1UP Specials: RSVP. Debut episode features Jonathan Mak, Dylan Cuthbert and Erik Wolpaw. (source, part 1, part 2, part 3)

Love is a minimalistic platformer consisting of twenty playable levels (five in the demo).

Use the F5 and F6 function keys to change window size. Press the A key to jump, or hold the same button for a higher leap. Use the S key to set a spawn point, and press the D key to respawn at the cost of a life.

Name: Love
Developer: Fred Wood
Category: Platformer
Type: Demo
Size: 20MB
Download link: Click here (mirror)

Hadn't seen this mentioned anywhere - Deus Ex: Game of the Year Edition will be arriving on GameTap as a free download very soon (usually within a week after it has been posted on the sidebar of GameTap's free games page).

The difference between this version and the original release are the inclusion of the latest updates, multiplayer support and a software development kit to accomodate mods and user creations.

There is one small problem though. Due to the mature content that the game carries, only U.S. and Canadian residents can apply for a TapID to verify their age and play the game.

Deus Ex Free on GameTap
Indie Game Pick: Mr. Robot

An interview with Dan Tabar, the developer of Cortex Command. Data Realms' debut release has been called awesome, astounding, heaps of fun, and even proclaimed as the greatest physics game ever.

Hi Dan, how about we begin with a small introduction?

Howdy, I'm Dan "Data" Tabar. I'm the 'Development Director' at Data Realms, which is the fancy title meaning I simply run the game dev here.

I was born and grew up in Sweden, but now live and work in Phoenix, AZ. Mostly work from home, but a few days out of the week I work out of the offices of the good friends and fellow indie developers Flashbang Studios. Just to get out of the house and be a little social.. also helps boost my productivity to get into the office environment from time to time.

Have you released anything else in the past, besides Cortex Command? Anything that we can download?

Nope! I've worked professionally on several software projects before though, from a lab at NASA Ames Research Center in Silicon Valley, to stints at Rainbow Studios and 2XL Games here in Phoenix.

Oh.. the spacecraft docking simulation app I worked on at NASA might still be on the lab's site... but it's not really worth checking out.

Epsilon is a puzzle game which requires the act of manipulating time and space to solve each level. Your main objective is to collect all tokens to activate the exit portal, achieved by guiding the energized orb around the stage using two handy wormholes.

The first five modules basically serve as a helpful tutorial on changing the position of wormholes, pausing the game to plan your next move, turning back time using the X key, utilizing gravity fields to change the direction of the orb, and even employing ghost rooms to determine the outcome of every act of teleportation. There are fifteen stages to complete in the final module. (screenshots)

Name: Epsilon
Developer: Dissolute Productions
Category: Puzzle
Type: Browser

Meatball Rocket is a short horizontal shooter consisting of three levels, in which players can only harm enemies by throwing objects at them. Use the arrow keys to move, and grab enemies or boxes by pressing the Z key. An extra life is awarded for every hundred coins collected.

Name: Meatball Rocket
Developer: X680x0 Club
Category: Shooter
Type; Freeware
Size: 10MB
Direct download link: Click here

Robokill is a top-down shooter where players can configure their robots using weapons and upgrades acquired from defeated enemies, crates or even bought from the shop located at the starting point of each map.

Use the W, A, S and D keys to move. Hold the left mouse button to shoot, and press the I key to display the inventory screen. Clearing a room with a teleporter allows a player to hop from one room to another using the map, which can be accessed by pressing the M key.

The demo consists of four long missions, while the full version offers ten levels split into three episodes. (source: Indiegamer)

Name: Robokill
Developer: Rock Solid Arcade
Category: Action
Type: Browser

Bear Eraser is a matching game where tiles are only removed when the same pieces are adjacent to one another. Each tile has a number that will be deducted from the figure shown at the bottom left of the screen when they are clicked on.

Clear enough tiles to advance one level and regain ten points of health. The game ends when this counter is reduced to zero. An orange gear icon with the number three written on it will appear occasionally, and can be used to click on three tiles consecutively without any penalties. (thanks to Adam R. Box for the translation)

Name: Bear Eraser
Developer: Charapal
Category: Puzzle
Type: Browser

The winners of Swedish Game Awards 2008 have been announced.

