Open Category

This year the International Games Festival (IGF) is divided into two categories, an Open Category, and a Web/Downloadable Category.  There has been a lot of confusion as to the differences between the two categories.  The Open Category is for any game that is larger than 15 MB, or one that requires some alternative media, such as CD-ROM to be delivered to the player.  The Web/Downloadable Category is for games that EITHER are playable on the web, or be a downloadable single file that is smaller than 15MB in total size.

Our coverage of the IGF covers both the Open and the Web/Downloadable Categories.  Read on, and when you are done, vote in the poll on what you think the best of the group is.

acmi {{park}}

Anito: Defend A Land Enraged

Bontăgo

Façade

Fashion Cents

Fuzzee Teevee

Savage: The Battle for Newerth

Spartan

Starshatter

Take Command: 1861 The Civil War

Interview with Gabby Dizon about Anito: Defend a Land Enraged
An RPG within a world of Asian influence.
By Russell D. Carroll [March 11, 2004]


Q: What do you think makes Independent games distinctive?
A:  Indie games are different because usually, their vision of the game is pure and complete in their finished products, unlike other games which need to drop or modify content to satisfy a publisher. Indie games are free to try out weird or downright wacky ideas because there's no one breathing down their neck, checking their game to see if there's anything that they don't agree with.

Q: How did your studio get your start in working with independent games?
A:  Anino Entertainment started as a studio made entirely of first-time game developers (but longtime game addicts!). We have a great dream to make our country one of the hubs of the game development industry in the future, and the best way to start was to prove that we could make our own game, with little resources and no experience but great determination and perseverance.

Q: What is the most innovative feature of Anito:DLE and how is it innovative in your mind?
A:  Story-wise, we featured two characters who had different stories but were intertwined in a central plot. Maya and Agila are siblings, and playing each character takes you on each one's quest to find their father and save their land. This has been done before, but hasn't really been attempted to that degree in the CRPG industry. Then, the setting is unique, as most Rpg games are set in either tokienesk or sci-fi worlds. Most interpretations of Asian culture are in an oriental setting, where as in our game, we show the ethnic side to asian culture. The graphics are a bit unique, as we blended the smoothness and detail of 2d sprites with the dynamism of a 3d world. Finally, the controls and battle system are unique to other isometric Rpg games, where purely mouse driven games are the norm. We felt that we had to offer the players something different and interesting so that they would give our game a chance.

Q: What do gamers appreciate most about Anito:DLE?
A:  There are many things to appreciate in Anito, but overall they will find the world of Maroka an exciting place to be in. It's an exotic setting that hasn't been tapped before in computer games, and has a rich world to offer to gamers. The story that takes place there, the quest of Maya and Agila to look for their father and defend their enraged land will satisfy players who love good stories in their games.

Q: What was the most difficult part of Anito:DLE to program?
A:  The most difficult part was not having the budget to get middleware. And we were really determined to create a world class game, which involves creating an RPG engine from scratch. We had to build everything from the graphics to the scripting engine to all the tools - which we only had 2 programmers for. We did get help though from other indie game companies such as inhuman games (www.inhumangames.com) that helped us with the pathfinding, which we are very grateful for.

Q: Other than your own game did any one of the IGF finalists or Student Showcase games stand out to you? Why?
A:  We've been hearing a lot of good feedback about another finalist, "Savage: battle for new earth". It stands out because, 1) it is being sold like other commercial (non-indie) games, because of its high production value, 2) many people don't even know it is an indie game and think of it as a AAA game, 3) the concept is really original. We still have to play it though (because we lack the high bandwidth it needs).

Q: What is your definition of an Independent Game?
A:  This question is almost as hard as asking, "What is a game?" Independent games come in all shapes and sizes, and it is hard to categorize them all into a generic statement. For me, an independent game is one that creates their game without a traditional publisher. As a result of this, the production values of indie games are usually not as high as traditional games. But they make up for the lack of resources with innovation that most publishers are afraid to support. As with independent films, these games may not make millions but it is in indie games where the seeds of imagination are best implemented.

