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Indie Games [March] Now Voting - Post 774!
- Thread starter Toma
- Start date
Weltall Zero
Member
I have to say, I'm looking forward to the results. It will help me decide what to try next. So little time, so much to see.
Also, and this is a bit random, but it's not Maldita Castle, but Maldita Castilla. Unlike some people believe, it's not butchered Spanish; it's not meant to be castillo (castle), but the Spanish word for Castile, the central region of Spain, its name meaning "land of castles". I would know, I live in Madrid, in the exact center of it
. Therefore, the translated title would be "Damned Castile" or "Cursed Castile".
Also, and this is a bit random, but it's not Maldita Castle, but Maldita Castilla. Unlike some people believe, it's not butchered Spanish; it's not meant to be castillo (castle), but the Spanish word for Castile, the central region of Spain, its name meaning "land of castles". I would know, I live in Madrid, in the exact center of it
. Therefore, the translated title would be "Damned Castile" or "Cursed Castile".He sure has got some talent, but I hope there's a little more to explore this time.
Watched the video ? I'dnsay that looks pretty good.
Yeah, of course, it looks incredible. I appreciate his vision and craftsmanship, but I would like to experience something different than Cesure's coldness and emptiness.
Family Fry
Member
Need to play more on the list but my PC time has been incredibly restricted, so I will just vote for the games I have played and enjoyed enough to recommend.
Cognition: An Erica Reed Thriller
The first game I kickstarted, hasn't been disappointing so far and been well worth what I donated.
Kentucky Route Zero
Fantastic setting, music, graphics. Really is a unique experience and can't wait for further episodes.
The Sea Will Claim Everything
Really is a fantastic game, please don't let the graphics put you off.
I have seen some people write this game off because of them and it's just wrong. Story is fantastically written with wonderful music to push you through the world. Buy it and play it.
Also whilst I am here will highlight a Nordic indie game, developed by Rain AS.
Teslagrad.
Here's the trailer.
http://youtu.be/aGhe_zEt9-E
The developers will be at GDC so here's hoping we hear and see more, will be keeping my eye on this one.
Cognition: An Erica Reed Thriller
The first game I kickstarted, hasn't been disappointing so far and been well worth what I donated.
Kentucky Route Zero
Fantastic setting, music, graphics. Really is a unique experience and can't wait for further episodes.
The Sea Will Claim Everything
Really is a fantastic game, please don't let the graphics put you off.
I have seen some people write this game off because of them and it's just wrong. Story is fantastically written with wonderful music to push you through the world. Buy it and play it.
Also whilst I am here will highlight a Nordic indie game, developed by Rain AS.
Teslagrad.
Here's the trailer.
http://youtu.be/aGhe_zEt9-E
The developers will be at GDC so here's hoping we hear and see more, will be keeping my eye on this one.
Time to vote.
Kentucky Route Zero - The game is a riddle itself, athough there's no single puzzle in there, full of wonder and mystery ready to be explored. The thick atmosphere just pours down from the screen, leaving you craving for the next episode.
Slave of God - Here lies one of the powers of videogames, no other media can capture this particular moment when your senses are being torn to shreds so well. It's a great accomplishment to create something so draining and painfull to experience, and at the same time so absorbing in its spot on wackiness. Don't know if he is a genius or a madman, but Stephen Lavelle has certainly done it.
Punk's not dead! Oh, and it has an ending.
Bientot l'ete - It's difficult to describe this one in conventional gaming language, because it's not about mechanics at all. It takes up the themes such as love, empathy and loneliness, among many others, in a very intimate manner. Obviously it's not for everyone, but at least give it a try, it's not that expensive.
Thirty Flights of Loving - The only thing I don't like in videogames is a lack of direction, the elegancy of movement seen in movies. They tend to give you full control over everything, it's desirable in some specific cases, but for most of the time, especially in story driven games, it's just a pointless filler, put there to artificially extend playtime. That's why I think TFoL is so important, because it tries to overcome those problems, with some simple movie inspired techniques.