Game of the Year 2008: Magicka

Best Innovation: Blueberry Garden

Best Execution: Boingo

Mobile Games: Swarm

Three out of four winning entries (and other submitted games) are mostly available for download from the Gamer's Choice page. (part two in the extended)

EarthBound - Drugstore/Humoresque of a Little Dog (vocal)

inno vation is a black and white platformer created by the developer of Every Extend, in which players are given control of a wild boar on a search for treasure and rare items. Use the cursor keys to move, and press the Z key to jump. Hold both Z and the down arrow key to descend downwards when walking over thin platforms. Health is recovered automatically, and new abilities such as the double jump are gained by collecting certain objects.

Grabbing the Hawk or Taka item will end your quest. Acquire all nineteen treasures to unlock the lunker mode.

Name: inno vation
Developer: O-MEGA
Category: Platformer
Type: Freeware
Size: 1MB
Direct download link: Click here

PaperBlast is a new arena shooter from Jesse Venbrux controlled entirely using the mouse. Enemy spawn points are marked by spinning red squares seconds before they appear, while shots can be concentrated in one main direction by repeatedly tapping the left mouse button. Use the right button to activate one of your three bombs. Weapon is upgraded automatically as the game progresses.

Press the F4 function key to switch between windowed and full screen mode.

Name: PaperBlast
Developer: Jesse Venbrux
Category: Shooter
Type: Freeware
Size: 5MB
Download instructions: Click here

Online high score table

High quality version. (source: thatgamecompany)

a game about bouncing will be released on June 7th, 2008.

Zoomstar Megaracing Maximum is a bite-sized racing game which requires only the use of two keys to play. There are only six tracks to race on but the challenge is extended by variations on the number of laps required to complete a race, different cars and slightly modified tracks for each of the nine trophies.

Use the left or right cursor keys to steer the hover car. Speed decreases whenever your car passes over grass or sand, and will explode when it comes to a halt.

No AI racers were included due to the requirements of The Twenty Event Contest.

Name: Zoomstar Megaracing Maximum
Developer: Nick Gregory
Category: Action
Type: Freeware
Size: 10MB
Direct download link: Click here

The Scourge is a survival horror game taking place in a presumably empty house over the course of one night, represented as five minutes' worth of action-oriented gameplay. You start off with no weapons, but will soon be presented with the choice of a shotgun or uzi to defend yourself from the endless hordes of zombies out to eat your flesh.

Use the W, A, S, D or cursor keys to move, and hold the left mouse button to shoot.

Name: The Scourge
Developer: Akith Games
Category: Action
Type: Freeware
Size: 20MB
Direct download link: Click here

World of Pong is an experimental remake of the age-old classic arcade game with multiplayer features, created using the versatile Game Maker engine. Players are asked to choose a side at the start, and the bat levels up whenever you hit the ball before any other player does. Your bat also moves faster at higher levels.

Name: World of Pong
Developer: Erik Svedäng
Category: Action
Type: Freeware
Size: 1MB
Download mirror: Click here

Penny Arcade Adventures: A demo for Greenhouse's flagship title is now available. (mirrors)

Tale of Tales: Michael Samyn had begun posting parts to an article on the creative process involved in making their latest art game.

Soundtracks

Cave Story: Shih Tzu had posted a link to an unofficial Doukutsu Monogatari music arrangement soundtrack. (fan art)

Noitu Love 2: Soundtrack to Joakim's 2D platformer now available for download.

Press

Dino Run: Pixeljam Games' latest release reviewed on Indie Nation. The podcast also reveals TOTINOS as the password to unlock the special robot hat. (pictured right)

Freeloader: Both Makibishi Comic and Toribash mentioned in 1UP's special feature.

Interviews

Dwarf Fortress: Tarn Adams chats with Ross Payton of Role Playing Public Radio.

Cortex Command: Data Realms' debut release featured in Play magazine.

Spooks: Erin Robinson interviewed by Yesterday's Salad.

Thrustburst is basically a remake of an old arcade game which involves navigating treacherous caverns by activating your thrusters using the W, A, D or cursor keys. Energy can be increased by lightly grazing the cavern walls and ceilings, preferably with the tail end of your ship. Activate the Energy Shield by pressing the shift or tab key, and press space or the left control key to fire the Defender Cannon. Use the F1 function key or hold the left alternate and enter key to toggle fullscreen.

