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The XNA Indie Games Official Thread

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Dr. Zoidberg said:
I've been playing through and rating the last 20 or so indie games the past few days. They seem to really be coming out too often now, and more than ever there's a lot of crap to wade through. They really should do something to limit the releases to 1 a day or something, throw out the obvious garbage, but I realize that would just lead to conflict. Some of the latest trial versions are a JOKE because they don't let you see/do ANYTHING. I realize that with some of these "apps" any demo at all is "giving away the store" but if that's all you've got you probably shouldn't have released anything. Any indie release whose demo doesn't allow anything other than basically "Buy Now" will be getting 1-star from me.

Anyway, there wasn't anything that I seriously considered buying, but here are the ones that I thought were interesting:

Streets of Fury - This sidescrolling beat-em-up is interesting for it's use of digitized characters. The smooth motions really make you wonder what a new 2D Mortal Kombat designed for XBLA could look like. Imagine MK2 with huge sprites that animate extremely fluidly. Hmmm...

Shellblast HD - This is an interesting puzzle game that unfortunately falls short in several areas. It's sort've a cross between Picross and minesweeper. I enjoyed the concept. The game has a clean but bare-bones presentation, and quite frankly I don't think console controls are well suited to the game. This would play much better with on a DS, iPhone, or PC with Mouse. I would probably buy this as a DSiware downloadable game.

Avatar Golf - This is the game Easy Golf should have been (and I bought Easy Golf). The avatars are much more interesting than the robo-guy, and the new course designs are a big improvement. It's the best downloadable golf game on the system, and I recommend it. BUT...I can't help but feel the game is TOO similar to Easy Golf. In many ways it looks and sounds identical, and there are the same problems with some odd ball behavior and reading the green. I bought Easy Golf mainly to support Barker's Crest (who has been wonderful here on the boards) but now I wish that I had waited and bought this instead, because now I have a hard time buying the new one when it's so similar to what I already own. I know it's just $5 and I'm a cheap bastard but still...I would have wished for more changes in the sounds, certain design elements, etc. so that it felt like a true sequel instead of an enhancement.


EDIT - I had the name wrong for Shellblast HD. Sorry.
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You should definitely try Halfbrick Rocket Racing. It's one of the best Indie Games out for 240 points, but it seems to be slipping past everyone's radar. I've played it for hours trying to beat my times and I haven't even unlocked the later tiers of tracks yet. And boosting off walls kicks so much ass. Trailer and developer walkthrough here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jq1KV6dMBro

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=flHH2okbcKw
 
Anso said:
No congrats to me? :3
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Damn, I'm sorry.

Congratulations to you too. :lol

Psychotext said:
Ha, I've seen it happen on plenty of games only for the proper box art to show up a couple of weeks later.
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For example Invincible Tiger, it wasn't until yesterday that the proper box art showed up...
 
Dr. Zoidberg said:
Some of the latest trial versions are a JOKE because they don't let you see/do ANYTHING. I realize that with some of these "apps" any demo at all is "giving away the store" but if that's all you've got you probably shouldn't have released anything. Any indie release whose demo doesn't allow anything other than basically "Buy Now" will be getting 1-star from me.
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I couldn't agree more.
Everyone should go 1 star Wizard's Tower Screen Saver for this reason.
 
xbhaskarx said:
I couldn't agree more.
Everyone should go 1 star Wizard's Tower Screen Saver for this reason.
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Gave it my 1. I hope being so stingy blows up in his face.

Edit- I wanted to see my avatar darn it!
 
chixdiggit said:
To me it's the perfect example of what an indie game should be: Fun, clever, plays well, and cheap. I played it twice by myself and twice co-op with friends maybe equal to an hour of total game time. I might never play it again but one dollar totally justified.
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I hear you. It's the kind of quirky thing that couldn't exist in a mainstream release channel. I just have zero-to-negative interest anything with twin stick or even TS-inspired gameplay. My eyes glaze over (not in the good way).

Dr. Zoidberg said:
Avatar Golf - This is the game Easy Golf should have been (and I bought Easy Golf). The avatars are much more interesting than the robo-guy, and the new course designs are a big improvement. It's the best downloadable golf game on the system, and I recommend it. BUT...I can't help but feel the game is TOO similar to Easy Golf. In many ways it looks and sounds identical, and there are the same problems with some odd ball behavior and reading the green. I bought Easy Golf mainly to support Barker's Crest (who has been wonderful here on the boards) but now I wish that I had waited and bought this instead, because now I have a hard time buying the new one when it's so similar to what I already own. I know it's just $5 and I'm a cheap bastard but still...I would have wished for more changes in the sounds, certain design elements, etc. so that it felt like a true sequel instead of an enhancement.
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I feel the same way. I really want to support Barkers Crest for being an awesome guy here on the boards and online (on my friends list - played with him a couple times, good stuff) but I was one who spent $10 on EG at release. Now, it was totally worth 10 bucks, don't get me wrong. But I don't want to pay another 5 to see my avatar holding a club. I might drop some spacebucks on it at some point but not right now. I truly hope it does well, though. BC's stuff is a world above nearly everything else on Indie Games.

