Pretend you are an IGF judge 2011: Part 3
This is the third and penultimate compilations of links to publicly playable games that are part of the Independent Games Festival 2011.
Follow these links for part 1 and part 2
MageMaze
‘MageMaze’ is a turn-based puzzle adventure game for the iPhone and iPod Touch. You play as Svenn the Svaliant, a bold Norse warrior and doer-of-good. Explore the ever-shifting dungeon of the sinister mage Yngvarr the Ynvoker on a quest to retrieve svaluables stolen from the hapless svillagers.
As you navigate the catacombs, Yngvarr unleashes fearsome beasts to dissuade you from reclaiming the stolen gold. Arm Svenn with weapons found throughout the dungeon to defeat these monsters. The maze levels become increasingly difficult as Yngvarr summons traps, unmovable tiles, and monsters with various clever abilities. Fortunately, progressively mightier weapons and power-ups are also to be discovered.
On your turn, you can either tap and slide Svenn to move him to an adjacent tile or tap and slide any other tile in the maze to slide an entire row or column of tiles. This is how you will continuously rearrange the playing field to Svenn’s advantage. (And if you’re not rearranging it to Svenn’s advantage, ye gods, whose side are you on anyhow?!?) You’ll have to keep your wits about you to navigate the constantly-changing maze, get the gold, svanquish the monsters, and withstand the barrage of Yngvarr’s snarky insults.
ios App Store (69p/99c).
MAGICAL GLOVES
Magical Gloves is a 3D platform game for PC. Using the keyboard you have to lead Mia, the main character, and at the same time and using the mouse you have to lead a magical glove that you could use to touch or interact with the objets.
The game is composed by one central world through which you could access to the other three worlds. In each world, you will have to look for 5 pages, 6 golden letters and 5 buried objects.
To obtain these pages you will have to solve puzzles, win minigames, or to execute certain actions.
During the game, Mia will learn different skills or abilities which will help her to solve all the minigames, as cleaning, sailing, fishing or looking for boats.
She could also use special devises, as one machine which makes ice, a huge barrel that you will use to flight and get to arrive to far away places or some platforms that you can displace by turning a crank, drawing circles using your mouse.
To defeat your enemies you could catch them and throw them away, pull them out of the walls or smash them using any object of the scene.
Commercially available and a free demo here.
Magnight
Magnight is puzzle-platformer game where you play the game by manipulating the magnetic charge on objects and yourself to react against each other like a real magnet would. For example, North and North repel each other and where North and South attract each other.
You play as a pilot that crash landed on an uncharted island where you discover the ruins of a very technologically advanced civilization. Upon regaining your consciousness, you found a pair of odd looking gloves that could change the magnetic polarity of objects and yourself to react against magnetic objects around you. By creatively manipulating the objects around you, you make your way deep into the ruins in search of parts to repair your aircraft to get home.
Demo.
Master of Alchemy
What if you could transform lead into gold? Or distil the essence of life itself? The possibilities of Alchemy are limitless, but now it is under threat. In this remarkable and revolutionary puzzle game, take on the Mechanologists in your bid to restore Alchemy to supremacy. Use over 20 different abilities across 60 levels to transform solid, liquid and gaseous elements into magical new materials as you solve all of the ingenious puzzles!
Master of Alchemy uses a custom-developed game engine with fully realistic particle physics and beautiful, high-resolution graphics. The attention to detail and realism of the physical puzzle mechanics is astonishing, and the phenomenal music and sound effects mirror your actions as you concoct a new solution.
Play through a fully-fleshed-out world of Alchemy, with over 60 levels, with 20 Alembics to use on multiple elements, three different states of matter, and many different types of obstacle to overcome. The gameplay is so varied that many puzzles have more than one solution, and with 6 different characters and a fascinating story, there’s many an hour of smart, brain-teasing entertainment to be had here.
An epic tale surrounding a battle between the proponents of mechanical invention and those of alchemy, in which the secret to life itself hangs in the balance. In this vivid Steampunk setting, play as one of six different characters, evolving your skills as you progress through the game and battle Mechanologists every step of the way.
ios App Store (£1.79/$2.99).
