Indie Games [February] Now Voting - Post 808!

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OP video impressions, Bloodlust ShadowHunter:
http://youtu.be/6E9KurT0tvM


Not saying that often, but I am.. impressed. I had a crash at the end of the video, the textures arent the hottest and the video itself has some upscaling/resolution issues which I need to figure out (hey, no lags), but overall my first impressions were VERY positive. Lots of hidden areas, skills, traps, different enemies, quests. It also actually "feels" like a vampire RPG with the vampire specific skills like invisibility, teleporting, biting, transforming humans into slaves etc.

It expectedly feels a bit janky and the combat is a bit weird because I cant seem to properly judge when an enemy might be about to hit me and my own hit range, but ... as I said I am impressed. It seems deep, fun and challening with a lot of customization. The first area is a dungeon, so I am not sure what comes next, whether there is some sort of overworld/hub or whatever, but the dev certainly knows how to make interesting dungeon layouts.

I'll definitely put some more time into this.
 
Cloudbase Prime - Free alpha (PC, Mac)
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http://cloudbaseprime.com/

Your shift on a floating mining platform on a gas giant does not go as planned. Survive. Your main tools are an energy cannon and the architect, a tool that can move the tiles that the mining platform is constructed from to clear paths and defeat enemies.
Alpha here

Offworld - Free alpha (Browser)
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http://tengugames.com/Offworld/

Offworld is all about controlling air ships and battling with them. You fight for the dominion of your clan. The player chooses a side, a vehicle type, a primary weapon and a secondary weapon, and you are ready for battle. Currently there are two different types of airships, two different primary weapons and three secondary weapons.

Untitled game - PC

Terra Melior - 2014 (PC, Mac)
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https://terrameliorrpg.wordpress.com/

Heavily influenced by Dark Souls and Mass Effect 1, Terra Melior is a sci fi action RPG with challenging gameplay, an artistic style, and a chilling story. The adventure takes place on a harsh planet of ice and snow where unprepared colonists struggle to survive. You play as a soldier looking for a famous researcher who disappeared here. Your search uncovers a larger mystery, which you solve by shooting giant monsters in the face.

Glitchhicker's Fight for The Galaxy - Free demo (PC)
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http://forums.tigsource.com/index.php?topic=38509.0

Glitchhicker's fight for The Galaxy aims to be a fast-paced dubstep-glitched 2-4 local multiplayer spaceship fighting game. Try to say it without breathing.
The motivation behind it is to create a fast action game that has gameplay variations synchronized to music, or music generated on the fly to represent gameplay variations, we'll see.
Demo (.zip)

Mutant Gangland - €3.99 (PC)
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http://www.mutantgangland.com/

Mutant Gangland is a fast paced turn based strategy game for those with no need for micro management. Create units, capture buildings and wage war against a player or AI controlled opponent.
 
Other OP impressions:

Dojo of Death:

Very simple highscore game in which you only click on a spot to slash in that direction and need to kill as many people as possible. It "works" well, but I didnt enjoy it very much because its way too simple and doesnt improve/add any other mechanics to the game. Tried once, done forever.

Effin Dead:

3rd person shooter that is inspired by RE4/Dead Space, but unlike Bloodlust, it seems extremely uninspired, has boring level layout and art direction and seems just... bland overall. The combat mechanics are unsatisfying and I couldnt find any sort incentive to actually keep playing.
 
OP impressions, Env is a neat little concept:

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Its still a very simple game that only tasks you with walking around and escaping the destruction, while also collecting some food items to avoid starving. There really isnt much to it, other than the increasingly difficult environment traversal, but its kinda neat to walk around and see the world getting ripped apart.
 
I so hate this thread ... so much stuff to try out and already a big backlog of PS3 and Steam games but no time -_-. Have like 20 tabs in firefox opened so i don't forget the games i just saw here.
 
I so hate this thread ... so much stuff to try out and already a big backlog of PS3 and Steam games but no time -_-. Have like 20 tabs in firefox opened so i don't forget the games i just saw here.

You're welcome.
 
We Have Lied - ????
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http://wehavelied.com/

The player controls Jamie through a series of basic exploration and in-depth dialogue/action trees, as well as a few more or less "action-y" segments.
We Have Lied takes place mainly in and around Kansas City following a pandemic of a mutated form of smallpox that wipes out 3/4 of the world's population. Power has been delegated from the nearly-nonexistant federal government to local municipalities; Kansas City declared itself a unified municipality and the Kansas City Department of Defense was formed to protect the city.


