Indie Game Watch Thread

gizmo

With a bunch of great indie titles either in active development or due out reasonably soon, I thought it may be a good idea to create a thread where we can post those which have caught our eye. Not only will this be a good way of keeping track of what's in development but it may also prove useful to those folks who are considering getting their own team together to make something as it'll show them what can be done with the right team, tools and mindset.

So anyway, to get the ball rolling..

Gunpoint

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T6a0WR2-tLg

This is a pretty awesome spy'em up being developed by Tom Francis, a journalist from PC Gamer. It's being made in Gamemaker of all things and is a fantastic example of what can be accomplished by someone without any prior development experience.

Thomas Was Alone

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YDaa3Cq6c7M

This one is a little bit more quirky/arty but I can't help but love what he's trying to do. The "he" in this case is another one man team in the form of Mike Bithell, a designer from Bossa Studios of Monstermind fame. The game is being developed in Unity and if you check out the website you can see one of his talks at one of the LUUG gathering.

Axiom Verge

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9FNZTmLwm7I

Do you like old school Metroid? Well then you'll probably love this. This is Axiom Verge, a 2D action/explorer/Metroidvania type game being developed by Tom Happ from Petroglyph Games. This is another one-man team with him doing absolutely everything in the project, although to be fair he's pretty much an industry veteran at this stage. This one is being developed entirely in XNA for both PC and XBLIG.

Mr E

Nice idea for a thread.

On a related note, Eurogamer did a nice article today about what indie means. A good read...

aN.Droid

Axiom verge is definatly gonna be a day one buy for me. It just looks so awsome!

Sephiroth_dude

there's a game called "the town"I saw It on another forum and I can't find the thread now,anyone heard of it?

aN.Droid

Check out this weird game. BE careful though as the programmer gave this warning :P

WARNING: VIDIOT GAME MAY CAUSE BRAIN DAMAGE. PLAY AT YOUR OWN DEMISE.

link

Dcully

+1 for this thread

Avernum - escape from the pit is getting nice reviews.

http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2012/04/18/wot-i-think-avernum-escape-from-the-pit/#more-104362

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mQ2QTB9ZzFQ

gizmo

New trailer for Thomas Was Alone showing off more gameplay and the addition of Danny Wallace as the narrator.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jc0C8H1YgUM

MagicSean

Sephiroth_dude wrote: »

there's a game called "the town"I saw It on another forum and I can't find the thread now,anyone heard of it?

Was it Towns? Looks promising. Like the Settlers series.

Also keep an eye on Neo Scavenger

and Project Zomboid.

All of them are in alpha but still very enjoyable.

gizmo

Seems The Unfinished Swan is actually getting a proper release. A friend of mine linked me to the tech demo a couple of years ago and it was later entered into the the 2009 IGF. Seems in the meantime the developer has formed his own studio and gotten access to the Sony Pub Fund to bring it exclusively to PSN.

Looks as intriguing now as it did back then thankfully

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ruwgfQLd190

K.O.Kiki

HookShot Inc. is pretty handy for keeping up with cheap/freeware games.

gizmo

Just noticed this on Kickstarter and I can't help but get a Zombies/Zombies Ate My Neighbour vibe off it. Gameplay will be quite different but I'm really loving the concept art so far. My only worry is that with its cartoony style and kid characters, making it specifically a game not for kids may be a bit risky.

Zombie Playground.

Mr E

Lots of great indie games on sale across most platforms tomorrow. More details here:

http://www.becausewemay.com/

gizmo

This may deserve a thread of its own since I can see it being pretty popular as time goes on so if the mods want to move it then so be it. In the meantime though...

StarForge

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YxBSYit49c8

Their site is currently down after being hammered with downloads but the site, forum and torrent links are in the video info section.

gizmo

Wee heads up, Thomas Was Alone is finally out! It's available through both Desura and IndieCity for £5.99/$9.99. Woot!