Q: How do you think Independent Games will evolve in the future?
A:  Analysts have been saying that the future of indie games look bleak, as games require bigger and bigger budgets, and franchises and licensing become more and more the ideal. But we believe that it is in independent games where talent and great ideas will continue to cultivate and grow. So indie games will continue to thrive as more and more creative people will take up game development. This is especially true in places like Asia where game developers will be able to produce better and better games without requiring the massive cost of creating games in the US.

Q: What is the biggest challenge facing Independent games?
A:  Money. Money for production, money for marketing, money for publishing, money for distribution. (But then we wouldn't be indie if we had that would we). Resources are also limited such that, for example, testing your game on multiple platforms is very hard. The avenues for showcasing indie games are less than say that of indie films. So getting your game to be noticed is really hard. But this forces indies to innovate, and I think this is what independent games have to offer over mainstream titles - the degree of innovation is usually much higher than publisher-funded games.

Q: As one of the leaders of Independent Games, what is next for you?
A:  We don't really view ourselves as a leader of the indie gaming industry. We just strived to come out with our own game - we're actually surprised that we made it to the IGF finals. Having said that, we're now concentrating on selling Anito in as many territories as we can. Anito will be coming out in the UK, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, and Russia. We're also looking for a distributor in the US and other territories. Of course, we have plans to make another RPG, then move on to other platform and genres as well, but we can't say anything about this yet. We'll be taking what we learned from making ANITO, and make something a hundred times better.

Interview with the Circular Logic Team (Eric Anderson, Jason Bolton, Tristan Hall, Justin Kinchen) about Bontăgo
Building towers of influence
By Russell D. Carroll [March 12, 2004]


Q: What do you think makes Independent games distinctive?
The vastly different game play styles they usually have, and the new innovative features they incorporate.

Q: How did your studio get your start in working with independent games?
Its a bit different for us, being students, but since we've worked with each other on game projects in the past and everything has gone well, so we've kept working together on subsequent projects. Ideally this will continue into the future, even after graduation.

Q: What is the most innovative feature of Bontăgo and how is it innovative in your mind?
The most innovative feature of Bontăgo is the physics based game play. Bontăgo doesn't just use a good physics engine for aesthetic reasons, it incorporates directly into the game play. Everything in physics based. There are few games that use this concept and none in anyway like Bontăgo.

Q: What do gamers appreciate most about Bontăgo?
The simplistic concept and design, the small learning curve, and the fact that its nothing like any other game out there. Being totally free also helps :P

Q: What was the most difficult part of Bontăgo to program?
The physics. It takes a long time to set all the parameters just how you like them. This also made networking quite a challenge.

Q: Other than your own game did any one of the IGF finalists or Student Showcase games stand out to you? Why?
One for each.
IGF Finalists:
Savage because has very interesting and fun team based strategy.
Student:
Treefort wars had a very fun and interesting design to it. Although it isn't very complete at the moment, when It's finished it should be quite the interesting game.

Q: What is your definition of an Independent Game?
A game developed without the help of a publisher. No 'higher-ups' telling you what to do, giving deadlines (marketing, executives, etc.)

Q: How do you think Independent Games will evolve in the future?
More companies will spring up and sell their games over the internet as it becomes more popular.

Q: What is the biggest challenge facing Independent games?
Getting exposure. There are tons of great independent games out there, but many are not easy to find.

Q: As one of the leaders of Independent Games, what is next for you?
Finalizing Bontăgo, and working on our next project, Salient: Supply & Command. Salient is an innovative RTS that is of course, unlike almost all other RTS games.

Interview with Troy Hepfner about Fashion Cents
Dressing dolls: A Family activity
By Russell D. Carroll [March 12, 2004]


What do you think makes Independent games distinctive?
Creativity. I don’t even look for games in the stores anymore, because there is nothing there I haven’t already played a hundred times. Independent games, on the other hand, are often fresh and innovative. They’re a lot more fun!

How did your studio get your start in working with independent games?
Besides the lack of creativity in mainstream games, we have also noticed a growing vacuum of clean, family-friendly games. We have many friends with kids who have lamented over this trend, and the more people we talked to, the more we realized that there is a sizable market here that is being largely ignored by the mainstream game companies.

