Indie developpers deserve respect, more indie pearls on the net
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*viKKing* Posted May 24, 2008, 10:09 pm |
Some guys - like Sam - should really deserve respect from players.
I stumble upon this indie (though helped by a publisher) developped game and waow! 
Game engine has been written from scratch by one man, and it is near many other commercial products around. Ok, currently 4 years of development, with 2 years fulltime... it helps a bit. |
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Flaming savage Posted May 24, 2008, 10:14 pm |
he deserves a lot of respect. or we would all be boared on a saturday. | ||
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*Zothen* Posted May 25, 2008, 10:05 pm |
Nice find! Thx vik!
Heres another one: Mount & Blade - started a few years ago as wife & husband team. The team is a bit bigger now and the lead-dev also hired a few modders from the community. Also everything done by themselves. |
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Parapsycho Posted Jun 4, 2008, 9:59 pm |
Cool games!
I've always wanted to try my hand at game development, but was never really able to get anything off the ground. Kudos to all those indie devs making their dreams a reality! |
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*Zothen* Posted Jun 5, 2008, 1:47 pm |
Anybody remembers "Die by the Sword"? It was a game where you could move your Sword with the mouse instead of just click to attack.
Determinance is an Indie in this tradition - swordplay with flying dudes (no anime style). |
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*viKKing* Posted Jun 6, 2008, 9:49 pm |
A very good one, yet in Open Beta, for non real time players: Gunfighters.
It is developped by another (long time) friend of mine. 
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*Zothen* Posted Jun 18, 2008, 4:23 pm |
Got another nice tipp, but I cant remember where I read about it.
Ever wanted to play a Ninja Rabbit? Then give Lugaru a try. The graphics are outdated but I see Lugaru as a showcase for Lugaru 2 which is already in development and looks much more up to date! Anyway Lugaru offers nice, fast-paced martial arts action that could have inspired the combat system of Assassin's Creed. |
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*Zothen* Posted Sep 11, 2008, 1:11 pm |
While digging through Games Tunnel I found this one:
Mexican Motor Mafia Driving and fighting other cars by shooting out of the window! Here are some Screenshots 
Free to try for 60mins, the price is $16.99 Have fun! |
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*sam* Posted Sep 11, 2008, 1:13 pm |
Hmm yeah, I'd forgotten about that one, it's looks way cool... | ||
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*Zothen* Posted Sep 21, 2008, 3:27 pm |
The Final Version of Mount & Blade was released a few days ago. Paradox Interactive signed as publisher for the boxed version. If you liked the old Pirates, and are not too bound to modern or post-apo settings, I guess you may enjoy M&B too. The open sandbox gameplay always brings me back to this game. Theres also a demo to test.
Screenshots 
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*Zothen* Posted Sep 27, 2008, 10:08 am |
Because Im a huge fan of open-ended gameplay and like to support inovative indies, I have 3 games from the si-fi sector this time.
The first one is the newest game from Starwraith3d Games called "Evochron Renegades". From the website: "Advanced Freeform 3D Space Combat, Trading, Racing, Exploration, and Mercenary Simulation. Explore a massive seamless universe filled with opportunities to find your fortune." Nice game for the low-budget price, but personally I hoped for a more vivid universe. 
The second one is the newest turn-based space strategy game "Smugglers 4" from Niels Bauer, some kind of a strategic casual game with nice replayability. 
And the last one is rather a blast from the past but a game called "Spacetanks" that has been coded by a friend. Its a modernized version of the old "Artillery Games" but on planets and with real physics. For such a "simple" game it can become quite addictive - especially when you play against your friends and the physics lead the shots in your own butt...
