and
PRESENT:
2005 Independent Games Festival (IGF) Overview/Preview
In a joint work with
DIY Games, Game Tunnel presents our 2005
IGF intro article. The IGF is a yearly event that exists to reward indie
games for their innovation. The rewards in this case include both monetary
prizes and a lot of buzz/pr. Game Tunnel has covered in years past (2003 &
2004) increasing its coverage each year. In 2005 we intend to increase
that coverage even further and are kicking that coverage off with a joint
article with our friends at DIY Games to preview all 81 games entered into
the IGF this year! Each site will have one half of the article, so after
you are done reading here, make sure that you pick up the rest of the games
there!
Arial Antics
| Developer:
Leadfoot Productions |
Development Time: ~6
Months |
| Release: January 2004 |
Budget: < $100 |
| Category: Open (>15MB) |
|
As
a spiritual successor to a portion of the Pilotwings game, Aerial Antics
provides players the opportunity to fly around interesting and quite varied
landscapes with a jet pack. The game provides the challenge of hoops to
fly through, pads to land on, not to mention the giant balls that you have to
kick through rings on specific levels and the joy of having bombs to drop.
While working on making pinpoint landings you also have to keep a careful look
at your fuel as running out leads to the not-so-pleasant scenarios of your
character dropping to the ground. The real highlight here is the
cartoon-y graphics, which are well above average and make good use of Garage
Games Torque engine. The only difficulties I ran into with the game come
when you try to play with anything other than an analog stick. However
the controls offer a wide variety of options that should make this game
accessible to just about anyone.
Reviews:
"For
those who loved Pilotwings, and for those who never got a chance to play it, I
highly recommend checking out Aerial Antics!"
Alien Homminid
| Developer:
the Behemoth |
Development Time: ~18
Months |
| Release: November 2004 |
Budget: $1,300,000 |
| Category: Open |
|
So
how does a game that is not available on the PC, a game that is only available
for either the GameCube or PS2 make it into the IGF? Through lots of
blood, sweat, tears and a long time. Alien Homminid actually began as a
web game when the developers ran into an industry that seemed to have no
interest in 2D gaming. The developers teamed up together and have worked
calling all of their own shots until the game was done. The title has
been picked up by a publisher, which along with the high budget may lend
itself to some questioning about the game's inclusion in the IGF, but
the amount of time and method of developing this game are clearly Indie all
the way! The graphics are somewhat
reminiscent of Viewtiful Joe and that is a good thing (though in this case
they are all entirely hand drawn!), with the main character
who reminds me of Stitch for some reason (is it the eyes). The game itself
has already been heralded as a wonderful work of innovation by mainstream gaming sites.
In the end it is a worthy place to spend your time and money if you have a PS2
or GC.
Reviews:
None available at this time (check back in the near future)
Avencast
For
information on this game, please go to DIY
games and read their portion of this joint article.
Base Be Gone
| Developer:
Lightning Toads |
Development Time: ~2
Months |
| Release: 2004 |
Budget: $50.00 |
| Category:
Web/Downloadable |
|
A
game that shows some interesting cel-shaded cartoon like graphics (seems to be
a new trend). In Base Be Gone you take on the role of Carl who is
dropped onto a planet. Why you might ask? Well because the planet
has been spewing spam towards the earth! Finally a chance to take it to
the spammers! The game plays much like the screenshot, on a small planet
that is so small you can actually see the curvature of the planet as you move
about. You are in control of a tank and you will find that thankfully
there are crates scattered about that contain weapons for your tank. The
tank controls quite a bit like a tank, which is to say you won't be turning on
a dime. Thankfully it can take a licking and keep on ticking, so, as you
find yourself flipping it upside down, just know that it shouldn't be the
immediate end to you. The sound in the game is a bit wacky to say the
least. Base Be Gone is an interesting take on the whole FPS genre with
at least a couple of innovative features.
Reviews:
None available at this time
Bouncy Hunters
For
information on this game, please go to DIY
games and read their portion of this joint article.
Call of the Warlords
| Developer:
Gamalocus ApS |
Development Time: ~36
Months |
| Release: April 2002 |
Budget: $125,000 |
| Category:
Web/Downloadable |
|
Call
of the Warlords is a game that has been in development for quite some time.
With each revision the game has improved and has gained fans, creating a very
large number of players online. The game has both free and pay versions
online, the paid versions are not monthly charges, but instead offer you more
abilities in game. The game itself is icon driven throughout and that may turn
away some gamers. Those who persevere will find a wealth of options in
the game that allow them to control multiple families in a struggle for
survival. Play is somewhat reminiscent of Civilization with a large
amount of the time in the game being spent on building up cities and improving
what is produced. Your economy will be strengthen by trading goods with
other groups in the game (all of which are set in a typical fantasy world of
elves and dwarves). In addition to the need to take care of you people
you of course have affairs with foreign rulers to keep track of. This
game offers a great amount of depth and can suck you in for hours without you
realizing the time has passed.
