Gish 2: Cryptic Sea's web site updated with new teaser image.

Braid: Number None's upcoming debut release has entered the certification phase. Also confirmed, work on the next game has begun and it is not a sequel to Braid.

N+: The XBLA version will be getting three new level packs (consisting of over 750 stages), and one of the packs will be free to download. Subscribers of the OXBM UK mag should also be receiving some very special bonuses soon.

World of Goo: Kyle Gabler has revealed a slightly more specific release date for 2DBoy's upcoming PC and Wiiware release.

Fren-ze: Matt Verran (Ookibloks developer) interviewed by Oddbob.

Bingo Area is a new puzzle game by the developer of Cursor10 and the Hoshi Saga series, where players must select one or more cities from the map of Japan in each level to match the required number of square pixels in the box located on the right side of the screen. You'll need to get as close as possible to the red marker to gain an additional 5000 bonus points, but the game ends immediately as well if you go over the red square block. To complicate matters, cities selected in the previous levels cannot be chosen again for consequent guesses. (hints)

Name: Bingo Area
Developer: Yoshio Ishii
Category: Puzzle
Type: Browser

Rockman 7-FC is a project to port the gameplay of Rockman 7 from the 16-bit SNES style to the 8-bit NES-style gameplay. Tap the X key rapidly to shoot, hold the same button to charge up for a special attack, and press the Z key to jump. Hold the down cursor key and the jump button at the same time to slide.

Use the Q key to access your inventory and swap abilities, or press the R key to reset back to the introductory screen at any time. Abilities can be switched using the A and S keys as well. Players start out with Rush Coil, the robotic dog which can be called upon to launch you higher than your normal jumps.

The configuration file can be used to change window size. Press the print screen button on the keyboard to capture a screenshot at any time, which is then saved as a new bitmap file in the game folder automatically. This feature can be very useful when typing in your password to resume your progress. (FAQs)

Name: Rockman7-FC
Developer: Mend (2ch)
Category: Platformer
Type: Freeware
Size: 5MB
Direct download link: Click here

Dizzy and the Other Side is a fan made game created in the spirit of the famous Dizzy series. Keeping the graphics and gameplay true to the classic series, Dizzy and the Other Side tells an original story, full of funny dialogs and clever puzzles.

You get to control Dizzy with the arrows keys for walking and jumping around. The enter key is used for action and acquiring items. With the escape key, you can bring up the game menu from where you can save and load your progress.

During the five acts of the story, players can additionally collect hidden diamonds, which will get them a better score to post online. An interactive walkthrough can be found on the game's official website as well, for players who are stuck with a puzzle or two.

Name: Dizzy and The Other Side
Developer: Alexandru Simion
Category: Platformer
Type: Freeware
Size: 5MB

Metafilter's Guide to Indie Platformers
A guide to some of the best indie platformers that everyone should have played by now - if not, then the weekend is a perfect time to do some catching up. (source: GameSetWatch)

GamesRadar's 50 Free Games
A selection of fifty free games (complete with a number of recent releases), up on GamesRadar for your perusal and download pleasure. Some of the download links are dodgy, so arm yourself with an anti-virus protection program before plunging in.

Game Tunnel's Monthly Round-Up, June Edition
No free stuff here, but definitely worth a read - especially with Everyday Shooter, Droid Assault and Penny Arcade Adventures: On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness fronting the list of indie games reviewed.

Maximum Racer is a simple, yet surprisingly fun little racing game which actually convinced me to give it a few tries.

Controls are: use the arrow keys to steer your ship, and the space key to accelerate. I still haven't managed to clear the first checkpoint, so you'll need to really ride the edge of the envelope to do well with this game.

Name: Maximum Racer
Developer: happousyu
Category: Racer
Type: Freeware
Size: 768KB
Direct download link: Click here

Nanobots is a point and click adventure game that lets you control six different robots as they race to save themselves from being turned into scrap metal by an evil professor. Players will only get to control one robot at a time, but can switch between them by clicking on the row of icons at the bottom of the screen.

The game includes a handy tutorial, while helpful suggestions on solving puzzles can be acquired by using Audbot to converse with other characters. (hints, Spooks)

Name: Nanobots
Developer: Erin Robinson, Vince Wesselmann
Category: Adventure
Type: Freeware
Size: 10MB
Direct download link: Click here

The results for TIGSource's indie game development competition have been announced, with Nenad Jalsovec's winning entry Rescue: The Beagles (gameplay video shown above) taking first place. Alex May and Rudolf Kremers' colonization game Dyson placed second, while Terry Cavanagh and Annabelle Kennedy's team effort Self Destruct finished third. Full list of competition entries can be found by following the links below.

Results announcement
TIGSource's Procedural Generation Competition page

Bowja the Ninja 2 (In Bigman's Compound) is a point and click adventure game in the style of The Visitor and Hapland. Your mission objective is to infiltrate the enemy's compound and switch off their satellite system, achieved by solving a couple of simple puzzles in each screen to progress.

