Indie Games 2015 [September] Lets talk about anything Indie

Woah woah woah, playable from start to finish they say? I am liking the sound of that. I gotta admit I did kinda forget about Gorogoa and my mind kinda wrote it off as abandoned. Very glad to see I was wrong.

First Indie thread ever. March 2013.

Geez.
 
These threads have been going for a long time.
Nice thing about indies is that there's always something new on the horizon

I mean, I'm still kind of surprised by the fact that I can browse Screenshot Saturday every week and find a dozen or more games that I have never seen or that haven't been featured in these threads before
 
Nice thing about indies is that there's always something new on the horizon

I mean, I'm still kind of surprised by the fact that I can browse Screenshot Saturday every week and find a dozen or more games that I have never seen or that haven't been featured in these threads before

Yeah, I'm playing Shutshimi and my mother walked behind me and asked me where I find all these games.
 
Where are you guys getting your indie gaming news? I've been looking for a good site. I've been using Kill Screen this week and it's pretty good but I wonder if there's anything else out there.
 
I don't post in them nearly as much as i used to but I still lurk them to find interesting stuff. You guys keep the train moving.

I was surprised to see that I posted in the first thread back in 2013

Where are you guys getting your indie gaming news? I've been looking for a good site. I've been using Kill Screen this week and it's pretty good but I wonder if there's anything else out there.

Mostly here from this thread, though I may visit RPS and PC Gamer. I also used to visit IndieStatik but the site closed.
 
What, Else Heart.Break() is releasing in one week:

header.jpg



I love the style that they are aiming for.

BIGGEST NEWS OF THE DAY

There was a streaming of Stardew Valley yesterday, the archive can be watched here. The build version shows as v0.9 on the top right of the screen, so it may be near release and we may finally get our Harvest Moon fix on PC.

Get in the hype tractor everyone!
 
Where are you guys getting your indie gaming news? I've been looking for a good site. I've been using Kill Screen this week and it's pretty good but I wonder if there's anything else out there.
A lot of places:
- Rock Paper Shotgun (best site IMO)
- TIGSource forums
- Twitter
- Screenshot Saturday
- r/IndieGaming & r/gamedev
- Indie Games Weblog
- Tumblr

And I'm on a bunch of mailing lists
 
Nah, biggest news is that The Witness finally got a release date


Never heard of it? Another programming puzzle game, in an adventure game mold?

It's more focused on adventure but from the videos released before you can do some hacking, the features from the store page:

  • An expansive 3D world, begging to be explored.
  • Many hours of engaging story, set in a meticulously simulated city, with people that feel truly alive.
  • A challenging game where your actions matter and nothing can ever be unsaid or undone.
  • Tons of every-day objects and computers that work and can be modified.
  • A laid-back experience where you can just go to the café and have a coffee whenever things get too hectic.
  • A delicious soundtrack with over 50 songs.
  • No previous hacking skills required.
 
It's more focused on adventure but from the videos released before you can do some hacking, the features from the store page:

  • An expansive 3D world, begging to be explored.
  • Many hours of engaging story, set in a meticulously simulated city, with people that feel truly alive.
  • A challenging game where your actions matter and nothing can ever be unsaid or undone.
  • Tons of every-day objects and computers that work and can be modified.
  • A laid-back experience where you can just go to the café and have a coffee whenever things get too hectic.
  • A delicious soundtrack with over 50 songs.
  • No previous hacking skills required.
Sounds really cool. Should be a nice substitute for Quadrilateral Cowboy
Almost all of the interactive objects in the game can be hacked and changed. They all have different functions you get access to, depending on what kind of object it is.

For example: Keys have functions for locking and unlocking doors, drinks have functions for changing the stats of a character and the computers have different capabilities (like a modem, or a floppy disk drive).

The things that can't be changed are the level geometry and textures (for the most part), they are static for technical and aesthetic reasons. Also, if you go totally crazy with the hacking the characters in the story might have a hard time actually playing out the story... but we've worked hard to mitigate that problem and haven't seen that much actual trouble with that when playtesting. If you re-wire everything completely I think you might expect the AI to get into some tricky situations...
 
Where are you guys getting your indie gaming news? I've been looking for a good site. I've been using Kill Screen this week and it's pretty good but I wonder if there's anything else out there.