I’ve always loved computer games, and I created lots of simple little games in college. With the encouragement of family and friends, I decided to see if I could turn my hobby into a viable business. So in the spring of 2003, my wife and I started our own computer game company. Our purpose is to create clean, family-friendly games for boys and girls of all ages, as an alternative to the trashy titles and grotesque games that are prevalent on the store shelves. Our target audience is primarily Christian families, although our games appeal to anyone who is looking for some good clean fun.

What is the most innovative feature of Fashion Cents and how is it innovative in your mind?
It is a game designed specifically for girls, and the gameplay is very unique for a girl’s game. Fashion Cents is based an activity that most girls can relate to, namely dressing up dolls, but we’ve taken the doll concept and turned it into a competition. Unlike other girl “games” which are usually activities without any real purpose, Fashion Cents features classic game objectives like levels to conquer, points to score, and bonuses to earn.

But it doesn’t stop there. Fashion Cents is structured to reward the gamer with much more than scores and bonuses as they advance through the game levels. The girls get very excited when they discover that the higher levels give them new clothing items to play with. As a result, the girls are driven to succeed so they can see what comes next.

What do gamers appreciate most about Fashion Cents?
We have received many e-mails from girls of all ages, and the one thing they all say is “It’s fun!” (We also get chewed out because it is so addicting.)

But seriously, I think what the gamers enjoy most about Fashion Cents is the large variety of clothing items and the freedom to mix and match them in new and creative ways. Registered owners of the game get to play with hundreds of clothing items, and we periodically release add-on packs containing lots of new clothes. We make the add-on packs available exclusively to registered owners, free-of-charge, which keeps the game fresh and entertaining. We want to make sure our customers get a lot of value for their money.

What was the most difficult part of Fashion Cents to program?
All the interchangeable clothes! We wanted the game to have a cartoon look and feel, so all of the dolls and clothes are hand-drawn. Scanning the graphics and sizing them all to fit properly was a real challenge. We ended up refinishing all the graphics and repainting them in Corel Photo Paint, so in a sense, we had to do most of the artwork twice.

Other than your own game did any one of the IGF finalists or Student Showcase games stand out to you? Why?
Funny you should ask. After we submitted Fashion Cents to the IGF, we began working on our next game. It was a word search game but instead of a traditional square grid, we decided to do a hexagonal-shaped grid and use a bumblebee theme. When the IGF announced the finalists back on December 12, we naturally looked through the list to see who our competition was. We were very surprised to discover an entry in the Web/Downloadable category entitled, Beesly’s Buzzwords! It was very similar to our idea! At first we were rather bummed. But then we realized that even though someone beat us to the punch, it was obviously a prize-winning idea! So we are encouraged by the fact that we’re on a roll!

What is your definition of an Independent Game?
To me, an independent game is one that isn’t controlled or dominated by the mainstream game publishers and their marketing trends. Because of this, independent game developers are free to be creative and produce games that are original and fun.

How do you think Independent Games will evolve in the future?
In recent years, I have seen very few “new” games produced by mainstream game companies. Most games are the same old games, repackaged with fancier graphics and sounds. I think many consumers are looking for something new and different, and independent game developers have a unique opportunity to satisfy that desire because they are not bound by corporate politics and marketing trends. Those developers who can think outside the box and create truly original games that give gamers unique experiences will do very well in this business. Those developers who can’t, who just reinvent the wheel, will never last. You can’t make it as an Independent by writing Quake and Half-Life clones, because you can’t compete with the mainstream game companies who produce those games far better than you. I think the successful independent games in coming years will be those that give the players something they haven’t seen before.

What is the biggest challenge facing Independent games?
Innovation.
Traditionally, many independent games have been technically innovative, blazing new trails in graphics and sound. For example, we all know that Commander Keen was one of the first games to bring smooth scrolling worlds to the PC, and Wolfenstein 3D paved the way for 3D games.

However, in recent years, technology has advanced to the point where technical innovation is time-consuming and costly. Most independent developers cannot compete with the deep pockets of the mainstream game companies in the areas of technical innovation. I think independent developers need to learn how to be innovative in new ways. Rather than being technically innovative, developers should strive for innovation in gameplay - give the players a unique experience. Or be innovative with respect to your marketing approach - write games for niche markets, like girls, small children, or Christian families (find a demand and fill it).

