Questionaut is a new point and click adventure by the developers of Machinarium and the Samorost series. True to it's name, players can expect to be quizzed on matters such as physics, mathematics and even general knowledge. The game consists of eight short stages in total. (BBC link)

Name: Questionaut
Developer: Amanita Design
Category: Adventure
Type: Browser

New information about two of cactus' projects in development were recently posted on Cactus Software and Lo-Fi Minds.

Brain-Dead Toon Underworld, or BDTUW! for short, is a slick and stylish platformer set in the bad neighborhoods of the cartoon universe. You're Twink, a harmless little creature who wakes up and finds himself in bad company. Only able to communicate through cute sounds and gibberish, you'll realize that it's a hard task to get yourself back to where you belong.

In Secret Agent Hotel you wake up to find yourself in a strange situation. A mysterious voice is claiming that you are an undercover agent, and is giving you information about your objective through a plug in your ear. It says that the hotel you are staying at isn't really a hotel, but the head quarters and training facility of a huge terrorist organization that is about to unleash fear and terror all over the world. Your first task is to get to room 257, the door that will take you to the deepest inner of the enemy. But what you find behind the door is course upon course of twisted obstacles. As you progress, you start to notice that the enemy seems to be aware of your every move, and the story that the voice in your ear is telling you is getting harder to believe by the second.

Also: the art of play. A symposium on games as art, taking place at CMU in Pittsburgh (March 31st - April 1st). Speakers include Phil Fish, Jason Rohrer, Randy Smith, Heather Kelley and Cindy Poremba.

Jonathan Blow and David Hellman interviewed by the 1UP crew.

Perfectionism is the first of many games to be published together with Jason Rohrer's monthly column for The Escapist (titled "Game Design Sketchbook"). This new project was created using Game Maker, and will only work on PCs with the Windows operating system installed.

The rules are simple enough. Click on two rows or columns to swap yellow blocks. Points are scored by placing the blocks inside hollow squares. Only rows can be swapped with rows, and likewise with columns. Browse levels by clicking on the green arrows located at the bottom of the screen. A penalty of one point is incurred whenever the player is flipping through any of the twenty-six stages in the game.

Name: Perfectionism
Developer: Jason Rohrer
Category: Puzzle
Type: Freeware
Size: 2MB

(source: Braid News)

Clean Asia interview (video link)

From 1UP: More interviews with the developers of Fez, Crayon Physics, Noitu Love 2, Audio Surf and Fret Nice in the extended.

[IndieGames.com parent Think Services also manages Dr. Dobb's Journal, the seminal programming website/magazine - founded in 1975! - which provides plenty of hardcore coding info. It's just launched the Dobbs Challenge game competition, which is fairly pertinent to indies - full info below!]

Think Services is pleased to announce the launch of the first ever Dobbs Challenge, a special game competition brought to you in association with the world-renowned Dr. Dobb's Journal for software developers, and Microsoft.

To participate, firstly download the specially created 'Dr. Dobb's Challenge' games for either Windows and Windows Mobile. Then you can win from a prize pool of $10,000 by modifying the games using a trial version of Visual Studio 2008.

The games star the first-ever personification of Dr. Dobbs, alongside the characters from Microsoft's 'Defy All Challenges' machinima videos, as you battle to collect Visual Studio icons and complete the levels. Full source code and art for the games are freely provided for programmers to 'mod' the results and win prizes. Here's all you need to know to participate.

Some notes for indie developers interested in participating. Firstly, the Windows version of the game (which is fun to play even if you don't know how to mod it, actually) was created by the folks at Grubby Games, the makers of IGF finalist Professor Fizzwizzle. The whole thing is really well commented in code, and there are also tutorials on the site.

The Grubby folks designed the fun SD-style cartoonization of Dr. Dobbs and Microsoft's 'Defy All Challenges' machinima characters - who are featured in this video, in case you wondered who they are. The game itself lets you pick from the main characters and has somewhat of a 'time attack' feeling to it - you can also use the mouse to grab icons from far away.

In addition, there's a different Windows Mobile version of the game designed by the folks from indie PocketPC developer B3Team, and there's actually a conventional Windows executable version of that game in the Windows Mobile download package, if you want to check it out. It has slightly different, more 'oldschool' gameplay and specially designed pixel art of the main characters from Adam Saltsman.