To destroy the asteroid's core, simply approach it with maximum energy. The Energy Shield and Defender Cannon must not be used during this final approach. The regular difficulty setting is only fifty kilometers long, but there are two additional gameplay modes to unlock by completing the game. Thrustburst also supports both analog and wired Xbox 360 controllers. (source: ptoing)

Name: Thrustburst
Developer: Umlautgames
Category: Action
Type: Freeware
Size: 3MB

6 Differences is a sequel to the popular spot the difference game where pictures come alive with all sorts of animation or movement, and players would have to find half a dozen discrepancies in each pair of photos in order to progress. A hint feature can be accessed once per level by pressing the H key. There are fourteen stages in total.

Name: 6 Differences
Developer: Case
Category: Puzzle
Type: Browser

MicroLand is a miniscule platformer consisting of twenty-five levels in total, and comes with a fullscreen option which is activated by pressing the F4 function key. Press the S key to jump or double jump, and tap the A key rapidly to shoot. Special abilities are only accessible once you've acquired their respective power-up items. Certain enemies can be stomped on for points. The game also provides ample save locations and an infinite number of lives. (source: The Poppenkast)

Name: MicroLand
Developer: Shoo
Category: Platformer
Type: Freeware
Size: 5MB

Tactical Assassin 2 is a sequel to the popular browser game involving a string of sniper missions connected by an overarching story. Most of your objectives are clearly stated in green text, though the developer had also subtly designed several missions as self-contained puzzles for the players to solve.

Hold the left mouse button to shoot, and press the right arrow key to use a diazepam. The shop carries a number of rifles and add-ons, but the game is relatively easy to complete with only the occasional purchase of ammunitions required to proceed through all nine levels included. Note that Tactical Assassin 2 still has a couple of bugs which may cause missions to fail without reason or render them impossible to complete.

Name: Tactical Assassin 2
Developer: Simon Hason
Category: Action
Type: Browser

"I've spent a lot of time hating Everyday Shooter.

It started as an offshoot of my hatred for the Independent Games Festival; in 2006, knowing very little about the IGF competition and "indie gaming" in general, I submitted Season Stacker, a Gameboy Advance game that I'd poured lots of blood, sweat, tears, and my own money into, and which I felt was a solid - albeit not very original - puzzle game. When the finalists were announced, I discovered that my precious little game was not on the list, and was further mortified to discover that it had been beaten out by games generally falling into two categories: games with budgets large enough that it seemed a sin to call them "indie" (like Darwinia) and games that nobody outside of academia had ever heard of or even seen a single screenshot of (like Braid). I denounced the whole IGF competition as a confederacy of dunces, and ran off to cry into a pillow."

Continue reading "I've spent a lot of time hating Everyday Shooter" »

Warning: Contains flashing images which may cause photosensitive epileptic seizures.

messhof's Randy Balma: Municipal Abortionist is a collection of four loosely-related mini-games which can only be played in order. Use the cursor keys to move, and press the F4 function key to switch between windowed and full screen modes. The game comes with a free headache.

Name: Randy Balma, Municipal Abortionist
Developer: messhof
Category: Action
Type: Freeware
Size: 20MB

Nano War is a remake of Phil Hassey's strategy game Galcon, which in turn is a remake of an old DOS game. The action mainly involves capturing white cells and eliminating all green cells from each of the twelve stages, simply by moving units from one cell to another.

Left click on a red cell, then click on another cell to send half of the number of units out from the first cell. The production rate of units and maximum unit storage value are dependent on the size of each cell.

Note that the current playable build also has several pathfinding and menu interface bugs.

Name: Nano War
Developer: Benoit Freslon
Category: Strategy
Type: Browser

Hollow Point is a top-down shooter created by a team of DigiPen students, which plays a bit like a combination of Gauntlet and Smash TV. The exit portal for each level is usually guarded by a horde of enemies, but to your advantage there are plenty of weapons and power-up items to acquire as well.

Installing the game also automatically updates your operating system with the latest version of DirectX, the .NET Framework 2.0 and XNA 2.0 runtime.

Name: Hollow Point
Category: Action
Type: Freeware
Size: 30MB

A new game in development by nenad (Counterclockwise, Ablation).

Rescue: The Beagles is a side-scrolling platformer with a map that moves at a constant speed. Players have to negotiate the treacherous terrain, collect beagles and avoid the bad guys.

PixelJunk Eden developer walkthrough
Everyday Shooter out now in Japan for the PSN (source: Tacashi)
Indie Nation 18: Everyday Shooter

Nominees for the Swedish Game Awards have been announced. The grand finale will be held on the 24th of May, 2008 (this Saturday). Shown above, trailer for one of the nominated games - Boingo.

