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Coming Attractions: Indie & Esoterica Article
PC
PSP
DS
Xbox 360
PlayStation 3
Wii
Article
by
Oli Welsh
Page 2 of 2.
Page 1
Indie
Although there are no generic restrictions to this category at all - perhaps because of that - it's one of the easiest to define, once you've ruled out the obvious (Valve is technically an indie developer). Indie games are experimental games made by small, self-funded teams - sometimes teams of one - that might surface as freeware, self-published downloads, or on the download services Steam, Xbox Live Arcade, PSN and WiiWare. The visibility and reach of those networks made actual hits out of indie games like Braid, Audiosurf and World of Goo in 2008, so this is definitely an area to watch in 2009.
Star Attraction
Flower
On: PS3 / Developer: thatgamecompany / Publisher: Sony / Release: February
Pretension is an occupational hazard for indie game developers - when you're trying to expand videogaming's horizons single-handed and on a shoestring budget, it's excusable. thatgamecompany, creators of the beautiful chill-out game flOw (available on PSN, as this will be), really takes the biscuit though. It describes Flower thus:
"Our video game version of a poem, exploiting the tension between urban bustle and natural serenity. Player enters various flower's dreams to transform the world. And hopefully by the end of the journey, you change a little as well..."
We'll just leave that hanging, and concentrate on what we know: controlling a flower petal tumbling on the wind, you fly at speed around lush landscapes, accumulating swarms of petals, solving puzzles, and swinging the environment between pastoral and chaotic extremes as you go. An apt-for-once Sixaxis tilt control scheme and the glorious goal of starting a tidal wave of colour (see also: Okami, de Blob) tipped this to the top of our list. That, and the fact - unique in this selection - that we can be sure it will be commercially available soon.
Supporting Cast (in alphabetical order)
Feist
On: PC, Mac / Developer: Filthy Grip / Release: "In the coming months" / Website
One of indie games' most important contributions to gaming culture is in finding ways to engineer beautiful visuals without access to huge budgets, high-end technology and massive art teams. Feist is the belle of this year's ball: a 2D platformer rendered in haunting, hand-painted sihouette, seemingly starring one of those soot-things out of Spirited Away. The trailer is a must-see.
Machinarium
On: TBC / Developer: Amanita Design / Release: first half of 2009 / Website
Czech riddlers Amanita are masters of surreal, hand-painted, point-and-click puzzle adventures full of Heath Robinson contraptions to get lost in: you might be have stumbled across its Flash masterpieces, Samorost 1 and 2. Machinarium is its stab at a "full-scale adventure game", and its tale of a junked robot struggling against oppression looks stunning.
Retro/Grade
On: TBC / Developer: 24 Caret Games / Release: let's hope so / Website
How's this for high-concept: a 2D scrolling shmup you play backwards, swallowing your bullets as enemies appear out of nowhere and spit them out. Half Gradius, half Guitar Hero, it's difficult to know how much substance Retro/Grade will have - but it's the funniest game concept of 2009, hands down.
The Unfinished Swan
On: TBC / Developer: Ian Dallas / Release: late 2009 at best / Website
This could be the next Narbacular Drop (Portal's predecessor): an idea so strong we had to include it, even if its release this year is in doubt, and its title is awful. A "first-person painting game" set in a featureless white world, you have to reveal and navigate your environment by splattering paint on it. Watch and be amazed. It's being prototyped in XNA, which makes an Xbox 360 version a distinct possibility.
Other Players
Introversion (Darwinia) procedurally generates something or other in Subversion; Mario Galaxy meets Every Extend Extra in Plain Sight; Osmos, a hypnotic absorb-em-up; acrobatic platforming in CarneyVale Showtime; photo-navigation platforming in Snapshot (click the link, you'll see what we mean); sketch-generated content in Mightier; Dali-esque first-person fetish brawler, Zeno Clash; and the magnificent ibb and obb, although a 2009 release is just wishful thinking really, and this is no more than an excuse to mention it again.
Join us tomorrow at the slightly earlier time of 2pm GMT for the next instalment.
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Comments: 1-29 of 29 in total
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yellowParrot
12/01/09 @ 17:10
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I'm looking forward to The Misadventures of P.B. Winterbottom - hopefully they will announce what console it will be released on soon! Need pie.....
Edited 1 times,
most recently on 12/01/09 @ 17:10
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Some interesting stuff there.
It's a shame these sort of games are the fringe, the cult, the niche, where innovation usually happens and then filters down (over years) into the mainstream. Like any other medium, I suppose, but I can't help but wish that games were different. None of the big pubs will touch a real indie or esoteric game (EA think they're being adventurous when they do a new IP in an established genre). None of them seem to understand that you need a constant flow of new ideas, even if the games containing/sprouting from them are not commercially profitable. AFAI can see, big publishers would rather push out sequels and yearly reiterations and grind the medium into shit until it dies. I find it hard to believe, when they make millions in profit (not total revenue, clear net profit that they get to take home and gloat over), that they cannot fund, publish and distribute even one game like those listed by EG (especially considering the small dev teams and dev costs often involved). They'd be improving the medium and their own business interests in the long run, but no. |
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kinky_mong
12/01/09 @ 17:35
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But the essence of esoterica is games whose very strangeness and extremity is what makes them appealing. The circumstances of their creation defy logic, they laugh in the face of received wisdom and they revel in their cultish fringe cool, but they're not necessarily niche.
In short, games for the Wii that look like they might actually be good but will inevitably sell poorly because they're not aimed at young children or the "lifestyle" crew. |
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"No need to look forward to Carneyvale Showtime - it was released over a week ago on the 360's community games section. And very nice it is too."
I stumbled on this two days ago. Never heard of it, and it became the first community game I was willing to spend cash on ($5). Suprisingly fun, especially for only a fin. |
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Muramasa and Monster Hunter tri look immense, I'm surprised by the number of "core" games I'm looking forward to on Wii. The console is really starting to deliver.
Beyond them unsurprisingly it's the PC that has the most interesting gameplay concepts; Mightier, Snapshot and ibb & obb all look very special. |
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Vertical Stand
12/01/09 @ 19:20
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Enjoyed reading this feature, bookmarked the lot of em - FEIST would make for a wonderful PSP game if Sony were to sign it for being published, btw what about the Colony Wars esque No Gravity: The Plague of Mind for the PSP, thats 'indie' right, not on ze list? Why not? *waggles*.
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I hate to be a philistine, but I had a look at the tech demo for The Unfinished Swan and didn't see the point. I mean, it's functionally the same as a game where you have to explore a maze with a flashlight, only things that you've revealed stay revealed instead of going dark (or light, in this case) after you've moved away.
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CunningLinguist
13/01/09 @ 00:57
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What about Fat Princess? Or is that not indie/...esoterica (how you made me hate that word EG)
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Feist and Limbo have very very similar looks. I'll probably buy and play both :)
http://www.limbogame.org/ |
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marronthered
14/01/09 @ 02:51
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i thought heavy rain would have got a mention if only to shed more light on it for my sozzled caffeined up brain.
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Comments: 1-29 of 29 in total
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