Foxtail said:
You should definitely try Halfbrick Rocket Racing. It's one of the best Indie Games out for 240 points, but it seems to be slipping past everyone's radar. I've played it for hours trying to beat my times and I haven't even unlocked the later tiers of tracks yet. And boosting off walls kicks so much ass. Trailer and developer walkthrough here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jq1KV6dMBro

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=flHH2okbcKw
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Wha? How did I not see this before?? I'll be checking out this demo for sure.
 
RadarScope1 said:
Wha? How did I not see this before?? I'll be checking out this demo for sure.
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I'm not an elite skill level or anything, but watching some of the stuff in the trailer at the end of the trial is pretty amazing. I said before too, definitely stick with "reversed" controls, so the left triggers makes you turn left (by using the right booster) and right turns right. The tutorial video gives you a good idea of how it works. Suffice to say, i really love this game.
 
In Avatar Golf is there any way to pan forward to see exactly where your shot will land? I tried all of the buttons and it didn't seem to do what I wanted. Not figuring out how to pan forward and see where my shot was going to land caused a few problems teeing off when a hill blocked my view from seeing where my ball would go and a few times when chipping on to the green.
 
Shogun PaiN said:
In Avatar Golf is there any way to pan forward to see exactly where your shot will land? I tried all of the buttons and it didn't seem to do what I wanted. Not figuring out how to pan forward and see where my shot was going to land caused a few problems teeing off when a hill blocked my view from seeing where my ball would go and a few times when chipping on to the green.
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You can press your right analog stick to the left and it will give you a zoomed in view from behind the hole.

---

Well everyone, I just finished 3 weeks of Jury Duty yesterday, the game is out, and my xbox red ringed the minute the game appeared on the Marketplace. :)

What a ride it has been.

I just wanted to let everyone know not to feel obligated or any pressure to buy this game. You guys and gals have supported Barkers Crest Studio a lot already and we really appreciate it. The only thing I would ever ask of you is to go to the marketplace and rate the game 5 stars as a friendly gesture.

I did the best I could and I'm really proud of it. I know it isn't perfect as it is a shoe string budget/high effort investment kind of game...so feel free to criticize any part of the game, it won't hurt my feelings.

Thanks for the support everyone. I'll have a post with some more information on the game as soon as I get the press release together for those who are interested.

- B.C.
 
Foxtail said:
You should definitely try Halfbrick Rocket Racing. It's one of the best Indie Games out for 240 points, but it seems to be slipping past everyone's radar. I've played it for hours trying to beat my times and I haven't even unlocked the later tiers of tracks yet. And boosting off walls kicks so much ass. Trailer and developer walkthrough here:
Click to expand...

I tried it but did not like it at all. It's my least favorite Halfbrick game so far because I find the controls annoying no matter what method I use. I was disappointed with it.
 
I'm surprised with XNA that there haven't been small developers or people trying to use it like an apps store. They could market that and make great use. Obviously with twitter and facebook coming out it would be pointless for those.

Just how come no one has tried to make say a web browser. Would that be impossible? I am surprised we don't see things similar to phone app stores on the xbox using it's internet connection. I think a browser would sell well.
 
HenryGale said:
I'm surprised with XNA that there haven't been small developers or people trying to use it like an apps store. They could market that and make great use. Obviously with twitter and facebook coming out it would be pointless for those.

Just how come no one has tried to make say a web browser. Would that be impossible? I am surprised we don't see things similar to phone app stores on the xbox using it's internet connection. I think a browser would sell well.
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You can't use the internet with XNA. You can only use xbox live features.
 
Anyone tried the new Japanese indie? It's basically 3 girls on stage dancing and you can change the camera angles and choose their dance moves :p

Was thinking of buying but only if there is more than one song/costume/set of moves. Anyone bought it? :p
 
Man, I would love to see somebody on XNA do a game inspired by the platform/RPG entries in the Wonderboy series like WB In Monsterland, WB 3 and Monster World 4.
 
As a HUGE Wonder Boy fan, yes, I'd love to see that too. I probably wouldn't tackle another platformer after Dust, but would really love see another game, particularly in the mold of WonderBoy 3. One of my favorite games actually.
 
Just got a 4000 points card and got Miner Dig Deep.

"just one more time" ends up being two extra hours. :p

This game is awesome. Any other games that are similar on the Indie side (single player, meaty gameplay)?
 
chubigans said:
Just got a 4000 points card and got Miner Dig Deep.

"just one more time" ends up being two extra hours. :p

This game is awesome. Any other games that are similar on the Indie side (single player, meaty gameplay)?
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I'd like to second this. Miner DD was so much better then I expected it to be. More games like it would be an instant buy, especially at the low price point.
 
Dream.Build.Play 2009 Winners Announced!