As one of the leaders of Independent Games, what is next for you?
We have two new projects in the works. The first project is a word search game, although it doesn’t use a hexagonal grid or a bumblebee theme anymore. We’ve taken the game in a new direction, and we are very excited about it. I can promise you that you’ve never seen a word game like this before! It is based on a toy theme, and it is much more animated than Fashion Cents. We are close to completing this project and hope to release it by the end of March.

The second project is a game that both boys and girls will enjoy, and we are just getting started with the game design. I’m not at liberty to say much about it yet, except that it will continue our tradition of good clean fun!

Interview with Chad Chatterton about acmipark
Gaming has a new level of artistry
By Russell D. Carroll [March 14, 2004]


1. What do you think makes Independent games distinctive?
To be honest, I don't have a really broad knowledge of independent games. There are few direct access points (confession: GamePortal is new to me) and, not coming from a game programming background, I don't have many connections to the culture of Independent game dev.

Of course in comparison to large studio's with financial backing, a different level of production is the most distinctive aspect to Independent Games. But this can be a virtue.

2. How did your studio get your start in working with independent games?
v The story goes something like this, Julian Oliver, the other acmipark designer, was due to deliver a paper at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology's III Cubed department in Australia about 3 years ago now. At the time we were both had been riding on our excitement of gaming and Half Life, talking about the untapped potentials of game engines, and Julian's paper was directing this discussion towards Architects and Virtual Reality professionals. His point was that the time and money spent on architectural fly-thru's and VR projects was falling short of the potential that game engines represent. Game has given us a body in our virtual spaces and as a result we're now experiencing our virtual spaces as places. Places where you can become a local, spatially interacting with actual communities.

At the time we were teaching ourselves to model in Worldcraft. For the presentation Julian asked me if I wanted to model something indicative of the points he was making. I chose to model the Architectural Department where most of the audience spend much of their time. Everyone in the audience was very familiar with the Map we showed then and it was powerful for a group of professionals who thought they had it all covered, to see a real time rendering of a place they new, with all the freedoms a game environment can provide. Connected to this level was Julian's own level which represented a degree of abstraction and interaction which, again, we felt games do best. You would be familiar with this map as Qthoth. Its extremely cool and also operates as a tool for live sound performance.

So we were demonstrating the power game engines have to simulate the real and also the fantastic, highlighting the bodily dimension and what that body can generate through interactivity, particularly in relation to sound.

Helen Stuckey of the Australian Center of the Moving Image was in the audience and suggested to us that we ought to submit a proposal to Cinemedia (DMF), which funded art projects in Australia related to the screen. At the time the ACMI was part of a major architectural development in the heart of Melbourne called Federation Square. The idea that we developed was to simulate Federation Square and contextualise it in picturesque park surrounds, complete with interactive sound installations, all of which functioned as an online world that anyone could access for free. In this way acmipark effectively extends the public space of the ACMI, where the server is housed.

3. What is the most innovative feature of acmi {{park}} and how is it innovative in your mind?
Its really hard to describe what acmipark actually is, and this is largely due to the ways it mixes game genres I think. Also because it could be argued that its not a game at all.

Acmipark takes the non-competitive meanderings, customisable characters and day / night cycles of MMOG's, and situates them in a first-person world more familiar to us through FPS's, Bouncepads and all – yet persistent. Guns are replaced with Lightballs which not only light the way dynamically, but also function as sound instruments, generating sounds as they bounce and collide. These also have inherent effects that radically change what a character sees when hit by a Lightball, so, to stick with the gun metaphor, rather than shooting another player, you hit them with a visual effect, such as blur. As for the interactive sound installations, I don't know what precedents they have in gaming history.

. . But more significantly, acmipark is conceptually innovative in extending an actual real world place, including its functions, into the public online community.