This episode has some grating sound effects, backtracking, lacklustre puzzle designs and overall isn't quite as charming to play the second time around. (chapter 1, screenshots, video walkthrough)

Name: Bowja the Ninja 2 (Kongregate link)
Developer: Robin Vencel
Category: Puzzle
Type: Browser

A couple of interesting announcements posted over at 2D Boy's site, in regards to World of Goo:

- family-friendly ESRB rating confirmed
- five languages: English, Spanish, French, Italian, German
- Wii version supports multiplayer cooperative play for all levels

Gameplay videos from IGN in the extended. (huge spoilers)

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

Virtual Silence is an action game where the player takes control of a young boy named Jason, who has to sit through a series of experimental tests in a virtual world under the watchful eye of his mother and an unnamed doctor. Use the cursor keys to move, and hold the X key to shoot. Press the Z key to change the scenery, and tap the enter key to skip dialogue. The game has multiple endings.

Name: Virtual Silence
Developer: Virtanen
Category: Action
Type: Freeware
Size: 2MB
Direct download link: Click here

All 34 games made during the annual Toronto Game Jam meet in Canada over a period of three days (May 9 - 11, 2008) by a group of dedicated developers, designers and artists are now available for download. Shown above, gameplay video from Jonathan Mak's (of Everyday Shooter fame) new freeware release Flowers of Error.

TOJam 2008 Games
A Game About Bouncing download page

Deep/Wing/Break is a new atmospheric arena shooter by Kvalsternacka and cactus, where players must protect the small dot being carried by a winged creature from enemy projectiles for as long as they can. Use the W, A, S and D keys to move, or hold the left mouse button to shoot. Press the enter key to start a game from the main menu. As usual, an automatic online high score submission feature is included.

Name: Deep/Wing/Break
Developer: Kvalsternacka, cactus
Category: Shooter
Type: Freeware
Size: 2MB
Direct download link: Click here

Retro 4 is an arena shooter with simple polygonal shapes of different colours as enemies. Use the W, A, S and D keys to move, or hold the left mouse button to shoot. Players can also tap the left mouse button quickly for rapid fire, or press the right mouse button for a special attack. The game comes with an automatic online high score submission feature.

Name: Retro 4
Developer: cactus
Category: Shooter
Type: Freeware
Size: 2MB
Direct download link: Click here

"Life is a Race!" is a one button art game created by cactus for a GMG competition.

Name: Life is a Race
Developer: cactus
Category: Action
Type: Freeware
Size: 1MB
Direct download link: Click here

SEEK ver.0 is a simple matching game in which players must click on an alphabet or number that resembles the one on the conveyor. A heart is lost whenever the player takes too long to find a match or chooses the wrong tile.

Name: SEEK ver.0
Developer: ON
Category: Puzzle
Type: Browser

Rect Winder ASCII (download, description)

Chain3 is an upcoming puzzle game for the iPhone from indie developer Shawn McGrath. It functions in the common match-3 framework, but it allows for any piece to be dragged anywhere with no restrictions. This means making a match is trivial, so the game is based on the idea of chaining matches so that one match causes another, and that causes another, etc.

After you make a match, the tiles will flash for a short time, giving you a chance to setup the pieces for the next match in the chain. Also, just before the tiles drop, there's a brief pause, allowing you to slip pieces under falling pieces to cause chains, à la Tetris Attack.

There's a YouTube video, game information, and a detailed description of the game system.

Chain3 will be available from the iTunes App Store the first day it opens.

Name: Chain3
Developer: Shawn McGrath
Category: Puzzle
Type: iPhone

Zero Point is an impressive-looking horizontal shooter developed with the Game Maker engine, but consists of only one short level in the current build. Use the cursor keys to move, and hold the left control key to shoot. Your special attack gauge automatically charges up when no shots are fired from your ship, indicated by a red bar at the bottom left of the screen.

The lite version is missing plenty of background graphics and sound, and should only be downloaded as a last resort. Note that the game will only run properly on graphic adapters which are capable of supporting a resolution of 1280 by 960 or higher. (trailer in the extended)

Name: Zero Point
Developer: Rikrok
Category: Shooter
Type: Demo
Size: 30MB
Direct download link: Click here

Cubes is a multiplayer-only game inspired by Nenad's Counterclockwise, which in turn was a remake of the ZX Spectrum's Knot in 3D. Essentially Tron in 3D, this version supports up to eight players simultaneously and contains four maps to choose from in total. Any players can host a server, while other players can find a running server using the inbuilt game browser.

The basic idea is simple, you fly forward automatically while leaving a trail behind you. Playing it for the first time can be very disorientating, since it allows only six degrees of freedom and every rotation creates a new frame of reference. The world also wraps around itself, so the entire area is quickly populated with multicoloured trails within seconds.

