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[PandaPedinte]

Voting!

• Boson X - It's a good endless runner with interesting graphics
• Brawlin' Sailor - It's very short but very well made.
• Fuaim - It have strange controls but once you get used to it you can have some nice experience, there aren't much to say about this game it's one of these that you need to play.
• SUPERHOT - SUPERHOT! SUPERHOT! SUPERHOT! It's a different take on the FPS genre, I'm looking forward for the expanded game.
• Naya's Quest - Puzzle platformer that mess with notion of space and perspective.
• Impulse - Someday I'll be good controlling this game, at least I could enjoy the fantastic soundtrack xD

 

[Deputy Dangle]

Voting!

Full Bore - The titular boar itself is charmingly animated and colored as is the rest of the world within the game. But I wasn't particularly interested in solving many of the puzzles when they are all placed throughout a fairly large map and the traversal of said map is wholly unsatisfying to me.

Impulse - Clean, simplistic neon visuals mixed with a staircase of increasingly challenging scenarios at each step make for an enjoyable physics based puzzle game. It's deceptively simple at the start, but by level 40, I had no idea where the gameplay tweaks and objectives were going to change to next. Also, the music is super eclectic and it doesn't always fit yet I still dig it.

MirrorMoon EP - Navigating the individual planets and using the controls were a bit more unintuitive than I'd like, but I loved the dev's strong approach to letting the player figure everything out on their own and finding satisfaction from those discoveries. The visual design, music, and feeling of isolation in space were all solid. I just wish little annoyances didn't get in my way of enjoying the larger experience.

SUPERHOT - Probably one of the best proof of concepts ever. The mechanics and clear visual language are well-founded and have tons of potential. It's a short and sweet demonstration, but I can't wait to see where they take this going forward.

Volgarr the Viking - Cool little homage to Rastan that takes the best aspects of action platformers from that era, such as explaining mechanics through gameplay and having tight controls, and emphasizes them to great effect.

 

[Hofmann]

Voting!

I could swear you had already voted before

 

[Toma]

I could swear you had already voted before

1. I approve any person who wants to vote for Impulse twice
2. He didnt vote before, it was just "impressions" about games he played

 

[Hofmann]

1. I approve any person who wants to vote for Impulse twice
2. He didnt vote before, it was just "impressions" about games he played

Ha ha, my bad. I'll leave police work to you.

 

[Toma]

End My World

This game appears as a bonus game on the current build a greenlight groupees bundle http://groupees.com/bagb4.
Greenlight: http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=185626374



From first glance, it would be easy to write the game off as complete garbage. However when you dig a bit deeper into it... well ok it doesn't get much better.

The basic game is simple enough to understand. Rocks fall from the top of the sky and it is your duty to avoid them. To aid in this process, you can sometimes get power-ups that range from a flying protector to being able to shoot. Unfortunately none of these powers were granted the gift of animation and none of them are needed to survive. When you last long enough a siren blares inviting you to move onto the next stage. Unless you are hit by a late meteor of course, in which case you need to start again whilst the siren keeps going.

To be more positive, there is the hint of a nice effect as big meteors hit structures like buildings. There isn't any actual collision but the building does sort of "fall apart" in a decent effect. There are also a lot of bonus characters to get if for some reason you wanted to get right into it. The game is also colourful.

Overall, I would rate this game a 17.

---

One of the best impressions in the thread, haha.

Useful too, got to know what to not waste time on. My biggest disappointment during the last month was EpicFail League or whatever its called.

 

[Milchmann]

Dog Sled Saga pre-order is up: http://www.dogsledsaga.com/preorder

 

[More_Badass]

Foul Play is really good. The art style has tons of character and personality and the combat is a lot of fun

 

[Toma]

Anyone with Coulrophobia?

 

[Ashodin]

Yo Toma, let me know if you need anything for the November Indie Games thread for Apexicon.

 

[daydream]

Anyone with Coulrophobia?

Already funded I see. Got nothing against clowns, but the big sprite irks me.

 

[More_Badass]

Woohoo, discovered a reliable way to get The Swapper to work! The Steam Discussions are good for something. So if you start the game, then Ctrl-Alt-Delete right as it starts up, wait a bit, and then go back to the game, it finishes loading and goes to the menu like normal.