Gorogoa - Gorogoa is a pean sung to praise imagination. With its interwoven puzzle structure and surreal setting it pulls you straight in into this world where nothing is as it seems.
Honorable mentions go to Papers, Please, Mirror Moon and The Sea Will Claim Everything.
And there are lovely lookin games I haven't tried yet like: Starseed Pilgrim and Proteus. I would add Factorio to that list, but Toma used SpaceChem in the same paragraph so I chickened out.
Kentucky Route Zero - The game is a riddle itself, athough there's no single puzzle in there, full of wonder and mystery ready to be explored. The thick atmosphere just pours down from the screen, leaving you craving for the next episode.
Slave of God - Here lies one of the powers of videogames, no other media can capture this particular moment when your senses are being torn to shreds so well. It's a great accomplishment to create something so draining and painfull to experience, and at the same time so absorbing in its spot on wackiness. Don't know if he is a genius or a madman, but Stephen Lavelle has certainly done it.
Punk's not dead! Oh, and it has an ending.
Bientot l'ete - It's difficult to describe this one in conventional gaming language, because it's not about mechanics at all. It takes up the themes such as love, empathy and loneliness, among many others, in a very intimate manner. Obviously it's not for everyone, but at least give it a try, it's not that expensive.
Thirty Flights of Loving - The only thing I don't like in videogames is a lack of direction, the elegancy of movement seen in movies. They tend to give you full control over everything, it's desirable in some specific cases, but for most of the time, especially in story driven games, it's just a pointless filler, put there to artificially extend playtime. That's why I think TFoL is so important, because it tries to overcome those problems, with some simple movie inspired techniques.
Gorogoa - Gorogoa is a pean sung to praise imagination. With its interwoven puzzle structure and surreal setting it pulls you straight in into this world where nothing is as it seems.
Honorable mentions go to Papers, Please, Mirror Moon and The Sea Will Claim Everything.
And there are lovely lookin games I haven't tried yet like: Starseed Pilgrim and Proteus. I would add Factorio to that list, but Toma used SpaceChem in the same paragraph so I chickened out.
I agree with this. That looks fucking fantastic, pardon my language. Like a great place to wander around and explore. But it also appears to be little more than a techno-version of Cesure. Technological purgatory vs ...whatever made up the core at the center of Cesure purgatory
You should really try the demo of Factorio. Its not that hard and teaches you splendidly. Its not as hard as SpaceChem, although it technically has more elements to it. The fact that you have unlimited space negates the most difficult parts about SpaceChem (the puzzle element via the Space restriction).
Just try the demo already
This game will land in my GOTY list, guaranteed.
Shieeet, David Bowie fighting with some hyenas! Color me impressed.
David Bowie fighting Hyenas and dinosaurs with TESLA beams.
Weltall Zero
Member
I did not recognize David Bowie in The Prestige until the movie was well over and my GF saw the cast list on imdb. True story.
Well, technically that means I did not recognize him at all.
Dont worry, I had the exact same epiphany. Noticed it weeks after watching the movie.
Weltall Zero
Member
Heh.
People, Desktop Dungeons's beta is free to try this week (until the 31st of March). It's one of my top 10 indie games of all time, so you owe to yourself to give it a try!
http://www.desktopdungeons.net/beta-free-for-gdc/
People, Desktop Dungeons's beta is free to try this week (until the 31st of March). It's one of my top 10 indie games of all time, so you owe to yourself to give it a try!
http://www.desktopdungeons.net/beta-free-for-gdc/
And how do you guys play Papers, Please with these incredible observant skills, facepalm
And how do you guys play Papers, Please with these incredible observant skills, facepalm
In games you EXPECT something, so you look for it
I do NOT expect to see David Bowie in every movie I watch In games you EXPECT something, so you look for it
Yeah Yeah, right.
Changing the subject.
