IndieCade dubs itself as the “Sundance of the videogame industry” but there is a something very different about IndieCade. At a film festival, like Sundance, a person can only experience a movie in so many ways. For instance, Sundance has featured some of the more cutting edge formats for watching films (VR, 3D, Etc. in Sundance’s New Frontier). However, IndieCade showcases interactive games and therefore the malleable game experience can change depending on the user. As a gamer, this important characteristic is what makes IndieCade so interesting and different from a film festival like Sundance. An experience while gaming is typically more personal, no matter if the game is in 3rd person or 1st person, and this to me is why IndieCade is so enthralling and why it is so exciting to see fresh and innovative ideas at IndieCade.
Indie games have increased in popularity over the past decade within the gaming community. However, indie games are still a sub-genre within the gaming community. The volume of indie games being developed and the relatively difficult circumstances for exposure are just some of the reasons why IndieCade is so important to the gaming community. IndieCade takes on the difficult task of exposing some of the best and most creative independently developed games and showcasing games that would normally have a more difficult time getting coverage or praise.
With this introduction in mind I’d like to tell you a bit about some of the games that stood out the most to me at IndieCade 2016. However, my interest mainly spans in that of video games and not as much in the other very creative formats featured at IndieCade.
Growbot:
Release Date: TBA
Platform: TBA
Website/Social Media: growbotgame.com
Twitter @growbotgame
Facebook: facebook.com/growbotgame
Growbot is a fantastically illustrated 2D game that is being developed by Dumpling Media. I was lucky to meet with Dumpling Media’s Lisa Evans who is an Illustrator turned game developer and is creating the entire Growbot game herself. Growbot stood out to me right away because the game is developed for all skill levels, meaning that you would need no to very little experience in gaming to understand the mechanics of the game. The unique player control that only uses a mouse for movement could be played by virtually anyone. Meaning that a person of nearly any age could enjoy the delicate details in both the storyline and the illustrations.
To read more about Growbot click here.
Four Sided Fantasy:
Release Date: August 2016
Available on: Steam, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Windows, Mac OS
Website: foursidedfantasy.com
Twitter @SerenityForge
Facebook: facebook.com/SerenityForge or facebook.com/foursidedfantasygame
Four Sided Fantasy is another intricate game that captured my attention at IndieCade this year. The game was developed by Ludo Land and published by Serenity Forge. I came into the game not really knowing the premise or how the game operated but I quickly fell in love with the game’s unique maneuvering functions. As a player you move through the side scrolling game much like Pac-Man or Mrs. Pac-Man would in order to solve puzzles and get to the other side of the map. However, you can isolate the movement in particular moments to figure out ways to advance from one end of the stage to the other. The movement makes for an amazingly integrated concept that allows movement and puzzle to work together seamlessly.
To read more about Four Sided Fantasy click here.
DOBOTONE:
Website: videogamo.com/dobotone/
Facebook: facebook.com/DOBOTONE
Twitter: @Videogamo
Is being developed by Videogamo and was probably one of the more unique video game devices at IndieCade. DOBOTONE is designed as a standalone device, meaning that the game is developed on its own system. DOBOTONE is explicitly designed as a party game therefore the controls are not very complex but very fun to play with. The game is made for 5 people to play at a time; one person is central to the device and controls the speed, size, and other aspects of the game through the control panel. Meanwhile, four other people fight each other for points. Overall, it’s an amazingly fun game and you can easily mess around with friends and have a great time.
BOTOLO:
Release Date: Late 2016 Available on: Steam
Website: ianiselsewhere.com
Twitter: @botologame
BOTOLO is a two-player game that I first stumbled upon in the eSports section of IndieCade. The game had an interesting concept that followed king-of-the-hill style goals but took an interesting play on the game most people know from popular FPS games. Players fought over quadrants on various maps. In order to take over a quadrant a player had to go over the white ball, which then activates a shield. After the player was able to stand within the circle for the necessary period of time that quadrant would be claimed as theirs signified by the player’s color (red or blue). The player could choose to have various powers to help them take over a quadrant. These powers include: Dash, Silk, Ghost, Wind, Poke, Throne, Stim. In order to win at that map the person had to take over more than half of the map with their color. My favorite part of this game was not the cool visual style but rather the sound effects, which you have to check out for yourself.
Everything
Release Date: TBA
Platform: PlayStation 4
Wesbite: davidoreilly.com
Twitter: @eeverythingg
Is a game that I saw at E3 this year and had been wanting to try ever since hearing about the initial concept. Although my playtime at IndieCade was limited, I really got a good feel for the game. Everything is being developed by David OReilly an unconventional game developer who began dabbling in video games after designing the alien video game sequence played by Joaquin Phoenix in Her. This is David OReilly’s second video game following the game Mountain. Everything is more interactive than OReilly’s previous works in the sense that you can play as everything. The game has a very open feel to it and really can make for precarious situations in which you control a tree, goat, or tractor—well I mean you can control everything in the game. Everything seems like it will be a really fun game to experience more so in the future and just mess around with.
EarthNight
Release Date: December 2016 Platform: Playstation 4
Website: cleaversoft.com
Twitter:@cleaversoft
Facebook:facebook.com/cleaversoft
Last but not least is the game Earth Night. In this game, Earth has been rampaged by dragons and as a 14 year old girl or unemployed photographer you must attempt to save the world. The game was developed by Cleaversoft and overall is a fun experience. The game uses simplistic controls to help the player run across dragons’ backs and attempt to stop them from taking over the world. Although the controls are simplistic the real challenge remains in timing jumps or how fast you should run and really is a fun little challenge. This is another great game to play with friends or on your own.
IndieCade as always was an amazing experience and I highly recommend visiting if you have a chance. I would even recommend taking children in the future, especially if they have an interest in creating games of their own; as this is a great place for learning about game development and publishing. It’s really an incredible opportunity to play games that have so many innovative ideas and it’s even more of a treat to have a chance to meet the game creators and discuss their new ideas. Also be sure to keep your eye out for many of the amazing games featured at IndieCade by visiting the festivals website indiecade.com and check out the IndieCade’s 2016 award winners here.