The game isnt sold any longer but you can find it in the P2P networks. 
have fun |
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*Zothen* Posted Feb 21, 2010, 9:51 pm |
Im in the mood to share another MMO indie-pearl with you: Love
Love is technically a shoot&build PvE online game, with outstanding peculiar, impressionistic visuals. Its developed by Eskil Steenberg as a one-man show, like DW. In short: The world is round and fully randomized and also in constant change. Players found, terraform and develop settlements. A settlement is developed by hunting for tokens that grant further tools and weapons. The settlement also needs to be powered so players can manufacture e.g. energy, health pods and and power the protective force field. To power a settlement players wire energy from power wells outside the settlement over power wire masts to the settlement. AIs tend to found new bases and try to raid the player settlements. Love will stay in beta till 25. march. Till 23. march its still possible to get a voucher for 30days for 3€. Paid beta, you say? Yes, and its ok. Within the last 3 months I had a lot of time to talk to Eskil, who regulary shows up on the Teamspeak server, to be 100% that he needs the money to fund the servers. No money making intended, but as one-man show he has - like many other indie-devs - troubles to finance the development. Well, I can only say - dont miss the last chance to support great indie-development and a unique game. Enjoy! Love Website: www.quelsolaar.com Community Forum and Wiki: www.gaminglove.net and as usual a few impressions: Vids: Love Trailer Love Gameplay (commented by Eskil) Pics: 
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*Bastille* Posted Feb 22, 2010, 12:00 am |
And Sunday, and Monday and Tuesday and... No game keeps me coming back like DW. I'm not even very good at it, and haven't even touched the surface of stuff I can do. The community here helps a bunch too. I was eating worms before I came here 
P.S. This 'Love' looks Cool - so is the song ;p |
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*Urban Decay* Posted Feb 22, 2010, 12:59 am |
Mexican Motor Mafia was a blast to play thru the demo. Just wish I had the 17 bucks to buy it now lol. | ||
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Karz Master Posted Feb 22, 2010, 6:26 am |
lalala | ||
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*Zothen* Posted Feb 24, 2010, 5:20 pm |
Another day, another indie-pearl!
Today: Starquest online by Castle Thorn Software. I guess you know the StarTrek-series and lots of RP has evolved around this universe. Starquest is not about StarTrek but it is the grande space simulation sandbox with crewed capital starships. The bridges play very similiar to what we see/saw/sick in Star Trek. You have different consoles (navigation, tactical, communication, captains chair etc.) and while you technically can fly a ship alone its not very helpful to do this when you engage combat. Especially in such situations, with a manned bridge, the beautifulness of SQO comes to full bloom, when Tactical reads out the enemies data, the navigator tries to outsmart the enemies, the engineers rush through the ships internals to keep it floating, the boarding crew rattles its sabers, eager to taste the enemy crews blood. Also you have a lot of meta-gaming, warring factions/races, politics and player founded colonies in a huge, very huge real universe (star-system-wise). Thats lots of unplotted space. The community is very mixed. On the military side you have lots of politics and most military ships are commanded by experienced players that act also as newbie helpers to give them a hang on the game mechanics and offer lots or roleplay, too. The civ side is also very mixed and more independent than the military command hierachy. Planets are fully accessable with your char and you an port- or shuttle down, visit shops, trainers etc. You can craft nearly any item ingame, from weapons, clothes, food dispensers to facilities, shipyards and, of course, ships. Of course not everthing is bright in this universe and SQO has to suffer from most problems indie developers have to suffer - lack of financing which restricts workhours and so a faster development. Interesting is that lots of community members gather cash for some most-wanted-features so the devs can dedicate more workhours to SQO intead of working part-time for their own living. Overall its worth the 30-day trial and at least another month subscription to dive into the SQO-universe and support the developement of this neat gaming concept. SQO offers a 30-day-trial and subscriptions are at 11€/month, or the usual longer subs for less money. Have fun! Website: Star Quest online FanVid: StarQuest Online - Space Dementia Pics: 
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Karz Master Posted Feb 24, 2010, 5:22 pm |
I tried to get into SQ. I really really tried. I liked a lot about it - being able to manipulate the ship in so many different ways. But the whole walking around the planet thing was too bugged, and I just couldn't be bothered after that.
It's back to Darkwind for me, when it comes to MMOs
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*Zothen* Posted Feb 24, 2010, 5:29 pm |
Yeah, I know what you mean. I think thats the common problem with niche games in combination with indie development without proper funding. I was playing SQO for 3 months and it was entertaining, but it has still not evloved to the point where I would like to see it and the development is just to slow for my taste - personal opinion, of course. But for me as old paper&pen-roleplayer it was a blast for this few months most of the time.