Guild of Dungeoneering - Free alpha (PC, Mac, Linux)
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http://gambrinous.com/games/dungeoneering/

A dungeon exploration game where you don't get to control the adventurer. Instead you lay out the dungeon one room at a time (including treasure & monsters) and he proceeds according to his AI. You want him to explore, level up, find treasures and ultimately survive - but you don't get to directly control him.

Blindsight - ????
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http://www.stimpaqstudios.com/

Our first project is Blindsight, an old school topdown action shooter set in a Cyberpunk themed world.

Astrovoid (working title) - Free (Browser)
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http://gamejolt.com/games/arcade/astrovoid-working-title/21906/

Die in the wasteland that is your heart, but is actually space.

Friction - ????
Bfa8TEVCEAAkwY-.png

https://twitter.com/Duende_Games

You fly though outer space fighting unearthly enemy ships using your powerful laser gun. However, the gun can only be used once it is charged up, and the only way to charge it is to risk life and limb by heading into close proximity with the enemy bullets.

Project Elite - Free pre-alpha demo (Browser)

Previously Mentioned
Proof

Kromaia
 
Man, I just love game titles like We Have Lied. They just sound more intriguing and ominous than other kinds of titles

We Have Lied
Gods Will Be Watching
Everybody's Gone to the Rapture

Any other good ones?
 
Courtesy of IndieGames Weblog:

Let's Go Camping! - PC, Mac, Linux
lets%20go%20camping.gif

http://www.steamburgerstudios.com/LetsGoCamping/

An upcoming FPS roguelike(lite) dungeon crawler, whereby dungeons are reached via hiking, camping, and surviving a vast overworld wilderness.

Alaska - ????
alaska.gif

http://ratusapparatus.com/alaska.html

Alaska is an immersive sim with a dynamic narrative, you have been sent to a remote space station to investigate a murder, you must explore the station and investigate its occupants. Build a case against a suspect, but did you prove his guilt or have you made a terrible mistake?

Luna's Wandering Stars - March 2014 (PC, Mac, Linux)
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http://serenityforge.com/

Luna's Wandering Stars is a planetary physics puzzler with a full Level Creator/Editor and online level sharing. Control the powers of the solar system as Luna, a mysterious sentient space probe. Explore your curiosity of space.
 
Terra Melior needs a lot of work obviously for an alpha, but you don't get many indie 3rd person shooters. Sent the dev some feedback. It lacks any kind of hit feedback until the enemies die, sound effects are not really there, but I like the graphics, environment, and character creation. The intro cinematic is laughably bad! XD The Titan is a cool looking boss, even though I could deal no damage to it.

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But dude, magic earrings!
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And ice sharks!
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Sooo, wrote up some more posts in the voting thread, we still need write ups for:

2 Gone Home
5 Rogue Legacy
6 Kentucky Route Zero
10 Proteus
13 Guacamelee
28 Monaco
35 Don't Starve
39 Knock Knock
40 Mercenary Kings
44 Steamworld Dig

I can write up something for KRZ, Rogue Legacy, Gone Home, Guacamelee and Monaco later, but I'd appreciate anyone helping out with any one of these as I want to do some other things for now :p
 
The Wild Eternal - ????

Hey, thanks for including us! Here's an updated quotable:

The Wild Eternal - Late 2014 (PC, Mac)
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http://www.thewildeternal.com/

The Wild Eternal is a first person exploration adventure game about flawed Gods, thick undulating blankets of fog, hella buffs, un-defeatable enemies, and conversations with a traumatized fox God who isn’t sure if you are the reincarnation of their lost lover.

While we haven't released a ton of information just yet, more is certainly coming. One thing I can certainly confirm however is that we are building the game for the PC and Mac with a targeted release date of Q4 2014.

For those who might be interested, the core gameplay features travelling through an asian landscape to discover what has happened to a ruined empire covered in fog. Throughout the forests the player will find trails leading to the summit of hilltops or other features and use these to get their bearing before heading back into the fog.

The forests hold many treasures for the player to discover, as well as encounters with bizarre (magical?) beasts which they must overcome, though lack the ability to kill. There is also a talking fox demon who acts as a guide for the player, much like Alice and Wonderland's Cheshire cat. We are exploring some creative alternatives to dialog trees with her. You can see a glimpse of that system in the above picture. Here's a short capture of one of the first beasts you'll encounter (maybe "beast" isn't always the appropriate word):


We're working very hard to get our animations to look good, as thats a big part of how these critters communicate with the player.
 