Destroy other players by making them crash into your trail or by shooting them down. Powerups can be collected to increase your weapon's firepower or to regain lost shield. Each game is split into rounds, and the last player left alive wins the round.

Use the W, A, S and D keys to move, and hold the right mouse button to center your view. Left click to shoot, and press the shift key to accelerate faster. Tap the Y key during a game to chat with other players.

Name: Cubes
Developer: X-0ut
Category: Arcade
Type: Freeware
Size: 5MB

Download Rescue: The Beagles

Rose and Camellia (Shockwave)

Noitu Love 2 fan art by Niklas Jansson, relatively NSFW. (source: TIGForums)

Game Giveaway of the Day currently has Jets’n'Guns Gold up for free download. The offer is only valid for the next twenty hours. (cheats in comments)

Game Giveaway of the Day - Jets’n'Guns Gold
Rake in Grass web site

DAN-BALL's popular web toy Powder Game was recently updated with an option to add playable stickman characters to the screen, which can then be moved around by pressing the cursor keys. Expect to see plenty of user-created obstacle courses popping up on the site soon. (requires a Java-enabled browser to run)

Name: Powder Game ver4.9
Developer: DAN-BALL
Category: Application
Type: Browser

GT had posted three new trailers for the DS version of N+. Both DS and PSP versions are scheduled for a release this August 2008. (more videos in the extended)

Kotaku: Hands on with N+

Visit is an exploration platformer in which players must solve block puzzles to acquire a set of eight keys, then return to the temple marked by a swirling symbol on the map. Use the F1 function key to review the controls, and press the S or down arrow key while standing over a save point to change colors. Tap the left or right cursor key twice to push a block.

Note that jumps may not work properly unless the gamepad or all USB devices are disconnected before starting the game. The entire adventure should take roughly two hours to complete. (additional screenshots, download instructions)

Name: Visit
Developer: Ted Lauterbach
Category: Puzzle
Type: Freeware
Size: 5MB

Hi Edmund, how about we begin with a little introduction of yourself?

I'm Edmund McMillen, co-creator of Gish, Triachnid, Coil and a few other indie titles.

Are you working on anything else at the moment besides Gish 2?

I'm currently working on Gish 2, Triachnid 2, a game called Grey Matter with Tommy Refenes (Goo!) and a few other Flash games that are in slight limbo.

Can you explain to us what Grey Matter is about?

Sure thing, Grey Matter is basically a Robotron shooter, but the player doesn't shoot. The game is mouse-controlled and takes place inside someone's brain. It was something small me and Tommy jumped into a little while back just so we could have something we worked on together.

[IndieGames' sister programming mag/website Dr Dobb's Journal has been running the Dr. Dobb's Challenge game competition in association with Microsoft Visual Studio, with $10,000 in prizes for modding a Windows and Windows Mobile sample game. Here, contest organizer Mathew Kumar is kind enough to outline the winners - go check em out!]

It's been an intense few days of judging and we'd like to congratulate all of the entrants for their remarkable work in modding Dr. Dobbs Challenge into a variety of striking and very different games!

We'll be making our critic's choice of all the entrants available for download on the Dobbs Challenge website starting tomorrow, but we'd like to first announce the winners of the inaugural Dobbs Challenge, selected by our panel of judges.

Best One Button Game
Wobble Bob
(Lukasz Lesicki)

The one button category was a challenging category that entrants had to "give their all" to in the hope of winning, and although there were many amazing entries, Lukasz Lesicki's Wobble Bob came out of nowhere to win it by virtue of its unique game design. Though our judges are au fait with many different kinds of one-button game, they had never played one with a character who "wobbled" backwards and forwards allowing movement in two directions with a subtle, timing-based gameplay.

In addition, both graphics and level design offered a unified pleasant feel, and as a result Lukasz Lesicki walks away with the $1,000 prize. [Download Now!]

Dino Run: New hats added to Pixeljam's latest release. (milestone trophies)

RPGs

Eschalon Book II: The second title in Basilisk Games' RPG trilogy has been announced. (source: Rampant Games)

Depths of Peril: Mac version of Soldak Entertainment's debut RPG release now available for download.

Interviews

Audiosurf: An in-depth look at Dylan Fitterer's award-winning baby, up on Gamasutra.

Wadjet Eye Games: Dave Gilbert interviewed by a GWLog staff. (Noitu Love 2 review, Introduction to Game Maker)

Braid: An unpublished GameTap interview can be found on David's web site.

Review by D. Fai

Sauerbraten is an open source FPS which focuses less on eye candy and more on fast-paced old school-style gameplay. A "CTF Edition" of Sauerbraten was recently released, with the new CTF gametype added to the multiplayer lineup, loads of engine updates, performance improvements, updated GUI, level editor enhancements, and bug fixes. A bunch of new maps are included as well, while existing gametypes have received a number of improvements. (changelist)

Name: Sauerbraten
Developer: Wouter (original code)
Category: FPS
Type: Freeware
Size: 290MB
Platform: Windows, Mac, Linux

The CODEAR: Banner Games Challenge is a contest where participants are required to create a game with a restricted window size of 600 by 90 pixels, but no other limitations on either theme or platform. Entries are available to download or play online from the CODEAR: Banner Games Challenge information page.