And holy shit, I'm only 40 minutes in and it's amazing. The visuals and the atmosphere of the environments are awesome but the best part is the Swap gun. Discovering that you can

Spoiler

swap in mid-air while falling to land safely from high drops

was so freaking satisfying. And it was just something I thought of, didn't know it would work, but it did. Already another GOTY nominee to add to my list

 

[More_Badass]

I seriously think I'm mistaken about my specs. The Swapper is the fourth game that, according to the requirements and Game-Debate, I shouldn't be able to run well. The others being Tower of Guns, Rochard, and Sang Froid. All of them run relatively nicely, with little to no lag.

 

[Wok]

I seriously think I'm mistaken about my specs. The Swapper is the fourth game that, according to the requirements and Game-Debate, I shouldn't be able to run well. The others being Tower of Guns, Rochard, and Sang Froid. All of them run relatively nicely, with little to no lag.

In which resolution? 1366x768.

 

[One Foul Note]

Foul Play is really good. The art style has tons of character and personality and the combat is a lot of fun

It is pretty cool, although I did get a lot of fatigue nearing the end. By the 4th and 5th play it felt like it was running out of ideas and the levels became very samey, the height of the game was the 2nd and 3rd play for sure. I also had this continuous issue of AIs dicking me over by running to the other side of the screen for no reason just to break my combo. Its very frustrating when you feel that you lost a combo not due to lack of skill but just the random AI of the monsters. That all said, I still really enjoyed it and would recommend it if anyone likes beat em ups. They get a lot of mileage out of the theater production and Victorian horror theme and I've never played a beatemup when you are driven to be so aggressive and on the attack constantly, that was rather awesome.

 

[Lamptramp]

Anyone with Coulrophobia?

Ugh even scrolling past that quick made me feel sick... You are a cad and a bounder sir!

 

[More_Badass]

In which resolution? 1366x768.

Yes

 

[Moobabe]

Interesting interview about getting noticed as an Indie dev from Gamesindustry.biz

 

[Moobabe]

Wrapped up the second in my "games about walking that have emotions in them" series.

Proteus.

It's lacking in some areas, and it's missing a discussion of "ambiance" but I didn't write to ramble and write something 1000+ words that people wouldn't read so I had to make some concessions unfortunately.

Edit - eurgh, double post

 

[PandaPedinte]

Interesting interview about getting noticed as an Indie dev from Gamesindustry.biz

Thank you for sharing, it was an interesting read the Antichamber developer raises some interesting points, not that I agree with everything he said, but he has a valid point of view.

 

[More_Badass]

Interesting interview about getting noticed as an Indie dev from Gamesindustry.biz

I'm playing Antichamber now. What a crazy game

 

[More_Badass]

Courtesy of IndieStatik:
50 Free Indie Horror Games To Play On Halloween

---
Oh, and the Dungeons of Dredmor devs are working on a new game Clockwork Empires, but I'll save a proper post for the November thread. Here's the site

 

[More_Badass]

Oh, that was unexpected. Type:Rider is now on PC. Here's the IGS Store page, and it seems like it's coming to Steam very soon

This game is worth getting. It's really good, the level design is awesome, atmospheric, and inventive, and the whole premise is just interesting IMO. I bet it plays better on PC than IOS.

 

[Toma]

Oh, that was unexpected. Type:Rider is now on PC. Here's the IGS Store page, and it seems like it's coming to Steam very soon

This game is worth getting. It's really good, the level design is awesome, atmospheric, and inventive, and the whole premise is just interesting IMO. I bet it plays better on PC than IOS.

Did you play it on iOS or how do you know its good?

 

[More_Badass]

Did you play it on iOS or how do you know its good?

Yeah I played it on IOS. There were some issues with crashes, but it was manageable. After using the touch controls, I'd guess that keyboard controls will make the experience a lot better

Here's IndieStatik's review and my review if you're interested

 

[Toma]

Yeah I played it on IOS. There were some issues with crashes, but it was manageable. After using the touch controls, I'd guess that keyboard controls will make the experience a lot better

Here's IndieStatik's review and my review if you're interested

It looks really nice, but any word on length? $9 is quite a bit for a such a seemingly small game.

 

[One Foul Note]

It looks really nice, but any word on length? $9 is quite a bit for a such a seemingly small game.

It isn't that long. It is hard to predict because I played it in such small bits, but I think it wouldn't take a competent player more then 2 hours to complete. Unless they have thrown in more levels into the PC version of course.

 

[Toma]

It isn't that long. It is hard to predict because I played it in such small bits, but I think it wouldn't take a competent player more then 2 hours to complete. Unless they have thrown in more levels into the PC version of course.