Swedish Game Awards 2008: Nominees
Swedish Game Awards 2008: Grand Finale

Retro Raider is a remake of Eidos' popular 3D platformer in a retro-style, which comes with support for a number of control configuration preferences. Use Q, A, O, P or the cursor keys to move, and hold the space, Z or X key to shoot. Complete your mission objective by finding the golden cross, which is located only a couple of screens away from the starting point. (nude patch)

Name: Retro Raider
Developer: Jayenkai
Category: Action
Type: Freeware
Size: 1MB
Direct download link: Click here

Precision is a new action game by cactus which involves timing your leaps to collect every green bottle in each of the seven levels included. Use the cursor keys to jump or increase your running momentum. Press the left or right arrow key when the main menu is shown to change the time of the day.

Name: Precision
Developer: cactus
Category: Action
Type: Freeware
Size: 2MB
Direct download link: Click here

Online high score table

An alpha version for Flashbang Studios' much-awaited Jetpack Brontosaurus is available to play now. The current build only has a couple of sparse missions but more content is promised in the next update. Use W, A, S, D or arrow keys to move, and press the space key to activate your jets. Hold the left mouse button to move the camera view around. Requires the installation of Unity web player to run. (source: Fun-Motion)

Name: Jetpack Brontosaurus
Developer: Flashbang Studios
Category: Action
Type: Browser

So, you may have spotted a just-debuted announcement about Austin GDC 2008 opening its registration - in there is the revelation that "an Independent Games Festival (IGF) showcase" will be part of the September 15-17th 2008 show.

However, that's all the information we've released thus far, so I wanted to explain in more detail and offer an informal call for submissions to this IGF Showcase. It will be significantly different from the traditional Independent Games Festival competition, summit and finalist exhibition that we hold every February/March at Game Developers Conference in San Francisco. (Though it will be similar in that each picked game will be showcased in a special IGF booth, with free all-access show passes for the developers.)

Basically, we decided that the event doesn't necessarily need another worldwide indie showcase - especially as the Independent Games Festival at GDC does that on such a large scale already, and will always be our flagship event (call for submissions for IGF 2009 will be up in the next 4-6 weeks, by the way!)

In addition, the Texas/Southern game scene has such a rich and interesting tapestry, from Origin Systems to Gamecock Media Group and beyond, and we wanted to honor that by doing a special 'IGF Presents' and picking some 'local flavor' in terms of interesting startups, indies, and game creators from Austin and beyond.

So that's just what we are doing! This won't be a fully-fledged 'competition' as such, but the IGF organizers will work with some of our trusted advisors to pick a select amount of Texas/Southern indie game creators to showcase in a special IGF booth at the event. We've already been making semi-discreet enquiries and have a list of possible companies to choose from, but we're definitely open to more suggestions.

So, if you're a Southern developer (we don't yet have a precise geographical boundary - use common sense!) who would like to be showcased at the IGF in Austin in September - and bearing in mind you'll need to turn up in person and show your game to the assorted publishers, developers, and luminati in attendance, of course - then please email chairman@igf.com with the following information:

- Name/location of developer & URL of official webpage/full contact details.
- What's the game and what's its platform? Brief description, please.
- Can you provide us with links to screenshots, movies, or a playable version of your title?
- A few words about what makes you 'indie', in whatever abstracted form that phrase is valid nowadays.

We're looking for all kinds of neat independently produced games - both professional and student, PC and potentially console/handheld, offline and online - so feel free to contact us on or before June 15th with your suggestions, and we'll start announcing 'IGF Presents' showcase games soon.

Simon.
[Chairman, IGF.]

Gish fans can soon download and play a port of Cryptic Sea's popular physics platformer game on their J2ME-enabled mobile phones. Multiplayer modes such as the classic deathmatch and cooperative games will be supported via the Bluetooth function. (source: Fun-Motion)

Gish Mobile web site

Game projects from the latest batch of DigiPen students are now available for download.

DigiPen's Gallery of Games 2007-2008

In Kryzta, players have to direct shots from enemies toward each other to damage them, thus generating small units to collect for points. Only enemy bullets and projectiles can damage your ship. Use the cursor keys to move, and press the Z key to activate your special weapon when available. Made for Poppenkast's 3 hour competition.

