From the mouth of Patrick:
Browsing through my local gamestore's selection the other day, I gained an expanded appreciation for independent game developers. In a world filled with Halo clones, repetitive online RPGs and Sims expansion packs, it's comforting to know that there are companies out there still wanting to venture out into the unknown and try to genuinely get people trying new ideas. Those people are independent game developers, and in the past couple of years, more and more of them have been entering the spotlight.
The best success of an independent developer I've seen this year is
Audiosurf, a clever little game made by Dylan Fitterer. When this game was first announced in February of this year, I prepurchased the game the second I read the line "
Ride your music"
. I'm a huge music buff, and any game that promises me to experience my music in a new way certainly has my money. As well, I've also become a fan of the
Crazy Machines series of games, which is made by German company
FAKT Software. While their game hasn't reached the amazing success that
Audiosurf has (sadly, probably because it is a puzzle game), it's also done a lot of things that, in my mind, are things that set independently-made games above the rest.
So, as opposed to me praising both of these games like a salesman, I want to focus on a few of the many things that
Audiosurf and
Crazy Machines have done that set it aside from the rest of the mainstream games (and in
Audiosurf's case, have kept it on Steam's Top Seller's list since its release):
1. Breaking the Mold
Audiosurf is a difficult game to characterize, mainly because it's something
completely new. It's part racer, part puzzle, and part action. Call me crazy, but any developer gutsy enough to try something completely new right off the bat tells me that it's at least worth a shot.
2. Keeping it Simple
Even though
Audiosurf does something as adventurous as create a new genre, it keeps the premise very simple and easy to pick up. In any game, the key thing is to capture the player's interest right away, as opposed to making something needlessly complicated.
Crazy Machines does it as well, by having a very mild difficulty curve and actual useful tutorial sessions. Once you get started on the game, it still gets progressively more challenging, but it's not head-smashing frustrating.
3. Reasonable Price
While games have gotten a little cheaper in terms of the money-to-playtime ratio, independent game developers have taken the opposite approach of their mainstream counterparts by offering their games cheaper in order to sell a higher volume of product. Working in retail, I can confirm that this is an excellent way to spark interest in their product. Heck, at only $10USD, I'd consider
Audiosurf more of an impulse buy than an actual purchase.
4. Knowing Raw Multiplayer Isn't The Only Online Option
While playing against humans is usual a good way to milk some extra playtime out of any game, indie developers have been finding original ways to add online connectivity to games. High scores and seeing what my friends are playing is a great way to make use of online functionality in a relatively unique way. As well, custom downloads and expandability are always added bonuses.
5. Instant and Free Expandability
This is where independent game developers shine. While mainstream game developers box expandability into a box and charge another $30 for it, indie developers find ways to keep the game alive and fresh for years. As long as there are people making music,
Audiosurf will always have a new track to surf on. As for
Crazy Machines, it's taken the same approach as DROD and allowed users to create custom, uploadable challenges. Some of them get a little complicated, but no more frustrating than something like, oh,
Perfection, right?
---------------------------
Since the release of
DROD: Journey to Rooted Hold, Caravel Games has done four out of the five things listed above, and they've done it very successfully. While breaking a genre certainly isn't an easy task to accomplish for
any game developer, independent or not, it also takes guts to take a game that's already out there and rework it into a different genre. And, lo and behold, that's exactly what we've done!
DROD RPG: Tendry's Tale Released!
Caravel has just released their latest title,
DROD RPG: Tendry's Tale, thanks to the Caravel dev team and a stalwart band of play-testers who did their job very, very well in order to help get this game out the door as scheduled. It takes place in the DROD game world but takes the DROD franchise in a new direction. The game is part DROD, part RPG, and part puzzle/adventure/exploration/dungeon-crawler. I guess it's a lot of things, and it should be a new experience for you.
Head on over to the Caravel Games website to try it out now!
http://www.caravelgames.com/Articles/Games.html
Erik Hermansen's Still Alive
No, he wasn't transferred to an Aperture Science lab. He's simply decided to take a break from game development and focus on other projects. His next project looks to be a very interesting feat and a very honorable thing to do, which I personally have high hopes for.
http://forum.caravelgames.com/viewtopic.php?TopicID=26502
Robobob's Picks o' the Month:
If the forums were a sea, and every topic were a fish, Robobob's the one bringing in the contest-winners.
Google's new forte
http://forum.caravelgames.com/viewtopic.php?TopicID=26670
Google's got a new browser out there. On which browser did you first hear about it?
To my fellow pirates
http://forum.caravelgames.com/viewtopic.php?TopicID=26465
One forumite opens up about their piracy habits, which leads to some interesting discussion. And then there's some talk about apple farming? I'm not really sure either.
Guess what it is
http://forum.caravelgames.com/viewtopic.php?TopicID=21058
Run a forum search for topics including the word "
guess"
. Guess how many hits you get. There's 189 pages worth! I guess you probably need to get in on this. Bust out your monocles have a squint at this game, wherein you must guess what images are being displayed as they're slowly revealed, piece-by-piece. Guess.
Give me random sentences to help me create a hold
http://forum.caravelgames.com/viewtopic.php?TopicID=26529
TMSTF asked for a teaspoon of inspiration, and we buried him in a landfill of it. Help us add to the pile, or take a little nibble of it for yourself!
Enjoy trying out the new game this month, everyone!
-Patrick
____________________________
Gandalf? Yes... That's what they used to call me.
Gandalf the Grey. That was my name.
I am Gandalf the White.
And I come back to you now at the turn of the tide.
