Iji is a 2D action platformer where players assume control of the titular character as she learns how to cope with waking up to find her world taken over by an alien race. Guided by her brother who speaks through the research complex's loudspeaker system, she has to find a way to convince an alien leader to retreat and save humankind from total annihilation.
"Iji took four years to develop, but of course I didn't work on it all the time. It was a hobby, and if I couldn't rest for a few months to regain motivation from time to time then the game would never be done. There are some scribbled ideas for a sequel, but it won't happen. One project this size was enough, as it was too demanding for me.
I did not expect such a positive reaction for Iji at all. It's hard to say what the general opinion is since most people don't make themselves heard, but every game will cover the range from bad to good. A game isn't just a static, absolute thing that can be judged objectively, it becomes something different to each person playing it. So I am happy that many people are enjoying Iji, but it doesn't matter much if someone declares it worse than rotten fish or better than cake, since both opinions are correct depending on who's playing.
None of my planned hobby projects (like Hero 2 and another retro game) are commercial, I want them to be free so the largest amount of people can experience them, cheesy as it may sound. And I will keep paying for my server with my own money so they can stay free, and independent of people's expectations and opinions." - Daniel
Name: Iji
Developer: Daniel Remar
Platform: Windows
Size: 27.4 MB
Walkthrough: Available (speedrun)
UBM TechWeb (producer of Game Developer magazine, Gamasutra.com, and the Game Developers Conference) established the Independent Games Festival in 1998 to encourage innovation in game development and to recognize the best independent game developers.
The competition, now in its 13th year, awarded a total of nearly $50,000 in prizes to deserving indie creators in Main Competition and Student Competition categories at the IGF Awards Ceremony, held in March 2010 at the Moscone Center, San Francisco, CA, as one of the highlights of the Game Developers Conference.
The Independent Games Festival will return in March 2011 at GDC in San Francisco - look for more information soon. [More information...]
About The IGS
Featuring lectures, postmortems and roundtables from some of the most notable independent game creators around, the Independent Games Summit is a yearly event, with iterations thus far taking place in March 2007, February 2008, March 2009 and March 2010 at Game Developers Conference.
UBM TechWeb (which curates the IGF and runs GDC) plans to continue and grow the Independent Games Summit in subsequent years. [More information...]
