Not like the bolded is so far from the reality. Still reading general "indie games are boring, because bad graphics"" comments far too often.
Edit: Page 2, yes!
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Indie Games 2015 [February] Now Voting - Post 556!
- Thread starter Toma
- Start date
Not like the bolded is so far from the reality. Still reading general "indie games are boring, because bad graphics"" comments far too often.
Edit: Page 2, yes!
I love these threads. Thanks, Toma.
Infinifactory is pretty great, GAF. I'm pretty sure I enjoy it more than SpaceChem.
I've also played Lost Constellation. If Night In The Woods keeps the same vibe as this and Longest Night (another side game), it's going to be something special.
Infinifactory is pretty great, GAF. I'm pretty sure I enjoy it more than SpaceChem.
I've also played Lost Constellation. If Night In The Woods keeps the same vibe as this and Longest Night (another side game), it's going to be something special.
I think I would put it this way: "Infinifactory has the potential to be overall more enjoyable to me than SpaceChem... with more and more intricate/complex content"
I haven't gotten far enough to know if I agree with this (I've been splitting my time between several games).
I will say that I prefer Infinifactory's expansive 3D factory representation to SpaceChem's comparitively small 2D plane.
Yup, fully agree, I ran through the games in 3-4 days or something and hugely enjoyed it, but you'll understand what I am talking about in the end. The game starts giving out some really, really cool challenges and it feels like it just started rolling into what I want this game to be and then... it stops.
(Still absolutely fantastic game though)
SerTapTap
Member
There are plenty of legit reasons to despise the current Mobile ecosystem. F2P, clones, race to the bottom, manipulative marketing practices, "app flipping", apps being shuttered mere months after releasing, apps dropping support for all future versions. I love flash games and low budget indies, mobile is still way too gross for me, and it's a damn shame. There is the possibility for good games, but there are far more legitimate criticisms than there are absurd ones, IMO.
I think it's very important that there continues to be criticism of the mobile space and that the good developers try to stand out from the sea of trash.
More_Badass
Member
Definitely. I'm not saying mobile is all golden and wonderful. It absolutely should be criticized. I'm talking about the people who look at the platform with blinders and make blanket statements.
What was the last few games you played? There are so many great paid games released every week, every month. My backlog for IOS grows faster than my PC backlog.
True as well. There definitely are issues with mobile gaming, but I wouldnt discount a whole medium because of it. I have a friend who boycots ANY mobile game due to these issues, thats not really fair to the proper developers and games either.
Fragamemnon
Member
GAF is kind of an hyper-reactionary community in terms of mindset and views mobile gaming as a existential threat to handheld gaming, which is why every mobile game post turns into a echo chamber shitfest in less time than it takes to upload a gif to imgur.
Starting up Ground Pounders again (finally!) this week, liked what I played back when it came out but need to get up to speed with the changes since release.
Starting up Ground Pounders again (finally!) this week, liked what I played back when it came out but need to get up to speed with the changes since release.
Doing my bi....ah too late.
I missed the January thread, but Gunman Clive 2 is a recently indie game
out now on 3DS eShop for $3
Really like that art style!!!!
Seems to be getting really mixed impressions, I would love to read a more comprehensive writeup after you played some more again.
Hm, I just noticed I need to disqualify Castle Doctrine from the GOTY voting thread. Since only active houses are in, the game is barely playable now without an influx of new players. Just checked my version and... there ARE houses to rob, but only the hardest of the hardcore players remained, which makes this game extremely unenjoyable for newcomers, borderline unplayable and I think I should revoke the GOTY recommendation.
Opinions? Should that matter? Should we still recommend a game that was once great but now basically cant be recommended to be bought anymore?
Opinions? Should that matter? Should we still recommend a game that was once great but now basically cant be recommended to be bought anymore?
