Hi again, and welcome back to another post in my series about the IGF2011 finalists… If you’ve missed my previous entry, you can check it out here.
So, let’s get started!
I don’t usually get too excited about physics-based puzzlers, since I find them to be too finicky. But this one is interesting, since it plays with gravity. The idea is that objects of different colours get pulled by gravity in a different direction. For example, blue stuff might fall down, but green objects fall up. There is also objects that change the color of the affected object, for added effect and more creative puzzles. An interesting one, check out the video below:
This one is a very neat idea; I loved the first one. Basically, you have to reorganize the “level grid” to allow your character to progress… The usual assortment of keys and doors mechanics, associated to a fresh perspective and a clean aesthetic.
An interesting game for mobile platforms… I like ambitious games in these kind of platforms, instead of row-upon-row of puzzle games. This one is a 3d RPG, with controls that seem (from what I could gather) nice in this kind of environment (multitouch). I like the 3d graphics, very angular and such (I’m guessing for artistic and performance reasons).
I love rogue-like games… This one has the interesting variation that is balanced towards 10-minute games, which might make it viable for short breaks (and even for mobile platforms). Although this isn’t exactly a “rogue-like”, since it uses low-res retro graphics instead of the usual ASCII, it’s close enough for me to put it in the same category.
Ambition – Check; Co-op – Check; Procedurally-generated – Check. This game has everything I like, and looks good aswell!
This is a dungeon crawler (much in the vein of Diablo), with the possibility of co-op (which sadly not many games have).
Soldak Entertainment are no newcommers to indy game development, they’ve been at it since 2004, with 3 interesting titles already released (all RPGs, including this one), and it shows, since every game it’s been better polished than the previous one; and if there’s an important thing for an indy nowadays, to be able to stand out in a saturated market, is polish, polish, polish…
First things first: this game looks absolutely gorgeous! It’s a mix of tower defense and action-RPG, in which they have to defend the castle against a horde of enemies, using not only their quick reflexes, but also traps and defenses. Don’t know if this will work in practive (it’s two very different games, that are targeted at very different people), but the ideia is nice.
Oh, and did I mention that it looks absolutely lovely?! 🙂
Following the success of games like Farmville (maybe I’m being unfair, but that’s what comes to mind when I look at this one), this games puts you in charge of a virtual farm… but it’s much more complex than Farmville, having to manage work groups, seasons, different plantations, etc… It’s a tycoon game, but with cattle and crops!
This is another game that shows that even the simplest game concept can be extended further by creative thinking and polish…
This platformer has the interesting idea of instead of bestowing on the character special powers, it enables him to use the enemies in the game to help him progress; for example, he can grab a creature that makes him jump higher or further.
Graphically, the style is a bit confusing for my taste, but it has lots of work put into it.
This game seems to be totally awesome… a turn-based tactical game with a kind of “virtual reality” visual to it… The neat part about it is that all the turn takes effect at the same time, so you give instructions to all your team members, and then press go and see them execute, which demands a more tactical approach to the scenarios, since it’s harder to react to changing circumstances (so you have to plan to avoid sticky situations).
Terrible name, though…
And that’s it for this week’s coverage of the IGF games… next week we’ll have more, I hope!