Reviews:
None available at this time
Chain of Command
For
information on this game, please go to DIY
games and read their portion of this joint article.
Championship Gin Pro
| Developer:
DreamQuest Software |
Development Time: ~12
Months |
| Release: August 2003 |
Budget: $50,000 |
| Category:
Web/Downloadable |
|
Looking
at the screenshot you are probably thinking, okay so its a a card game with
pretty character faces for each of the opponents...how does that make it
innovative? A good question, and one I don't really have the answer to.
In Championship Gin Pro you are presented with a nearly endless number of
options that should make anybody who likes to play card games either alone
against the computer or through LAN play very happy. The number of
selectable options is honestly mind-boggling. There are multiple types
of gin that you can play in addition to of course a lot of selectable
difficulty and visual options. The computer players are also not any
kind of a pushover so if you are new to the game you find yourself challenged
on the easy levels, and long-time gin players will find themselves also
challenged, as they play the more difficult levels. Will a card game
with lots of options have enough umph to push itself into the finalist round?
I guess we'll see when the finalists are announced.
Reviews:
None available at this time
Chatterblox
For
information on this game, please go to DIY
games and read their portion of this joint article.
Cowboys and Engines
| Developer:
Fuel Industries, Inc. |
Development Time: ~7
Months |
| Release: 2004 |
Budget: $100,000 |
| Category:
Web/Downloadable |
|
This
was the
second of the web games that I checked out. Cowboys and Engines reminds me of
a James Dean movie. Dripping with coolness, but a little light on
substance. This game does provide a fun chat arena where players can
choose their virtual avatar and run around a junkyard. There are some
fun things to find and adventure around. Inside the junkyard you can use
the chat feature to talk with everyone else there or you can play one of the
two games. The first is a shooting gallery, which offers you an array of
weapons and a couple of enemies who try to take you out while you blast away
at windows and what not. The other game is blackjack, where you and
other people in the junkyard play against a dealer trying to get closer to 21
than the other people in the junkyard. The game reminds me a little of
last year's finalist acmi park, though the graphics and sounds in this one
make it a little more entertaining.
Reviews:
None available at this time
CREATRIX
For
information on this game, please go to DIY
games and read their portion of this joint article.
D.I.R.T.
| Developer:
Data Realms, LLC |
Development Time: ~36
Months |
| Release: 2005 |
Budget: $1,000 |
| Category: Open |
|
Very
reminiscent of last years Scrapped and Ice Wars from the
Student
Showcase, D.I.R.T. is at this point a two-player split screen game that
pits you against another player. You of course have a variety of weapons
at your disposal to use to dispose of your enemy. The landscape responds
to your character and your weapons like
Storm or
Scorched Earth. This title doesn't have the gloss that many of the other
games do, and I've got to believe that it will be difficult for this game to
make it into the finalists of the Open category as it currently exists on the
website. However it is to be noted that the game on the website is a
beta, and if you have some extra time to kill, and more importantly a person
you want to kill you can check it out and tell the developers directly what
you think about how the game is coming along in their forums.
Reviews:
None available at this time
Dark Horizons: Lore
For
information on this game, please go to DIY
games and read their portion of this joint article.
Dark Ore
| Developer:
Raylogic |
Development Time: ~7
Months |
| Release: June 2004 |
Budget: $Not Available |
| Category: Open |
|
Dark
Ore combines several different gaming types into one space age experience.
The game begins with you in an astronaut suit in the main hangar.
Unfortunately at this point there isn't any tutorial or manual to help you
figure out what you are to do or how to play the game, so most new players
will find themselves a bit lost. What the game will offer those who
persevere is the ability to build your own space station and to try and mine
for ore. In addition you need to protect your space station and so you
will have the chance to pilot a ship and run some close-counter battles with
enemy forces. The combination of these multiple game play types makes
for an interesting game with a different level of depth than most games of
this type provide.
Reviews:
None available at this time
Datility
For
information on this game, please go to DIY
games and read their portion of this joint article.
DD Tournament Poker - No Limit Texas Hold'em
| Developer:
Donohoe Digital LLC |
Development Time: ~7
Months |
| Release: July 2004 |
Budget: $15,000 |
| Category: Open |
|
Another
card game in the IGF submissions? Seems like 2005 is the game of the
card game. This is another good one, especially for those who want to
have the thrill of a poker tournament without putting themselves into a
financial bind to play. The AI is nicely done here, but it is the
tournament and ease of play that really caught my attention. The
graphics are basic card game graphics. It should be noted that the game
also helps you with your own tournaments that occur in your home with your
buds. I know that many people equate Indie games with puzzle and card
games, but I haven't seen a lot of them in the finalist round in the last
couple of years at the IGF. Still if you are looking for a fun poker
game that has a lot of intensity you'll want to check this one out.