The competition is organized by the Argentine Game Developer Association to encourage the involvement and exposure of amateur and indie developers from Spanish-speaking countries. (shown above, screenshot from winning entry Survive)

More screenshots from cactus' upcoming platformer release.

YouTube trailer (HD version)
Download preview demo
Lo-Fi Minds web site

A preview of Jetpack Brontosaurus' updated rig tuning and camera logic features. The alpha version is still available to play on the official web site.

Another month, another existential question by Jason Rohrer. In his monthly column at The Escapist, Game Design Sketchbook, Jason gives another game which acts like a door to the thoughts that haunt him. This month around, the game is centered around Immortality. Is it a good thing?

The game itself, named Immortality. Plays a bit like Block Dude. You have to create a tower of blocks to get to either Immortality or death, the choice is yours. You can pick up any blocks, even if they are under your feet. But there are some blocks you can climb and some that you can't. Basicaly, you can only climb the ones with brown stairs.

Continue reading "Freeware Game: Immortality" on Lithium Leaf »

Tuesday, July 15, 2008 at 8pm
55 33rd Street, 3rd Floor
Brooklyn, NY
Ticket Price - $6

Mark Essen, a.k.a. Messhof, will install five playable games at Light Industry, including two new titles: Stenography Hero, a competitive text-based stenography simulator in the spirit of Guitar Hero, and Rail War, a western-themed side-scroller projected in a Cinemascope aspect ratio.

Essen will present a short talk about his work during which he will upload Stenography Hero and Rail War live to his website for free distribution. Other titles available for play will include Randy Balma: Municipal Abortionist (2008), Punishment: The Punishing (2007) and Flywrench (2007).

The evening will also include a performance by Jordan Stone, who composed music for Essen¹s games, using bent toys, dying drum machines, and circuits of his own design to create distorted soundscapes reminiscent of 80s videogaming.

Games by Mark Essen at Light Industry

According to Tarwin: Scarygirl is a Flash 9-based game which runs at 760 by 480 pixels, with a consistent rate of 30 fps, and is only around 2MB download per level. The full game will be free to play once released, and will take about one to two hours of playtime to complete for a first timer.

Darius Kazemi's "Robot" Player is a Java applet which allows users to sample and mix music from the first level of Queasy Games' Everyday Shooter. Press 1 to start playing the song, then press the q-y and a-h keys to trigger preset samples. (source: Tiny Subversions)

Kenny Smith's non-interactive abstract weather visualization utilizes different elements of the current weather data in Wellington, NZ, to control a school of fish. The temperature will change the speed of the fish, the wind direction will change the area that the fish will swim and the humidity will change the spacing of the school. (source: thatgamecompany)

Stories from the local papers about EasyOnly! Games (winner of JayisGames' CGDC5 competition), and Nifflas' Knytt Stories.

Making it big in games
Jump for joy (Knytt Stories)

Q-Games will be taking a bit of a different process for releasing PixelJunk Eden - they'll be putting up a demo before the release of the game.

PixelJunk Eden will also support the new YouTube upload program which allows the player to put ten minutes of video straight from the PS3 to Youtube.

GamerBytes: PixelJunk Eden Playable Demo In July
PixelJunk Eden video walkthrough

Ura Kaiten Patissier is a sequel of sorts to Kaiten Patissier, which includes all of the levels that were excluded from the original for being too difficult, and also adds the ability to fall out of the level back into the game. Sort of Kaiten Patissier on steriods, this will offer some serious challenge to most players.

Also, it's in English now! You can change the preferred language from the options menu. The plot is exactly the same for both games, so you don't need to replay the original just to see what was going on.

The zip file contains versions for Windows, Debian Linux (should work okay on other distributions as well), and the GP2X. Also, MK2k has ported the game to the PSP, but it doesn't include the English patch yet.

Name: Kaiten Patissier
Developer:Alpha Secret Base
Category: Puzzle
Type: Freeware
Size: 15MB
Direct download link: Click here
PSP Version: From MK2k.net

Matt Thorson (AKA YMM) is an indie games developer, specially known for the Jumper series, An Untitled Story, and most recently FLaiL, a game I am a fan of. I recently contacted him, and asked him wether he would like to do an interview with me. You can now see what the answer was.

We were both quite busy lately, so we had to go with an email interview. I would have liked something a bit more interactive. But Matt did his best to answer each question as well as possible. And I would like to thank him for that.

Here you can check out more of his games.

Can you tell us a bit about yourself?

