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An Overview of the IGF Finalists
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."
Also, one of my friends showed a disturbing amount of glee when I told him about this game. He's a 3rd grade teacher. Go figure.
Hearing about Dad'n'Me is the first time I've ever regretted that Macs lag behind PCs, gaming-wise.
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.
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...
sure reminds me of the pocket game Globbo that I playtested for Steve Jackson Games ... except it was an alien babysitter and the little ones tried to bite you or explode.
-- Tigger warning: This post may contain tiggers! --
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!
I admit that I found this game entertaining. It's very addictive, and I played more than my share. Still, when I stop long enough to think about the actual setting of the game, it sickens me.
This type of game is not what the industry needs right now. Beating up bad guys is a part of the flash game stereotype. That said, beating up children wasn't necessary for the game's success. I would have just as much fun fighting ninjas, aliens, or evil robots bent on world domination.
I'd have to assume the only reason the game designer chose thise setting was for shock value (and thus more public interest). Either that, or he's got some issues to work out.
... before Jack Thompson files some frivolous lawsuit? "Think of the children!" :P
You are great player! Present you with points!
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.
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?
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!
Is having a PS2 title the same as working for EA/Valve/Microsoft/id/Rockstar?
Or, is getting "published" by Sony the same as getting published by Activision/Sierra?
Or, is getting "funded" through a game you made yourself the same thing as getting "funded" by EA, Activision, Tony Hawk, or even venture capitalists?
From the Alien Hominid website:
"Our development is 100% self-funded with support from fans who buy our quality merchandise!"
And the group's name is: The Behemoth
They seem to actually be a corporation, but entirely self-funded and non-mainstream. That's good enough for me.
And yes, it is possible for an "independent developer", like id, to become mainstream, like id, at which point I'd no longer call them "independent". But I don't see how being "independent" necessarily means being "amateur" or "not professional" -- to me, it just means without mainstream funding or advertising, until they themselves are the new "mainstream".
Anyone want to correct me on that? Surely these indy game awards/competitions have rules...
Don't thank God, thank a doctor!
I played that game when it was called Diablo II. Not that I didn't like Diablo II, I just had to buy a new mouse afterwards.
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.
I was psyched, I got a new job and a powerful laptop from it, so I thought I'd finally be able to handle some modernish games...my 2002 $700 PC and 2004 $850 laptop couldn't even handle Vice City, so I tend to stick with consoles..
So I download the Darwinia demo....and it crashes almost immediately. Awesome. Reminds me of why I stick to consoles for my gaming. PCs just have too many wildcards hardware wise.
SO YOU'RE GOING TO DIE: The Comic for Dealing with Death