Meum-Trail
The online-game MEUM-TRAIL could be described as a realtime strategy puzzle.
The player’s aim is to guide a herd of cute, furry animals called MEUMS through various landscapes. These four-legged friends have been sent out by the Elders to search for an ancient city.
The Meums used to live peacefully on their planet “Meotom” together with many other races. But for some reason their favorite food has started to run low and “Stonebiters” are intruding their habitat. With help from the player and the hysterical “General Flea”, a group of young Meums has to find the reason why their planet is out of balance.
On their journey they meet friendly flying “Boombastics” and dangerous “Stonebiters”.
The player takes over the role of an idolized God of the inhabitants of Meotom. Supported by General Flea he has to build a path for his herd of Meums, collect seed for various helpful plants and avoid Stonebiters. Good scores are achieved by finding the shortest way through each level. This way the player earns “Flowerpower” for upgrades: E.g.: a thunderstorm to remove plants and rocks, Boombastics as allies, various skills for Meums and the General, etc.
Web.
Minecraft
Minecraft is a sandbox game which allows players to build constructions with textured cubes in a 3D world. The game has two variants; Alpha and Classic, both with single- and multiplayer options. Classic includes only the building aspects of the game with unlimited blocks, while Alpha includes monsters and a much greater variety of crafting available, as well as requiring players to mine their own blocks.
Commercially available (alpha).
Miner Wars
Miner Wars is a 6DOF underground and space shooter played in a fully destructible environment and is a combination of single player story game and MMO.
Test build when you preorder.
MinMe
A simple puzzle game, in which our hero (you), must strategically collapse tiles and clear a progression of levels.
Originally made in 1.5 days for the experimental gameplay project, and released as a 10-level free iPhone game. Due to popular demand, it has since been expanded into a 60 level game.
ios App store (free).
Monsters In My Backyard
Monsters In My Backyard (PC) is a single-player puzzle game that features an innovative automatic rigging research technology in 3D animation from MIT called Pinocchio. Players control a 3-D monster trapped in a 2-D world to solve challenging puzzles, manage resources, and collect power-ups. A linear planar world is converted into a vibrant 3D environment, alongside fun avatars and their friends — giving players an enthralling game experience.
Monsters In My Backyard (PC) has a 2D-3D mix visual experience where the concept was to pit a 3D monster trying to save his world from a mad scientist who’d converted his world to 2D. A blend of paper and cardboard textures, pastel colors and splashy visual effects with over the top 3D effects and animations, Monsters In My Backyard (PC) emphasizes the distinct battle of 2D vs 3D while incorporating the Pinocchio Technology as a 3D Asset production tool.
Commercially available here.
Mustache Mercenaries
Mustache Mercenaries is a turn-based game of giant steam-powered robot combat, all piloted by historical characters from the 1800’s, like Abe Lincoln, Laura Ingalls Wilder, and Harriet Tubman.
Facebook.
My First Quantum Translocator
Help Quantum Translocator Guy try out his new quantum translocator. MFQT is a puzzle platformer that allows you to manipulate physics in a brand new way. It’s simple enough: drop quantum shadows and teleport back to them at any time. Things get a little hairy though, once momentum comes into play. Whether you’re jumping, falling, or moving side-to-side, momentum is conserved, allowing you to reach previously unattainable areas. With more than 30+ levels to a complete, multiple endings, and a ton of easter eggs and secrets, MFQT holds true the belief that your first time is always special.
Web.
Neptune’s Pride
Neptune’s Pride is multiplayer game of Strategy, Intrigue and Galactic Conquest!
The game is a real-time game played over several weeks. You can log in at any time of the day to check the progress of your fleets, view the results of battles and issue new orders.
Explore, Expand, Exploit, Exterminate!
It’s the game you know and love with a twist. A 4x Strategy game with its complexity stripped away to reveal an exciting game of diplomacy and strategic command.
How will you conquer the Galaxy?
Web.
Neverdaunt:8Bit
Sandbox MMO, Player built world. build in areas & protect it from others, earn tokens for powerups & bombs, fight monsters, program items with Tronics, APC’s offer unique gameplay, and WAY more.