RIGHT HERE

There was a streaming of Stardew Valley yesterday, the archive can be watched here. The build version shows as v0.9 on the top right of the screen, so it may be near release and we may finally get our Harvest Moon fix on PC.

Get in the hype tractor everyone!

This is.... shameless! I love it
 
Oh and regarding offtopic MGSV: Its the best stealth game ever made. No matter if you prefer Indies, dislike AAA world design etc. If you are into stealth games, you need to play MGSV.
 
You finally played it!

Yeah, 70 hours in or so at 35%. And I havent even attempted S-ranks, side missions or all objectives yet.

Not to mention I havent done much Online Bases and Team MP hasnt even released.

This game is nuts. I firmly believe that this was lightning in a bottle, and with Konami blowing up, we might never again get a similar game on the same scale of quality and quantity. I have a hard time believing anybody would invest this much money in a similar project.
 
Yeah, 70 hours in or so at 35%. And I havent even attempted S-ranks, side missions or all objectives yet.

Not to mention I havent done much Online Bases and Team MP hasnt even released.

This game is nuts.

I got 90 minutes on the clock!
 
I got 90 minutes on the clock!

...impressive! And by that I mean how you played for 90 minutes without having the URGE to continue for 3-4 days without much sleep, how it went for me :p

You havent seen anything yet though, dig in over the weekend to actually get to the good parts. :)
 
Oh and regarding offtopic MGSV: Its the best stealth game ever made. No matter if you prefer Indies, dislike AAA world design etc. If you are into stealth games, you need to play MGSV.
Best action-stealth game ever made.

Idk, I'd still consider Chaos Theory as the best pure stealth, followed by Mark of the Ninja and Blood Money.
 
Best action-stealth game ever made.

Idk, I'd still consider Chaos Theory as the best pure stealth, followed by Mark of the Ninja and Blood Money.

But it just comes down how you want to play it, and the pure amount of options.. I was never particularly fund of MotN, but its a very concise concept. But even Chaos Theory or Thief, which are my runner ups to favourite stealth games feel so limited in comparison. You have tons of ways to approach any target, which is really what I want a stealth game to do: Throw an endless amount of interesting missions at me and let me handle them any way I could possibly think of. No other stealth game has this much freedom.
 
But it just comes down how you want to play it, and the pure amount of options.. I was never particularly fund of MotN, but its a very concise concept. But even Chaos Theory or Thief, which are my runner ups to favourite stealth games feel so limited in comparison. You have tons of ways to approach any target, which is really what I want a stealth game to do: Throw an endless amount of interesting missions at me and let me handle them any way I could possibly think of. No other stealth game has this much freedom.
But limited is the point of those games IMO

I love MGS's blend of action and stealth and open-ended gameplay approach, but I feel those other games have better level design. and more tension because you don't have that action safety net to fall back on
 
But limited is the point of those games IMO

I love MGS's blend of action and stealth and open-ended gameplay approach, but I feel those other games have better level design. and more tension because you don't have that action safety net to fall back on

While I can agree to the argument of "tension", I wouldnt say "limited is the point" really applies. Stealth games usually try to give players a multitude of tools to tackle any objective, take Hitman for example. Dressing up, luring, sneaking, outright killing. Stealth games always tried to give more options and paths, a well designed open world mechanic is the logical evolution on that.

After thinking about it some more, I gotta agree that I do miss some tighter level design from for example the thief games, but overall, I couldnt be much happier with what MGSV lets me do.
 
Skyshine's BEDLAM - $19.99 (Win)

Has anyone played this? Looks really neat in terms of Borderlands/Mad Max theme, and I do love me some SRPGs, but the only thing making me hesitate on picking it up is that 2 action points TOTAL in a turn mechanic. I think I prefer the XCOM mode of letting your entire team get to make a move. Allows for more interesting strategy that way.
 
The best-laid plans...

I had intended to play through Frictional's games before Soma...but the BoI: Afterbirth info made me check out Rebirth again and it's sunk its grotesque tear-stained hook into me

So addictive. Was never really hooked on BoI till now.
 