Hey, thanks for including us! While we haven't released a ton of information just yet, more is certainly coming. One thing I can certainly confirm however is that we are building the game for the PC and Mac with a targeted release date of Q4 2014.

For those who might be interested, the core gameplay features travelling through an asian landscape to discover what has happened to a ruined empire covered in fog. Throughout the forests the player will find trails leading to the summit of hilltops or other features and use these to get their bearing before heading back into the fog.

The forests hold many treasures for the player to discover, as well as encounters with bizarre (magical?) beasts which they must overcome, though lack the ability to kill. There is also a talking fox demon who acts as a guide for the player, much like Alice and Wonderland's Cheshire cat. We are exploring some creative alternatives to dialog trees with her. You can see a glimpse of that system here, as well as one of the first beasts you'll encounter (maybe "beast" isn't always the appropriate word):
Welcome to the Indie threads! Always cool to discover indie devs that also GAF members. Looking forward to your game
 
Welcome to the Indie threads! Always cool to discover indie devs that also GAF members. Looking forward to your game

Thanks for the warm welcome! :D We are moving into that stage where we have stuff to share and talk about (feels SO good!), here seemed like a great place to start!
 
Thanks for the warm welcome! :D We are moving into that stage where we have stuff to share and talk about (feels SO good!), here seemed like a great place to start!

Feel free to share some progress updates here once in a while :)
 
Sooo, wrote up some more posts in the voting thread, we still need write ups for:

2 Gone Home
5 Rogue Legacy
6 Kentucky Route Zero
10 Proteus
13 Guacamelee
28 Monaco
35 Don't Starve
39 Knock Knock
40 Mercenary Kings
44 Steamworld Dig

I can write up something for KRZ, Rogue Legacy, Gone Home, Guacamelee and Monaco later, but I'd appreciate anyone helping out with any one of these as I want to do some other things for now :p

Only six more games to go!
 
From Hell's Heart is so awesome! Got all 13 journal pages, died probably 6 times, got terrified many a time from the sea monster. You can throw sea mines, harpoons, and a cannon. The tumultuous waves are huge, and affect the gameplay a lot which makes the whole ride perilous in addition to the sea monster. If you find oil, it ups the fuel counter which is pretty much the timer of the game. There are sedentary whales lying around that you can kill for sweet sweet oil and more goodies to keep on surviving. There is a frustration where sometimes you can't see the sea monster because he's way down below and he'll constantly chomp on your butt without your awareness, so there are some cheap deaths.

It's basically the Moby Dick game I've been waiting for.

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I think I'm beginning to miss the days when games came out finished. I honestly also love early access and the ability to help fund developers meet there goals. I'm completely torn. On one hand it's a huge way of funding games that may otherwise not see the light of day, on the other, it takes some of the surprise away.

Maybe it's just the mystique factor of playing a complete game and knowing it's fully baked from the get-go...with all the nuance and quark from the creators mind.

I have no idea why I felt the need to say this...just been on my mind.
 
From Hell's Heart is so awesome! Got all 13 journal pages, died probably 6 times, got terrified many a time from the sea monster. You can throw sea mines, harpoons, and a cannon. The tumultuous waves are huge, and affect the gameplay a lot which makes the whole ride perilous in addition to the sea monster. If you find oil, it ups the fuel counter which is pretty much the timer of the game. There are sedentary whales lying around that you can kill for sweet sweet oil and more goodies to keep on surviving. There is a frustration where sometimes you can't see the sea monster because he's way down below and he'll constantly chomp on your butt without your awareness, so there are some cheap deaths.

It's basically the Moby Dick game I've been waiting for.

iwnKRNmGBkwhZ.gif

ibeF2jAkFojbpn.gif

ibiWHi5bkWkNVZ.gif

this looks incredible, downloading now
 
I think I'm beginning to miss the days when games came out finished. I honestly also love early access and the ability to help fund developers meet there goals. I'm completely torn. On one hand it's a huge way of funding games that may otherwise not see the light of day, on the other, it takes some of the surprise away.

Maybe it's just the mystique factor of playing a complete game and knowing it's fully baked from the get-go...with all the nuance and quark from the creators mind.