I think I will give it soon another months subscription, just for the fun and cos support is what indies need! =) |
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Togakure Posted Feb 25, 2010, 5:43 am |
I gave SQO a try for a while, and had mixed opinions.
The game did/does have some great potential, but the graphics are a bit more "outdated" and basic than I would have preferred for a modern game. It also was (at the time I tried it) lacking a lot of content. It was basically still in "beta" condition. The game was also totally "sandbox", no real objectives and little in the form of instruction or tutorial. Most of your education will be from other players, who sometimes took advantage of the new players. There were many aspects of the game that I really didn't like, but still it had some positive aspects as well. I had seriously been considering helping develop the game and provide a hefty financial donation, but in the end I just didn't see the game moving in the direction that I would have liked. I also hooked up with Mount & Blade a while back, long before its retail release. It's a great game, and a lot of fun to battle in. The cool thing was that during the earlier versions you could still buy a license at a greatly reduced cost, with the purchase price going up every release. So in essence I got the game for about 10% of the retail cost, yet I'm able to continue downloading updates any time. If you enjoy FPS-type games with swords, bows, shields, etc to include horseback battles that is the top game available. A lot of fun. 
Clicky This was the aftermath of a small battle in which I let loose a fury of arrows with my high bow skill. I felt kinda sorry after dropping their horses, but sometimes it was necessary. I ended up having to slice a few that got close with my sword, that was amusing. |
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Karz Master Posted Feb 25, 2010, 10:10 am |
Check out this beat em up. I highly recommend it, it's a great stress reliever.
http://www.reflexive.com/ZombieSmashersX2.html Worth the $19.90? You bet! |
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*Zothen* Posted Feb 25, 2010, 3:38 pm |
And now to something completly different....
In our todays spotlight: Aurora by Steve Walmsley Genre: free turn-based Space themed 4x game (eXplore, eXpand, eXploit, eXterminate) Aurora was derived from Steve Walmsleys companion software for the Starfire board wargame (first released in the late 70s), and it also developed by himself only since 4(?) years. Aurora does not have fancy pantsy visuals so the poor, conditioned "graphics whore" cant play this game. Usually I dont get attracted by games where the first look gives the impression of a expanded spread-sheet game, but Aurora was labeled the "dwarf fortress of space games" on the Bay12 forum, which got my attention. Under the hood of this 4x pearl is a very unique, complex strategy game that lets not much wishes open. Basicly you develop colonies, conduct research, mine minerals and explore star systems that are connected with wormholes. Thats common. What makes Aurora unique is e.g. the unit design. From small, fast, agile spacecraft to monstrous Superstardestroyers or deathstars everything is possible, by designing each component as you want it to be (based on your research, of course). Especially offence and layered defense loadouts are a science for itself - and its amazing to experiment with it. The turn-based system of Aurora makes it unique, too. Turn lenght varies from 30day turns to 5sec turns, so research and development are rather long-term goals while intense combat breaks down to 5sec turns that offer great flexibility and application of different tactics. An amazing example of the rich features is e.g. the missile design system. You can design missiles to your hearts wishes - fast and agile, slower but more punch, short-range defenders or - and thats really unique - multi-stage missiles. Yep, that means MIRV design! Aurora is too complex to cover most features within a few lines, so I suggest to give it a try. The downside of Aurora is the steep learning curve and thats even a quest on its own for the oldest Bay12 member. The wiki covers only the basics and most advanced topics are covered in the forum. So diving into Aurora involves a lot of experimentation with many funny results. Freedom has its price, one could say... Aurora is a great game for the player of complex board wargames and strategy arm-chair commander - if you have the will to dig through the initial learning curve. And its completly free. Give it a try and have fun! Website: Aurora (you have to register on the forum to get access to the download) An example of a ship design overview: Code: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13