Ah, BoI. The one game I wish I could see what everyone else sees =(
The sheer amount of content makes for an incredible amount of variety. Every play through, I'm discovering new enemies, new items and pick-ups, secrets There's this addictive drip feed of unlockables, and there's something super satisfying about the insane ability combos you can get from stacking items
 
The sheer amount of content makes for an incredible amount of variety. Every play through, I'm discovering new enemies, new items and pick-ups, secrets There's this addictive drip feed of unlockables, and there's something super satisfying about the insane ability combos you can get from stacking items

It was the sheer amount of content that prevented me from getting on with it. A large percentage of the items seemed to be completely pointless, have no apparent effect, or were duplicates of other items. As a result I didn't feel like it deserved what it was asking of me - to remember all this stuff. Especially when the stuff is so hard to remember because the items themselves often have absolutely no relation to the functions they perform.

A game like Spelunky goes with quality over quantity, and it's a literally perfect example of game design as a result. BoI just goes a million miles the other way and yeah, I could just never warrant giving it the time it would require to get anything out of it. It always just felt like it'd be a better game if it had like 80% fewer items.

Then I heard there was going to be an update or DLC or something to add a hundred more and I just sighed - I'm never going to like it. Which, yeah, is a shame, because there aren't many games I want to like more than BoI. The way people talk about it and the stories they tell of epic wins and epic failures are amazing and I so wanted a part of that.
 
It was the sheer amount of content that prevented me from getting on with it. A large percentage of the items seemed to be completely pointless, have no apparent effect, or were duplicates of other items. As a result I didn't feel like it deserved what it was asking of me - to remember all this stuff. Especially when the stuff is so hard to remember because the items themselves often have absolutely no relation to the functions they perform.
Personally, I've found the opposite. Especially once you have several items stacked, things vary drastically. Different tear modifiers, changes to your shot type and speed, movement, companions that do different functions, passive abilities

Like on my best run, I had rapid-fire flaming boomeranging tears that traveled in looping arcs, a leech that sucked health from enemies, protective spiders that spawned when I get hurt, a giant leg that comes down from the ceiling to crush enemies, a recharging ability that let me hover across gaps, increased move speed and damage

On another, I had a laser blast, an ability that caused enemies to fear me and run away, extra health, a partner that fired tears at enemies, etc.

And the items totally have a relation to their function. Boomerang cause tears to boomerang. Air strike lets you call down an air strike. A pic of mom makes you cry more = increased speed shot. Different drugs increase your speed. And so on
 
That's the other thing I didn't really like about Isaac, it felt really reliant on items. A bad-item run in Spelunky is a challenge, a bad-item run in Isaac felt like a waste of time. And the pills you collect having random effects that could ruin a game entirely through no fault of your own, really.

A pic of mom makes you cry more = increased speed shot.

See, I can see the logic there, but when you're playing the game and you pick up a "pic of mom," how are you supposed to know that that relates to increased shooting speed? Like, to work that out you've kind of had to reverse-engineer the item. Shot speed may have been visible (not always), but other things aren't. Like, toothpicks. Makes your tears go red and... what does that mean? There were just loads of things like that. As I say, I imagine if you have an encyclopaedic knowledge of all the items and their effects you can have a good time, but the game made it as hard as possible to attain this and so I didn't feel it deserved my time attempting it. It would have been a much better game if only it was a tiny bit player-friendly.
 
That's the other thing I didn't really like about Isaac, it felt really reliant on items. A bad-item run in Spelunky is a challenge, a bad-item run in Isaac felt like a waste of time. And the pills you collect having random effects that could ruin a game entirely through no fault of your own, really.



See, I can see the logic there, but when you're playing the game and you pick up a "pic of mom," how are you supposed to know that that relates to increased shooting speed? Like, to work that out you've kind of had to reverse-engineer the item. Shot speed may have been visible (not always), but other things aren't. Like, toothpicks. Makes your tears go red and... what does that mean? There were just loads of things like that. As I say, I imagine if you have an encyclopaedic knowledge of all the items and their effects you can have a good time, but the game made it as hard as possible to attain this and so I didn't feel it deserved my time attempting it. It would have been a much better game if only it was a tiny bit player-friendly.
Well that's more of an issue with certain roguelike design rather than Binding of Isaac. Quite a few in the genre feature that element of unknown items that you only discover their use through using them. Personally I like that aspect because of the sense of discovery as you learn what items do, and of mystery when you stumble upon a new item
 
Well that's more of an issue with certain roguelike design rather than Binding of Isaac. Quite a few in the genre feature that element of unknown items that you only discover their use through using them. Personally I like that aspect because of the sense of discovery as you learn what items do, and of mystery when you stumble upon a new item

What the game needed more than anything was some kind of database of items. So you could collect something and press a button and immediately it would tell you what its effects were. It even includes a screen which would appear to any sensible person to be specifically for this purpose, but then none of the items actually have descriptions on it!

