IGF 2005 - Preview

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!

Aerial Antics

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

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

Base Be Gone

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

Call of the Warlords

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

Championship Gin Pro

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

Cowboys and Engines

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

D.I.R.T.

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

Dark Ore

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

DD Tournament Poker - No Limit Texas Hold'em

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

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

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

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

Eskimo Kisses

Extreme Demolition

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

Girls INC. Team-Up

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

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

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

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

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

Laser Envy

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)