Reviews:
None available at this time
DDD Pool
For
information on this game, please go to DIY
games and read their portion of this joint article.
Detective Brand Golf
Unfortunately
I don't have any more information about this game than the picture and I'm not
100% sure that the picture has anything to do with the game in question.
The name Chronic Logic, however, always gets my attention with the great games
they've had at the last two International Games Festivals in Gish and Pontifex
II (Now Bridge Construction Set). What would a golf be like with the
impeccable physics abilities of Chronic Logic? Who is Detect Brand Video
games? Is this game really a golf game at all? These are all
questions that at this point have yet to be answered, but it wouldn't surprise
me if this little unknown game ended up being a finalist just based on the
people involved in making it.
Reviews:
None available at this time
Digital Eel's Big Box Of Blox
| Developer:
Digital Eel |
| Release: September 2003 |
Development Time: ~3
Months |
| Category:
Web/Downloadable |
Budget: $0 |
Digital
Eel has been a finalist at the last two IGF competitions and an award winner
last year. The reason why is that Digital Eel's games are consistently
some of the best produced Indie games available. Big Box of Blox
continues the tradition of well produced games with a very stunning variation
on five different block puzzle games. For those who think that block
games have more than outlived their welcome you may be pleased to find out
that you can blow up, squish, squash, and mutate those ever annoying blocks in
this game. While the psychedelic graphics are the number one thing that
will get your attention in this game, it is the wide variety of games and
special block types that keep gamers playing. With this game and the
sequel to Strange Adventures in Infinite Space both entered in this year's
competition I figure we can expect to see Digital Eel as a finalist again this
year.
Reviews:
"...games
produced by Digital Eel are as slick as anything on the market. The
graphics, menus and presentation are nothing short of wonderful."
Dynamite Car Plane
| Developer:
Happy Fun Team |
| Release: October 2004 |
Development Time: ~10
Months |
| Category:
Web/Downloadable |
Budget: $50 |
As
good as the game looks, the graphics are not the real focus of this great
shooter that should please fans of the genre. I'm still a little
confused on what the Car part is for, but the Dynamite and Plane parts of the
title are as good as you might imagine. In Dynamite Car Plane you take
the role of one of 3 different pilots, each with their own ship and special
ability. The game can be played like a straight-forward shooter, though
if you do so you will miss out on the real innovative feature of the game.
Dynamite Car Plane has a combo system built in where you can use the number
that appears after shooting down a spaceship to destroy other ships that come
onto the screen. The way it works is by you blasting away at the spot
where you last destroyed a ship. With a little practice you'll find you
can pass through entire levels without firing at most of the time. It's
a little difficult to describe, but the game play offers something very
different than you'll find anywhere else. A game you should be
downloading while you are reading this, don't miss out!
Reviews:
None available at this time (check back in the near future)
Eets
For
information on this game, please go to DIY
games and read their portion of this joint article.
Eskimo Kisses
For
those who enjoyed the Sims, there is a totally new adventure that you might
want to try out, and its freeware ta boot. Created by a team of students
from DigiPen, Eskimo Kisses is a social simulator that pits you as an Eskimo
in a village that is full of jealousy and malcontent. You need to create
as many friendships as possible with other members of the village while not
forgetting to take care of the daily essentials such as gathering food,
cooking dinner and getting a good nights sleep. There are also a few
upgrades you can obtain to improve the quality of your food and sleep, oh and
your looks. The game has rather stringent system requirements, which
unfortunately will make it such that many Sims fans will find out they aren't
able to run the game as you will have to have a good GeForce 3 or above (my
base level GeForce 4 MX won't run the game). If you do have the power,
you'll definitely want to check this game out!
Reviews:
None available at this time
Extreme Demolition
For
information on this game, please go to DIY
games and read their portion of this joint article.
Galactic Village - Limited Edition
A
deep and involved world-builder that has a little of the same plot line as
Black & White, In Galactic Village you play as a demigod. "Only you can
determine what it means to win. How will you define success for your
civilization? Longevity? Fame? Happiness? Wealth? Territory? Religious faith?
Scientific progress? Accomplish your tasks and perform well in the game, and
you'll reach many milestones and further your success. But watch out � if you
make a lot of blunders or make too many enemies, you will have a difficult
time achieving success. Other demigods are playing in the same world as
you, and your reputation with this community is also part of your success."
The website has more descriptions and some screenshots that show off this
rather ambitious title.
Reviews:
None available at this time
Gate 88
For
information on this game, please go to DIY
games and read their portion of this joint article.
Girls INC. Team-Up
| Developer:
Large Animal Games |
| Release: 2004 |
Development Time: ~6
Months |
| Category:
Web/Downloadable |
Budget: $60,000 |
Large
Animal Games is another company that had a finalist in the IGF last year.