I shouldn't have to play a game with Wikia open in the background so I can work out what's going on, really.

Anyway, I appreciate I'm in the minority here and I can genuinely see why people love the game, I just think it should have done more to make it easier to love and it would have been almost no effort at all on the part of the developer since it's basically already in the game.
 
What the game needed more than anything was some kind of database of items. So you could collect something and press a button and immediately it would tell you what its effects were. It even includes a screen which would appear to any sensible person to be specifically for this purpose, but then none of the items actually have descriptions on it!

I shouldn't have to play a game with Wikia open in the background so I can work out what's going on, really.

Anyway, I appreciate I'm in the minority here and I can genuinely see why people love the game, I just think it should have done more to make it easier to love and it would have been almost no effort at all on the part of the developer since it's basically already in the game.

Oh, that I agree with. I wish you could see the effects of the items you have equipped while playing.

Although you do see the effect when you collect an item
 
Hey, yet another coding-as-an-ability game!

CodeSpells

I remember this one from Kickstarter
ss_0867eba5b95c95e5072d4e43b00d021dbb6f24a1.600x338.jpg


CodeSpells - $19.99 (PC, Mac)
ss_309401586da3f9db24530d0b59e6a051f5fc856c.600x338.jpg

http://codespells.org/

CodeSpells allows you to craft your own magical spells. It's the ultimate spellcrafting sandbox.
What makes it all possible is code. The game provides a coding interface where you can specify exactly what your spells will do. This interface is intuitive enough for individuals (young and old) who have never coded before. But skilled coders will also enjoy using their coding skills in new and creative ways! Even children can use this interface to make mountains out of the terrain, make an impenetrable force field around yourself, or even make a golem creature out of the surrounding rocks. The sky is the limit!
 
What the game needed more than anything was some kind of database of items. So you could collect something and press a button and immediately it would tell you what its effects were. It even includes a screen which would appear to any sensible person to be specifically for this purpose, but then none of the items actually have descriptions on it!

I shouldn't have to play a game with Wikia open in the background so I can work out what's going on, really.

Anyway, I appreciate I'm in the minority here and I can genuinely see why people love the game, I just think it should have done more to make it easier to love and it would have been almost no effort at all on the part of the developer since it's basically already in the game.

I have the same issue witht this game.
 
Never liked BoI either. The controls are so squishy. It always felt like a flash game, which there are already tons, and many with much better gameplay.
 
Greetings to your mother from the crazy Indie crowd :p

I'll tell her xD

Has anyone played this? Looks really neat in terms of Borderlands/Mad Max theme, and I do love me some SRPGs, but the only thing making me hesitate on picking it up is that 2 action points TOTAL in a turn mechanic. I think I prefer the XCOM mode of letting your entire team get to make a move. Allows for more interesting strategy that way.

I was reading some reviews and the opinions are very mixed about the game :/
 
Honestly from the short time I played, I found the solo experience to feel really lacking. Without the other player, It felt like it missing that dynamic spark that would make the crazy experience seen in the trailers.

I finished it today. I understand that complaint, but I really glad it wasn't all that frenetic. It had some touch-and-go moments, and the last boss gave me a rough time, but it is definitely more tactical than it seems. In my younger days I'd have loved for the game to just kick my ass, but anymore I just want something with fun gameplay, challenging or not, that lets me explore a beautifully surreal world.

I do think a more frenetic game could be just as fun. Something like a scalable experience were more players means more enemies and more ship health. It could get really chaotic if it allowed 4 players.

In the end, I enjoyed it immensely. The variations the gems allow for are all very satisfying, whether it's the various methods of conventional shooting, or slinging around a spiked flail and using your engine's boost as a means of attack. And it's insanely pretty. It's definitely going down as one of my favorite games of the year.
 
What issues did they mention?

One review talked about the issues of the story, the reviewer enjoyed the game but felt it didn't have the tension from FTL, one of the game inspirations meamwhile other reviewer didn't have an issue with it, describing the game has a lot of plot but little story.

Other thing I read in the user reviews on Steam was about the combat, the game arranges your party positioning randomly when starting a new fight, so you front-linr melees may be put in the back row, plus you only have two actions per turn.

On the positive side, almost every one seems to like the game's visual style
 
Top Bottom