Okay, my name is Matt Thorson. I'm 20 years old, and right now I'm working at HermitWorks Entertainment in Grande Prairie, Alberta. Right now it's just kind of a summer job because I'm in between semesters and will hopefully be going back to university in the fall for the third year of my Bachelor of Science degree. What else? I'm a cat person, and enjoy playing my guitars and riding my longboard around town on warm nights.

BlockOn is a short platformer by cactus where players must attempt to reach the red door in each level by placing blocks to create a safe path towards it. Left click to add a block, or right click to remove one. Hold a button while moving the mouse cursor around to continuously generate or delete blocks. Press the space key to start the game and tap the R key to restart it.

Once you've gained control over your character, use the W, A and D keys to move him or her around the stage. Expect to encounter a couple of surprises along the way. Made in under three hours with a limited CGA palette for colours. (source: The Poppenkast)

Name: BlockOn
Developer: cactus
Category: Platform
Type: Freeware
Size: 2MB

GemCraft is a neat tower defense game where standard defensive units are replaced with multicolored gems, while gold has been substituted with mana points. Build up your defense by occupying empty towers with gems from the right side of the screen, then summon additional gems, trenches or even towers at the cost of more mana. Experience points can be used to upgrade your basic skill sets, while new skills are unlocked by incrementing your summoner's current level.

Click on a wave stone to speed things up for a score bonus, or left click on an individual enemy unit to examine their stats. Gems of the same color can be combined to increase their effectiveness. Preview the next enemy wave by hovering the mouse cursor over a wave stone. (advanced strategy guide)

Name: GemCraft
Developer: Game in a Bottle
Category: Strategy
Type: Browser

Avalanche is a 3D beat 'em up featuring characters and environments seen in Final Fantasy VII, and takes place shortly after the events of the first game in the Final Fantasy VII series. The player takes on the role of Tifa, with a large arsenal of special attacks and unique items at their disposal.

Strictly for hardcore fans of Final Fantasy VII only. (source: Scrawl)

Name: Avalanche
Developer: Rich Whitehouse
Category: Action
Type: Freeware
Size: 300MB

Rose and Camellia 2 is a new version of Nigoro's popular action game released exclusively for Shockwave, which can only be unlocked by playing and completing the original version first. This update features a different set of characters to engage in battle with, some familiar faces, and even a new boss fight near the end of the story. (instructions, screenshots)

Name: Rose and Camellia 2
Developer: Nigoro
Category: Action
Type: Browser

Floor It is an action game similar to Nanaca Crash, where points are scored by bouncing Rusty off vehicles, gas pumps, explosive barrels and even other characters from the Squidbillies' show. Move the mouse around rapidly to set your drive speed, then left click to start the engine. Left click again to boost while airborne when the boost gauge is filled up.

Name: Floor It
Developer: Adult Swim
Category: Action
Type: Browser

Time Bomb is an action game consisting of one short level, in which players must attempt to save the hostages on board a speeding train, take down the bad guys and and defuse a bomb before it detonates. Reloading is possible by moving the cursor towards the bottom part of the screen as indicated by the reload text.

Name: Time Bomb
Developer: Net terminator
Category: Action
Type: Browser

Adam Cadre's IF adventure game 9:05 is a short self-contained tale about waking up on the wrong side of the bed, with the phone ringing incessantly as it attempts to persuade you to answer the call. There are a couple of inventory items to acquire, several branching paths to explore but ultimately only three endings to discover. (source: JayisGames)

Name: 9:05
Developer: Adam Cadre
Category: IF
Type: Browser

DayMare Town 2 is the sequel to the similarly-titled adventure game by Mateusz Skutnik, developer of the Submachine and Covert Front series. This episode relies heavily on item collection, as players would require a hefty amount of coins to purchase key objects from some of the inhabitants of the city. (walkthrough)

Name: DayMare Town 2
Developer: Mateusz Skutnik
Category: Adventure
Type: Browser

Over the last few days on IndieGames.com, a few of the notable entries from indie community TIGSource's latest Procedural Generation Competition have been mentioned in brief.

This latest indie challenge is one where participating developers were tasked with making unique games using some element of procedural and algorithmically generated content in the code - whether it be level design or even larger parts of gameplay.

Some of the highlights from the innovative competition are linked below:

Rescue: The Beagles
A platformer by Nenad where the objective is to save the required number of dogs from the hands of evil researchers in each stage to progress.

Ziczac
A simple scoring-based puzzler where players acquire points by making small squares with four tiles of the same colour, or attempt to create large loops for a special multiplier bonus.

Dyson
A colonization game where you take a set of self-replicating mining machines and attempt to gain control of an entire asteroid belt.

Self Destruct
A bullet hell shooter with randomly generated enemy patterns.

Artificial Nature
An arena shooter in which players must acquire stars from fallen enemies and channel a hundred of these to the base located at the center of the map.

Laser Bunny
A short action game consisting of ten levels, in which players must make their way past hordes of enemies to reach the exit placed at the north end of each map.