This year they have two games submitted that are quite different from each
other, Girls INC Team-UP and Rocketbowl. Girls INC Team-Up is a great
social game that puts you in charge of a team of girls. The object of
the game is to complete the puzzles that are presented to you. Each of
the puzzles requires that you use the girls in conjunction in order to
overcome the obstacles that you have. Each girl has a different ability,
such as the ability to slide a box, through another girl, or jump up onto
higher blocks. To pass each level you must use the talents of each.
The game lets you chose what each girl will look like, giving you girls who
appear to be from different races, thus further giving good social lessons
through the game. I don't think that this game will appeal much to
hardcore gamers, but it certainly teaches a lot of good lessons and also plays
quite well!
Reviews:
None available at this time
Gish
| Developer:
Chronic Logic LLC |
| Release: May 2004 |
Development Time: ~8
Months |
| Category:
Web/Downloadable |
Budget: $5,000 |
There
are few Indie companies that do as good a job as Chronic Logic at putting out
great games consistently. Gish is actually a repeat to the IGF, it was a
finalist in 2004, though the game has changed quite a bit since that early
version of the game. For one thing, all the boards are different, for
another there are now enemies in the game. In Gish you control a ball of
tar who has several abilities. You can squish your way through places
and you walk walls with your sticky skin, just to mention a couple. The
physics based game play lead to providing many different opportunities for
puzzle solving and adventure as you attempt to use your abilities to get past
obstacles and enemies. The graphics in the game have become top-notch
since the last IGF version of the game, adding lighting effects that provide
lots of depth to the game, in addition to great scrolling backgrounds and
well-drawn characters throughout the game. Gish is a game that no true
gamer should be without.
Reviews:
"Without a doubt Gish
is one of the best games that has come out in a long time...there is so much
fun to be had in the game that it turns even failures into a good experience."
"..an
enjoyable game that successfully walks a fine line between innovation and
familiar gameplay."
Global Defense Network
| Developer:
Evertt.com, LLC |
| Release: 2005 |
Development Time: ~18
Months |
| Category:
Web/Downloadable |
Budget: $500 |
Global
Defense Network is a rather different game. It is a shooting gallery of
sorts that is rather hard to describe, but quite beautiful to play.
Global Defense Network alternates your game play time between beautifully
conceived simulator levels and occasional real world missions. The majority of
your time will be spent in �simulation� mode where you select training levels
to improve your skills and earn credits that allow you to upgrade your
weaponry. The communication about what is occurring comes to you through
in-game emails that seem so real that at times you may be wondering who is
writing them to you. In addition to the great looks and wonderful music
that make this game feel like you are blasting to the rhythm, it is
gratifying to be able to recommend a shooting gallery game that doesn�t settle
for the typical �shoot the animals� or worse; �shoot the people� themes.
Reviews:
"Forget
all the derivative �army� or �duck hunt� style shooters you have seen in the
past, Global Defense Network is not only fun to play but also blurs the line
between game and interactive art."
Hyperbol
| Developer:
Iocaine Studios |
| Release: 2005 |
Development Time: ~18
Months |
| Category: Open |
Budget: $0 |
The
screenshot is certainly no lie. Hyperbol is a great looking game of
multiplayer mayhem. It is interesting to note that Hyperbol has already
been involved in the IGF as it was one of the student showcase games in last
year's competition. This years has been improved over that version
graphically, making it an even more amazing game to look at. The game
occurs on a battleground quite open where players spend a lot of time. However in
Hyperbol the game play is completely different. The game has the
feel of a great multiplayer strategy/action game. In Hyperbol, you
build up bases and projectiles. The game is played by throwing the
projectiles at the other players compounds on the battlefield hoping to
destroy all of their buildings and therefore win. While of course
the description is rather simple, the game isn't, and to become an expert at
this war strategy game you'll need to take plenty of time determining how you
can best make use of the different objects available to you.
Reviews:
None available at this time
I of the Enemy
| Developer:
Enemy Technology |
| Release: November 2004 |
Development Time: ~96
Months |
| Category: Open |
Budget: $35,000 |
The
first thing you'll notice when you play Enemy Technology's "I of the Enemy" or
even got to their website is the absolutely amazing quality of the audio.
The voice work in the game and music are wonderfully done (in fact Verkkal,
the main character of the game is voiced by Ian McNeice, famed for his role as
Baron Harkonnen in Dune). So what is the game about? I of the
Enemy is a Real Time Strategy game that presents many different mission types,
such as delaying convoys and other specific objectives. Playing with
your units, who gain experience and ability over time, must be done in a tight
team or you'll soon find yourself slaughtered by enemy forces. In
addition LAN play is available allowing 8 players to play together and against
each other in fantastic futuristic Sci-Fi battles.
Reviews:
None available at this time (check back in the near future)
Land of Legends
For
information on this game, please go to DIY
games and read their portion of this joint article.
