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IGF 2008 Main Competitors Announced
GameSetWatch points out that the big list of entrants for the 2008 Independent Games Festival is now online. Can't tell the winners without a program, right? GSW points out some of the names to watch in this year's showdown: "Gish 2 - Gish 2 is the long awaited sequel to the IGF 05 grand prize winner Gish. In Gish 2 you take the role of physics based blob whose movement and control are physically modeled around the shape and texture of his body. When his girlfriend Brea is murdered, Gish sets out to the Isle of the Dead to make a deal with Quietus (the god of death) to bring her back to life. Noitu Love 2: Devolution - In Noitu Love 2: Devolution you're thrown into a classic action and beat-em-up scenario but with a twist to the gameplay that creates a new and fluent style of play using the mouse. Pixeljunk Racers - Simple addictive puzzle racing game based loosely on slot-car racing, with 32 types of game and up to 7 players simultaneously."
There are a lot of excellent looking games there. It's nice to see turnout even larger this year than in the past. From the IGF website: 2007 - 141 games entered; 2006 - 118 games entered; 2005 - 78 games entered; 2004 - 111 games entered. And now 2008, with 173.
On another note, I've looked through a few of the games, and some have public demos, some don't. I'm not generally interested in game hype, I prefer a hands-on experience. It's unfortunate that the ones with demos don't have extra links to a download.
Another year, another group of stellar IGF entrants. Unlike two years ago, where Darwinia seemed to be the clear favorite going into the competition, I don't see an immediate front-runner. On the other hand, there seems to be more innovation this year than any previous year. It feels like indie game developers are gaining some confidence in their wacky designs: while there are plenty of traditional strategy, SHMUP, and platformer style games, there are also quite a number of truly unique games as well.
Another thing to note is that every year I seem to know less and less about the entrants. Partly this is because there are many MORE entrants (173 this year) but also because there doesn't seem to be a centralized place where I can follow indie games anymore. TIGSource is starting to be my primary reading these days, though their coverage (like GameTunnel's) tends to be a mite skewed towards a particular style of game.
Anyways, in my cursory glance through the entries, these are the ones that stood out to me. It's heavy on titles that aren't out -- it's easier to see potential in something you haven't actually experienced.
Gish 2
gish2.com/
Hard to ignore this one, but my prediction is that if it's an evolution of the original concept rather than a revolution it will be rewarded by customers but not the IGF.
World of Goo
2dboy.com/
Another game about sticky balls. Based on a much smaller experimental title that got huge critical acclaim. My guess is World of Goo FTW.
The Path
www.tale-of-tales.com/ThePath/
Horror and Little Red Riding Hood. Production values look stellar. One to watch.
Schizoid
www.torpexgames.com/
A coop gauntlet style shooter. Looks like a ton of fun.
Threadspace: Hyperbol
www.hyperbol.com/
An impressive and unique strategy hybrid. Multiplayer focused games haven't fared that well in the IGF in the past, but this one certainly makes an argument for its inclusion.
Tree of Life + Axiom Overdrive
www.reflexive.com
Reflexive has been known to put out some real pablum, but they also poured their hearts into the unique Wik & the Fable of Souls. These two titles could have promise, though to be honest, I have no idea what they are.
Altercation
www.alteraction.com
A text adventure that has a unique feel to it.
Fret Nice
www.fretnice.com/
Control a platformer with a Guitar Hero controller. Somewhere in the cobwebbed portions of my brain I remember several people speaking highly of this. Sounds interesting.
Soup du Jour
www.digital-eel.com/soup/
From Digital Eel, the makers of IGF-nom Weird Worlds. Is this something interesting or a casual-friendly portal sell-out?
Polychromatic Funk Monkey
www.farbs.org/games.html
A fun, simple puzzle game. Would be nice to see the concept expanded upon.
Immortal Defense
immortaldefense.com/
The best tower-defense game ever created. Probably not different enough from other titles of the same genre to pick up awards, but certainly notable.
Venture Arctic
www.venturearctic.com
Yes this is my game. I like it a lot. Unique gameplay, interesting topic.
Phew... what a great group of games.