Freeware.
Nimbus
Nimbus is an open ended puzzle-racing game. The player controls a craft with no means of directly propelling itself and needs to use whatever is scattered around the levels to acquire thrust and reach the goal.
Commercially available here.
Other Age Second Encounter
You play as Prince of Zeiva Empire, and you are given a very challenging task— You need to summon a girl and date her, while getting lost in a massive world of underwater paradise. In this place, anything can happen! Fighting, romance, mystery, detective, court battle, survival, dancing, ghost, zombie, you name it, OASE has them all! There are a total 10 different girls to summon, 12 maps to explore, 19 mini-games, and 55 endings to discover!
Commercially available with free demo here.
Oddy Smog’s Misadventure
Meet Oddy Smog, nothing but a tiny bit of the Smog that Engulfs Everything. He used to be part of the System, but his desire for freedom pushes him to run away from everything he once knew.
Help him in his quest for a new life! Climb the entrails of the same machine from which the Smog erupts and free those who are still enslaved. Rumor says that there is a blue sky up there where the Smog is white…
ios App store (£1.19/$1.99)
Orfeo: a Game in Music
Inspired by Monteverdi’s early Opera masterpiece “L’Orfeo: Favola in Musica” (“Orfeo: a Fable in Music”, 1607), this short form and experimental game allows players to take the role of the mythological semigod and use his lyre to first conquer Eurydice’s heart and then rescue her from the Underworld.
The game is designed around a new playing interface and innovative game mechanics based on the study and analysis of emotions in music. The original analysis component implemented here takes into account music dynamics, tempo and articulation to determine the basic emotional qualities of the music being played in real time.
The game is entirely played by plucking and stopping strings on Orfeo’s lyre to improvise simple melodies and rhythms for expressing the required emotions.
A tutorial is also implemented to explain the very basic characteristics of different musical expressive intentions and make players accustomed with the unique lyre playing based control system.
Freeware.
Paratroopers: Air Assault HD
Paratroopers are attacking your base, you have at your command a turret, and you need to kill them before they destroy you. It has weapon upgrades, which are bought with money earned killing the enemy soldiers, and a leveling system which unlocks new weapons.
ios App store (£1.19/$1.99).
Pirates of New Horizons
“Pirates of New Horizons” is a singleplayer action adventure game, in which the player takes control of the young space pirate Annha, who travels the void on her search for hidden treasures. The game mixes platformer elements with puzzles and skill-based combat, then puts everything into a fascinating world of pirates and science-fiction.
This is a prototype-version of the game, a demonstration of the game’s concept. It has been released online (on October 7th 2010), for free, so anyone can try it and give us their opinion. The intention is to gauge the interest of gamers in the gameplay, theme and art direction.
Web/Downloadable prototype.
PLANET PLUSH
Planet Plush is a puzzle game that allows you to deform game objects. You have to take care of creatures that had to settle on a planetary system way out there in the vast universe. Every night someone captures individual creatures, stuffs them into yellow balls and plays with them. Now, you need to interfere and reshape the planet. Your main objective is to alter and deform the planet in real time in order to guide the yellow balls to their intended destinations. You need to bump them into the yellow cristals and make those disappear. But make sure that you don’t hit any black pearls. If you do, you loose a settler. The game refers to the importance of 3d-modeling tools in creating objects and characters for games. It puts the power of the designer to alter a game object into the hands of the player.
Freeware preview.
Pocket Frogs
Discover, collect, trade, and breed over 10,000 unique frogs on your iOS device, anytime, anywhere!
ios App store (free).
pOnd
pOnd follows the journey of a man on his path to become one with nature. Experience the tranquility of solitude during the discovery for inner peace. Using the natural ability of meditation, progress through the environment and indulge in the beauties of Mother Nature. Breathe in nature and let it course through your very existence.
Web.
Project I/O
A test subject finds himself stuck in a training facility. His only way out is to use his newly discovered powers to manipulate enemy attacks.
Freeware.