Laser Envy
| Developer:
Fuel Industries,
Inc. |
| Release: 2005 |
Development Time: ~4
Months |
| Category:
Web/Downloadable |
Budget: $50,000 |
Laser
Envy at this time presents itself as a fairly simple game, which leads me to
believe that it isn't quite ready yet. At the very least it doesn't live
up to the coolness found in the other Fuel Industries title Cowboys and
Engines. In Laser Envy you control a character on a large square-tile
based map. Your character is armed with two different types of lasers.
One of the types I believe destroys enemies, but I was unable to substantiate
that in the game. The other laser encases enemies in an ice cube that
keeps them from moving for a bit. Your purpose in the game is to avoid
the enemies while collecting crystals and other objects that are available on
the game board. Currently there isn't any music in the game and the
graphics are pretty basic, combining that with the game description I just
gave you can probably see why I believe that this game isn't complete yet...I
hope...
Reviews:
None available at this time
The Article Continues!!!!
Don't miss out on the rest of the great games at the festival, check out the
rest of the games in L-Z, by going to
Part II
of the article...just click here!
Go to
Part II (More IGF Games Get Previewed)
Legion Arena
For
information on this game, please go to DIY
games and read their portion of this joint article.
Lost Admiral Returns
| Developer:
Fogstone Games |
| Release: May 2004 |
Development Time: ~24
Months |
| Category:
Web/Downloadable |
Budget: $250,000 |
For
any who played the game Military Madness back on the Turbo Grafx or its newer
revision Advance Wars, Lost Admiral Returns will at once be both inviting and
interesting. In Lost Admiral Returns, the basic game is set with you
controlling a fleet of ships and attacking the enemy. You have multiple
ship types, such as subs, carriers, destroyers and Battleships, that you will
engaged in combat with enemy vessels in addition to Armored Transports that
allow you to take over ports and thus increase the land you have and of course
build your own fleets. The graphics in the game aren't quite up to
Advance Wars' standards, but overall this is a great game that will provide
hours of fun to strategy enthusiasts.
Reviews:
None available at this time
Lux
For
information on this game, please go to DIY
games and read their portion of this joint article.
Mega Bloks Dragons, Fire & Ice
| Developer:
Fuel Industries,
Inc. |
| Release: 2005? |
Development Time: ~1
Month |
| Category:
Web/Downloadable |
Budget: $70,000 |
Yet
another game by Fuel? Seems they have been busy of late, and this
adventure game based on the Mega Bloks world of Fire & Ice Dragons is really a
pretty cool place to hang out. You control a knight who must move around
a maze and pick up crystals and a key to escape the level. There are
other power-ups, such as weapons that can be found in addition to some objects
that you can interact with. The Mega Blok inspired graphics are really
pretty cool to look at and are probably the main reason why the game comes of
as well as it does though the music is another strong point worth mentioning.
Will a knight running through Mega Blok land have enough clout to get into the
finalist round at the IGF? I'm still putting my money on Cowboys and
Engines out of the Fuel web games that were submitted.
Reviews:
None available at this time
Micro-G Combat Arena
For
information on this game, please go to DIY
games and read their portion of this joint article.
Mobiloid
| Developer:
Montygames |
| Release: 2005? |
Development Time: ~5
Months |
| Category:
Web/Downloadable |
Budget: $100 |
Unfortunately
I have very little information available on this game. The website
consists of little more than the picture I have shown here with the tag-line "Mobiloid
is a physics-based construction kit. Curious?
Then enter your email here and you will be notified when Mobiloid is
available:"
Well I was interested, so entered my email and I even
tried some random emails to the domain, but to no avail. So based on
what we see, my guess is that this isn't necessarily a game in the typical
sense, but more of an object-oriented experience where you build things and
then see how they respond to different tests, using real physics...am I even
close? Guess we'll have to wait and see :)
Reviews:
None available at this time
Mudcraft
For
information on this game, please go to DIY
games and read their portion of this joint article.
Mulligan's Isle
| Developer:
Flashbang Studios, LLC |
| Release: Q4 - 2005 |
Development Time: ~5
Months |
| Category:
Web/Downloadable |
Budget: $5,000 |
Unfortunately
Mulligan's Isle is one of a few games that weren't ready for me to play and
check out in time for our IGF Preview. However, the developer was nice
enough to get us an exclusive screenshot and a game description! Without
further ado, from the author: "Take a relaxing minigolf vacation on the lush,
tropical sands of Mulligan�s Isle. The beautiful graphics and soothing music
will whisk you away on tropical vacation from your own computer. Collect the
coins, explore the island, or try and beat your best score. But most of all
relax and enjoy!" Aside from the definite
developer slant on the statement there is a bit that can be drawn from it and
the image. This game definitely looks great with good detail, and with
my love of sport related games I'm looking forward to playing it.
Reviews:
None available at this time
N
For
information on this game, please go to DIY
games and read their portion of this joint article.
