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An Overview of the IGF Finalists

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the good-games-small-companies dept.

Gamespy has a great piece looking at this year's finalists for the Independent Games Festival. Awards for the festival will be given out next week at the Game Developer's Conference. From the article: "From the title, you'd guess that Dad 'N Me was a charming interactive tale about a father's love for his child. That's exactly the kind of wholesome headline-grabber that this industry needs. Right? Sure. Except this is not that game. No, Dad 'N Me is all about beating up children on a playground. I'm not kidding you. You're a purple wrecking machine, and your job is to smack the crap out of little weeble-wobble-shaped children using your head, hands, feet ... garbage cans, lawn mowers, propane tanks ... even other children."

8 of 62 comments (clear)

  1. Dad 'N Me by bwthomas · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Reminds me of a cardgame called 'catholic school girls'; I think it could be interesting.

    I have to say though that i was kindof disappointed in the amount of innovation. I would hope that at a festival like this games featuring interesting (original) gameplay and innovative controls, design, story lines, &c. would rise to the top. Those mentioned in the article, though novel, don't really inspire me. Though, it reminded me how much fun it would be to work for a game design house.

    1. Re:Dad 'N Me by Sj0 · · Score: 2, Insightful

      This sounds good on the surface, but the truth of the matter is that the best kind of innovation takes something old and tired and breathes new life into it. For example, Half life was terribly innovative because of it's implementation of the plot, but it was still just a first person shooter.

      The major problem with gaming intellectuals who demand innovation in all arenas is that true innovation doesn't come from a vacuum; it arrives either because the ingredients for the idea have accumulated, as was the case in quakes mlook, because hardware has finally come to the point that the innovation can be implemented properly, as was the case when Wolfenstein 3d introduced the viable first person shooter, or because someone with appropriate training has taken a non-gaming discipline and applied it to a gaming environment, as was the case when first person tactical military simulation became a viable genre.

      Demanding innovation point-blank is a recipe for failure, as a thousand "Innovative" yet unplayable games will attest to.

      --
      It's been a long time.
  2. Disgusting. Sad. by Announcer · · Score: 2, Insightful

    That is just plain sick. I think it adds fuel to the fires of the anti-videogame crowd when something like this actually gets an "award"... not only that, it's really odd-looking.

    --
    Willie...
  3. Come On... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Come on, this is a whole event. Can we talk about something other than the most violent game there?

    What about Darwinia http://www.darwinia.co.uk/? How about Tribal Trouble http://tribaltrouble.com/? Crazy Ball http://www.atomicelbow.com/?

    let the entire competition shine, not just the one crappy flash game that gets media attention!

  4. Re:This game gets an award... by GoddessOfDeath · · Score: 2, Insightful

    I wasn't, in fact complaining about bully - I was saying that in bully, one is a kid standing up to the bullies (and the school board is against this), and in this game, one is a big kid beating up little kids (and it wins an award). So - I was just commenting that this is a little strange, and, if anything, things should be vice versa.

  5. The term is lost... by Taulin · · Score: 2, Insightful

    The term 'Independant Game Company' has forever changed. When I hear it, I think of un-funded, garage types. Dad N Me was made by the Hominid group, who now have a PS2 title. Doesn't that put them in the professional rankings outside of independant?

  6. Which game? by SanityInAnarchy · · Score: 2, Insightful

    RTFA.

    I checked out the games that would run on my amd64 Linux, that weren't real time strategy.

    Strange Attractions is strangely addicting. It's got that arcade feel of being incredibly frustrating to get good at, and still often frustrating when you're good at it, but interesting gameplay that keeps you coming back for more. And unlike most arcade games, sometimes you need patience. Lots and lots of patience.

    Tube Twist was fun. Reminds me of The Incredible Machine, and that's a good thing. Also reminds me of Newton's Dream, at the Franklin Institute. This one made me want to buy the full game, especially as it shows you about 5 or 6 new, completely different parts that you "unlock", but aren't able to use, as that's right where the demo ends.

    Neither of these strikes me as something to beat up developers over.

    Yes, I know you're talking about Dad'n'Me. But next time, read the damn article, and learn one of the fundamental principles of Freedom of Speech -- your Freedom to Ignore.

    --
    Don't thank God, thank a doctor!
  7. Purple, eh? by splutty · · Score: 2, Insightful
    You're a purple wrecking machine, and your job is to smack the crap out of little weeble-wobble-shaped children


    Go Barney!

    But seriously. How is this different from playing a game where you have to kill 1000's of asians? Or where you get bonus points for hitting old grannies? Or for that matter showing pictures of dismembered bombing victims on TV? Oh well.. I guess there's a hypocrit in all of you. (Uhm. US! Of course I meant us!)
    --
    Coz eternity my friend, is a long *ing time.