More_Badass
Member
^^^
Yeah, if the game is essentially dead now, it's not really worth playing or recommending. A shame, since it was such a cool concept
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Now this is impressive. Besiege in the top sellers list
Yeah, if the game is essentially dead now, it's not really worth playing or recommending. A shame, since it was such a cool concept
---
Now this is impressive. Besiege in the top sellers list
Hmmmm, I played some more and I think I need to sleep over it. Its a really weird situation because to a newcomer this game is incredibly hostile now, but... its not unplayable? I wouldnt recommend it as much as I did a year ago, because of how... unforgiving it is now, but technically the game... still works. Its just that the entry level is a lot higher, which severely impacts a possible recommendation and possibly also MY recommendation. How can I go about recommending a game that I know barely anyone will be able to get into since you are not able to explore it with other players on the same level as you. The only way of knowing how this game can be played is not by playing, but by scouring and reading the forums basically.
Same goes for other games like Dwarf Fortress as well, though. Argh, this is tough.
Isn't Castle Doctrine from that developer that said the game would never go on sale? Seems like a crazy thing to do with a game that thrives on an active community.
edit: Ah yeah, here it is: http://thecastledoctrine.net/seedBl...rohrer_1391541088_0&show_author=1&show_date=1
edit: Ah yeah, here it is: http://thecastledoctrine.net/seedBl...rohrer_1391541088_0&show_author=1&show_date=1
Yeah, I had that discussion with someone else in the Rami thread now. The games steam page is a massacre because of people complaining there is no one to play with, which is not QUITE true, but in effect it still makes it super hostile.
I dont care about the pricing strategy when giving it a recommendation, but I am not sure if I should generally stop recommending the game based on how hard it is to play today. Technically, you still would be able to get in and learn all the things that the best players know, but getting there is not quite the same fun experience that I had back when it released.
Seems a strange decision - if you have a genuine decent project but no-one is biting - especially if it is online only then you need to find a way to get a regular trickle of sales in or the game will just die. Either drop the price so more people will bite or have regular sales and hope this gets word of mouth going so you do get that regular sales again.
Leaving it like this is just going to let it die!!!
Haunted
Member
Makes me want to take some .gifs of The Forest and Stranded Deep and other high-fidelity 3D indie games and slap them into their ignorant faces.
http://i.imgur.com/JYO3RTX.webm
Really interested in that one! Did you play it already? Whats your opinion on it?
Dog Problems
Banned
More_Badass
Member
Don't forget Distance and Cloudbuilt! (I'm on mobile, cant see the webm). Those are my go-to games when someone comments about indies being all 2D, pixels, etc
Ryo Hazuki
Member
Took a look at Dark Storm VR Missions featured in the OP. Made a video impressions which you can check out here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6T9GvCwR84E
I was honestly a little disappointed in the state of the game currently. It seems they have plans to update and add to it but it honestly makes me wonder if they play-tested the game before release. What's even more worrying is that they felt this was a good state to release the game in. It's so buggy and glitchy that the promised "tactical stealth action" is rarely even a factor. Console commands appear on screen, you glitch through the environment, animations are missing, hit detection is crazy and the AI is all over the place. I don't know, even though it's in alpha I expected a little more for the £3 I paid.
I don't want to be too negative as I see they're planning to update the look of the game and other things too, so hopefully it gets fixed and they can improve the game as I feel like any stealth game has potential to be great. One of the highlights was the 3D map system, but there's a lot of improvements to be made. I'd recommend avoiding at this state but might be worth keeping an eye on.
I was honestly a little disappointed in the state of the game currently. It seems they have plans to update and add to it but it honestly makes me wonder if they play-tested the game before release. What's even more worrying is that they felt this was a good state to release the game in. It's so buggy and glitchy that the promised "tactical stealth action" is rarely even a factor. Console commands appear on screen, you glitch through the environment, animations are missing, hit detection is crazy and the AI is all over the place. I don't know, even though it's in alpha I expected a little more for the £3 I paid.
I don't want to be too negative as I see they're planning to update the look of the game and other things too, so hopefully it gets fixed and they can improve the game as I feel like any stealth game has potential to be great. One of the highlights was the 3D map system, but there's a lot of improvements to be made. I'd recommend avoiding at this state but might be worth keeping an eye on.
More_Badass
Member
Some absolutely brilliant Besiege builds in this video
https://youtube.com/watch?v=EUnjxftU6r0
https://youtube.com/watch?v=EUnjxftU6r0
Much appreciated impressions, thanks!