Evolution Shmup
Petri Purho'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.

A complete list of TIGSource Procedural Generation Competition entries can be found in this post. Voting and subsequent winners will debut on TIGSource very soon.

Laser Bunny - Adventures in the Alien Death Mines is a short action game consisting of ten levels, in which players must make their way past hordes of enemies to reach the exit placed at the north end of each map. Hold the space key to shoot, and use the P key to pause at any time.

Collect carrots stuck in the ground to increase the number of lives, and grab the red canisters to acquire a temporary weapon upgrade. A life is subtracted from your total whenever an enemy touches the bunny.

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

Name: Laser Bunny
Developer: Gabor, Dugan
Category: Action
Type: Freeware
Size: 5MB
Direct download link: Click here

Artificial Nature is a new arena shooter by Jph Wacheski, in which players must acquire stars from fallen enemies and channel a hundred of these to the base located at the center of the map to complete the game. Left click to shoot at a desired direction, and hold the right mouse button to transfer stars when you're close to the central base in blue. Your ship moves much faster when no shots are fired.

Press the space key at any time to pause the action.

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

Name: Artificial Nature
Developer: Jph Wacheski
Category: Shooter
Type: Freeware
Size: 1MB
Direct download link: Click here

Think Services has announced the launch of GamerBytes, a new weblog specifically providing information, interviews and analysis for digital downloaded console games - from Xbox Live Arcade through PlayStation Network to WiiWare.

Why? With the swift rise of digital downloaded content for the major consoles, there's a major hole in centrally located information for shortplay, innovative independently-developed titles - such as Penny Arcade Adventures, N+ and LostWinds. GamerBytes plans to offer daily updated news on the state of gaming for the three major console services - each of which has its own section on the site.

Editor Ryan Langley has folded his popular XBLAH.net site into GamerBytes, and will now collate breaking news, rating information, low-profile publicity on all three consoles. He will also ramp up the exclusive content - such as his recent quizzing of XBLA developers on the delisting changes.

GamerBytes will also include the latest jobs from the market-leading Gamasutra Jobs network, with a site-specific feed available soon, and will cross-pollinate information with relevant sister sites such as Think Services' IndieGames.com blog, as well as related events such as the Independent Games Summit at GDC.

The GamerBytes site is now officially open, and there's a full-feed RSS available for those interested in subscribing to the news feed.

Microsoft's annual XNA Game Studio Contest, the Dream-Build-Play Challenge 2008 was recently announced with an encouraging bonus - entrants who register on the official competition site will receive a free twelve-month XNA Creators Club trial membership. Only entries built for the Xbox 360 platform using XNA Game Studio 2.0 will be accepted, and all participants must apply for (or already own) an XNA Creators Club membership to be eligible for the competition. Entries can be submitted anytime between the 1st to 23rd of September 2008, while judging will commence in October. The grand prize winner will receive $40,000 and an Xbox LIVE publishing contract.

Dream-Build-Play Challenge 2008

Mr. Bounce is a fast-paced Arkanoid-style game with new ideas like trajectory projection and slow motion, allowing players to experience a higher sense of control. Press the left and right arrow keys to move the paddle, use the up and down arrow keys to set the altitude of the ball and hold the space key for slow motion. Slow motion usage is limited to a couple of seconds, but recharges quickly after use.

The game consists of 5 worlds with 4 levels each. Every world increases the speed of the ball and introduces a new game element: Blockers, Bouncers, Paths and Wind. A simple chaining system rewards the player with bonus points for hitting elements of the same color in one shot. For example, if you hit three red elements in a row you'll get 50 points for the first, 100 for the second and 150 for the third. Any time left at the end of a level will also be credited to your score.

Mr. Bounce features unique music by Martin Snuggles that builds up track by track as you progress through the levels.

Name: Mr. Bounce
Developer: Andreas Zecher
Category: Action
Type: Browser

Self Destruct is a bullet hell shooter with randomly generated enemy patterns. Gameplay revolves around the shield: players can absorb most of the bullets heading their way and use them to power their own gun. Nukes can also be used to clear the screen of all enemies and bullets. The goal of the game is to survive for 250 enemy waves.

The game has an online highscore table, which is available in-game by pressing left or right in the menu.

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

Name: Self Destruct
Developers: Terry Cavanagh, Annabelle Kennedy
Category: Shooter
Type: Freeware
Size: 2MB
Direct download link: Click here

Online high score table

I certainly don't remember the official site for N+ looking this good. Both DS and PSP versions are due out this August 2008. (YouTube trailer)

In other news, Braid should be out sometime in July while World of Goo is shooting for a summer release date (anywhere between July till mid-October).

Nameless Roguelike is an entry level roguelike game, where enemies are represented by alphabets while items are shown as special symbols or quotation marks. Press the question mark or slash key to access the shortcut list. Press a directional arrow key when next to an enemy to attack it. Use the O or C key to operate doors, shown as a brown symbol. Bodies of water represented by blue tiles cannot be crossed.