Pest
| Developer:
Pest.tv |
| Release: 2004? |
Development Time: ~108
Months |
| Category:
Web/Downloadable |
Budget: $0 |
While
there is a lot of history on the website about this game and the path it has
taken over the many years that have gone into taking it to where it is now,
there is precious little information about how to play the game and what you
are trying to do. Pest is available online through the website, you
control the gnarly looking guy pictured here. You have a mallet, which
you can swing by pressing the space bar, and there are bugs running
everywhere. It would seem apparent that you should smash the bugs with
the mallet, but after playing for awhile, running around trying to smash the
bugs and watching my mallet again and again seem to hit the bugs to no effect,
I started looking for an explanation of what I was supposed to do...and then
gave up. Graphics and music are fun if you want to play a web game for a
minute, perhaps you will even be able to tell me what I missed.
Reviews:
None available at this time
Physical Ed
For
information on this game, please go to DIY
games and read their portion of this joint article.
Pocus Hocus
| Developer:
Flashbang Studios, LLC |
| Release: Q3 - 2005 |
Development Time: ~7
Months |
| Category:
Web/Downloadable |
Budget: $5,000 |
Unfortunately
Pocus Hocus is one of a few games that weren't ready for me to play and check
out in time for our IGF Preview. However, the developer was nice enough
to get us an exclusive screenshot and a game description! Without
further ado, from the author: "Link up same-color caterpillars to release
magic bursts and break through the weeds overgrowing the enchanted forest.
Caterpillars change into butterflies - if you plan ahead, you can link up long
combos for even more points! Have fun and relax in the Adventure or Puzzle
modes." Sounds a little like a sales pitch, but it also sounds
interesting, we'll be looking forward to checking it out when it is available.
Reviews:
None available at this time
Pow Pow's Great Adventure
For
information on this game, please go to DIY
games and read their portion of this joint article.
Protöthea
| Developer:
Digital Builders |
| Release: June 2004 |
Development Time: ~14
Months |
| Category: Open |
Budget: $1,000 |
Very
interesting top-scrolling shooter that instead of giving you the standard game
play changes things up a bit by giving you full control over your spaceship.
Your ship can fly anywhere on the screen, but will always face towards your
targeting cross-hair, which is controlled by the mouse. The game offers
a standard fair of power-ups, but puts extra emphasis on both air and land
enemies, which much be destroyed in different ways, air enemies by lasers,
ground by bombs, much like the classic Dragon Spirit. All the menus and
the website are in Spanish, so you may have a little trouble figuring out what
you are doing, but shooters have always been pretty easy to pick-up in any
language. A nice little extra is the ability to slow down time by
pressing the space bar, which can help you get out of the occasional jam.
Reviews:
None available at this time
Puzzled Crosswords
For
information on this game, please go to DIY
games and read their portion of this joint article.
R/C Muscle
For
information on this game, please go to DIY
games and read their portion of this joint article.
Reactor
For
information on this game, please go to DIY
games and read their portion of this joint article.
Red Valkyrie
For
information on this game, please go to DIY
games and read their portion of this joint article.
Ricochet Lost Worlds
| Developer:
Reflexive Entertainment |
| Release: April 2004 |
Development Time: ~4
Months |
| Category:
Web/Downloadable |
Budget: $50,000 |
Ricochet
Lost Worlds has become something of an online phenomenon. This very
slick looking arkanoid / breakout clone offers up some very stylistic graphics
and some of the better designed levels available in this type of game.
With good sound work and voices to top it off, Reflexive has created a winner
that has sold like hotcakes since it was first released earlier this year.
Ricochet Lost Worlds features custom paint jobs for your paddle, a wide array
of cool power-ups including laser blasters, missile launchers, and a fire ball
to go along with levels that shine with moving bricks and clever brick order
puzzles. With more than 100 levels, this sequel to the original Ricochet
has hit the mark for many fans.
Reviews:
"...there
is no doubt that this game is a fantastic arkanoid game that should find
itself a home in every gamer's library"
Rock Station
I
ran into a bit of technical difficulty on this one, but I think I got the
general gist. The story is that Rock 'N Roll music was found to have the
ability to make people travel and wonderful speeds and lead to peach
throughout the galaxy. While the story sounds a little like Bill & Ted's
Bogus Journey at first, it goes down hill from there and it leads to our
current situation where we are fighting for Rock Station. The game is a
space shooter where you do a lot of one-on-one dog-fighting. The music
in the game is run by a DJ, and it has to come from your own personal
collection as there are no music tracks that come with the game (which is
slightly odd for a game that is entirely based on Rock 'N Roll music).
Overall this is a fun space shooter that is freeware with LAN support for up
to 8 people, so enjoy!
Reviews:
None available at this time
RocketBowl
For
information on this game, please go to DIY
games and read their portion of this joint article.
Rotation (Revolved)
| Developer:
Alter Ego Games Studio |
| Release: 2004 |
Development Time: ~12
Months |
| Category:
Web/Downloadable |
Budget: $12,000 |
Wow!
