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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.
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.
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.
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!