October 31st, 2012 | By Erik Johnson
Tagged in: indie links | indie links round-up | industry news
Developers trying to make games they like in genres they hate. A game more homages and references than you can shake a (joy)stick at. Developers who tried crowdfunding without Kickstarter or Indiegogo–and seem to be succeeding. All this and more, in today’s Indie Links.
Wot I Think: Cortex Command (Rock, Paper, Shotgun)
“Robot-building, base-constructing, side-scrolling, brain-protecting, physics-physicking slapstick tactical combat game Cortex Command finally has a campaign version and so is, in a sense, finished. It’s also out on Steam. Tim sent his own brain in to investigate.”
Derrick the Deathfin: Ecco Meets Sonic! (Hookshot Inc.)
“Released on PSN yesterday, Derrick the Deathfin is an underwater adventure about an angry teenage shark who must seek retribution for the death of his parents, turned into soup by unfeeling human scum. Okay, so we get games about vengeful aquatic animals every other week, but this one’s different. Spaced over 32 levels in 11 environments, it employs the most beautiful handicraft visuals, with every location and inhabitant designed to resemble a paper model.”
Who Needs Kickstarter? Prison Architect Devs Want Total Control (Gamasutra)
“At a time when Kickstarter is the way for developers to bypass publishers and pull in investments directly from fans, one indie studio has decided to cut out the middleman — to great effect. UK-based Introversion, best known for Uplink, Defcon, and Darwinia, recently launched a crowd-funding effort on its own website. It looks incredibly similar to Kickstarter, with the obvious bonus that there’s no other company taking a chunk of the intake.”
Retro City Rampage Review (IndieGames)
“After having a coffee at Sixbucks Coffee, enjoying a short stroll around the Secret Park of Primate Peninsula and telling a decidedly pixelated person that ‘Ken sent me’, I ended up in Retro City’s arcade. A lovely place I had robbed only a few days ago, and one that offered some excellent games indeed. Apparently the owner was too afraid of me to interfere with my enjoyment of brilliant indie inspired arcade games, that went as far as including a Virtual Boy 3D take on Meat Boy. Maybe my new tattoo by Toadstool scared him. Well, it was either that or the rocket launcher.”
F*ck This Jam (Joystiq)
“F*ck This Jam is all about anarchy on the indie scene, challenging developers to pick their most hated genre and create a brilliant game within it. Founder Rami Ismail isn’t doing this because he’s a sadist; he believes in the possibility for beauty in resentment. So far the top three most-hated genres submitted to F*ck This Jam are social, sports and racing games.”
Rhythm Of Colored Lines: The First Look At Sparpweed’s Minimalist Racer, Chalo Chalo (Venus Patrol)
“Looking every bit like an even further abstracted & awesomely organic take on Nintendo’s bit Generations cult-classic dotstream (the younger sibling of WiiWare’s light trax), Chalo Chalo is a new game from Sparpweed, the Dutch indies behind the recently featured co-op platformer ibb and obb.”
Review: Endless Space (Indie Game Reviewer)
“I’ve been playing Endless Space for about thirty hours, and I’ve stopped caring about it. Not like a jilted lover, who-gets-the-dog split; more like we’ve grown apart. Like it’s nobody’s fault, even though it’s less my fault. Endless Space and I had some good times, but, in the end, I felt like it was more style than substance. It made promises, then broke them. Towards the end, I just felt like nothing I did mattered, and I was just waiting for it to be over.”
Try And Guess How Many Gaming References Are In This Game (Hint: There’s Billions) (Kotaku)
“Kotaku video editor Chris Person and I are really into Retro City Rampage, which is a parody of just about… every game we played as kids.”
Erik Johnson (301 posts)