And the footage looks crazily glitched, wtf. Releasing in such a state doesnt sound like the smartest idea.
Cheers for that interesting read.
It's all fine and well quoting minecrafts pricing structure and i am sure if his game was just as successful it would have worked but minecraft has become a phenomenal success and has gone well against the grain.
As the last news update for his website was nearly a year ago to the day i guess sales didn't go that great unfortunately by being vocal about never being on sale it doesn't look like it will ever achieve great numbers unless he decides to lose face.
SecondVariety
Member
I'm really surprised that 'Starr Mazer' isn't funded yet.
http://www.highdefdigest.com/news/s...rr-mazer-is-a-kickstarter-worth-funding/20814
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/imagosfilms/starr-mazer/posts
12 days in, and it's not even halfway to its $160,000 goal. Granted, they could just make the game anyway and see if it sells, but it's hardly moved over the last week. That could be because of low visibility, or because there isn't the right name attached. Otherwise, the look and the overall design of the game seem completely bankable.
The cool response suggests the game would have a hard time on Steam, but then again maybe there are just too many kickstarter projects.
http://www.highdefdigest.com/news/s...rr-mazer-is-a-kickstarter-worth-funding/20814
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/imagosfilms/starr-mazer/posts
12 days in, and it's not even halfway to its $160,000 goal. Granted, they could just make the game anyway and see if it sells, but it's hardly moved over the last week. That could be because of low visibility, or because there isn't the right name attached. Otherwise, the look and the overall design of the game seem completely bankable.
The cool response suggests the game would have a hard time on Steam, but then again maybe there are just too many kickstarter projects.
Hm, don't think there's too many KS projects going on now, it's really the perfect time to launch a campaign what with the busy season still being one month away and all.
The game is going for a highly novel genre mix and as it happens, fans of one genre might not be enamoured with the other (adventure game fans especially can be very traditionalist, and even if they aren't, bullet hell shooters don't exactly have wide appeal).
But anyway, I'm sure it's gonna make it. I'm certainly intrigued.
Dog Problems
Banned
I think he's just been too busy working on his next game to update the site but I'd like to know how it's worked out for him. If I were on Twitter I'd ask.
More_Badass
Member
In the KS thread, there are current 26 projects listed. 6 are funded already, 2 were canceled, a few like Children of Morta will definitely get funded, and the rest seem iffy at best
---
Another cool free game courtesy of Rock Paper Shotgun. Man, I love how that site focuses on indies as much as AAA
Opoid - Free (PC, Browser)
http://duneworld.itch.io/opoid
"Opoids voids are expansive, colourful, and deadly. Its a treasure hunt within two-tone levels, strange worlds we enter through doors floating in space. What seems like a pleasant wander em up becomes a bit of an explore-o-DONT-TOUCH-THAT-ITLL-KILL-YOU. One level appears to be an homage to Frogger, only with zooming tugboats and assault rifles. Its surreal to explore and exciting to look at"
35-45s in PSML - Didnt really want to watch too many more until i've played it tbh.
Maybe, still anyone interested in buying it and doing a little research could to see that and think - dead game not going to bother.
Shame really as others have said interesting concept.
OP impressions:
All the Way Down
A short adventure game that stops as soon as it starts to get interesting. I generally liked the atmhosphere, but the puzzles are all very simplistic. Cute 5 minute time waster, but not really recommendable overall.
An Untitled Story
Played it yeeears ago and I got to admit, it doesnt quite hold up as well as I thought it would. The controls are not really all that concise, the game is a bit slow and the obstacles feel a bit uninteresting. Its not "bad" by any means, but it certainly shows its age. Still if you want a platformy Metroidvania, its a nice throwback.
Anoxemia
Didnt play it for long, but the underwater navigation/movement was rather annoying, animations arent too convincing and the level design seems a bit uninspired as well. If anyone played more of it and sees a higher quality game in it later, let me know.
Artificial Immunity
Small highscore game. Mechanically works good enough, but its a bit lacking too much. The more I think about it, the more it seems like a super super basic version of the planet defending of Cosmochoria.