So I started to play The Cat Lady and so far I really like it, maybe because it's more about story and less about puzzles. Do you have any suggestions for those kind of visual adventure games which are more story driven?
Chainsawkitten
Member
Then what kind of a movie goer are you?I do NOT expect to see David Bowie in every movie I watch
Let us know what you would write in a text blurb for the next thread after you played it a bit more, then I'll put it in. No immediate suggestions on my side atm though. You should probably write the adventure game thread guy a PM, and then let us know if there are more.
NP.
BTW, the formula for the next month thread stays the same, right? We can include some older titles, if they were not mentioned before?
Yup.
Chainsawkitten
Member
I'll be playing through some more OP games today to give a fairer vote. Won't be voting for Bientôt L'été since I helped with the Swedish translation and thus may be a little bit biased, but it is a pretty swell game.
Wow, that's great. Are you by any chance responsible for Monologer för två?
Chainsawkitten
Member
That project ran aground pretty much immediately, I'm afraid. All it really amounted to in playable form was a quick (and I mean quick) prototype. I reused some of the ideas in Anonyma Kroppar, though. That's largely finished with some polishing to do.
Weltall Zero
Member
Desktop Dungeons is by no means a roguelike; it may be generous to call it roguelike-like! It's more of a puzzle game thinly disguised as a dungeon crawler. The fact that each "game" rarely takes more than 20 minutes, and the way you have to manage your most precious resource (undiscovered tiles), plus the fact that enemies don't move, and so on, make it an entirely different beast. Which is precisely why I love it so much.
That said, my original comment that I'm not into roguelikes is not entirely accurate. I actually like the genre, especially on consoles (loved the Mystery Dungeon series and ZHP), but it's one that requires a huge amount of time, and there being so many on PC, each with such a huge learning curve, is a bit overwhelming. This one absolutely charming tileset for ADOM (1 and 2, from what I understand) might definitely tip the scales.
I guess "I'm not into it" more in the sense "I already have very little time and this genre is hugely time-consuming, so I don't even start" than "I don't like it". If that makes sense.
I am, however, hugely into roguelike-likes, as I mentioned. For some reason the application of roguelike sensibilities to other genres electrifies me (you can see FTL and Spelunky up there in my top ten... hell, they could be top five).
Also, this talk of Starsector and a couple of other games like it, as always, makes me perk my ears, then settle down when, yet again, I realize this is not quite the Star Control-like game I want. :/
Then what kind of a movie goer are you?
One that is not disappointed with every move, I would wager. I mean, expecting to see Bowie in every movie, then failing to do so every time, would ruin moviegoing for me real fast.
Edit: Toma, I just discovered this other thread of yours:
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=487216
I'm downloading the Terraform demo and Treasure Adventure Game as we speak, even if I'm a bit late. As for Wazhack, a sidescrolling roguelike is something that sounds amazing, but the game's visual are the kind of early tech hideous renders that put me off immensely.
I tell you, if I was appointed dictator, my first abusive law would be that all indie games would have to have either pixel art or hand drawn sprites.Also, would you think that one thread merits a bump or would you rather have people concentrate in here?
Yeah, I can definitely see that. Roguelikes are a bit hard to get into. One of the most easily accessible, yet deep roguelikes I played was Dungeons of Dredmor. You should give that a whirl if you havent yet. Roguelikes generally have the problem that there are so fucking many of them. Last month alone , there released 4 good roguelikes. There is such an over abundance of high quality titles, that its hard to really focus on one. I gave The Pit a decent amount of time last month, but its just not as good as some of the better Roguelikes out there, so ultimately, I have some issues recommending it, despite it being in itself actually rather fun and competent.
Edit: Toma, I just discovered this other thread of yours:
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=487216
I'm downloading the Terraform and Treasure Adventure Game as we speak, even if I'm a bit late. As for Wazhack, a sidescrolling roguelike is something that sounds amazing, but the game's visual are the kind of early tech hideous renders that put me off immensely.