I have to first off admit that I'm not a big fan of puzzle games and that I
did find the music in this game to be a little grating after time, but other
than that, this is a near perfect puzzle game that kept me playing for a
couple of hours without blinking. The concept is fairly simple you are
working in a power factory, and you rotate the 4 different colored fuses to
make a square with all colors being the same. You can rotate fuses left
or right to complete the squares. Puzzle games rarely sound like much
when you describe them, so let me just say that this is one that really works
well. There are of course power-ups and a few strategy points that will
get you farther, but how you play is left pretty open to you, which makes the
game even more exciting in my book. About the only thing I can think of
that would make this game better would be a two player co-operative mode.
A very well-conceived game.
Reviews:
None available at this time
Ruckus Buck's Dangerous Mines
For
information on this game, please go to DIY
games and read their portion of this joint article.
Run & Fire
For
information on this game, please go to DIY
games and read their portion of this joint article.
Saints & Sinners Bingo
For
information on this game, please go to DIY
games and read their portion of this joint article.
Sector 13
For
information on this game, please go to DIY
games and read their portion of this joint article.
Silicon Magnus
For
information on this game, please go to DIY
games and read their portion of this joint article.
Snow War
| Developer:
Visual Toast / Snow War |
| Release: 2005? |
Development Time: ~18
Months |
| Category:
Web/Downloadable |
Budget: $0 |
A
rather simple flash game that pits you against another army of snowballers.
The graphics are clean and not very detailed, but they give a good feeling of
the wintery surroundings in the game. On your team you have kids who can
do different things, from throwing snowballs farther, building snow forts to
hide behind, umbrellas to hid under, lobbing snowballs and other specialist
abilities. The game requires a bit of strategy in using the different
abilities of your kids to destroy the opposing forces with a a snowball
barrage. There is also a multiplayer LAN option in the game that will
let you get the battle on with some of your friends. The game feels
distinctly like an online flash game and that is either a good thing or a bad
thing depending on your tastes.
Reviews:
None available at this time
Star Chamber
For
information on this game, please go to DIY
games and read their portion of this joint article.
Star Sonata
| Developer:
Star Sonata LLC |
| Release: October 2004 |
Development Time: ~24
Months |
| Category:
Web/Downloadable |
Budget: $7,000 |
Star
Sonata is a really great universe to become a part of. In Star Sonata
you will join a universe of galaxies connected by wormholes. The game is
online and has a huge structure of players already in place. You begin
with a simple space ship trading between stations. Working your way up,
you will get enough money to buy a better ship and start out on your own to
determine what type of character you will be in the game, becoming a specific
character class, and working to take over and control the universe.
Along the way you can join a team, which works a lot like a guild, and even
build your own space stations. Certainly not for the faint of heart,
Star Sonata requires a lot of play time to come to fully understand and
appreciate the depth of game play that has been put into the game.
However, if you've ever wanted to roam the galaxy with tons of other human
players, you should definitely give this game a look.
Reviews:
None available at this time
Steer Madness
For
information on this game, please go to DIY
games and read their portion of this joint article.
Stop Clock Drop
For
information on this game, please go to DIY
games and read their portion of this joint article.
Super Chompers
For
information on this game, please go to DIY
games and read their portion of this joint article.
Supremacy: Four Paths to Power
| Developer:
Black Hammer Game |
| Release: Late 2004 /
Early 2005 |
Development Time: ~12
Months |
| Category: Open |
Budget: $65,000 |
Supremacy:
FPTP is one of the games that I've enjoyed most out of the 2005 IGF games.
This universe-builder game reminds me a bit of Oasis, one of last years
winners, and that is a very good thing. In Supremacy, you take on the
role of one of four races vying for control of the universe. The game
has the look and feel of a game that will take hours to play, but the building
and expansion segments of the game have been streamlined and simplified so
that you get to spend most of your time focused on the battle portions of the
game. For example, instead of spending hours trying to improve the
strength of your ships armour or attack power, you capture stations, which
then give you the option to choose from a list of 25 upgrades. Capturing
several stations will give you more upgrades, thus making you more powerful.
The game includes space combat with your fleets, and then troop deployments on
the planets where longer strategic turn-based battles occur. The
graphics and sound are top notch in Supremacy, which makes for a game with few
holes in its armour.
Reviews:
None available at this time
Sweaty Palms
For
information on this game, please go to DIY
games and read their portion of this joint article.
Takeda 2
For
information on this game, please go to DIY
games and read their portion of this joint article.
The Dark Legions
For
information on this game, please go to DIY
games and read their portion of this joint article.
The Witch's Yarn
| Developer:
Mousechief |
| Release: December
2004 |
Development Time: ~12
Months |
| Category:
Web/Downloadable |
Budget: $10,000 |
The
Witch's Yarn is quite unlike any other game at the festival. It plays
more like a book or a play than a game, and provides a very innovative game
play that will likely get this game noticed. In the game you don't
control a character as you typically do in video games. Instead you
queue actors into the story. So for example, the main character in the
story is a witch who wants to open a store and join the everyday world.
