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: Scott Warren
Category: Platformer
Type: Freeware
Size: 5MB
Download link: instructions, WHFF mirror

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