I have no idea why I felt the need to say this...just been on my mind.
Have you heard the soundtrack for The Floor Is Jelly? Disasterpeace does the music
 
I think I'm beginning to miss the days when games came out finished. I honestly also love early access and the ability to help fund developers meet there goals. I'm completely torn. On one hand it's a huge way of funding games that may otherwise not see the light of day, on the other, it takes some of the surprise away.

Maybe it's just the mystique factor of playing a complete game and knowing it's fully baked from the get-go...with all the nuance and quark from the creators mind.

I have no idea why I felt the need to say this...just been on my mind.

I totally get that, sometimes you don't want to see the warts. I feel like there should be a regulation if your game gets on Early Access, it means the game is a year from being completed. If it takes any longer, the game is taken off. When a developer puts up their game, at least you know that it's coming rather than the previous amount of years you've been checking the wordpress/tumblr page where you have no clue on the time frame.
 
I totally get that, sometimes you don't want to see the warts. I feel like there should be a regulation if your game gets on Early Access, it means the game is a year from being completed. If it takes any longer, the game is taken off. When a developer puts up their game, at least you know that it's coming rather than the previous amount of years you've been checking the wordpress/tumblr page where you have no clue on the time frame.

That's an interesting idea, because it sets expectations across the entire playing field too.
 
I totally get that, sometimes you don't want to see the warts. I feel like there should be a regulation if your game gets on Early Access, it means the game is a year from being completed. If it takes any longer, the game is taken off. When a developer puts up their game, at least you know that it's coming rather than the previous amount of years you've been checking the wordpress/tumblr page where you have no clue on the time frame.
Idk...I think setting a year deadline would restrict development because then the dev is trying to push the game out by that time. I think it all goes back to the consistency and content of updates. Overgrowth, Prison Architect, and Door Kickers are good examples of that. Sure the games may be Early Access, but the developers have delivered frequent and significant updates. You can trust that the developers will finish their games. They feel like games, and not like early concepts like some Early Access games do (i.e. Kenshi).
 
Idk...I think setting a year deadline would restrict development because then the dev is trying to push the game out by that time. I think it all goes back to the consistency and content of updates. Overgrowth, Prison Architect, and Door Kickers are good examples of that. Sure the games may be Early Access, but the developers have delivered frequent and significant updates. You can trust that the developers will finish their games. They feel like games, and not like early concepts like some Early Access games do (i.e. Kenshi).

Right, but you can do all of that before being on Steam's service. If the developers need more money and paid alphas or betas from their website isn't bringing enough, then they should be honest with why they're on early access because of the huge pool of potential backers. I personally feel like early access should be considered when it's make-or-break time; you're just an year out and need some more money to get it finished. Right now, there's no limit on how long the game can be up on early access, and if games take longer than an year to release, people will get the impression that it's a service for development hell even though the developer is being backed financially all the time (kinda like a AAA publisher with vaporware aka The Last Guardian :P).
When will these games release?

Its up to the developer to determine when they are ready to 'release'. Some developers have a concrete deadline in mind, while others will get a better sense as the development of the game progresses.

If the release date is known, it will be listed on the store page for the game, in the upper-right corner under the game's branding image.
 
Right, but you can do all of that before being on Steam's service. If the developers need more money and paid alphas or betas from their website isn't bringing enough, then they should be honest with why they're on early access because of the huge pool of potential backers. I personally feel like early access should be considered when it's make-or-break time; you're just an year out and need some more money to get it finished. Right now, there's no limit on how long the game can be up on early access, and if games take longer than an year to release, people will get the impression that it's a service for development hell even though the developer is being backed financially all the time (kinda like a AAA publisher with vaporware aka The Last Guardian :P).

I dont even get why the discussion revolves so much about STEAM early access to be honest. I can totally see how someone might be fed up with paying for betatesting or preferring full products, and its true that % wise there are more games these days with an early access model, but I couldnt give 2 shits about whether the dev does that on Steam or on his own website. In the end, the issue is more about the kind of experience you want to support I think.

You also got to say that the current climate allows way more high quality Indie games than it was the case 10 years ago, so I cant see much bad about the early access games. Usually you can get an opinion whether the early access game is worth it as it is now (see Gnomoria, Prison Architect and whatnot) and then you get to play it. If you dont want to, you could just easily ignore it and wait for the full release. Having the early access is just an "option", which also has the positive side effect of giving the dev more player feedback and allowing for a more... directed development approach (like in the case of Factorio whose devs added features based on fan feedback).

Not dismissing your thoughts or anything, just my 2 cents.
 