Hm, I am also not sure I want to support this stupid "Our game previously cost 2$, so lets make it $10 just because its not on iOS anymore"-thing.

Why is that even a thing. I can sort of understand if you have a higher priced product and need to lower the price on iOS for it to sell, but the other way around is a tad annoying.

 

[More_Badass]

So Shelter...I love the art style and the premise, but you can finish the game within an hour. Maybe 90 minutes if you're extremely diligent in protecting your young and stopping at every vista

 

[Hofmann]

So Shelter...I love the art style and the premise, but you can finish the game within an hour. Maybe 90 minutes if you're extremely diligent in protecting your young and stopping at every vista

Is it really a problem nowadays? If a game is interesting, does it matter that much if it's half, two or ten hours long. When it comes to Shelter, it's a pretty simple game when it comes to its mechanics, so it would actually be detrimental to the experience making it longer.

 

[Toma]

Is it really a problem nowadays? If a game is interesting, does it matter that much if it's half, two or ten hours long. When it comes to Shelter, it's a pretty simple game when it comes to its mechanics, so it would actually be detrimental to the experience making it longer.

Well it sort of does. I mean sure, you cant put experiences into monetary value and I definitely would never disagree if someone said a 1 hour experience was worth $15 for him, but when I have $15 to spend and I have... a billion options, then its definitely a factor to consider, considering I have the option to spend the money on something else.

Edit: Not to mention that whole "we made the game more expensive, just because its now on PC" thing in the case of Type Rider.

 

[More_Badass]

Is it really a problem nowadays? If a game is interesting, does it matter that much if it's half, two or ten hours long. When it comes to Shelter, it's a pretty simple game when it comes to its mechanics, so it would actually be detrimental to the experience making it longer.

Idk, I just feel that's a tad too short for the price. I usually don't have a problem with length (Vanquish, Limbo, Journey) but under an hour plus the lack of depth hurt the game IMO

The art style and the basic idea of being a mother protecting and guiding her young is fantastic but I feel like there was potential for so much more

 

[Moobabe]

My Proteus article got retweeted by YosP, Shahid and Curve Studios!

Feels pretty good

 

[Toma]

My Proteus article got retweeted by YosP, Shahid and Curve Studios!

Feels pretty good

Yup, you definitely have something going for it with that "academic" comparison style Although I am a bit surprised they noticed it this fast.

 

[Hofmann]

Well it sort of does. I mean sure, you cant put experiences into monetary value and I definitely would never disagree if someone said a 1 hour experience was worth $15 for him, but when I have $15 to spend and I have... a billion options, then its definitely a factor to consider, considering I have the option to spend the money on something else.

That's why we have places like GAF to talk about games and recommend the ones we find worth recommending. Shelter is a very intimate game, that shows a big tragedy without exaggerating it too much. Making it longer would only destroy the specific atmosphere it has managed to create. So, anyone who shares similar taste in games as me for example, will probably find this game worth buying, even if it's $10 for a 2 hour experience.

 

[Moobabe]

Yup, you definitely have something going for it with that "academic" comparison style Although I am a bit surprised they noticed it this fast.

I always tag people in the tweets, but I am too! Especially YosP - that guy must have a million things to do in the run up to a console launch instead of retweeting an article from me!

 

[Toma]

That's why we have places like GAF to talk about games and recommend the ones we find worth recommending. Shelter is a very intimate game, that shows a big tragedy without exaggerating it too much. Making it longer would only destroy the specific atmosphere it has managed to create. So, anyone who shares similar taste in games as me for example, will probably find this game worth buying, even if it's $10 for a 2 hour experience.

Sure, and I cant comment on Shelter anyway since I havent played it yet. Really should.

Did you play Time Frame?

 

[More_Badass]

That's why we have places like GAF to talk about games and recommend the ones we find worth recommending. Shelter is a very intimate game, that shows a big tragedy without exaggerating it too much. Making it longer would only destroy the specific atmosphere it has managed to create. So, anyone who shares similar taste in games as me for example, will probably find this game worth buying, even if it's $10 for a 2 hour experience.