Name: Kryzta
Developer: cactus
Category: Action
Type: Freeware
Size: 2MB

Online high score table

Pictures taken at the exhibition of messhof's games.

A Breakout-style game from the developer of Understanding Games, set to be released next month.

New prototype trailer for Hampa's upcoming 3D racing game, Glitchracer. Release date: Q4 2008. (contains loud music, old preview in the extended)

Vector Infector is a new epilepsy-inducing arena shooter created by Oddbob. Use the cursor keys to move, and hold the Z key to shoot. Bullets and laser beams should be avoided at all costs. Destroy a cloud at the right time to activate the Brucey bonus. (use JoytoKey or Xpadder for gamepad support)

Name: Vector Infector
Developer: Oddbob
Category: Shooter
Type: Freeware
Size: 5MB

Review by Gr.Viper

Another big mech game coming right up! It's old but still has its charm. Unlike recently picked Bootfighter, Young's Modulus should be more appealing to Battletech (or Earthsiege) fans. That is the mechs here are ugly, heavy and steer like a sleigh full of bricks. But their enormous mass means that inside there's a lot of space for fitting weapons and equipment.

The curious might learn about the plot in game's readme but basically YM boils down to destroying two-legged steel balls that spit plasma. You can either do it in Quick Combat mode or start an alien extermination campaign where you'll have to fight for many planets and manage resources such as money, metal, energy to build more mechs. Research is also required to hit the enemy with the best stuff.

Despite simple graphics and bland menus the action feels very immersive because the view bobs with mech's steps and flashes from gunshots light everything in the area while you listen to cold computer voice listing failed subsystems. And you will feel the failures: controls start acting strange, HUD and tactical radar go haywire, IR and low-light vision flicker, reactor loses output, batteries leak and rear-view camera shows black screen. Then you fall down.

To prevent this you have to learn basic teammate controls and properly arm your mechs. Good choice of weapons allows all kinds of combinations: fast unarmoured gunner with jump jets, heavily shielded stomper with missiles and flamer, invisible cloaked laser sniper etc. You decide! Although in quick combat the choice of weapons is limited to mech's tech level while in campaign you can try to fit newly developed weapons into older gear. (tip: do not use emergency power while running up hill - mech's legs are more likely to slip with throttle over 100%)

P.S. It might be hard to see where the unlock "code" goes: main screen, bottom text field.

Name: Young's Modulus
Developer: Austin Meyer
Category: Action
Type: Freeware (demo unlocks with any 6-digit code)
Size: 25MB
Direct download link: Win, Mac

"Edge catching up with the fiercely independent creators of N to get their unique insight on working with Microsoft, the struggle of maintaining their artistic vision, and what it means to be indie." (source: GameSetWatch)

Interview: Metanet - Independent Minds

Debrysis is a Geometry Wars-style arena shooter which uses a combination of both keyboard and mouse for controls. The handy radar indicates the position of all enemies and power-ups on field which are out of your view, shown as red and blue arrows on screen. Your best score and weapon of choice can be submitted online after the end of each game.

Name: Debrysis
Developer: OUEO factory
Category: Shooter
Type: Freeware
Size: 5MB
Direct download link: Click here

Online high score table

Beltality is a simple one switch game with two gameplay modes, a window resize option and online high score tables. Depending on which mode is selected, your objective is either to stop people from passing through or assemble as many robots as you can without destroying them in the process. Power-up effects are acquired by allowing the alphabets to continue towards the other end of the screen safely.

Name: Beltality
Developer: OUEO factory
Category: Action
Type: Freeware
Size: 1MB
Direct download link: Click here

Online high score table

Evolution Shmup is Petri's experimental attempt at creating the perfect vertical shooter by tracking the amount of time that a player spends on each random iteration of a new game. Every refresh creates a different result, using elements from versions of Evolution Shmup which players have spent the most time on.

[This game is one of the entries into TIGSource's Procedural Generation contest.]

Name: Evolution Shmup
Developer: Petri Purho
Category: Shooter
Type: Browser

The objective of Putty Puzzle is to shift the correct coloured blocks and rest them on marked areas in each screen, achieved by breaking up and merging blobs of putty piece by piece. Use the R key to restart and press the escape key to access the main menu at any time.