4. What do gamers appreciate most about acmi {{park}}?
The people so far that have been enjoying acmipark are those visiting the Transfigure exhibition at the ACMI where it is currently housed . They are not necessarily gamers and are often quite unfamiliar with PC games. But I find what they tend to enjoy most is simply exploring the world. They are amazed that the world can be simulated and extended in the ways acmipark represents. But flying through the air and shooting Lightballs is really fun, and its great to see very young children alongside those of my parents generation enjoying that together. I think also people really enjoy being able to customise their character. Andrea Blundell's character work is excellent, replete with logo's designed by local Melbourne artists. There's a lot to explore.

5. What was the most difficult part of acmi {{park}} to program?
I'm not a programmer, but from what I know, Networking was no walk in the park.

6. Other than your own game did any one of the IGF finalists or Student Showcase games stand out to you? Why?
OMG, To be honest I haven't really had the time to properly look yet!

7. What is your definition of an Independent Game?
Last year at the Playthings conference held in Sydney, Australia, I stated that Id Software could be considered independent game developers. Unsurprisingly it didn't seem to go down so well, but at the time I was trying to suggest that Independent games could be games created by relatively small teams doing exactly what they wanted to do, and I thought this encompassed Id. Of course there are many more arguments as to why Id are anything but Independent game developers, though I think its important to have an eye on the whole field when discussing this and not just the Indy scene. Small, young development teams are very exciting to me.

Projects such as Escape from Woomera suggest that Independent games might also be games that aim to research and develop minority viewpoints. Games concerned with cultural development independent of the need to please the paying majority, but rather to educate and enlighten. A means of discussing issues and events.

Of course MODS are also Independent Games.

8. How do you think Independent Games will evolve in the future?
I hope that we won't have to keep reinventing the wheel, that we can concentrate on a more creative game environment, and to this end I'm eager to see if engines like Half Life 2 live up to some of what they promise. It's plausible that a new level of Indy Game development, one independent from the commercial realities of making isolated games, will enjoy a healthy life feeding off of the next generation engines. Long live MODS, and may they get over WWII.

Yet these engines also raise the stakes of course. How can a small team now code their own engine to compete? Perhaps independently produced engines will start to look different?

I would like to see more teams doing the kind of work NanaOn-Sha are doing with Vib Ribbon and Mojibribon too. Perhaps some small teams shoot themselves in the foot by being too ambitious in scale. These guys don't seem to have that problem.

Since the greater Academic and Art cultures have taken games up as the next frontier, there is funding available here and there. But not much. And generally not nearly enough to fund a fully fledged project. Europe seems to be the healthiest place to be if you're looking for funding as an independent developer, while Australia for example is taking backwards steps away from new talent, towards nourishing existing companies. Most of which aren't very exciting.

9. What is the biggest challenge facing Independent games?
Money, distribution, identity, integrity and money. There is a lot of love for games, I don't think the audience is the problem. The problem is finding the money to make them, and then establishing an identity that stands up on its own. By this I mean either scale the project so you can maintain high production throughout, or revel in the cracks and flaws. Of course getting a game published is something all together.

10. As one of the leaders of Independent Games, what is next for you?
Its the long hard road of finding funding that I'm currently walking right now. I'm working on a brief for a new project, something I've been wanting to do for a long time now which involves, amongst other things, simulating an existing Island. I'm trying to balance the ambitions of the project with the realities of making it, and therefore thinking about how to produce a small scale gaming experience by commercial standards, but still make it worthwhile and deep.

Interview with Iain McNeil about Spartan
Gaming has a new level of artistry
By Russell D. Carroll [March 15, 2004]


What do you think makes Independent games distinctive?
Developers that are not independent do not have the funds to bring a game to the market on their own. They need external funding, usually from a publisher. To get that funding, the publisher has to be satisfied that the game is going to sell well. Unfortunately this is often calculated by looking at other games in its genre and looking at their sales. Publishers are not interested in taking risks and as a result tend to produce games that are similar in game play to what they released last year, but with this years graphics or games with a big name attached. What makes independent developers different is that they are much more willing to take risks and innovate. Some of the games entered in the IGF are really interesting and things you would not see coming out of a mainstream publisher. It would be good if publishers could evaluate games in a more effective way and some of these innovative ideas could make it through to the gamers. I hope as the industry matures we'll be able to do this more efficiently.