ProtoGalaxy
A mysterious and powerful alien race has come to enslave the entire galaxy, and your fleet is humanity’s last hope. You must put an end to the attacks and rebuild a home for the survivors. With the invaders in hot pursuit, and the dangers of the unexplored at every turn, do you have what it takes to forge a new galaxy?
ProtoGalaxy is a co-op action/adventure game. Up to 4 players can team up to win fierce battles, solve challenging puzzles, and explore the far reaches of the galaxy. The game also include a fully featured level editor so users can create their own levels to play and share online.
Available commercially here.
PUMA PUNKU
Puma Punku is a turn-based, card-matching game. Once the great doors open, the cards will be revealed. Use the mouse to hover and left-click to uncover the card’s color. Each successful match causes your opponent to lose a bit of health. However, there is one special card hidden amongst the rest that will return a portion of your life. The first one to completely drain the other player’s health will win.
Web.
Q.U.B.E.
Q.U.B.E, an acronym for ‘Quick Understanding of Block Extrusion’ is a single-player game where the player must complete challenging puzzles to advance through each level.
To finish puzzles the player must manipulate coloured cubes in the environment by controlling them with their special gloves. The player is able to extrude (drag out) red cubes, launch themselves using blue cubes, pull out multiple sets of yellow cubes and strategically use timed cubes.
Beta.
Radio Flare REDUX HD
Prepare for Hyperjump with Radio Flare REDUX HD. Blast into a parallel dimension where space pilots jam to the latest beats, while racing through the galaxy to defeat extraterrestrial enemies.
This side-scrolling shoot?-em-up delivers a unique audio-visual experience within licensed electronic music tracks. Everything in the game – from the movement of the enemies to the shooting of your ship – is tied to the beat of the music. Each level is an action-packed high score hunt with pickups, multipliers, dozens of different enemies and distinct club-style visuals.
ios App Store (£1.79/$2.99).
RAINBLOOD: TOWN OF DEATH
Three years after its release in China and about half a million downloads from the official site, indie RPG Rainblood: Town of Death is finally available in English. It was worked out by several dedicated native English speakers, including a free-lancer English writer. It is also the first translated work of SoulframeRPG, who is China’s top indie RPG developer.
Presented with gloomy and gray hand-drawn scenes, Rainblood leads you into an adventure enveloped in darkness and myth, set in “Central Land“, where similar to traditional China but with many weird stuff such as a headless samurai and machine-like killers. May be too “story-telling” for an RPG, the game tells a short but complex plot and a dramatic love story with darkness. The total time in story is just one day and space is limited in a deserted town, but with montages and disordered story lines, the game was made an art piece with its unique graphic and music, as well as the story and battle system that are neo interpretations of Chinese martial art culture.
Commercially available with free demo here.
Recettear: An Item Shop’s Tale
Recettear is the story of an item shop, the girl who lives in it, and the fairy who turned her life upside down. Recette Lemongrass finds herself in charge of an item shop built into her house, in order to pay back a loan her father took and then skipped out on – and Tear, her newfound fairy “companion”, won’t take no for an answer! As Recette, you have to decide how you’ll get your stock – either through playing the markets in town or going out into the wild with an adventuring friend and thrashing beasts until they give up the goodies – how much to sell things for, what the shop should look like, and how to best go about getting the money Tear needs to pay off the loan. If you can’t come up with the money… well, hope you like living in a cardboard box.
Commercially available here, and a free demo here.
Record Tripping
Record Tripping is an immersive gaming experience that begins with the scratch of a record. Using your mouse’s scroll wheel, you’ll be able to scratch your way through all five chapters. You can rank for a daily high score or try to grab a spot among the all-time high scores.
Web.
Red Ball 3
Red Ball 3 is physics based platformer.
Will be available on Flash/iPhone/iPad this year.
There will be a steady stream of new levels and challenges!
ios App Store (69p/99c).
Rope Racket
Rope Racket is a fun puzzler where the player guides Rupert the Parrot to try and stop all the moving wheels using nothing but a rope. This gets tricky when we limit rope length and throw in fireballs, bats, knives and much more.
Rope Racket has a distinct combination of fast paced arcade action and logical mind twisting.
Web.