Yeah, I tried hard to get a grasp on what GAF wants/needs for Indies in older threads. That was my first try at such a thread and it was more or less a similar basic idea to the current one. (To inform people about and get them to play Indies). The thread crashed and burned horribly, but in my opinion I chose very interesting games for it. Opera Omnia is still one of the most memorable (although dated looking) Indie games I ever came across and I didnt like Wazhack at first either due to the graphics, but the system is actually very, very fun.
Oniken was a blast to play through as well, although very hard. Treasure Adventure Game is a GEM. Absolutely looking forward to their reimagining of the game soon and Terraform was a pretty unique little puzzle game.
What a coincidence, I tried it few days ago, thanks to Notgames blog.
I find the idea really interesting, if I understood it right, so definitely gonna check out your new project.
All of these only in non-english?
One Foul Note
Member
Edit: Toma, I just discovered this other thread of yours:
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=487216
I'm downloading the Terraform demo and Treasure Adventure Game as we speak, even if I'm a bit late. As for Wazhack, a sidescrolling roguelike is something that sounds amazing, but the game's visual are the kind of early tech hideous renders that put me off immensely.
Also, would you think that one thread merits a bump or would you rather have people concentrate in here?
If you're looking at games to try in that thread, I would still highly recommend Oniken. That game was super enjoyable if a bit brick unforgivable in places. Reminds me I still need to go back and complete the final few levels.
Mavromatis
Member
- Papers, please!
- Steam Marines
- Slave of God
Even if I didn't understand what I was doing. - Melodisle
You can change subs to english in language.txt at least thats how it is for Monologer.
Wok
Member
My five top game are the following ones:
- Gorogoa: this game is truly original and it has managed to awake my sense of wonder. The dev is an artist, and he has detailed on his blog how he uses hand-drawn artworks which he scans and modifies on his computer. This is definitely an amazing experience and one of the few games I am waiting for.
- Kentucky Route Zero: this is an interesting experience from the dev of Ruins. As for Gorogoa, the artworks and the art direction are amazing, which closes the gap between other forms of art and video games. For once, we can find both poetry and cinematographic art direction in a video game.
- MirrorMoon: this short game is an orientation game. You walk on an almost empty red planet and try to find your marks thanks to the movement of a moon. This game is not my favorite, yet a really pleasant experience.
- The Sea Will Claim Everything: a fantastic writing, which manages to play with several chords. Be prepared to cry a bit, although you would not expect it from so simple drawing and such a colorful hand-drawn world. What a disturbing experience!
- Thirty Flights of Loving: I didn't really like the game, but the commentary mode opened my eyes: there are a lot of clever thoughts behind this game. I would recommend this experience in the end.
Chainsawkitten
Member
Anonyma Kroppar has english subs by default.
More english stuff is at my seldomly updated blog.
I'm not seeing any download link on the MirrorMoon page. Where would I get the latest version?
The current IndieRoyal bundle contains:
http://www.indieroyale.com/
Waveform, Avadon, Zafehouse: Diaries, Derrick the Deathfin, Tidalis and War of the Human Tanks.
War of the Human Tanks alone usually costs 9,99 and is considered one of the most notable Indie strategy releases last year.
And Avadon is a fun RPG as well. Will check out Zafehouse later.
http://www.indieroyale.com/
Waveform, Avadon, Zafehouse: Diaries, Derrick the Deathfin, Tidalis and War of the Human Tanks.
War of the Human Tanks alone usually costs 9,99 and is considered one of the most notable Indie strategy releases last year.
And Avadon is a fun RPG as well. Will check out Zafehouse later.
Weltall Zero
Member
Oh yeah, I have been meaning to try it; I actually already have it on Steam (part of some indie bundle, surely). I'm installing it right now.
That's 100% my issue, indeed. I fell in love with the ADOM tileset above, as well, let's see when they release it.
I've had Oniken installed for ages, from another bundle. Sense a trend here?