Press the W or P key to equip a weapon or armor. Your equipment is always ordered in such a way that the item at the end of the list will be the most powerful one you'll have in posession. Use the greater than or less than symbols to ascend and descend staircases. Press the Q key to drink a potion, or use the T key to throw an item at an enemy.

Hold '5' on the numeric keypad to rest for a couple of turns, and tap the E key to consume some food. Press the space key to grab an item off the floor. Players unfamiliar with roguelikes can begin the adventure with a human or construct from the warrior class, with a focus on strength and potions of healing as their starting equipment to increase their chances of survival in the dungeons.

Name: Nameless Roguelike
Developer: Simon Pelletier
Category: Roguelike
Type: Browser

I spent the past month on vacation in Japan, visiting friends from college and just generally decompressing from entirely too much work in the states. While in Tokyo, I met up with D.K. (Kaiten Patissier, Good Luck Natsuki) and Isshiki (Area 2048, Made in Wired) at a bar in Shin-okubo, and while our conversation touched on pretty much everything you would expect at an indie developer get-together, one thing that we spent a good deal of time on, and which both D.K. and Isshiki were very adamant about, was the subject of getting more Japanese games into the west and vice versa. I've written up a fair bit of what we talked about that night as well as some of my own impressions over at my site. Tim liked the piece and suggested I abuse the front page here to generate some hits, so here it is:

-Read it!-

And no, I don't have any pictures. I was having such a blast talking with them that I honestly forgot to take some.

Also, if you would like to know anything about either D.K. or Isshiki, feel free to post in either the comments here or at my site and I'll do my best to answer your questions.

EDIT: I'm sure many of you have seen Dong's EngrishGames.com before, but for those of you who have not, it is an excellent example of how one can help out in this arena. Engrish Games

Nenad's Rescue: The Beagles has been updated with the following changes:

signaling the number of parachutes/ropes left when using them
extra life on every 25000
little less dense enemies and a bit slower beagles
settings are automatically saved on quit
annoying jumping-when-hanging bug fixed
three types of bonuses you can earn at the end of each level
- heap, for collecting all items except owls (+1/3 of the total level score)
- defiance, for killing all the enemies (+1/3 of the total level score)
- skyline, not using any ropes or parachutes (+2/3 of the total level score)

Download the game
Freeware Game Pick: Rescue - The Beagles
Online high score table

Note: Updated to version 1.01. (patch)

Dyson is a real-time strategy / colonization game in which you must take control of an entire asteroid belt. You start as a single seedling that produces a tree on your starting asteroid. Your tree in turn produces new and unique seedlings which can be used to conquer other asteroids. However, the astro belt features up to ten AI opponents that provide fierce resistance and have their own drive for conquest. To defeat them you have to explore the strategic possibilites of the game. Eventually you can build up very large armies of 400 or more seedlings and witness some epic battles. With the exception of the music and sounds, and the font, almost all of the game content is generated procedurally.

An in-game tutorial is included to teach you the basics. If you don't have a mouse wheel, the cursor keys and page up/down also control the camera.

Dyson is created by Alex May and Rudolf Kremers, with music and sound by Brian Grainger (Milieu). The game requires the .NET 2.0 Framework to run.

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

Name: Dyson
Developers: Alex May, Rudolf Kremers, Brian Grainger
Category: RTS
Type: Freeware
Size: 10MB
Direct download link: Click here (right-click to save)

Battle of Tiles is a simple yet addictive strategy game, where players have to decide on the attack formation of their army before rushing into combat. The user interface mimics modern-day RTS games, in which units can be selected by clicking or dragging a square around multiple tiles. Hold the left control key while left-clicking to deselect a unit. Use the W, A, D and X keys to move the selected party around, or press the S key to skip a turn.

Units gain experience through battle, and more soldiers can be added to your party by double-clicking on an enemy unit to purchase them. The method of placing melee units in front of archers and wizards works best here, but players are more than welcomed to change formation in the heat of battle as they attempt to overwhelm the enemy with numbers. Units regain health automatically as the party is moved forward. (source: GameTunnel, Andrew Wooldridge)

Name: Battle of Tiles
Developer: Bimboosoft
Category: Strategy
Type: Demo
Size: 20MB

In the very aptly named "Numbers", you slide numbered blocks up along a board, attempting to group the blocks by number. By matching 2 '2's, 3 '3's, 5 '5's, etc, you will clear all connected blocks of the cleared number, and any blocks that are touching a cleared block will be randomly replaced with a different value. You can also chain cleared blocks, increasing your score modifier.

Note that outside of a chain, '1' blocks cannot be cleared, so be careful!