I like early access, because 1) I can play games I'm anticipating earlier and support a promising developer in the process, 2) I can help the dev with feedback and maybe see my suggestions implemented, and 3) sometimes there's a discount

btw, Factorio looks pretty fun and deep, from that post in the GOTY thread. Probably should check it out
 
To add to that discussion, I think the main problem for me is not Early Access (which is fine per se) but a feeling that the market is being flooded with games (or any medium, really), a lot of them worth playing. A few years ago, the feeling was not as overwhelming for me as a handheld/console guy, but since I made a semi-comeback to PC for indie stuff, it is all a bit much. And indies have not been limited to PC for a while now, anyway.

So yeah, my theory is that a lot of people share this feeling of congestion, and Early Access (which, of course, unintentionally fosters that problem) is being made responsible. Other targets exist, see Greenlight, the 'sales' culture, etc.

What do you guys think?
 
I need some help identifying an indie game that I'm pretty sure I've seen a video of before. I have a pretty vague recollection, but it was a kind of "vertical platformer" in which you mostly fall down the levels (and maybe sometimes climb?) while dodging obstacles, aided by abilities like maybe a double-jump and/or air dash. Not very detailed, but does that sound familiar to anyone? I ask because I had an idea for a similar game, then I vaguely remembered having seen this one and I want to make sure I'm not subconsciously ripping them off. :)
 
I need some help identifying an indie game that I'm pretty sure I've seen a video of before. I have a pretty vague recollection, but it was a kind of "vertical platformer" in which you mostly fall down the levels (and maybe sometimes climb?) while dodging obstacles, aided by abilities like maybe a double-jump and/or air dash. Not very detailed, but does that sound familiar to anyone? I ask because I had an idea for a similar game, then I vaguely remembered having seen this one and I want to make sure I'm not subconsciously ripping them off. :)
Freedom Fall?
http://store.steampowered.com/app/262770
 
So just finished the Octodads. Like it, don't love it really. It started off grand but as it goes on it seems to focus less and less on the ' attempting mundane tasks with slapstick results' and more on awkward stealth and platforming elements which although were not awful at a 100 minutes long game I wish it stuck to its earlier game play style more. I still semi enjoyed it but it will be a very bad month if Octodad is in my top 3 this month.

These were essentially my feelings as well. I think the more precise platforming and stealth segments still kept to that core silliness of seeing an octopus tackle ridiculous tasks, but I agree that I would've preferred them to stick to the structure of the first three levels. It's a concept that works best when not under the pressure of a timer or starting a section over if you mess up once.

Also, I think its two hour length turned out well in its favor as I believe its controls wouldn't lend well to longer play sessions. So in the end, it set out to be an amusing game with goofy controls and I think it accomplished that. I enjoyed my time with it.
 
Don't think the Trading thread is the right place for this, because one of the games isn't on Steam or Desura so;
I have keys for The Castle Doctrine and 3089 and I'm interested in Factorio and Vector
You only played the Factorio demo so far I guess, the full game adds a lot of stuff in Freeplay mode which you haven seen yet. Man I love that game.
 
I regret not backing at an early access tier. It was my first KS, should have gone all out. Either way, the game's going to be awesome. One of my most anticipated of the year, besides Distance, Cloudbuilt, and Rain World
 
I regret not backing at an early access tier. It was my first KS, should have gone all out. Either way, the game's going to be awesome. One of my most anticipated of the year, besides Distance, Cloudbuilt, and Rain World

I sorta regret not backing at all, but it was a stupid time for me.

Too bad.
 
Now this looks promising. It's essentially a sci-fi Legend of Grimrock

StarCrawlers - 2014 (PC, Mac, Linux)
explore02.gif

http://starcrawlers.com/

StarCrawlers features randomly generated maps, missions, events and loot combined with deep character customization and a tactical time-unit based combat system to create an endless dungeon crawling experience. You’ll be running missions on the hulks of abandoned ships, fighting the remnants of security systems (and who knows what else…?!), all while venturing deeper and deeper in search of a big score.
 
If you dont want to, you could just easily ignore it and wait for the full release. Having the early access is just an "option", which also has the positive side effect of giving the dev more player feedback and allowing for a more...

You're right.

That's why I feel weird for even having this feeling. I think it's just hard for me to wrap my mind around what to play next, as my backlog is neverending - and that's besides the early access games :)

all in all, more games are a good thing though - so I shouldn't complain!
 
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