EDIT: It's out now

Dcully

Planet Explorers looks good, alpha available now.

http://pathea.net/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VaWeuOqBkMY

Krieg

Not a game but still relevant.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GhaT78i1x2M

If you like indie games its definitely worth a look. I always thought indie games were just little side project/hobbies for the devs but after seeing the movie you really start to appreciate the amount of work thats put in.
Games/devs in it are Braid, Fez, Supermeat boy and others

You can buy the doc off steam for 8 euro

gizmo

Those of you who were keeping on eye on Rezzed recently may have noticed that Hotline Miami won game of the show. Definitely one to keep an eye on

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nv-XCM8sies

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1eagB7gAqs8

Couple of mates were there and described it as a "hyper violent, super difficult GTA-style puzzle type thing that's ****ing awesome".

gizmo

Pretty awesome arcade-style run and gun shooter, Intrusion2. Definitely picking this one up for the weekend.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BJZAzNKZBew

Elysian

gizmo wrote: »

Pretty awesome arcade-style run and gun shooter, Intrusion2. Definitely picking this one up for the weekend.

Make sure you try the demo first. I have a pretty decent rig but this game just doesn't run well for me, very jerky. I can run BF3 on full @ 1920 x 1080 fine but not this . It's a shame cause there appears to be an excellent game under the technical issues

Completionist

Has anyone else been following the development of this game?

They have just started their Kickstarter campaign and it looks like it will meet its goal within a few hours of launching!

http://kck.st/LUUWTV

This game has tons of potential if done right!

johnny_ultimate

Dear Esther is the second best thing to happen to interactive storytelling this year (Journey owns the top spot), so I'm terribly excited about the developers' next game Everyone's Gone to the Rapture. It might even use more buttons than WASD! Kotaku just published a preview of it, and it sounds ****ing fantastic.

http://kotaku.com/5930166/now-that-dear-esther-is-done-everybodys-gone-to-the-rapture

gizmo

The debut trailer for Routine just showed up at Gamescom. It's a UDK powered sci-fi horror from an extremely small UK-based team. Definitely keeping an eye on this one.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d9XrsWUO9sw

gizmo

gizmo wrote: »

Those of you who were keeping on eye on Rezzed recently may have noticed that Hotline Miami won game of the show. Definitely one to keep an eye on

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nv-XCM8sies

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1eagB7gAqs8

Couple of mates were there and described it as a "hyper violent, super difficult GTA-style puzzle type thing that's ****ing awesome".

10/10 from Eurogamer, woop!

gizmo

gizmo wrote: »

New trailer for Thomas Was Alone showing off more gameplay and the addition of Danny Wallace as the narrator.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jc0C8H1YgUM

Annnnnnnnd it's now out on Steam.

This game really is ****ing ace, far more so than you can imagine based on the screenshots

EDIT: Those who already bought the game via Desura or direct from the website will be getting Steam keys in the mail soon it seems.

Grimebox

Krieg wrote: »

Not a game but still relevant.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GhaT78i1x2M

If you like indie games its definitely worth a look. I always thought indie games were just little side project/hobbies for the devs but after seeing the movie you really start to appreciate the amount of work thats put in.
Games/devs in it are Braid, Fez, Supermeat boy and others

You can buy the doc off steam for 8 euro

Watched that a few days ago. Its very good. Seems like the game industry is an absolutely awful business to go into however. Does anybody truly enjoy it? Or are they all tortured artists?

gizmo

Wasn't sure whether to post this here or in Gaming News but since it's being self published and involved crowd funding I guess here will do.

Strike Suit Zero out 24th January 2013!

Love me some space action games, omnomnomnom.

For those unaware of what this is..

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gS50TK_Eqxk

gizmo

I've got a bunch of games to post here soon but in the meantime, the student nominations for the IGF awards just got posted today and one of them in particular caught my eye, Blackwell's Asylum.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=00JW6GrvRcY

Looks pretty neat, especially for something that was made in only six weeks by a bunch of students.