---------------------------------------------
Highly recommended:
Recommended:
An Untitled Story
Decent:
All the Way Down
Not recommended:
Anoxemia
Artificial Immunity
----------------------------------------------
Done with the A's, onto Besiege!
All the Way Down
A short adventure game that stops as soon as it starts to get interesting. I generally liked the atmhosphere, but the puzzles are all very simplistic. Cute 5 minute time waster, but not really recommendable overall.
An Untitled Story
Played it yeeears ago and I got to admit, it doesnt quite hold up as well as I thought it would. The controls are not really all that concise, the game is a bit slow and the obstacles feel a bit uninteresting. Its not "bad" by any means, but it certainly shows its age. Still if you want a platformy Metroidvania, its a nice throwback.
Anoxemia
Didnt play it for long, but the underwater navigation/movement was rather annoying, animations arent too convincing and the level design seems a bit uninspired as well. If anyone played more of it and sees a higher quality game in it later, let me know.
Artificial Immunity
Small highscore game. Mechanically works good enough, but its a bit lacking too much. The more I think about it, the more it seems like a super super basic version of the planet defending of Cosmochoria.
---------------------------------------------
Highly recommended:
Recommended:
An Untitled Story
Decent:
All the Way Down
Not recommended:
Anoxemia
Artificial Immunity
----------------------------------------------
Done with the A's, onto Besiege!
SecondVariety
Member
That's a good attitude. I'm all for the genre mix, and hopefully it will get funded and made, and have a chance to win over these one genre fans.
Ryo Hazuki
Member
Standpoint - Released: February 19th | Price: TBA (PC)
Early Video Preview & Impressions: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8hxJz1W6kJA
Played this game in early alpha almost a year ago to the day. The game is finally being released on February 19th to Steam and I'm really looking forward to it. It's gone through a lot of changes since and I'm glad to see the developer's kept at it even after a failed Kickstarter.
Got an early preview build and enjoyed my time with it. If you like first-person puzzle games like Antichamber there will probably something here you'll enjoy. It's a good mix of quick reflexes and thoughtful planning and it's pretty satisfying creating a good chain of wall hopping, gravity defying moves to get to your objective. Looking forward to the full game and what other mechanics they bring to the table in the other levels.
http://unrulyattractions.com/standpoint
First-person puzzle platformer where you manipulate gravity to overcome obstacles and explore a series of worlds based on emotions.
Early Video Preview & Impressions: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8hxJz1W6kJA
Played this game in early alpha almost a year ago to the day. The game is finally being released on February 19th to Steam and I'm really looking forward to it. It's gone through a lot of changes since and I'm glad to see the developer's kept at it even after a failed Kickstarter.
Got an early preview build and enjoyed my time with it. If you like first-person puzzle games like Antichamber there will probably something here you'll enjoy. It's a good mix of quick reflexes and thoughtful planning and it's pretty satisfying creating a good chain of wall hopping, gravity defying moves to get to your objective. Looking forward to the full game and what other mechanics they bring to the table in the other levels.
MrNinjaSquirrel
Neo Member
I can maybe understand this for a single player game, but for something that requires other players to be enjoyable, unless your game becomes hugely popular and stays that way not having sales to lure in newcomers is just going to slowly (maybe not even that slowly) cause your game to kill itself.
I understand why the developer decided to never have sales, but he's cutting his nose off to spite his face, and though I don't know what kind of sales he got/expected I can't imagine it's substantial if the game is already dead less than a year later.
More_Badass
Member
Cool, I remember playing the super early build last year as well, and like you in that video, remembering finding it super intuitive. Very interested to check out the game now.
Dawww, we already included There Came an Echo when the Kickstarter happened in March 2013! Hurry up with your game, so I dont need to wait another 2 years for my Kickstarter pledge to pay off. Also, you are already popular enough anyway
I'll add a new post to the upcoming section, since its been a while and the release is about to happen
<3Dawww, we already included There Came an Echo when the Kickstarter happened in March 2013! Hurry up with your game, so I dont need to wait another 2 years for my Kickstarter pledge to pay off. Also, you are already popular enough anyway
I'll add a new post to the upcoming section, since its been a while and the release is about to happen
More_Badass
Member
Feep, I got to ask: I've never been a fan of voice command. Do you feel the experience would be diminished by not using voice command?