How did your studio get your start in working with independent games?
We managed to self fund ourselves through the completion of our first game without any publisher investment. We were in an unusual position to be able to do this as most people cannot afford it. We kept ourselves very small scale and worked from home to avoid the cost of offices etc. We wanted to maintain our independence, as none of us liked having publishers come in and dictate how the game should be developed. Sometimes publishers will do this just for the hell of it and to make sure you know who is boss - e.g. making you change the boots of your warriors from brown to beige and then in 2 weeks time saying "No, you were right, brown was better" and having to change them all back again! When we started Slitherine, we all new each other and had confidence in each others ability. When working alone like we did for long periods you need to be able to trust everyone to get on with their jobs.

What is the most innovative feature of Spartan and how is it innovative in your mind?
The most innovative part of Spartan is our combination of turn based game play with real time battles. The battles are not controlled like an RTS, but more akin to a football manager game where you set it all up in advance and then press go. We've taken a lot of stick from publishers and especially the press about this and keep getting told its not like Total War. Well they're right! It's not like Total War, it's a different style of game. We have many things Total War doesn't (such as a multiplayer campaign) and Total War has many things we don't (such as RTS battles). We just wish people would stop comparing the two games! Despite the pressure, we have no intentions of changing over to an RTS format as we know what our fans want.

What do gamers appreciate most about Spartan?
Our gamers come from a number of different backgrounds and different things appeal to different people. Some are interested in the history of the Greeks and the research we have put into the game. Some love watching the battles and prefer the limited control we give to the click fest of a full RTS because their reactions may not be as fast or they just don't want such a frantic game. Most come to the game because to be honest there is so little competition that they have no choice but to play Spartan! Once they try it they get hooked and hopefully they'll want to buy our next game too. If you look at the market, there are very few turn based strategy games out there, especially ones based on real history. Civilization is the only real competitor and we've already had one preview call Spartan "Civilization with 3D battles". The beta testers love it and we can't stop them playing it!

What was the most difficult part of Spartan to program?
The multiplayer has probably been the most difficult part. The game was not initially designed to be multiplayer & as a result we had to do more work than would have been required if we had implemented it from the start. The biggest difficulty with multiplayer is that its very hard to test it and verify it works. Problems that arise in a "real game" don't appear for the programmers in their test games. Part way through development we sat back and reviewed the game and decided a number of areas need the quality bar raised. Adding multiplayer, a new rendered campaign map and 3D battles were things we decided to add part way through development. We can't believe how well its all turned out and are really looking forwards to seeing it in the shops!

Other than your own game did any one of the IGF finalists or Student Showcase games stand out to you? Why?
To be honest we haven't had much time to check out the student showcase in detail because we have been trying to master Spartan in the last few months so have been very busy. From what I have seen there are some nice new takes on old ideas & the quality is really impressive.

What is your definition of an Independent Game?
For me it means a game developed without the input of a publisher. I.e. the game is designed and built exactly as the developer intended without any "marketing/publishing" influence J

How do you think Independent Games will evolve in the future?
From the look of the IGF, independent games are looking very healthy. In the future I see them moving towards online distribution if they cannot get the publishers support and shelf space in shops. If the games are good enough people will play them!

What is the biggest challenge facing Independent games?
Getting started! A new team will have a hard time getting a publishing deal. You need to have a completed game to stand a chance, but on top of that you need to have someone with good business sense, able to negotiate deals and chase up publishers who can take months and months to respond! Once you've got your first game to market things get easier - assuming it sells! If you game bombs then you're going to find it even harder the next time round, as all publishers do is base sales of your next game on the last one. If the numbers are not good enough you wont get an offer. Its a tough world! Its not impossible, as we've proved it can still be done, but it is hard work. We've been doing it now for 3 years as a fully established company with long hours and lots of stress, and we think Spartan is going to be our chance to make a mark and hopefully pay ourselves a half decent salary! We all earn a lot less now than we did 4 years ago in our old jobs in larger game developers & publishers.