Name: Numbers
Developer: gedo831
Category: Puzzle
Type: Freeware
Size: 25MB
Direct download link: Click here

Ziczac is a simple scoring-based puzzler where players acquire points by making small squares with four tiles of the same colour, or attempt to create large loops for a special multiplier bonus. There are only two keys to use at any time to change the direction of the falling blocks. Additional points can also be scored by placing cells of another colour inside a loop.

The game window may require a resolution of higher than 1024 by 768 to display correctly, and can be moved around by dragging the uppermost area where a title bar should be located at.

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

Name: Ziczac
Developer: 0rel
Category: Puzzle
Type: Freeware
Size: 1MB
Direct download link: Click here

Streetwise is a short action game requiring the use of only one key to play, and consists of a single track which must be completed in under two minutes. Time your button presses correctly to whiz past traps and obstacles in your path as you make your way toward the end of the map.

Name: Streetwise
Developer: Adam Lobacz
Category: Action
Type: Freeware
Size: 5MB

[NOTE: We're also giving IndieGames.com readers a chance to respond to this because we know from our recent survey that there are a lot of regular readers who are either attending or considering attending game-related schools - please respond if you have opinions.]

The editors of Game Developer magazine, Gamasutra.com, and GameCareerGuide.com are inviting current and prospective students in University game programs to take part in the first-ever Game Developer Career Guide Student Survey.

The survey, which is anonymous, intends to discern in aggregate the types of schools that current game students are attending, the quality and breadth of the courses, and what sort of placement or support programs are in place.

The results of this survey will be included in Game Developer’s Career Guide Fall 2008 issue - due out in late July, available for purchase online, and distributed for free at major game consumer and trade shows, including Penny Arcade Expo, Austin GDC, GDC 2009, and many more shows to be announced.

Highlights of the survey, which is intended to help shape the future of game education by examining current satisfaction levels with existing tutoring, will also be available online on the Gamasutra and Game Career Guide sites following the magazine's debut.

Students, please take the time to complete the brief survey, which takes just a couple of minutes or less to fill out.

Rescue: The Beagles is a new platformer by the developer of Counterclockwise and Ablation, where the objective is to save the required number of dogs from the hands of evil researchers in each stage to progress. Press the up arrow key to jump or climb upwards, which is only applicable if your character can reach the platform above him or her. Press the down arrow key to descend downwards, or tap the same button twice in quick succession to use a parachute when you have at least one in possession. You lose a life if you fall from too high of a height, touch a red lip balm or allow a beagle to go unrescued.

Press the up arrow key twice to use a rope. Ropes are among some of the items which can be collected as you make your way forward in search of more beagles. Press the Z key or space key to throw an owl at enemies, and use the P key to pause the game. (more information in the readme.txt file, included with the download)

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

Name: Rescue: The Beagles
Developer: Nenad
Category: Action
Type: Freeware
Size: 10MB
Direct download link: Click here (right-click to save)

Online high score table

Kaiten Patissier is the latest game from D.K., several months in the making, and which I highly recommend. It uses the same "collect-them-all" mechanic as Good Luck Natsuki, but is built entirely around the concept of rotating the levels to re-adjust the locations of platforms, boxes, walls, floors, and ceilings (Kaiten is Japanese for "rotate"). After collecting all but the last item in each level, a bonus item will appear somewhere in the level, so be sure to keep an eye out for the bonus items if you want to get 100% completion.

As a note, I contributed several of the levels in the game, so you'd better download it and check it out!

The zip file contains versions for Windows, Debian Linux (should work okay on other distributions as well), and the GP2X.

Name: Kaiten Patissier
Developer:Alpha Secret Base
Category: Puzzle
Type: Freeware
Size: 15MB
Direct download link: Click here

The Jackyard is an art game by Richard Hofmeier, with an emphasis on exploration and little else. Use the cursor keys to move, and press the space key to jump. Hold the up arrow key to use or examine objects whenever applicable. (source)

Name: The Jackyard
Developer: Richard Hofmeier
Category: Adventure
Type: Freeware
Size: 10MB
Direct download link: Click here

Stardrone is a arcade-puzzle game by independent developer Orb Games. You take control of a drone and make your way through 53 stages with varying mission objectives. It entered the 2008 IGF competition.

The gameplay of the game is rather unique, and gave me a hard time when I had to classify this game. You have almost no direct control over your drone, except at the begining of each level, where you choose in which direction you would like to be blasted towards. To change your direction and speed, you have to hook up to anchors using a light beam by clicking the left mouse button. You will orbit around them till you release the button. It takes some time to get used to. But the first few levels serve as tutorials.

Continue reading "Independent Game: Stardrone" on Lithium Leaf »

Planet of the Jellies is a simplistic matching game with the aliens from Space Invaders drawn in a wobbly line art style. Left click on an invader to move one towards the bottom of the screen. Match three or more invaders with the same color in a horizontal or vertical line to remove them. (source: Lithium Leaf)

Name: Planet of the Jellies
Developer: Petri Purho
Category: Puzzle
Type: Freeware
Size: 5MB