This year’s global Dream.Build.Play competition garnered more 350 games from over 100 countries, nearly doubling the number of community members who enrolled in and submitted Dream.Build.Play titles from those in last year’s competition. Many of these creators have the opportunity to appear on the Xbox LIVE Indie Games Channel.

Dean Dodrill of the United States earned the grand prize of $40,000 for “Dust: An Elysian Tail” a side-scrolling, action role-playing game in which the player controls Dust, a man searching for himself. Set in the beautiful yet mysterious world of Falana, this game chronicles Dust’s journey to liberate an oppressed village and rediscover his past. Meticulously hand-animated and painted, “Dust: An Elysian Tail” welcomes exploration, action, and above all else, mastery of a fighting system that rewards skilled gamers.

Panya Inversin and his team from the United States took home second place and $20,000 for their stunning 3-D, four-player brawler/space-shooter, “Max Blastronaut”.

Nivel21 Entertainment, led by Mauricio Garcia from Spain, received third place and $10,000 for the challenging puzzle game “Rotor’scope – The Secret of the Endless Energy”.

China’s Hu Ling and his team came in fourth place and received $5,000 for the stylish martial arts action game “HurricaneX2 Evolution”.
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http://creators.xna.com/en-US/news/dreambuildplay2009winners
 
Hypertrooper said:
All 4 Winners will get the money and the XBLA Contract ;)
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It does not specify XBLA contract. As stated in the press release:

Four winners received a share of $75,000 in cash prizes and could have the opportunity to publish their games on Xbox LIVE Arcade
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And...

Those who participated in the contest, and are located in a supported region, will have the opportunity to publish their games on the Xbox LIVE Indie Games Channel
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chubigans said:
This game is awesome. Any other games that are similar on the Indie side (single player, meaty gameplay)?
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I don't know how you define "meaty" but I cannot recommend Carnyvale Showtime enough. It's really wonderful. I'd also suggest you try Cave-in: Miner Rescue Team. There's also "Supercow" which seems to have good controls and a lot of levels, but they are repetitive in the art style. I'd say it's worth trying.

Also, Congratulations, Noogy. I cannot wait to play your fine game.
 
Thanks guys, it's an honor :)

Yeah, I know some of DBP finalists are in review form, so I imagine you'll see them soon. Many others however are still in production, so I wouldn't hold my breath.

I can say that there are some fantastic titles in the pipeline that I'm excited to see released.
 
I'm still sorting the details on that. To be honest, DreamBuildPlay was going to be instrumental on how much further I could take this. I'm very happy to say I'm now able to take it as far as I had hoped, and make the game that I (and hopefully others) really want.

I'm sorry I can't give a timeframe just yet... still figuring things out.
 
Noogy said:
I know some of DBP finalists are in review form, so I imagine you'll see them soon. Many others however are still in production, so I wouldn't hold my breath.
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Nice to hear Noogy.

Once everything is settled any chance of a write up of your experience with winning DPB in some detail?

Can't wait to play the game on XBLA ;)
 
Noogy said:
Thanks guys, it's an honor :)

Yeah, I know some of DBP finalists are in review form, so I imagine you'll see them soon. Many others however are still in production, so I wouldn't hold my breath.

I can say that there are some fantastic titles in the pipeline that I'm excited to see released.
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any idea when games from the top 20 will be released?

particularly excited to see cloudberry kingdom, duality zf, guru guru, magnetic mind, and band of bears :D
 
Despite my review on the previous page, I just purchased Avatar Golf. Although there is still some deja vu here for Easy Golf owners, I have to say there are a lot of nice improvements. Putting, while still not what everyone wants, is much better, and the click-o-meter doesn't seem as punishing as before (i.e. it's easier to hit the sweet spot). I was able to download somebody's shared course and play through it without any issues and I didn't have to be friends with the guy.

Overall I have to say it's well worth the $5, even viewed as an "upgrade" to Easy Golf. Thanks, Barker's Crest.

Now, for my two minor complaints.

- Some of the load times are pretty rough, but this is only for the first hole on a course or the title screen. Between holes seems to be very quick.

- There only seems to be one piece of music (maybe two?) but it loops incessantly. I know I could do a custom soundtrack but it sure would be nice if there were more songs/variety.
 
Dr. Zoidberg said:
I don't know how you define "meaty" but I cannot recommend Carnyvale Showtime enough. It's really wonderful. I'd also suggest you try Cave-in: Miner Rescue Team. There's also "Supercow" which seems to have good controls and a lot of levels, but they are repetitive in the art style. I'd say it's worth trying.
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Thanks for the recomendations Zoidberg! Much appreciated!
 
Noogy said:
http://xona.com/2009/09/05.html

Here's a list thoughtfully put together by the devs behind the awesome Duality ZF.

I have no clue when most of these will be out, but it is an impressive list.
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Thanks for that, and congrats!
Besides Dust, I want to buy Kaleidoscope, Max Blastronaut, guru guru, band of bears and Square Off. Hopefully they show up soon on XBL.
 
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