As for deadlines and other info, there's a $1,000 'First Month Challenge' that closes on April 14th, and the other $9,000 of prizes have a June 13th deadline - including Best Windows Game ($4,000), Best Windows Mobile Game ($2,000), Best One Button Game ($1,000), Best Game Starring Dr Dobbs And The Defy All Challenges Crew ($1,000, and Best Total Conversion ($1,000) - for making something that's completely different in genre/style from the original Dr. Dobbs Challenge, but still keeps 'collect Visual Studio icons' as the mechanic and starts from the same codebase.

Finally, we know independent game developers care about what they can do with games after they've made them. So we are intending to allow games that use the source code to be released elsewhere by the creator - if they desire - after the competition is finished. This will probably be by licensing the underlying code itself under a BSD license at that point, though you would obviously need to remove any Microsoft/Dobbs character assets if wanting to release it elsewhere - watch this space.

The Hangover is a new art game experience which should feel very familiar to those who have been in similar situations. The trippy ride is a short one, and comes with a seizure warning.

Name: The Hangover
Developer: Jan Willem Nijman
Category: Action
Type: Freeware
Size: 2MB
Direct download link: Click here

Open Doors is a puzzler created by Ozzie Mercado. The objective of the game is to shift a white square towards the exit marked X in each of the twenty-five levels.

Use the arrow keys to slide the square around, and press the R key to reset a room at any time. Doors can only swing open or close in one direction, and progress in the game is saved automatically. Completing all stages unlocks a bonus mode.

Name: Open Doors
Developer: Ozzie Mercado
Category: Puzzle
Type: Browser

There's a new port of Kenta Cho's Noiz2sa for the iPod Touch and iPhone. Fancy that.

Apple iPhone School: NOIZ2SA v1.0
Noiz2sa for Ipod Touch, Iphone web site

Something came up in the local papers today, so I scanned the entire article for your reading pleasure.

Guardian is a vertical shooter developed using the Game Maker engine, in which five levels are promised but at times a small bug will cause gameplay to stop at the third. Hold the C key to shoot, press the Z key to activate your shields, and tap the X key to use any special attacks acquired from collecting power-ups.

The game isn't without flaws, but delivers just enough action to distract most players from its shortcomings.

Name: Guardian
Developer: Graffito Games
Category: Shooter
Type: Freeware
Size: 5MB

Armed Seven is the new mech-based horizontal shooter by Astro Port, the development team previously known as DHC. The trial version features two playable levels with obligatory boss battles at the end of each. Hold the Z key to shoot, and press either the X or C key to use your special weapon.

Name: Armed Seven
Developer: Astro Port
Category: Shooter
Type: Demo
Size: 20MB
Direct download link: Click here

A hundred indie games (revealed weekly, over the period of one month) ranging from freeware, shareware, imports, mods and even abandonware to waste more time on.

Caltrops: The Top 100 Indie Games

Switching Gears is a 3D platformer made in the style of the Ratchet and Clank series, in which you step into the metal boots of a delivery robot on a mission to save his city with the help of a few droid buddies.

The game consists of one short level, and was recently picked by InstantAction as one of their upcoming products for GarageGames' new web gaming platform. Use the W, A, S and D keys to move, tap the space key to jump, and hold the left mouse button to shoot. Both mouse buttons are also used to interact with levers or direct helper droids.

Broken droids can be regenerated at cloning stations, provided that you have their discs in possession when attempting to revive them. Only one disc can be carried at any time, but you will need all three near the end of the first stage to complete the game. An uninstaller is not included.

Name: Switching Gears
Developer: Affectworks
Category: Action, Platformer
Type: Demo
Size: 30MB
Direct download link: Click here (right-click to save)

From the Braid journal: Jason Rohrer (Passage, Gravitation) will be presenting a speech at NYU on April 11th 2008. The event is taking place on the 9th floor of Tisch Hall, in the lobby. The talk is titled 'art games' and 'game mechanics as metaphor'. Videos will be posted shortly after the seminar.