The current build consists of only six playable stages in total, and requires a Java-enabled browser to run. (screenshots)

Name: Putty Puzzle
Developer: Kevin Glass
Category: Puzzle
Type: Browser

Crazy Bound 2 by CraftM is a 2D action game in the style of Within a Deep Forest, in which players have to guide a bouncing object past obstacles and dangers placed haphazardly in the underground caverns. Use the up and down arrow key to view other sections of the map, and hold the space key to center the view at all times. Wall jumps should be mastered in order to progress past the second stage. Hold the cursor key in the direction opposite of a wall to jump off it, and repeat the process in a small opening to scale upwards any surface. Red platforms will turn into the last tile you're in contact with.

Name: Crazy Bound 2
Developer: CraftM
Category: Action
Type: Freeware
Size: 5MB
Direct download link: Click here

Police Brutality: New game posted in Jason Rohrer's monthly column. (source: Lithium Leaf)

Morning's Wrath: Ethereal Darkness' isometric RPG now available as a free download from GameTap.

thatgamecompany: Kellee Santiago and Jenova Chen listed in Variety's "Ten Innovators to Watch Out For" feature. (article)

Danmaku Gata: Reasons behind the closure of shooter fans' number one news site translated. (source: the2bears)

Knytt Stories: Nifflas' latest 2D platformer mentioned in the local papers.

Atomhex: A review of Mark Incitti's new arena shooter.

Two-Digit Addition: GameDesign's latest release.

Jonathan Mak's Everyday Shooter (Windows version) is now available on Steam for only $8.99, though the game will retail at $9.99 after one week. Keyboard controls are supported, but players can use a gamepad or an Xbox 360 controller as well.

For Vista users: If Everyday Shooter runs without sound, try enabling XP SP2 compatibility mode to solve the problem. Switch to 32 bit colour to make the game run faster. (gameplay videos in the extended, source: Queasy Games)

Everyday Shooter on Steam

What follows is an informal chat with darthlupi, a respected indie developer in the Game Maker build your own game community - with releases such as Raging Skies, The Cleaner, Airdoo and Winter's Heart under his belt.

He also finished first in the Retro Remakes Competition (2004 edition) with his entry, Legend of Shadow - we talk to him about his releases and thoughts on the indie scene.

Hi lupi, can you introduce yourself for the benefit of our readers?

Sure. My name is Robert Lupinek. I've been making freeware video games for the last 4 or 5 years for the pure pleasure of it.

Hmmm, I like to drink dark beer and I think that ninjas do beat pirates.

Do you develop games full-time? Or supplement your hobby with a day job?

Ok first off - I work full-time during the day as a UNIX/Oracle admin. And I hate to think of game making as just a hobby - you know? Even if I have to do something else to feed the family, I hope to be able to support myself fully with game making someday. That is if I can get the art down right.

What do you do to relax?

I go camping. That is how I chill. I like to run and go camping with my wife and take pictures of nature. And I love, love, love to snorkel. If anyone wants a super happy snorkeling buddy give me a call!

Any recollections of the first game you've made?

Of course. It was called Hell Stalker! It was coded in QBasic. It was never completed because I foolishly didn't believe in backing up my hard drive. The first game anyone played was called SpoonPage. That game was so silly and awful and fun.

new screenshot from Amanita Design's Machinarium

You Have to Burn the Rope fan art, by Hempuli.

The complete video walkthrough for Yume Nikki.

"I remember people saying that they liked the EB0 area's music, so I figured I tell you all how to find it. Go into Yume Nikki (Folder, not game) -> Music, and look for a file that's a bunch of gibberish. It's an MP3 file, and it's 1.34MB. You may need to look through a few files to find it, but to help the file name has 001 at the end of it." - Giegue

pararalyzer is a generic vertical shooter consisting of only three short levels. Hold the Z key to shoot, press the X key to use your stun weapon and tap the C key to activate your shields. Collision with enemy ships or bullets will decrease your life gauge, though the red bar can be restored and even increased permanently by acquiring life ups and extends.

Pause the game at any time by pressing the S key. pararalyzer also features three difficulty settings and an online high score submission function. (source: shmups.system11.org)

Name: pararalyzer
Category: Shooter
Type: Browser

Ad Nauseam 2 seemed to be a pretty big hit on GamingW compared to your other games and a lot of people have said good things about it, what was the concept and idea behind it?

Well, first I started out wanting to make a game with powerful explosions. A shoot 'em up felt like the easiest way to do it. Technical limitations pretty much excluded most other genres anyway. So I decided to make as many enemies as I could before I got bored, and ended up with three levels worth.

