This week on "Best Of Indie Games," we take a look at some of the top independent PC Flash/downloadable titles released over this last week.
The goodies in this edition include a retro-esque platformer featuring a bee-powered robot, the new iOS title from Super Mega Worm developer Deceased Pixel, a handful of Ludum Dare 23 picks, plus the follow-up to Runic Games' 2009 action-RPG Torchlight.
Here's some recent highlights from IndieGames.com:
Game Pick: 'Swords and Soldiers' (Ronimo Games, commercial indie)
"Packed with multiple campaigns, online multiplayer and the bonus DLC, Swords and Soldiers is a perfect example of how to make a casual game without skimping on depth and strategy."
Game Pick: 'Beeserker' (Sugar Rockets, browser)
"Beeserker! It is a wonderfully illustrated and playfully silly sidescrolling platformer sporting some smooth controls, parallax scrolling, a lovely soundtrack and one particularly odd protagonist."
Game Pick: 'War of the Human Tanks' (Fruitbat Factory, commercial indie)
"War of the Human Tanks is a strategy/visual novel hybrid title starring a cast of armored humanoid weapons. The game includes over 30 maps, and allows players to use resources earned from combat to purchase new abilities and upgrades between battles."
Game Pick: 'Recess Riot' (Deceased Pixel, commercial indie)
"Recess Riot is an arcade-styled action game divided into two gameplay modes: Jump and Dodge. In Jump, players must skip increasingly tricky jump rope patterns, while Dodge demands the ability to avoid and deflect incoming sports equipment."
Game Pick: 'Critter Crunch' (Capybara Games, commercial indie)
"Previously released for the PlayStation 3 and iOS platforms, Critter Crunch is an arcade-style puzzle game in which players grab, throw, and match colorful creatures throughout a lengthy single-player campaign."
Game Pick: 'Soul Searchin'' (Maxim Schoemaker, browser)
"A platformer that was originally developed for Ludum Dare 23, Maxim Schoemaker's Soul Searchin' is the story of someone taking soul searching to a rather literal level."
Game Pick: 'Rot Gut!' (Aidin Zolghadr, browser)
"An action-platformer set in the 1920s, Rot Gut will have you taking on the role of an agent who must undermine the machinations of seedy, underground mafia types."
Game Pick: 'Torchlight II' (Runic Games, commercial indie)
"Runic Games follows up on its 2009 action-RPG Torchlight with a sequel that boasts a deep character customization system and cooperative multiplayer via LAN or online. The interface has been significantly overhauled, and there's now a New Game+ mode to keep you busy."
Game Pick: 'Clean'Em Up' (Omidos Entertainment, commercial indie)
"Clean'Em Up puts players in control of an Upgradable Antivirus charged with protecting a PC's file system from viruses and other threats. The game's Back2Back Engine allows you to launch attacks from both the front and the rear of your ship."
Game Pick: 'Bosnobo - Primate Change' (GAMBIT Game Lab, browser)
"One of the seven games that were developed during the Summer 2012 of the Singapore-MIT Gambit Game Labs, Bosnobo: Primate Change is an interesting and relatively family-friendly look at bosnobo apes in a frigid, predator-filled winter land."
Game Pick: 'Encarmine' (Project BC, commercial indie)
"Originally created for Ludum Dare, Encarmine will have you playing as one of two demon-hunters, each of whom will have different perspectives on their search for a renegade spirit."
How is Torchlight an Indie game when they are owned or partially owned by a major online publisher like Perfect World? Great game, but lets not just toss the indie label on anything that is not from EA or Act/Blizz.
Huh, I didn't even realize they were owned by Perfect World. Not that that's necessarily a bad thing, but the (admittedly limited) glimpses of the team through interviews and whatnot I've seen had a very independent vibe. Maybe that just means PW is smartly keeping its hands off. Don't fix what ain't broke, etc.
Indie has many connotations these days, but in the end I think it relates to making a game following your own (person or studio) vision, without external influences. It doesn't matter where the money come as long as they don't influence the game itself.
About TL2, I decided I won't play it since it looks they repeated all the mistakes of D2 that Blizz worked so hard to remove in D3. Aside of those, it looks a pretty solid game, but it doesn't appeal to me personally because of those mistakes.
I also agree that Torchlight 2 is not an indie game. Anytime you get funding from a publisher you are not independently publishing the game. Thats what I always defined it as. It doesn't matter how much freedom they give you on what you create you are no longer independent.
No doubt, and no I would say its certainly not a bad thing. And from my understanding PW has done a great job in allowing them to do their thing. Imagine that, invest in a group because you like how they do things, and actually leave it alone so they can continue to do those things? Novel concept! heh
About TL2, I decided I won't play it since it looks they repeated all the mistakes of D2 that Blizz worked so hard to remove in D3. Aside of those, it looks a pretty solid game, but it doesn't appeal to me personally because of those mistakes.