By Alec Meer on March 28th, 2013.
….Cart Life, which scooped up an an impressive triple-whammy of Nuovo Award, Excellence in Narrative and the coveted Seamus McNally Grand Prize at last night’s Independent Games Festival 2013 awards. The warmest of all congratulations to Richard Hofmeier, whose affecting, brave game is well overdue for this kind of attention.
Read the rest of this entry »
By Adam Smith on January 8th, 2013.
It is said that games nominated in the IGF competition immediately become ghosts, haunting the memories of journalists and the creaky attics of Twitter, but without any true corporeal form. This year’s list is less spooky than most because many of the nominees are available right now and others are just around the corner. Enter 7 Grand Steps, the new game from Mousechief, of Dangerous High School Girls fame. The game received a nomination in the Nuovo category and, having spent a few December nights absorbed in it, I reckon it richly deserves its place. A demo is now available, so you can download that and then agree with me. It’s a game about family, legends and traversing history. Video below.
By Alec Meer on January 7th, 2013.
Another year means another independent games festival (the 15th one, in fact), and now we know which games are in contention for gongs, bags of money and internet outrages.
Is your favourite in there? Probably not, because you’re a very naughty person.
Read the rest of this entry »
By Adam Smith on December 6th, 2012.
It’s too late in the day for anything but an explanatory headline. I was going to go with ‘Steam Punk’ because ‘indie development = punk’ but then I realised that was utter nonsense so I decided not to. Here is the news, straight from the IGF organisers: “All IGF Main Competition finalists for this year’s event will receive the opportunity to accept a distribution agreement for Steam.” The IGF hasn’t made distribution agreements on behalf of developers though, with the final decision as to how the finalists reach the public still in the hands of the entrants. Instead, this route appears to be a means of avoiding arcane normal submission procedures or Greenlight.
Fez, Fish, And Other Animals
By Brendan Caldwell on March 7th, 2012.
“There’s no plans to bring Fez out on any other platforms?” I ask Phil Fish, as he finishes off his sandwich. He chews and I mutter an inward prayer. Oh Gods, let him say PC. “We’re not even thinking about it right now,” he says. “I mean, ultimately, I would like to see it on everything. Why not? But we do have exclusivity with Microsoft, as you do – you find it’s really hard to not do that.”
The Gods are useless. Never pray.
Read the rest of this entry »
By Craig Pearson on February 28th, 2012.
Every fantasy you’ve ever had to reroute power to the shields exists in FTL. I know because I just pulled power from the sick-bay to boost my shields while I attempted to flee a hostile enemy scout. If you don’t have those fantasies yet, then soon it’ll be all you can think about. FTL’s random, rogue-like space-faring nastiness just got me into an unwinnable fight against an unmanned scout ship: if I destroyed it, it would automatically send out a distress signal to inform the rest fleet that I’d just Captain Mal-led him. So instead of going for a death blow, I had to stoke the shields and retaliate by hitting their weapons, keeping us both alive while my FTL drives powered up. No-one was hurt so far; the sick-bay was expendable. Recuperation would have to happen post-battle.
Read the rest of this entry »
Ludomancy does the chat
By Alec Meer on February 15th, 2012.
Today in our series of interviews with (almost) all the finalists in this year’s Independent Games Festival, it’s the turn of DIY narrative-building game Storyteller, from the creator of lovely curios Today I Die and I Wish I Were The Moon. Storyteller is nominated for the Nuovo award. Here, Ludomancy’s Daniel Benmergui talks Argentine game dev, how Storyteller creates a unique comic based upon your in-game decisions, and answers the most important question of all.
Read the rest of this entry »
Terry Cavanagh does the chat
By Alec Meer on February 14th, 2012.
Terry ‘VVVVVV’ Cavanagh’s ultra-minimalist, abstract first-person co-op puzzler At A Distance is nominated for the Nuovo award at this year’s Independent Games Festival. As part of our seemingly infinite series in which we chat to (almost) all the finalists, Terry talks about the concept behind the game, what he’d like to see win at the IGF this year, his disappointment that the Pirate Kart didn’t get a nod, and his answer to the most important question of all.
Read the rest of this entry »
Wild Shadow Studios do the chat
By Alec Meer on February 13th, 2012.
Today in our ongoing series of chats with (almost) all the PC/Mac-based Independent Games Festival 2012 finalists, it’s my personal nemesis, the micro-MMO/twin-stick shooter Realm of the Mad God – nominated for the Technical Excellence prize. Here, Wild Shadow Studios chat about their and its origins and future, getting away from boring MMO combat, and the most important question of all.
Read the rest of this entry »
Derek Yu does the chat
By Alec Meer on February 10th, 2012.
Next in our never-ending series talking to (almost) all the finalists at this year’s Independent Games Festival, it’s Derek Yu of the splendid randomly-generated cave exploring game Spelunky, which is up for the Technical Excellence, Excellence in Design and Seamus McNally Grand Prize gongs. Here, Derek chats about his origins, TIGSource, Aquaria, how he abandoned and then rejoined game development, the odds on whether we’ll see a PC version of the XBLA Spelunky remake, and his answer to the most important question of all.
Read the rest of this entry »
CoCo&Co does the chat
By Alec Meer on February 8th, 2012.
Today in our series of chats with (almost) all the PC and Mac-based finalists at this year’s Independent Games Festival, it’s indie collective CoCo&Co’s fascinating, dialogue-free co-op puzzle-platformer WAY. The game is nominated for the Nuovo award, and was also a winner at this year’s IGF Student Showcase. Here, the team talk about their impressive games industry origins, the concept of playing games with an anonymous partner, how games can form emotional connections with their players, breaking down the barriers that so often separate gamers who don’t speak the same language, and their answer to the most important question of all.
Read the rest of this entry »