As one of the leaders of Independent Games, what is next for you?
We can't say too much for now because nothing has been announced. We're looking at two main options, both in the strategy game genre but pushing the boundaries in two very different directions.

Interview with Norb Timpko about Take Command: 1861 The Civil War
Real war leads to new level of war appreciation
By Russell D. Carroll [March 16, 2004]


What do you think makes Independent games distinctive?
They are labors of love and can serve a niche market that the big publishers don't bother with. They also tend to be very efficient...they have to to survive without funding.

How did your studio get your start in working with independent games?
Just Do It. We had ideas about how to do things in a different way and wanted to try them out. We stopped talking about it and started actually doing something about it!

What is the most innovative feature of Take Command: 1861 The Civil War and how is it innovative in your mind?
It is the only game that I have ever played, that gives the player a true feeling for what Civil War combat was like.

What do gamers appreciate most about Take Command: 1861 The Civil War?
A free camera that can view the horizon and is NOT locked to the classic 45-degree angle of other RTS combat games. The freedom is so liberating it’s hard to go back and play games that limit your view. The AI is very good and the map very large.

What was the most difficult part of Take Command: 1861 The Civil War to program?
It has to be the AI. We worked on infantry AI for an entire year. Of course with us that’s an entire year of nights and weekends, but no other single feature of the game came even close to taking an entire year.

Other than your own game did any one of the IGF finalists or Student Showcase games stand out to you?
All of this years games look exceptional. But we think that this will be an interesting year. By the IGF definition, an independent game is one without a publisher. One of the entrants did not have a publisher but did have an enormous budget for an independent game. Now although the rules do not state anything about this, I think that the IGF is going to have to make a decision. Because what’s the difference between getting big bucks from a publisher or a private investor? Small independent start ups such as ourselves would not stand a chance in competing against a well funded game. I feel that if the IGF does not add a rule about the game budget, they are going to lose a lot of participation from shops such as MadMinute Games.

What is your definition of an Independent Game?
A game created a designed by a small group of dedicated individuals that are beholden to no one. Meaning that they have not signed the rights of the game away to publishers or investors. The group that works on the game provides for the game. We would even go so far to say that it has to be the first game created by the company. There has to be an element of risk involved, with no prior success. Of course these are only the ideas we have when we think of independent games, I’m sure that they mean many different things to different people.

How do you think Independent Games will evolve in the future?
Independent games will only become more prevalent because the "system" squashes innovation and small teams can be more creative by doing MORE with less.

What is the biggest challenge facing Independent games?
Time, money and the dedication of the members of the team. Everyone has to trust that the other members will be self-motivated to work extremely hard and resolve the differences that come up.

As one of the leaders of Independent Games, what is next for you?
To build on what we started and to grow the wargame market thru new innovative features.

Interview with Jacob Van Wingen about Fuzzee Teevee
Multi-player interference meets puzzle action
By Russell D. Carroll [March 17, 2004]


How did your studio get your start in working with independent games?
I’ve been programming games as a hobbyist for almost 10 years. I’ve spent even longer drawing comics, sketches, and eventually 3D modeling. During the Dot-Com boom I worked at an enterprise software company doing programming and software architecture. It was fun and interesting work, but I wanted to bring my artistic talents into my job somehow. I started Gastronaut Studios to work on games full time. From the beginning, submitting my game to the IGF has been a goal that’s helped motivate me to get my work done on time and at a high quality.

What is the most innovative feature of Fuzzee Teevee and how is it innovative in your mind?
I think the most innovative part is its hybrid game design. Fuzzee Teevee is a blend of platformer and puzzle game. There are a few other games that have similar blends, like the great but overlooked “Wario’s Woods” on the NES and SNES and the Playstation’s “Devil Dice.” But I think that Fuzzee Teevee presents a very different experience. First, there’s the interaction between characters and the puzzles. But there’s also the possibility for more direct conflict between players because you get to interfere with the others’ puzzles. Also, just off the top of my head, I can’t think of any other puzzle games with team modes. That option opens up a lot of new possibilities for game play and player interaction.