I've been trying out Treasure Adventure Game since my last post. Very nice game, although it's a bit too wordy for its own good; almost seems like a modern Zelda in that regard (which is bad). But I'll play a bit more.
OK, I've just made a desktop shortcut to make it more visible next time. I've run out of time for today, though.
Adom is suuuuch a fantastic game. Still one of the best in the genre. If the dev builds upon the foundation of Adom 1 for Adom 2 and just adds more stuff, this game is going to be super awesome.
Under the Ocean disappointed me quite a bit just now. The last build apparently made the game more confusing to play and doesnt make for an enjoyable and effortless experience. You can still play the game, but it will require more research and trial and error than what the game probably should require.
I'll keep an eye on it and report back if they iron out these issues.
I'll keep an eye on it and report back if they iron out these issues.
New Spice Road Beta version with 32 new upgradeable skills and a
tricky Hard Mode.
http://www.aartformgames.com/beta/SpiceRoadSetup0.200.exe
This game also looks really good and didnt get much attention in this thread so far. If someone has some spare time, this isnt a bad way to kill it.
tricky Hard Mode.
http://www.aartformgames.com/beta/SpiceRoadSetup0.200.exe
This game also looks really good and didnt get much attention in this thread so far. If someone has some spare time, this isnt a bad way to kill it.
Weird, it looks like they took it down. Try this instead: http://www.bloodymonkey.com/home/index.php?itemid=61 - the Mirror Win link should work fine.
The contrast between doing nothing, seeing those blowup body shots and images of Hiroshima and Nagasaki is striking, but everytime I reach ''I have always loved/hated you'' it abruptly exits to windows. Is it the end?
On a different note the aesthetics and the whole feeling reminds me a lot of Lukas Moodyssons's Container. Hope to see you more around here.
Chainsawkitten
Member
Thanks for the link.
It ends with ''I have always loved/hated you''. It should fade to black or in some other way indicate that it's over. I wanted the ending to be somewhat abrupt (as if the narrator shys away with the words) but the problem is that it feels more like it maybe crashed than it was abrupt because it was intended to be. It's too much. I've made the same mistake with other game(s).
I haven't had time to implement it yet but I've been thinking all the way from the beginning to have the choices be not a selection from a boring menu but have the player stroke either the left or right arm correspondingly. It's always difficult to tell as the author but I think it lacks the intended intimacy as is. Emulating touch without a touch device is difficult. As of late I've been wanting to do more and more gentle games and have been wanting a touch screen more and more.
I've seen Container and thought it was interesting but that it didn't really hold up for the entire length (should have been shorter). The main inspiration comes from Godard's Je vous salue, Sarajevo (it's great and only 2 minutes). After making it (so far) I also noticed the striking similarities between my vision and the opening of Resnais' Hiroshima, Mon Amour so I've undoubtedly taken heavy (subconcious) inspiration from there.
On another note, Papers, Please! was very intense and made me feel genuinely bad. (But then I was in a kinda bad mood to begin with, so...)
It ends with ''I have always loved/hated you''. It should fade to black or in some other way indicate that it's over. I wanted the ending to be somewhat abrupt (as if the narrator shys away with the words) but the problem is that it feels more like it maybe crashed than it was abrupt because it was intended to be. It's too much. I've made the same mistake with other game(s).
I haven't had time to implement it yet but I've been thinking all the way from the beginning to have the choices be not a selection from a boring menu but have the player stroke either the left or right arm correspondingly. It's always difficult to tell as the author but I think it lacks the intended intimacy as is. Emulating touch without a touch device is difficult. As of late I've been wanting to do more and more gentle games and have been wanting a touch screen more and more.
I've seen Container and thought it was interesting but that it didn't really hold up for the entire length (should have been shorter). The main inspiration comes from Godard's Je vous salue, Sarajevo (it's great and only 2 minutes). After making it (so far) I also noticed the striking similarities between my vision and the opening of Resnais' Hiroshima, Mon Amour so I've undoubtedly taken heavy (subconcious) inspiration from there.