Thermopylae class Destroyer Escort 10000 tons 850 Crew 1583.8 BP TCS 200 TH 1120 EM 0 5600 km/s Armour 4-41 Shields 0-0 Sensors 1/1/0/0 Damage Control Rating 5 PPV 24 Annual Failure Rate: 160% IFR: 2.2% Maint Capacity 495 MSP Max Repair 96 MSP Est Time: 2.07 Years Magazine 984 NPO Energomash Magneto-plasma Drive (14) Power 80 Fuel Use 70% Signature 80 Armour 0 Exp 5% Fuel Capacity 250,000 Litres Range 64.3 billion km (132 days at full power) Mk5 Guided Missile Launching System (24) Missile Size 1 Rate of Fire 10 CF/SPG-14 Missile Fire Control (4) Range 1.1m km Resolution 1 RIM-8B Scutum Defence Missile (984) Speed: 40,000 km/s End: 1.2m Range: 3m km WH: 1 Size: 1 TH: 293 / 176 / 88 CF/SPD-12 Missile Detection Sensor (1) GPS 96 Range 1.1m km Resolution 1 The tactical system view with sensor contacts (red): pic expanded |
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LoSboccacc Posted Feb 26, 2010, 8:20 am |
I'd like too to share the indie (and non) games that I'd liked the most, so I'm quoting from a list I did some time ago with my friends:
machinarium gish pontifex triptych creeper world wesnoth TA Spring (wrote some code of this  )
spelunky darwinia fantastic contraptions VVVVVV torchlight roguelikes (asci based games) dwarf fortress omega adom off topic (full games/oldies): red faction guerrilla morrowind star control II fragile allegiance ultima underworld master of magic I'd like to write a review for those as you did but there are too many of them. maybe I'll do for some of the lesser known. |
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Karz Master Posted Feb 26, 2010, 8:20 pm |
TA Spring is great, I was just telling Firefly and Grograt about it some time ago. However, IMHO the community is poop. It seems there's a lot of in-fighting amongst the various modders, with an aura of elitism within. | ||
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LoSboccacc Posted Feb 26, 2010, 8:26 pm |
yeah. guess why I drop out from development? | ||
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*Toecutter* Posted Mar 7, 2010, 2:04 am |
Aurora looks like a MM re-make of Stars! | ||
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Karz Master Posted Mar 7, 2010, 3:50 am |
WHERE THE EFF HAVE YOU BEEN MY FRIEND! |
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LoSboccacc Posted Mar 8, 2010, 1:33 pm |
this is a project starting up to found indie developers:
http://www.indie-fund.com/ some great indie names are backing it (such 2d boy - the one behind world of goo) |
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Karz Master Posted Mar 8, 2010, 5:50 pm |
One has to wonder, though, that for an indie developer, 2D Boy never interacts with his community. I can understand for mainstream developers e.g. Kornbob, but surely the feeling elicited from an indie dev not responding comes off as stuck up. | ||
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LoSboccacc Posted Mar 16, 2010, 11:40 am |
dwarf fortres style game, very beta. with crafting and smelting and mining and building and stuff, but in 3d and done as a fps
minecraft.net/ |
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*Zothen* Posted Apr 18, 2010, 11:40 am |
Ive posteda about Lugaru before - that fps-martial arts game with the cool ninja rabbit.
The sequel was renamed by Wolfire to Overgrowth. Still in development but it makes nice progress and pre-order (ugly invention btw) is already on. A nice move is that they publish the alpha builds to the customers that preordered Overgrowth so they can fiddle around with the engine and editor. Heres the link to the Wolfire Youtube Channel Also very nice is the lead dev who had to dye his beard pink if the preorders hit 1000. ("ARE YOU NOT ENTERTAINED?" hehe) The Overgrowth webcomic. Keep and eye on this! 