What do gamers appreciate most about Fuzzee Teevee?
Fuzzee Teevee has only been shown to the public once, at the IGC. At that conference players definitely got into the multi-player “brawl” mode, and the spectators seemed to enjoy the graphics and artwork. I only had two-player matches then, but at the IGF I expect players to get into the full four-player games. At home when friends come over we always play four-player matches for hours. The bright colored graphics have a mesmerizing quality about them that I’ve always enjoyed in puzzle games. One friend said that after playing for the first time, she dreamt about colorful blocks with X’s and O’s moving around everywhere. Something that I really like about the game is how accessible it is to non-core gamers. The majority of my play-testers so far are female and not-avid gamers either. They still get absorbed into the game, though. I think this is an important quality for “party games.” Mario Kart, for instance, has a very broad appeal that keeps it from being reserved for guys’ nights only. My girlfriend and her friends love it. I think that Fuzzee Teevee will have a similar appeal to both men and women.

What was the most difficult part of Fuzzee Teevee to program?
That’s a tough question. I’m tempted to say the graphics and animation systems were the hardest because it took so long to get everything working. I’ve spent a lot of time putting polish into both of those areas of the program, and I think it shows. Besides that, one of the most difficult parts has been the minute design details that I constantly have to make and test. For instance, the way the player controls the character and its interactions with the blocks and the objects of the world have been really challenging. A lot of this programming can’t just be planned ahead. I constantly have to keep testing for how it feels and then retool it until I get the right feel.

Other than your own game did any one of the IGF finalists or Student Showcase games stand out to you? Why?
I think they all look great. I’ve only met a few of the other developers, but I’m looking forward to meeting everyone at the conference. I’ve had my eye on some of the games since the entries were first listed. In particular, I’m excited to see Façade, the interactive dinner-party game. I like the way it centers around a non-violent psychological conflict rather than the typical action-oriented approach. My favorite films tend to be very dialogue intensive. Obviously with games this is difficult, but I think it will be more feasible in the future. I also think that Chronic Logic’s “Gish” looks pretty cool. I got to meet the Chronic Logic team at the IGC last October and I’m looking forward to seeing their new games at the IGF.

What is your definition of an Independent Game?
An indie game is quite simply a game developed by an indie developer. I see at least two types of indie developers: The “Stick it to the man” indie and the “Just waiting ‘til I get a publishing contract or job” indie. I’m definitely the latter with occasional delusions of “sticking it to the man.”

What do you think makes Independent games distinctive?
I think it’s difficult to generalize about all indie games, but I think the primary difference is the originality in game design. Bigger studios tied to publishers can’t afford to take as many chances. They have too many mouths to feed. Money is invested in areas that are more certain to have a return on investment like graphics, licenses, celebrity voice acting and so on. Even with my work, I’ve avoided certain risks for the sake of making something accessible and publishable.

How do you think Independent Games will evolve in the future
In some ways, I think that indie games will become easier to make. I don’t agree with the notion that games are getting harder to make now because of the sophistication of 3D graphics. I think in many ways game development has become more accessible for the small developer. We no longer have to write software renderers. With DirectX and OpenGL it doesn’t take very much work to get a huge amount of textured polygons to the screen. With the power of hardware graphics it’s no longer important to spend days getting models down to under 200 polygons. I’m rarely concerned about the number of polygons in my models, within reasonable complexity. Keeping on the bleeding-edge of graphics will always be a lot of work. I don’t think that it’s worthwhile for indies to bother. But I do think that technology has given creators more room to play around.

What is the biggest challenge facing Independent games?
I’d say that Distribution is the toughest challenge for indies. The Internet has helped with getting indie distribution, but it’s still an uphill battle to get your game out there. I think that places like GarageGames are a tremendous asset for the development community, by helping small developers both make and sell their games.

As one of the leaders of Independent Games, what is next for you?
Of course, I need to finish up Fuzzee Teevee and get it out to the public. It’s very close, but I want to make it as good as I can. After that I want to stay on course making “Sociable Games.” I enjoy creating these games that can be experienced by a group of people sitting around looking for competition, an icebreaker, or just something to have a beer with. Eventually, I want to move on to more serious games. There are definitely some ideas that I want to work on that would be very different sorts of games, but I think it’s important to start simple and work up.