A group of veteran and newcomer Xbox Live Indie Game developers are planning a coordinated release promotion to attract attention to new games being released for the service in December.
The Indie Games Winter Uprising -- which plays on Microsoft's annual Summer of Arcade XBLA game promotion -- will see 14 games released to the XBLIG service in the first week in December for anywhere from 80 to 400 Microsoft Points ($1 to $5).
Among the titles being released as part of the promotion for the Xbox 360's peer-reviewed hobbyist games area include:
- Cthulhu Saves the World (Zeboyd Games)
The sophomore effort from Zeboyd Games, maker of satirical RPG send up Breath of Death VII: The Beginning.
- Radiangames Crossfire 2 (Radiangames)
The follow-up to the Geometry Wars-style dual-stick shooter with new modes, enemy types and weapons.
- ZP2KX: Zombies and Pterodactyls (Ska Studios)
A jetpack-powered zombie carnage game from James Silva, creator of I MAED A GAM3 W1TH Z0MB1ES!!!1 1NIT!!!1 and The Dishwasher: Dead Samurai.
- Soulcaster 2 (MagicalTimeBean)
A sequel to the Gauntlet-inspired March Indie Games release from MagicalTimeBean.
"If you thought that the XBox Live Indie Games service was just filled with massage apps, clones, and garbage, think again!" writes Zeboyd Games' Robert Boyd, who's organizing the event. "We are fighting back against mediocrity and lameness in the best way we know how – by releasing amazing games..."
"Mark your calendars, because the first week of December is going to be the best week of gaming the [Xbox Live Indie Games] service has ever seen," he continued.
Other titles being released as part of the promotion include Chu's Dynasty, Alpha Squad, Epic Dungeon, Break Limit, Decimation X3, Asteroids Do Concern Me, Hypership Out of Control, Aphelion: Episode Two: Wings of Omega, Ubergridder, and Rickenbacker vs. the Aliens
Microsoft recently moved indie games back to listing in the games section of the Xbox 360 dashboard after an outcry from some developers when the titles were moved to their own standalone section of the menu. earlier this month.
Although it would be too tricky to start imposing stricter standards on Indie Games, it would be a good idea if more developers got together to do big, coordinated releases so people know that a lot of good games are now out.
This sounds pretty cool. One thing though - the website is nice, but don't drop gamers into a page with a wall of text - get some images of the games on there asap! Good luck!
Seconded on both counts. This is awesome, but having to click through to the individual game webpages and then half of them not having screenshots is not cool.
We should have some screenshots on the site soon. Also, we're working on a trailer to show off all of the games in the promotion that should be out sometime next week.
I realise this is a 'community' effort, but for future promotions it is very, very important you have the screenshots & trailer done long BEFORE the promotions start.
By the time I read about you on Gamasutra (or anywhere else) it's vital that your site (the finished, pictures 'n' trailer version) is already up.
If people go there now, and have a less-than-perfect impression, there's a risk they tell their friends about it. Best to give them the best impression you can first, THEN have them tell *that* to their friends.
I love the idea, and I hope for the sake of the developers involved and the service as a whole that this is successful. I know I'll be keeping an eye on the service at the beginning of December.
We're going to wait and see how this one does before planning future promotions, but if we do decide to organize another one, we'll announce details about how to participate here - http://forums.create.msdn.com/forums/71.aspx
was this originally titled as such in response to the temporary placement in the 'Specialty Shops' section? the Uprising name doesn't really seem to make any sense to me. sounds like they are wholeheartedly supporting MS's baby. not that there is anything wrong with that. 8)
i think my recent release might be alot more of an uprising, but i'm not going to pretend i won't use XBLIG in the future. but for now i want to see if i can sell direct myself with a Pay What You Want price system, and have some success via that TRULY INDIE of indies approach. 8)
if you have an interest in Rock Band 3's Pro Mode, but wish it was for PC,
OR if you'd like something similar'ish (but more intuitive/accessible IMO), that doesn't require expensive instruments,
OR you are just interested in a game that can actually help you develop actual melodic skills.....
check it out. download the whole game as a free trial at http://PlayRealNotes.com!
Don't worry about the name. Summer of Arcade is not original either, but it stuck.
If they can really push good titles, I might be buying some. And I suggest you should not give up on XBLIG either. It's essentially an *almost* free way of publishing/advertising your work.
Soulcaster and I MAED A GAM3 W1TH Z0MB1ES!!!1 1NIT!!!1 are two of my top 5 favorite Indie games on XBL. It's exciting to see new work from both of these guys. This sounds like Winter Uprising is showcasing the best of what XBLIG has to offer. I'm hoping for a success.
Although it would be too tricky to start imposing stricter standards on Indie Games, it would be a good idea if more developers got together to do big, coordinated releases so people know that a lot of good games are now out.
Best of luck to you folks. If you can swing this, maybe Xbox Indie could yet become a proper, survivable marketplace.
However....
I realise this is a 'community' effort, but for future promotions it is very, very important you have the screenshots & trailer done long BEFORE the promotions start.
By the time I read about you on Gamasutra (or anywhere else) it's vital that your site (the finished, pictures 'n' trailer version) is already up.
If people go there now, and have a less-than-perfect impression, there's a risk they tell their friends about it. Best to give them the best impression you can first, THEN have them tell *that* to their friends.
Thanks!
i think my recent release might be alot more of an uprising, but i'm not going to pretend i won't use XBLIG in the future. but for now i want to see if i can sell direct myself with a Pay What You Want price system, and have some success via that TRULY INDIE of indies approach. 8)
if you have an interest in Rock Band 3's Pro Mode, but wish it was for PC,
OR if you'd like something similar'ish (but more intuitive/accessible IMO), that doesn't require expensive instruments,
OR you are just interested in a game that can actually help you develop actual melodic skills.....
check it out. download the whole game as a free trial at http://PlayRealNotes.com!
If they can really push good titles, I might be buying some. And I suggest you should not give up on XBLIG either. It's essentially an *almost* free way of publishing/advertising your work.