The demo is available either directly from their site or on Steam.

gizmo

A mate of mine was at an IGDA meeting in Montreal and called out two games he found particularly interesting.

First up is Mercenary Kings, a game that has has gotten some press coverage already due to not only its Kickstarter campaign but also the fact that Metal Slug-esque gameplay with RPG and crafting elements generally tends to be something folk find curious.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jopRHhEnlVI

Of more interest to me personally though is A.N.N.E, a game I haven't heard anything about until now. By the looks of it, it's a Metroidvania type game but with some freeform ship-based shooting thrown in too.

Here's a video from the (sole) developers presentation from said event.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5iMlA2L31LU

gizmo

Saw one of the guys in work playing this yesterday and it looks pretty damn neat. Procedurally generated levels with dynamic difficulty and a whole bunch of content so there'll be plenty of playtime in there.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=duKesNuPknw

There's currently a Kickstarter for the project here with a demo available on IndieDB here. It's also up on Steam Greenlight here.

gizmo

This one is skipping Kickstarter and going straight to Greenlight so I thought I'd chuck it in here. Looks like awesome fun and definitely one worth keeping an eye on if you like/miss fun local co-op games.

Gang Beasts - Greenlight

Mr E

Project Adventure Game, currently free on Desura (not sure if it's always free).
Nice little retro platformer, metroidvania/La Mulana style.

Trailer:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lCxCbXJlnMU

First 5 minutes:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IwPfRggkxAk

Download here (click "Install" and "Download Direct")

gizmo

This looks ****ing cool

Factorio.com

Skerries

is it a management game or an RTS?

gizmo

Skerries wrote: »

is it a management game or an RTS?

From the description on the website...

Factorio is a game in which you build and maintain factories.

You will be mining resources, researching technologies, building infrastructure, automating production and fighting enemies. Use your imagination to design your factory, combine simple elements into ingenious structures, apply management skills to keep it working and finally protect it from the creatures who don't really like you.

So I'd say it leans towards the management side of things but with defensive placements required to repel enemy attacks.

Skerries

was disappointed when I came on here and this wasn't a thing

Grimebox

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z8w6iVfBQBc

Demo

ShadowHearth

I told my friend about this game. He watched a few videos and then bought it. He is happy as pig in ****.
I like games like that, but I am not sure if I need to push the trigger now.

Wossack

hah, came here to post about this game (factorio)

they've a demo on their website, with I think the first 3 levels of the campaign

its really cool, and reckon will be getting it for the weekend

Sephiroth_dude

Wossack wrote: »

hah, came here to post about this game (factorio)

they've a demo on their website, with I think the first 3 levels of the campaign

its really cool, and reckon will be getting it for the weekend

Me too,its exactly the type of game I've been looking for.

Wossack

really all I used to play minecraft for was the machine/factory building (I peaked at building a HV solar array factory in tekkit), so Im pretty hyped about this alright :P

they're working on multiplayer at the mo too, which is pretty insane considering the amount of stuff happening on screen at once

Grimebox

I lost about 3 hours to it last night. I reckon I'll buy after reading the blurb at the end. I usually can't stand crafting games, but the automated potential of this really intrigues me.

gizmo

Just saw this pop up on Twitter, looks like a really neat concept so will definitely be keeping an eye on it.

Yeti Beast

gizmo wrote: »

Just saw this pop up on Twitter, looks like a really neat concept so will definitely be keeping an eye on it.

Interesting - a little like a real-time Frozen Synapse, but in first person.

gizmo

Got linked to this last night by a mate, not much info available as of yet but the gorgeous art style alone has me interested.

POKU

gizmo

Death's Gambit

“Inspired by Dark Souls, Shadow of The Colossus… Death’s Gambit is a challenging Action-RPG where you explore an alien medieval planet filled with beasts, knights, and horrors. “

Piqued my interest anyway.

K.O.Kiki

That does look snazzy, hope it controls well too.