More_Badass
Member
BlazeRush - $9.99 (PC, Mac, Linux, PS3)
http://blazerush.com
BlazeRush is a dynamic arcade racing survival game with no health, no levelling and no brakes!
You can assemble a team of friends to play in local or online multiplayer, choose a car to your taste and chase, blow up and cut off!
Adapt your style and tactics to new enemies, obstacles and tracks.
Haha, all good! And yeah, Greenlight is a weird place. A lot of games get through by doing the whole "free keys for votes" thing. Which I don't really agree with, and I don't think Valve enjoys it either.
THE GREAT STORY OF A MIGHTY HERO - £3.99 (PC)
Didnt see this one earlier apols if its already been mentioned - was released on the 20th Jan on Desura
Just incase your interested its on dig just now as the dailygame for 3 days - $0.99 or pay more than the average and get 2 keys.
http://www.dailyindiegame.com/content_main.html
http://www.desura.com/games/the-great-story-of-a-mighty-hero
"A great misfortune has fallen upon our world. The death has vanished. Nobody dies here, all dead come back.
Our world is exhausted and soon will nothing be left from it.
But there was a Prophecy, proclaiming about Mighty Hero, who would come and bring death back.
For thousands of years people awaited hіs coming through the portal, still noone came from it, except our dead. But now the Prophecy came true - you are here..."
Didnt see this one earlier apols if its already been mentioned - was released on the 20th Jan on Desura
Just incase your interested its on dig just now as the dailygame for 3 days - $0.99 or pay more than the average and get 2 keys.
http://www.dailyindiegame.com/content_main.html
Diminished, not necessarily, but altered, yes. At the moment, giving a KB/M command (highlighting a soldier and right-clicking on a location, for instance) actually prompts your partner-in-crime to give the voice command in your stead. Narratively, the game is hyper-strict on never breaking the verisimilitude of "these are real people and you cannot control real people with a mouse".
The game is still of moderate strategic depth and highly, HIGHLY narrative based, so those elements are obviously very much in play.
More_Badass
Member
Besiege
From the moment you start Besiege, the polish put in the game is evident. The two-man team behind Spiderling Games have been working on Besiege since late 2013 and it shows in every aspect of the game, from the slick menu designs to the building UI that makes constructing vehicles effortless. It's the little details that stand out: wood beams snap in half when broken, blood stains your blades and the ground, your structure collapses and falls apart realistically when aflame, buildings crumble under the might of your cannon fire or swinging maces.
The current version of Besiege offers fifteen levels, with more to come in future updates. While your objectives are not that complex (ranging from destroying a specific building, destroying a certain amount of enemies, to transporting resources), building something that can steer effectively, withstand damage, and attack without breaking apart from recoil or movement can be tough. Half the fun in this game is experimenting and learning from your failures and tweaking your designs. Blocks at your disposal include everything from armor plating, pistons, Kerbal Space Program-style detachers, wings, and propellers to an arsenal of maces, cannons, and devastating saw blades. This toolset allows you to create all kinds of unstoppable killing machines. A mace-armed behemoth. A rolling windmill of death. A spring-loaded scorpion tail ending in a flamethrower. The variety of silly and creative builds you can create in Besiege is vast.
Splasher
Your paint arsenal is more than just a means of traversal; when faced with enemies, either while running or when locked in quick arena battles, each spray type reveals alternate offensive uses: your default water damaging foes, sticky red trapping enemies temporarily, and bouncy yellow knocking them back. Combining these abilities along with environment hazards like lasers and saw blades allows you to deal with the demo's foes and furthermore, hints at the kind of unique challenges that Splasher could deliver with more paint types, enemies, and hazards. I'm eager to see more of Splasher in the future
iO
iO is a physics-based precision/puzzle platformer. Behind its bright minimal style is a fun game about manipulating mass and momentum. Your goal in each level is reach to the exit, a task easier said than done when portals, gravity-swapping fields, unstable platforms, and other obstacles are in between. However your sphere has a trick up its sleeve, the ability to alter its size, either growing and shrinking. Changing size not only affects your...well, size, but also your weight, and learning how to use this ability is key to both reaching the exit and beating the par times
Size changing opens the door for a number of interesting and varied uses. Shrinking to reduce mass, and gain speed on a slope, then expanding to wall-jump, then shrinking again to become lighter and travel farther. Growing to brace against walls and control your descent down narrow passages. Using your size to push objects around and activate switches. iO doesn't reinvent the wheel by any means, but it's still a fun and challenging platformer worth a try.