"In his lecture "The Game Design of Art," Jason Rohrer will present his observations from the front lines of the "games as art" debate. The fundamental question for Rohrer is not "Can games be art?", but instead, "How can we make art with our games?" Through comparison with film and critical analysis of several example artgames, the talk will explore one possible creative route: using game mechanics as metaphor." (source: Gaming Seminar)

Jason Rohrer: games as art

The Pinoy Indie Games Competition (February 1st - 3rd, 2008) is an event organized by the Game Developers Association in Manila, Philippines to foster interest in the field of game development among students and IT professionals. The challenge is to create a game from scratch in 48 hours or less. (more videos in the extended)

Brass Hats is a wargame inspired by classics like Nectaris and Advance Wars, with a focus on perfect play balance. Players command units like infantry, snipers, tanks, zeppelins and naval craft with combined arms tactics. Online multiplayer is included, along with a full map editor. Brass Hats is available for both PC and Mac.

Name: Brass Hats
Developer: Square Earth Games
Category: Strategy
Type: Demo
Size: 10MB
Platform: PC, Mac
Direct download link: Click here

Previews

DigiPen Games Gallery 2007: A preview for the latest batch of DigiPen student games is up, though actual downloads will only be available sometime in April 2008.

Sandbox of God 2: Mr. Chubigans had posted a release schedule for 2008 in his new development journal.

Machinarium: New artwork added to the official web site.

Remakes

Hunters Moon: The remake of Thalamus' shoot 'em up on the C64 is now available for download. (development thread)

ChopRaider: A Flash remake of Raid on Bungeling Bay, originally posted in the Retro Remakes forums.

Freescape: A video demonstration for the Freescape engine remake uploaded.

Hector'39 is a doujin game made by Ichigo-Citron, featuring an unofficial appearance by Hatsune Miku from Yamaha's singing synthesizer series. This vertical shooter has basic enemy sprites, and consists of only two playable stages in the trial version.

Hold the Z key to shoot, press the X key to activate your special attack, and use the C key to reduce your movement speed. The F3 function key can be pressed at any time to pause the game. (more screenshots and gameplay video in the extended)

Name: Hector39
Developer: Ichigo-Citron
Category: Shooter
Type: Demo
Size: 5MB
Direct download link: Click here

Gun Mute is a new intereactive fiction adventure game by Pacian, also the developer of the philosophical Poizoned Mind released just a few months back. Step into the shoes of Mute Lawton, a lone cowboy who must stop an execution set to occur at noon by shooting his way past dangerous cyborgs and mutants in a post-apocalyptic western setting.

The game has been made extremely accessible in several ways. Travel paths are limited to forward and backward motions. Your aim in each screen is to defeat the rogue or outlaw impeding your progress, and a helpful hint feature is included to ensure that players are able to solve all puzzles using subtle suggestions or outright solutions.

Name: Gun Mute
Developer: C.E.J. Pacian
Category: Adventure, I.F.
Type: Freeware
Size: 1MB
Direct download link: Click here

.t3 file, playable on Mac using Spatterlight, or Linux using Gargoyle

A couple of new interviews with N+'s development team. (Legend of Zelda remade as N+ levels shown above)

Interview: Metanet and N+, part 1
Interview: Metanet and N+, part 2
bonus: Q-Games' Dylan Cuthbert interview

Atomhex is an arena shooter that has a complicated scoring system and numerous control options for the player to experiment with. Dual analog control is recommended, though a mouse and keyboard combination works just as well.

The game is basically centered around coloured hexes and white atoms. Destroy the shields surrounding a single coloured hex, then collect them for points. Energized shields are formed whenever a white atom joins a hex, and these can only be destroyed if your shots match their color. Change your shot color by collecting single unshielded hexes.

Your ship will be pulled into the subatomic world when a hex is allowed to join six atoms. Split all six atoms by shooting at them, then destroy all spinning quarks to leave this bonus round. (source: the2bears)

Name: Atomhex
Developer: Mark Incitti
Category: Shooter
Type: Demo
Size: 5MB
Price: USD $5.00 - 20.00
Demo download link: Click here

Download Grid Wars

The track used in Erik Svedäng's Blueberry Garden trailer (Et Apres) is available as a 20 MB free download from daduk's Jamendo page.

daduk: Et Apres album download