Her mother, who disapproves of the store appears, and... Well the next thing
that happens is up to you, though to some degree it isn't really. You
will be given several different characters or items to choose from, and after
you choose one, the story continues around that item or character. After
a couple more moments of the story moving forward, you'll choose another
object or character and thus the game proceeds with you choosing what item or
character will be the focal point of the next portion of the story, but not
really choosing exactly what that item or character will do. This very
different style of game play is targeted at female game players, but I think
it is something that everyone can appreciate.
Reviews:
None available at this time (check back in the near future)
Transcend
For
information on this game, please go to DIY
games and read their portion of this joint article.
TW-Light
| Developer:
TW-Light |
| Release: 2004? |
Development Time: ~72
Months |
| Category:
Web/Downloadable |
Budget: $0 |
I'm
really digging on this one. The game is called 'light' as it is intended
to be a pseudo sequel to Star Control II. In this unfinished version,
the game is a typical dog-fight arena
game, though there is not tutorial or real help in game to explain to you how to play,
what buttons do what, or what you are trying to do. I found myself being
blasted continually without realizing half the time where I was on the screen
or what was happening. In fact it reminded me of an episode of the Simpsons where Grandpa Simpson is playing video games with Bart and Bart is
yelling at him to fire and go into hyper space, and when Grandpa dies he says
"I was that guy? I thought I was this guy." In addition, the
graphics really aren't up to par with Dark Archon, Starscape and a host of
other Indie games that are similar. I'm sure there is a good idea or two
in this game, but it was difficult to dig it out.
Reviews:
None available at this time
War! Age of Imperialism
For
information on this game, please go to DIY
games and read their portion of this joint article.
Warrider
| Developer:
Taleworlds |
| Release: 2005 |
Development Time: ~36
Months |
| Category: Open |
Budget: $40,000 |
A
game that shows a lot of promise Warrider places you into an adventure / RPG
world of action where much of the coolness of the game has to do with your
character's interaction with their horse. Much like the upcoming Zelda
game, you will do plenty of battling from your horse in-between visiting towns
and while trying to complete quests. Warrider appears to still be in a
very early stage of testing and I crashed the game every time I played it
within a few moments of starting it, so unfortunately I wasn't able to check
out all the cool riding action in the game, but there are some
videos on the
developer's website that helps to show a little better what this game is and
it opens the imagination to how cool it may end up being when all is said and
done.
Reviews:
None available at this time
Weird Worlds: Return to Infinite Space
For
information on this game, please go to DIY
games and read their portion of this joint article.
WIK & the Fable of Souls
| Developer:
Reflexive Entertainment |
| Release: September 2004 |
Development Time: ~6
Months |
| Category:
Web/Downloadable |
Budget: $350,000 |
For
anyone who loves games that take a little bit of practice to play there is WIK,
a wonderfully exciting new character from Reflexive. Wik resembles
gollum from Lord Of the Rings, but behaves quite differently. With a
long sticky tongue that would make most frogs envious, he moves himself around
the screen using his tong to attach to items higher up in the screen, and then
swinging like Spiderman across the screen. Getting the handle down takes
a little bit of practice, but there are BIG dividends for those who put in the
time. WIK's graphics are gorgeous, and playing the game is pure fun as
you swing and hop from one portion of the screen to another, throwing in the
occasional loop if you know what you are doing. One of the strongest
games submitted to the IGF in my estimation, WIK has plenty of goodness to it
to keep players happily entertained and involved.
Reviews:
"Wik
is one of the cooler characters to come around in awhile and definitely fits
in with Gish as one of the best games that has come out this year.
WordWinder
For
information on this game, please go to DIY
games and read their portion of this joint article.
Z1: AI War
| Developer:
Nitrous Butterfly |
| Release: 2005? |
Development Time: ~5
Months |
| Category: Open |
Budget: $4,500 |
The
team at Nitrous Butterfly unfortunately weren't able to get me a playable
version of this game by press time, though they were trying like mad.
They were able to get a me a few screenshots, one of which I've chosen to
place here. From all the screenshots this looks to be a sort of
First-Person Shooter that replaces the people you usually control in a FPS
with spaceships. There were a few screenshots that I saw that also
showed an overhead view, and I'm not sure how that figures into the mix, but
the graphics so far, per the screenshots seems to be quite clean. For
more information I think we'll just have to await the release of this one. :)
Reviews:
None available at this time
Conclusion...
This year's IGF is shaping up to be the best
ever despite there being a smaller number of games being submitted this year.
It is a pity that only 20 games are going to make the final round as it will
leave many great games out. Don't leave those games out yourself, check
out the games above!
By: Russell Carroll
Posted: Monday December 06, 2004
Action
Adventure
Arkanoid
Fighting
Platform
Puzzle & Casual
Hidden Object
RPG
Shooter
Simulation
Sports
Strategy
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