IMO I felt it didn't really capture that sense of guiding your young, protecting them, very well. I really thought it just was lacking in that sense. I never felt attached to my cubs and the greatest extent of interaction was feeding them or leading to a safe hiding spot. That's just my opinion

 

[Messofanego]

Before I give in my votes, I'll just say I wasn't impressed by Impulse (didn't feel like getting past level 21 and I'd rather play Probe Team), Brawlin' Sailor (the different perspectives are done with hilarious execution, but the combat itself felt really floaty which led to a few deaths as bumblin' sailor), Time Frame (first person walker like Dear Esther or Proteus with a Journey-like sun scorched desert world that was way too large and slow to traverse even if the ending was nice), Fuaim (love the psychedelic watercolour look and rotational camera but just got kinda lost and gave up), Nexus: Core One (visuals weren't really grabbing me, and I enjoyed last month's schmup more but forgot its name), and Ninjah (just doesn't feel precise compared to so many other indie platformers like N+ and it looks like a pre-alpha prototype).

 

[Hofmann]

Sure, and I cant comment on Shelter anyway since I havent played it yet. Really should.

Did you play Time Frame?

Oh yeah, I added it to my voting list:

Just stop for a moment and you will appreciate how beautiful the world could be. The torches consuming their last supper, water pouring from a fountain or dust particles dancing in the air, scattered throughout the world, ilustrate the idea of time flow quite wonderfully - the way it is presented makes you cherish those important moments, usually lost in abundance of stimuli, like never before. I only wish I could have experienced it without any previous knowledge, so if you still don't know what it is - good for you, download it straight away.

Good thing you mentioned it, because it has a lot in common with Shelter and even with Proteus, just like Moobabe wrote in his article (which is really good, btw, though I wouldn't mind if it was a bit longer - I would definitely read it) and the quote corresponding with it:

“People need beautiful places to visit where they can feel the humanity of the creator. We need to bow before the touch of a human hand. We need works of art that serve no purpose other than the expression of a kind of love. Just as the body needs air, the mind needs beauty.”

It’s that second sentence that remains my belief, and my enduring impression of Proteus. This is not a cynical product that “want to… make people cry,” nor is it one that exists in servitude to the player. Proteus is an expression. Proteus is a moment; a fleeting, powerful and ultimately personal moment that defies categories and empiricism.

IMO I felt it didn't really capture that sense of guiding your young, protecting them, very well. I really thought it just was lacking in that sense. I never felt attached to my cubs and the greatest extent of interaction was feeding them or leading to a safe hiding spot. That's just my opinion

I found the whole experience to be very touching and loved how the game is indiffirent to your lose. I felt it really trusted me as human being to be able to perceive those subtle moments, without a need to use cheap techniques to enhance the emotional response.

 

[Moobabe]

Oh yeah, I added it to my voting list:


Good thing you mentioned it, because it has a lot in common with Shelter and even with Proteus, just like Moobabe wrote in his article (which is really good, btw, though I wouldn't mind if it was a bit longer - I would definitely read it) and the quote corresponding with it:


I found the whole experience to be very touching and loved how the game is indiffirent to your lose. I felt it really trusted me as human being to be able to perceive those subtle moments, without a need to use cheap techniques to enhance the emotional response.

My god... you just quoted me! Is this.. is this real?

I'm moving on to Shelter soon. My next "project" piece is going to be 'Gone Home' though

 

[Hofmann]

My god... you just quoted me! Is this.. is this real?

I'm moving on to Shelter soon. My next "project" piece is going to be 'Gone Home' though

Lol, you were retweeted by a mythical creature called Yosp, so me quoting you is pretty insignificant in comparison!

And a propos good articles, here's the interview with the designer of a game called Somewhere, some of you might remember it as I mentioned it few times before: http://videogametourism.at/node/1828

This is a game about people and their lives, about absurd encounters and stories that are lost. The game itself is a formal exploration of storytelling and investigates the conflict that arises from the subversion of the role of a storyteller in videogames. You are searching for a person. a person who has taken refuge in the mythical town of Kayamgadh. For a large portion of the game you try to reach this town as you travel through physical space and time.

As you navigate identities, you realise that each person you become is a figment of another character's imagination and a part of yet another story. Somewhere is therefore, most of all, a collection of stories. A collection that spawns characters through which a player might comprehend this Gameworld.

 

[CheesecakeRecipe]

Sorry I have yet to get my votes written up Toma, I promise I'll slip it in here asap but I've been extremely busy. And NaNo is tomorrow too, fuck.

Anyways. I have a present for you guys. Over the past week I have been cramming hour after hour to sketch out and write up, code, and complete, a Choose Your Own Adventure story (made in Twine) in time for Halloween.

