indie

There are 12 posts tagged indie (this is page 1 of 2).

A Case Against Photorealism in Games

This post will explain why photorealistic rendering in games is important and, paradoxically, why you shouldn’t care too much about it.

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Photorealism is the Bonsai Kitten of game development: everyone talks about it, but it has yet to be seen. Despite this, there’s an ongoing battle of wits between game engines, ferociously fought with tech demos and last-minute announcements. Being able to render reality seems to be the priority. But… does it really matter? Continue reading →

Console debugging in Unity made easy

One of the most interesting feature of Unity is the ability to extend its editor and standard components. This has allowed developers all around the world to create amazing extensions which dramatically improve Unity’s usability. And, in some cases, compensate for its shortages. A very intriguing feature which is not-so-well known is the ability to customise the messages in the debug console. Rather than give you a self proclaimed ultimate solution to console debugging, this post will cover different topics to help you creating your own.

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The most anticipated games #17

Observatorium | indieDB | website

Observatorium is a game currently developed by Jonathan McEnroe, Clive Lawrence  and Peter Satera, knows as the Observatorium Team. Part of its gameplay will requires to create constellation and to somehow link them to with the rest of the environment: merge space with nature, as the website says. The player moves the boat using the keyboard, while the mouse connects stars into a constellation and catches fish. Despite the game has been showcased at Dare to be Digital 2015, very little is known at this point. Yet, Observatorium looks amazing and I honestly can’t wait to play it.

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The most anticipated exploration games

Dream | HyperSloth Games | website | steam

The first time I played Dream was at the BAFTA Inside Games 2014, where I also had the chance to try Monument Valley. After more than one year, Dream has finally been released and it has really exceed my expectations. Made by a very small team, it has a graphics and a level of content which is comparable to many high-profile games. Dream brings you inside the dream of a man, allowing the player to explore a variety of bizarre and diverse environments. Physics and Logic don’t always make sense in dreams, and HyperSloth is building clever mechanics out of this. Dream has been released this week; even if you’re not into puzzles, its dreamy and relaxing locations make it one of the perfect exploration games so far. And if that’s not enough, Dream features some of the best music you can hear in a game.

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The most anticipated abstract games

I can safely say that the undoing of many indies has been compromising on their games in order to make them more commercially appealing. Attempting to standardise games has created a wave of products which cannot compete with the bigger titles, and lack of innovation. Cloning Flappy Bird and Crossy Road can only take you so far. Luckily enough, there are few indies which are not afraid of pushing the boundaries of what a game should be and should look like.

MYRIAD | Erlend Grefsrud | website

MYRIAD is the abstract game for antonomasia. The first time I’ve seen it, I’ve been completely captured by the total randomness of its gameplay. Then, after carefully looking someone playing for few minutes, a pattern emerged. The world of MYRIAD is full of rules; you just have to discover them. Is not hard to understand the basics of the game, but mastering it requires more then just good reflexes. Most of the pleasure from playing MYRIAD derives from the constant discovery of a new rule or trick; “Oh, I didn’t know I could do that too!” should be the subtitle of the game. In MYRIAD I really can make the world and destroy the world. The only thing I still can’t do, is pronouncing the name of it’s developer…

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The 3 most anticipated games: #lowpoly

Sea of Solitude | Cornelia Geppert | website

It is common for indie games to be announced where they are at a very early stage. Sea of Solitude, instead, appeared out of nowhere showing some extremely polished content. From Kill Screen Daily to Rock Paper Shotgun, all the major indie gaming websites covered Sea of Solitude. What makes this incredible is that the game has achieved this level of popularity just with a bunch of screenshots and few GIFs. From its initial announcement, no other content has been released, but the hype is still high. Despite all my attempts, I didn’t manage to meet the developer, Cornelia, during GDC. But that’s understandable knowing how many meeting she was attending. It’s a shame I didn’t manage to play an early build, but I’m sure the final game won’t disappoint me.

sea_of_solitude_jo-mei_games_screenshot_21 Continue reading →

How to retrieve all the images from a website

Few weeks ago I posted on Twitter few rather bizarre screenshots. A composition of all the submissions for #ScreenshotSaturday, loosely ordered by colour. In this series of posts I’ll briefly explain how I did that using Python.

You can download the original pictures (16Mb, 71Mb, 40Mb, 13Mb) here.

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The most anticipated space games

Routine | Lunar Software | twitter | website

There are games you know are destined to be a massive success. And Routine surely is one of them. Developed by a very small team, this survival game is set in an abandoned facility on the Moon. Which turns out to be not so abandoned after all. I’ve been a big fan of retro technology since… well, since it wasn’t retro at all. So you can imagine why I love Routine: floppy disks and CTR monitors are everywhere. I never had the chance to play Routine, but the closest game I can compare it to is Alien Isolation. Themes such as (guess what!) isolation, constant fear of being chased and inability to escape seems to be common in both. Replace xenomorphs with humanoid robots, sprinkle that good ol’ indie vibe and you here you have it: my most anticipated space game.

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The 3 most anticipated games: #3D

A Light In Chorus | Eliott Johnson & Matthew Warshaw | twitter | website

A couple of years ago I met Eliott and Matthew at London Indies. They were going around the pub showing a brief demo of their mysterious game. It took me five seconds to realise how much potential was there. A Light In Chorus is one of the most beautiful games I’ve seen so far. What makes it unique is its engine: everything is rendered out of particle clouds. Even if the gameplay has been changing a lot in these months, its aesthetics keeps improving from build to build. I had the chance to play it and I can ensure you that the video compression doesn’t do justice to this beautiful game.

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