On another note, Papers, Please! was very intense and made me feel genuinely bad. (But then I was in a kinda bad mood to begin with, so...)
Heh.
People, Desktop Dungeons's beta is free to try this week (until the 31st of March). It's one of my top 10 indie games of all time, so you owe to yourself to give it a try!
http://www.desktopdungeons.net/beta-free-for-gdc/
I might jump in and check this out, thanks for the heads up.
I definitely agree with there being far too many rogue-likes around for the amount of time they take to really get in to. I've really only spent time with a couple, being Nethack, Wazhack and Dungeon of Dredmor. I've gotta say though, despite the sense of loss on a character that you've spent a LOT of hours on, it only seems to make you more determined to not make the same mistake next time.
Oooo, will definitely have a look at this. I liked what I originally played of spice road so an update is nice.
By the way, I've been spending some time with Darkout lately, and that game can be ridiculously unforgiving. It definitely has some interesting features and gameplay systems, but it's easy to die to a single enemy in the early stages of the game. I've only spent a small amount of time so far, and will give a full impression once I've played it more.
Yeah, it ends instantly and I even got some windows error, so thought it may be a bug or something, but I think I get what you were trying to say with those overlapping images of now and then, or at least that's my interpretation.
I know what you mean about the lack of intimacy. That's what bothers me the most in videogames in general. The touch device is a solution, but I love to be immersed in a huge screen, so I hate it when I see that a game is iOS or Android only. I think that move might work well with what you're trying to achieve, like in Datura, but it's kinda difficult to get your hands on it for obvious reasons. I always thought of a game like Trauma with motion control interface, constructed like a labirynth from still photos, where you delve deeper and deeper into subconcious mind of you character, with interactive audio samples on top triggered by certain actions.
And as for Container, they are thematically different, but they both share similar closeness. I watched it many years ago in a middle of a night, not knowing anything about it, with a bated breath throught the entire movie - I got this similar oneiric experience while playing your game. And Hiroshima, Mon Amour is on my list of movies to watch - so, we made a full circle back to Bientôt l'été.
Edit: I just watched Je Vous Salue, Sarajevo. I've never liked Godard too much, but I find this incredibly moving. Focusing on a different parts of the same photo, corresponding to the narration is a genius touch.
Ooooh.
I think...
I think I might visit the A Maze Indie Connect festival this year:
http://www.amaze-indieconnect.de/
Its 60 for 2 days in Berlin, but I think I cant pass that up. There will probably a lot of interesting games and devs there. The Gaudy Woods guys will attend too:
I think...
I think I might visit the A Maze Indie Connect festival this year:
http://www.amaze-indieconnect.de/
Its 60 for 2 days in Berlin, but I think I cant pass that up. There will probably a lot of interesting games and devs there. The Gaudy Woods guys will attend too:
Weltall Zero
Member
Sure thing! The game is actually browser-based (runs on Unity IIRC), which means that if you have the Unity client installed already, there's no "install" per se. It's also immediately playable. I really recommend you check it out, only four days left!
OK, there's definitely a factor that is my fault alone, and that is that until a couple of years back, I didn't even know what a roguelike was, and the closest thing I had played was the Chocobo's Dungeon games way back in the PSX era. This means that the entire catalog of roguelike games, as far back as the original Rogue, are "new" for me, multiplying the amount of possible entry points for me even more.
As I mentioned, though, Desktop Dungeons is not a roguelike, it only looks like one.
Wok
Member
Today, we should know the winners of IGF 2013. For now, the page only contains the list of finalists.
The following games are the guesses I made in January in another thread.
According to the official website, the ceremony for the awards will take place between 6:30 and 8:30pm Pacific Time.
The following games are the guesses I made in January in another thread.
According to the official website, the ceremony for the awards will take place between 6:30 and 8:30pm Pacific Time.