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*Wolfsbane* Posted Sep 6, 2010, 12:25 pm |
I've been playing XBox indie games recently. If you have an XBox, check out Miner: Dig Deep. I'm not sure if it even counts as a game - there's no way to lose, and very few threats. It's still fun though, in a mellow and relaxing sort of way, similar to flower on the PS3. | ||
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Armisius Posted Sep 29, 2010, 12:09 am |
Another indie pearl I've been sucked into for the past few days is
Minecraft. Minecraft site Also developed by one guy. It is tons of fun and a lot like Dwarf fortress from the point of view of one lone dwarf against an unfriendly environment. Check out some of the Let's play youtube videos of a guy named X-- I watched all of them, it was quite an entertaining playthru. Then I got the game and I've been sucked in. |
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*Zothen* Posted Nov 21, 2010, 11:57 pm |
Yes, was already mentioned but its NOT like Dwarf Fortess! Not at all! Not like fortress mode, not like adventure mode... I really cant understand why folks try to compare them... Besides that both are awesome games... | ||
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*Wolfsbane* Posted Nov 22, 2010, 8:59 am |
What it is a lot like is his previous game, wurm online. That's well worth a look if you want a more serious, realistic version of Minecraft. | ||
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Karz Master Posted Nov 22, 2010, 9:43 am |
Zombie Driver on sale here:
http://www.gamersgate.com/DD-ZD/zombie-driver It has two new game modes since its initial release. While I can't say it terribly impressed me, it's not a bad game. In fact, it's pretty good, if you can get past the horrible car controls and poor camera choices. |
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Fifth Posted Dec 9, 2010, 1:16 am |
Free little Flash Game called "But That Was Yesterday."
http://jayisgames.com/cgdc9/?gameID=11 Pretty little thing. Moving. Play this through to the finish and tell me games can't be art. |
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Jeelz Posted Dec 14, 2010, 10:30 am |
yup - this game is awesome! Just got it today as an early xmas pressie from a mate. Someone look after my gang while I'm gone! |
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*Wolfsbane* Posted Apr 10, 2011, 9:49 pm |
Just wanted to mention The Wonderful End of the World. Not because it's particularly awesome, although it's not bad as Katamari Damacy ripoffs go. No, I bring it up here because the people who made it used some of the same model packs sam used for Darkwind. See how many vehicles you can recognise
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*Rezeak* reecestensel@hotmail.co.uk Posted Apr 10, 2011, 10:53 pm |
I saw a couple of videos of this a while ago... Just looked like some guy hitting some rock, walking, hitting more rock. |
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Checkers Posted Apr 10, 2011, 10:55 pm |
Minecraft seems silly. And everyone at my school won't shut up about it.
I've found The Void to be a wonderful game, as far as "art games" go. If you all like trippy horror and what's basically a business sim, you all will like it. |
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Karz Master Posted Apr 11, 2011, 3:49 pm |
Minecraft is a bundle of awesomeness. Granted the general community isn't, but it's just a lot of fun even in singleplayer. |
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Jeelz Posted Aug 17, 2011, 11:26 am |
http://www.frozensynapse.com/
Great turn based tactical strategy shoot-em thing with multi-player and decent single player campaign. Available on steam. |
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Jeelz Posted Sep 22, 2011, 4:37 pm |
http://www.die2nite.com/
Just started with this - it's pretty unique from what I can tell in terms of game play and the such. Certianly wont be everyone's cup of tea but if your a bit of a zombie fan (and who the heck isn't?) then check it out. Only takes a few minutes a day to play, from what I can tell. Free for a basic account, too. |
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FireFly Posted Sep 22, 2011, 5:01 pm |
I've been playing that on and off for a few months how Jeelz... but I quit it a few weeks back cause I'm sick of all the grievers joining towns.
You just need 1 guy to empty the town of useful stuff, and he is around a lot :/ |
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Karz Master Posted Mar 17, 2012, 6:31 pm |
I play Kingdom of Loathing now and then. Can never get tired of it. It's got mountains of content. | ||
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betterlucky Posted Mar 14, 2017, 1:44 pm |
Found myself looking at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YhzvRPzgNog after seeing it pop up on Steam today and thinking, that looks really familiar. OK, the gameplay is pretty different, but the art style is pretty much there.
Amazing, I haven't been here for 3 or 4 years but it instantly ignited that DW itch again
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