I wanted the game to have a theme so I designed it after the game's title. I used the internet as the point of focus. The first level in the game is about my hate for emoticons. Unfortunately I've started to use them myself. It seems to be really hard to avoid them.

The next bit was about text, which there really seems to be no limit to how much there is on the net. And most of it is a waste of bandwidth, it seems. The final bit is about spam. Here we got porn, viagra, drugs and money, which seems to be the kind of e-mails I usually get that end up in the junk folder.

What programs do you use to make the graphics in your games?

MS Paint, or GM's built-in graphics editor which is practically the same as MS Paint.

Cactus Interview (Gaming World, forums)

Review by bigbossSNK

Dino Run (Pixeljam mirror) - The pyroclastic wall of doom is approaching. Nothing survives it. The premise is clear, you either run ahead of it, or you die. No one said survival was going to be easy in this dino-eat-dino world.

Pixeljam's latest game lets you decide the fate of a dino, and has the typical* features of a free indie game: old school pixel art, multiple areas to explore, achievements to unlock, upgrades and secrets to obsess over.

And to prove these dinos live in packs, the developers have included an online multiplayer mode that'll have you competing against other dinos across the Pangea. (Smack talking optional)

*By typical, I mean extraordinary

Name: Dino Run
Developer: PiXelJAM games
Category: Action
Type: Browser

Defend your Castle will be released for the WiiWare this May 12th, 2008. (announcement, interview, multiplayer gameplay video in the extended)

Review by Gr.Viper

It's time for some wanton destruction - Japanese style! Bootfighter Windom XP SP-2 features giant armed mechs (designs borrowed from Gundam) fighting in dense urban environments. Powerful weapons demolishing city buildings with one shot, jetpacks taking you sky high and special abilities like brief transformation are in common use both by player and AI bots, so battlegrounds tend to get pretty hot seconds after the battle begins.

The game also features Practice mode with disabled enemy AI. The other two modes are large scale battles with AI teammates - either until one team is destroyed or (in Blitz mode) until it loses its motherships which are huge and tough but not invulnerable.

Players are offered a good selection of gear to try on. Some mechs are pure melee types with a neat special ability thrown in (like long plasma whip), while others are designed for sniping and dealing massive damage at medium ranges. Several mechs can transform in flight to gain more speed but jetpacks rapidly drain energy, so long flights are impossible. Luckily, weapons drain energy from a different pool and each of them has its own cooldown counter so you'll never be unarmed even if your mech has no sword.

The default control scheme isn't very convenient to use but keys can be reassigned. Key combinations required to perform different tricks are listed in the manual, which has been translated into English along with readme and the few captions in game.

Mech models and animations are well done. Without shiny armor and plasma beams in the air the streets look pale and boring, although you won't have time to notice it unless you press the escape key and give the shot camera feature a try (controlled by cursor keys, W, A, S, D, Z, X and R for reset). A DirectX 9 video card is recommended, and the installation of .NET 2.0 is also required. With graphics set to full the game tends to get choppy when many mechs get together, although options to disable HDR and shaders are present. (screenshots, trailer in the extended)

Name: Bootfighter Windom XP SP-2
Developer: Y. Kamada
Category: Action
Type: Freeware
Size: 60MB
Direct download link: Click here

Behind the scenes footage captured by Kyle while creating the introductory screen for World of Goo, chapter 2.

Also: Castle Crashers

Mubbly Tower is basically a tower defense game built around the concept of making your structure as tall as you possibly can to please the king's increasing demands. The game ends when the tower does not reach the line for a certain amount of time, as indicated by the king's happiness gauge shown at the top left of the screen. To compound to your troubles, Wobbly creatures will attempt to topple the tower with all manners of attacks and projectiles in their arsenal.

Money gained from defeating Wobbly creatures can be used to hire mubblies to defend your tower. Mubbly Tower also comes with an online high score table, four unlockable modes and a bonus platformer game.

Name: Mubbly Tower
Developer: Jesse Venbrux, Ferry Spaans
Category: Strategy
Type: Freeware
Size: 10MB

Online high score table

Bowja the Ninja (on Factory Island) is a point and click adventure game in the style of The Visitor and Hapland. Your objective is to infiltrate the enemy's island and destroy their secret weapon, achieved by solving one or two simple puzzles in each screen to progress.