Lathe de la Lune Somniis

13,091 words, 230 passages, 12 endings. Which one will be yours?

 

[daydream]

Sorry I have yet to get my votes written up Toma, I promise I'll slip it in here asap but I've been extremely busy. And NaNo is tomorrow too, fuck.

Anyways. I have a present for you guys. Over the past week I have been cramming hour after hour to sketch out and write up, code, and complete, a Choose Your Own Adventure story (made in Twine) in time for Halloween.

13,091 words, 230 passages, 12 endings. Which one will be yours?

Well,

Spoiler

I fell into the darkness after stubbornly trying to push it away. Got rightfully mocked for it. Oh well.

 

[PandaPedinte]

Sorry I have yet to get my votes written up Toma, I promise I'll slip it in here asap but I've been extremely busy. And NaNo is tomorrow too, fuck.

Anyways. I have a present for you guys. Over the past week I have been cramming hour after hour to sketch out and write up, code, and complete, a Choose Your Own Adventure story (made in Twine) in time for Halloween.

Lathe de la Lune Somniis

13,091 words, 230 passages, 12 endings. Which one will be yours?

Nice. The end that I got:

Spoiler

You ran as fast as you possibly could, searching for any way out. Unfortunately you did not manage to find an escape before the creature found you. You don't even feel its bladed arms piercing your torso before you hit the ground. For the next moment, all you know is the most excruciating pain you've ever felt. It's not until the creature delights in your suffering enough to behead you, at last causing the pain to END

 

[More_Badass]

That's so cool. Thanks for the hard work! How hard is it to make one? Do you need to know how to code?

 

[Toma]

Before I give in my votes, I'll just say I wasn't impressed by Impulse (didn't feel like getting past level 21 and I'd rather play Probe Team), Brawlin' Sailor (the different perspectives are done with hilarious execution, but the combat itself felt really floaty which led to a few deaths as bumblin' sailor), Time Frame (first person walker like Dear Esther or Proteus with a Journey-like sun scorched desert world that was way too large and slow to traverse even if the ending was nice), Fuaim (love the psychedelic watercolour look and rotational camera but just got kinda lost and gave up), Nexus: Core One (visuals weren't really grabbing me, and I enjoyed last month's schmup more but forgot its name), and Ninjah (just doesn't feel precise compared to so many other indie platformers like N+ and it looks like a pre-alpha prototype).

I agree with everything you said except, naturally Impulse and Time Frame, but everyone can certainly have its own opinion on games. Glad I found a few others that liked these games though, which reminds me that I wanted to have a little talk about Time France but dont have the time while making the new thread.

Bonus:

 

[CheesecakeRecipe]

That's so cool. Thanks for the hard work! How hard is it to make one? Do you need to know how to code?

Only a little coding experience needed, it has its own sets of tags and markup that are pretty easy to remember. For more advanced features you can patch in a lot of stuff via freely available javascript, css and html.

Difficulty comes with complexity. How much do you want to acknowledge the player's actions, how many routes do you wish to take, what sort of additional functionality have you patched in, etc. The writing portion of it is as easy as writing out each passage and linking them together on a freeform plot map.

Glad you're all enjoying it! Interesting that we have two bad endings posted here, for shame IndieGAF! I expected better of you~

 

[PandaPedinte]

Only a little coding experience needed, it has its own sets of tags and markup that are pretty easy to remember. For more advanced features you can patch in a lot of stuff via freely available javascript, css and html.

Difficulty comes with complexity. How much do you want to acknowledge the player's actions, how many routes do you wish to take, what sort of additional functionality have you patched in, etc. The writing portion of it is as easy as writing out each passage and linking them together on a freeform plot map.

Glad you're all enjoying it! Interesting that we have two bad endings posted here, for shame IndieGAF! I expected better of you~

D:

I'm trying again

 

[Hofmann]

Glad you're all enjoying it! Interesting that we have two bad endings posted here, for shame IndieGAF! I expected better of you~

That was great. I jumped through it with the bated breath and managed to see daylight.

Spoiler

The familiar sight of your ceiling comes into focus softly. Daylight shines its warmth through your windows. Sitting up in your bed, you realize that you're back home. Your legs are killing you. You rub them to relieve some soreness, thinking back on the forest you found yourself in earlier. Everything about it felt more real than any dream you've had before, yet here you are safe and sound at

Thanks, for the terrifying Halloween gift.