---
1. Besiege
2. Splasher
3. iO
Wait, you saw those GIFs and you still want impressions? Fine
From the moment you start Besiege, the polish put in the game is evident. The two-man team behind Spiderling Games have been working on Besiege since late 2013 and it shows in every aspect of the game, from the slick menu designs to the building UI that makes constructing vehicles effortless. It's the little details that stand out: wood beams snap in half when broken, blood stains your blades and the ground, your structure collapses and falls apart realistically when aflame, buildings crumble under the might of your cannon fire or swinging maces.
The current version of Besiege offers fifteen levels, with more to come in future updates. While your objectives are not that complex (ranging from destroying a specific building, destroying a certain amount of enemies, to transporting resources), building something that can steer effectively, withstand damage, and attack without breaking apart from recoil or movement can be tough. Half the fun in this game is experimenting and learning from your failures and tweaking your designs. Blocks at your disposal include everything from armor plating, pistons, Kerbal Space Program-style detachers, wings, and propellers to an arsenal of maces, cannons, and devastating saw blades. This toolset allows you to create all kinds of unstoppable killing machines. A mace-armed behemoth. A rolling windmill of death. A spring-loaded scorpion tail ending in a flamethrower. The variety of silly and creative builds you can create in Besiege is vast.
Splasher
This colorful platformer takes the spray mechanic of Tag and Portal and mixes it with the fast-paced precision gameplay of Super Meat Boy. Equipped with his nozzle-pack, the titular Splasher uses an array of various colored paints to traverse gaps and evade the myriad hazards within the INKORP facility. Paint proves to be a versatile tool, allowing you to defy gravity and scramble along any surface or bounce to great heights and off walls. This isn't a game of careful planning and puzzles; in fact, aiming and movement are all done with the left stick (trust me, use a controller). Splasher is all about speed and movement, spraying on the go, mid-air or running across the ceiling.
Your paint arsenal is more than just a means of traversal; when faced with enemies, either while running or when locked in quick arena battles, each spray type reveals alternate offensive uses: your default water damaging foes, sticky red trapping enemies temporarily, and bouncy yellow knocking them back. Combining these abilities along with environment hazards like lasers and saw blades allows you to deal with the demo's foes and furthermore, hints at the kind of unique challenges that Splasher could deliver with more paint types, enemies, and hazards. I'm eager to see more of Splasher in the future
iO
Cheating a bit here, since these impressions are based on the not-yet-available mobile version rather than the PC version.
iO is a physics-based precision/puzzle platformer. Behind its bright minimal style is a fun game about manipulating mass and momentum. Your goal in each level is reach to the exit, a task easier said than done when portals, gravity-swapping fields, unstable platforms, and other obstacles are in between. However your sphere has a trick up its sleeve, the ability to alter its size, either growing and shrinking. Changing size not only affects your...well, size, but also your weight, and learning how to use this ability is key to both reaching the exit and beating the par times
Size changing opens the door for a number of interesting and varied uses. Shrinking to reduce mass, and gain speed on a slope, then expanding to wall-jump, then shrinking again to become lighter and travel farther. Growing to brace against walls and control your descent down narrow passages. Using your size to push objects around and activate switches. iO doesn't reinvent the wheel by any means, but it's still a fun and challenging platformer worth a try.
---
1. Besiege
2. Splasher
3. iO
aiat_gamer
Banned
Should I post the description for the games here or in that other thread?
More_Badass
Member
GOTY descriptions? Those go in the other thread