Some knowledge of Roman numerals is required to complete the game.

Name:Bowja the Ninja
Developer: Pencilkids
Category: Puzzle
Type: Browser

Echochrome out
Pixeljunk Monsters expansion pack

"The game (Brain-Damaged Toon Underworld) will be available in HD resolution, and has therefore gotten a new resolution and aspect ratio."

download trailer (high quality version)
Cactus Software

Fantastic Blood Boy is a 2D action game created by Gustav Kilman for TIGSource's VGNG competition, in which players have to protect red clot crystals from an entire army of sockpuppets. Blood Boy is practically invincible in the game, and touching a clot crystal will move it to a random position on screen. A new crystal is generated when you've collected enough blood from the sockpuppets you've destroyed. You may have up to three clot crystals at any time, but the game ends when you've lost all of them to exploding sockpuppets.

Deactivate a sockpuppet's destruction sequence by jumping off them. A crystal that isn't moving around will generate weapons, which can then be acquired by moving Blood Boy next to one.

Name: Fantastic Blood Boy
Developer: Gustav Kilman
Category: Action
Type: Freeware
Size: 5MB

The Amazing Brain Train, Grubby Games (Windows, Mac, Linux)

Larva Mortus, Rake in Grass (Windows, Mac)

Droid Assault, Puppygames (Windows, Mac, Linux)

Skin and Bones, Addictive 247 (Windows only)

Chase Ace Deluxe, Space Time Foam (Windows only)

Previews

Clockwork: Preliminary design sketch for Mike Bithell's new steampunk adventure posted in his development journal.

Blood from Clockwork Hearts: The author of Gun Mute and Snowblind Aces might possibly be working on a new IF adventure game.

The Fool and His Money: More screenshots from Cliff's long-awaited sequel added to the game information page.

Lila Dreams: New design sketch and art posted in Creatrix Games' development journal.

Go Beryllium: More screenshots from monoRAIL's upcoming 2D shooter posted.

Press/Interviews

What's New in Indie: The April edition of GameTunnel's monthly feature is up.

GameTap: New interviews with the developers of P.B. Winterbottom and World of Goo added.

Karoshi: The lead producer of Fallout 3 takes a look at 2Dcube's series of suicide platformers.

Play This Thing: Cactus Arcade reviewed.

In the Woods is a short IF adventure game set in the world of a classic fairy tale. This story is much closer to the original unabridged version which few people would have heard of, and can be completed in roughly ten or fifteen minutes of play time.

Name: In the Woods
Developer: Anna Anthropy
Category: IF
Type: Freeware
Size: 20KB
Direct download link: Click here

Karoshi 1 speed run

A preview for the upcoming indie RPG Frayed Knights was recently released as a 62 MB file download. The game features 3D graphics, turn-based combat, and a party of four different characters with their own distinct personalities. Note that you'll be asked to fill in a survey when exiting the application.

Name: Frayed Knights
Developer: Rampant Games
Category: RPG
Type: Demo
Size: 60MB

Pics from a party over at Raigan and Mare's place, in celebration of N+'s 100k sales figure on XBLA.

Castle Crashing "The Beard" is basically a small preview of The Behemoth's upcoming XBLA release Castle Crashers. Only one button is used to control both melee and ranged spell attacks. Increase your knight's level by hurting the boss or hitting tombstones to access more damaging moves.

Tom Fulp's alter ego is relatively easy to beat once you've familiarized yourself with his pattern of attacks.

Name: Castle Crashing "The Beard"
Developer: BoMToons
Category: Action
Type: Browser

[In this in-depth Gamasutra analysis, casual game veteran Gril looks at the state and evolution of independent gaming, from PC to console, from Desktop Tower Defense to fl0w and beyond...]

Independent development is one of the hottest trends right now within the game industry. And fortunately the public is responding well (but not necessarily responding to an "indie" trend, as we'll see below). N+ is a success on Xbox 360. Kongregate's traffic is growing steadily. Pixeljunk Monsters and particularly flOw are doing well on PS3. If things continue this way, by the end of 2008 most innovation in gaming is going to happen in independent games.

But are they a viable venue for developers? Leaving aside the fact that for every N+ there are a lot of failures (that happens everywhere else and it's a redundant point) in order to make a game that finds its audience you need to be careful about the platform the game is targeted to. Let's look at the market analytically.

Continue reading "The State of Indie Gaming (Gamasutra)" »