like bombs, holding the fire button before releasing while in the air produces a block-like returning weapon.

Name: Beluga Mk II
Developer: T. Matsushima
Category: Shooter
Type: Freeware
Size: 55K
Direct download link: Click here

You Found the Grappling Hook is a simple rope physics game consisting of ten short levels, featuring music by Aaron Kurtz.

Use the arrow keys to swing your character left and right. You only release the rope when the space key isn't held. The up and down cursor keys can be used to climb or descend. Press the F4 function key to switch between full screen or windowed mode.

Name:You Found the Grappling Hook!
Developer: messhof
Category: Action
Type: Freeware
Size: 5MB
Direct download link: Click here

Quantasm is an arena shooter in which the location of your turret is fixed, right in the center of the screen. Enemies appear from all sides of the arena, and you must prevent them from reaching the center or lose a ship.

Hold the left mouse button to shoot, and use the right button to clear the screen of enemies. Latter stages include rotating arenas, a variety of enemies, powerups and damsels to rescue.

Name: Quantasm
Developer: Ovine by Design, Smila
Category: Shooter
Type: Freeware
Size: 20MB

Online high score table

An interview with Michal Marcinkowski (pic. left, Soldat) and Sigvatr, developers of the upcoming Link-Dead and Berserker. (Link-Dead FAQ)

Hi guys, let's begin with a short introduction of yourselves.

MM: Hey, I'm Michal Marcinkowski and I make computer games since I can remember. My most known project so far has been the multiplayer mayhem called Soldat. It was first released 5 years ago and it is still growing.

Sig: My name is Eric Vaughn, but I go by the monicker Sigvatr on the internet. I can't really pin down exactly what I do for a living because there are so many different things I do with my time. Generally speaking, I do whatever I want, but in this particular case, I'm working on Berserker and Link-Dead with Michal.

You've recently announced Berserker, which is currently being developed in parallel with Link-Dead. Can you describe both games in your own words, and how is working on two projects simultaneously even possible?

Sig: Link-Dead is about using your brain, while Berserker is about using your anger. For me, making Berserker is a bit of a political thing because the country I live in (Australia) doesn't have an R18+ rating for video games. Any video game that would qualify for such a rating is simply banned immediately. I want to challenge the Australian censorship lobby by releasing an explicitly violent and sexual game for free on the internet because they won't be able to do anything about it.

I want to put my best graphical efforts into Link-Dead, so Berserker has been good practice in the meantime.

MM: Working on these two games is possible because Berserker is like a mod for Link-Dead. It uses the same engine, character animations and physics. This is possible and fairly easy because of my new engine.

Seizuredome is a new remake of Unholy Stage, the arena shooter released by cactus back in 2007. The objective of the game is to stay away the edge of the screen, which can be rather complicated when enemies are attempting to push you off the suspended platform at every opportunity.

Use the cursor keys to move, and hold the left mouse button to shoot. Right click for an alternate firing method, applicable to all weapons available for acquisition from vanquished enemies.

Name: Seizuredome
Developer: cactus
Category: Shooter
Type: Freeware
Size: 5MB
Direct download link: Click here

High score table

Harpooned is a Cetacean Research Simulator disguised as a vertical shooter, in which you play the role of a Japanese scientist performing research on whales around Antarctica.

Name: Harpooned
Developer: monoRAIL
Category: Shooter
Type: Freeware
Size: 10MB
Direct download link: Click here

Fishie Fishie is a new release from the creator of Polychromatic Funk Monkey, in which players only require the use of a single button to play. The aim of the game is basically to grab all the fishes in each level to progress, and a checkpoint is placed in every fifth stage.

Hold the space key to turn in one direction, or tap it rapidly to swim forward. An addictive little one-switch effort, though extremely challenging towards the end.

Name: Fishie Fishie
Developer: Farbs
Category: Action
Type: Freeware
Size: 5MB
Direct download link: Click here

In Kyle Gabler's latest release, your objective is to guide a group of robots as they cause destruction to everything that attempts to stand against them. The mission starts out simple enough, but town inhabitants will soon retaliate with armies and helicopters in an attempt to stop the invasion.

There are only two robots to purchase, and the upgrades will max out after a while. Hearts collected can be used to heal your droids as well.

Name: Robot and the Cities that Built Him
Developer: 2DBoy
Category: Action
Type: Browser

Sigma Team has unleashed a new game which is essentially another sequel to Alien Shooter, but with zombies populating the dark corners of each level instead of the usual variety of extraterrestrials. The demo limits your playing time, but cheat do allow players to take the weapons (old and new) for a test run.

For serious AS fans only. [source: Indie Games Group]

Name: Zombie Shooter
Developer: Sigma Team
Category: Action
Type: Demo
Size: 30MB