While I was out at IndieCade, I was also part of a subtlemob. I blogged it over on Indie Game Mag:

After a day of panels and impromptu chats about where gameplay ends and interactive art begins, I went to play subtlemob by the Culver Hotel. Going in, I knew very little about the subtlemob. The instructions were to find a partner, and both download a half hour MP3 and meet at the secret starting area.

via subtlemob At IndieCade | The Indie Game Magazine – Indie Game Reviews, Previews, News & Downloads.

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I’d reviewed Stranded Without A Phone review on DIYgamer:

Stranded Without A Phone is an iGadget game from indie developer Gilligames, set in the same universe at their previous release Space HoRSE. (No knowledge of Space HoRSE is required to play and love Stranded, but it does explain why the protagonist is wearing what looks like a stylish dress-shirt-and-diaper ensemble.) I enjoyed the island survival and crafting found in Sims2 Castaway and Lost In Blue 2, so I went in with high hopes for Stranded Without A Phone.

It’s a bit different from Sims and LiB, but maintains a lot of the cool island survival setting.

Via Stranded Without A Phone [Review] « DIYgamer

Now Stranded‘s developer, Gilligames, just released a HD iPad version of Stranded Without A Phone. The new enhanced version promised to take full advantage of the Apple iPad’s resolution, letting you see much more of the island for exploration, searching for salvage, and long-distance boar hunting.

I’ve also heard that the droprate for useful salvage has been increased in the iPad version.

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feelforit is another IndieCade finalist. This one is interactive art for the iToy, I’m really interested in checking it out, it reminds me a bit of my other ambient indie favorites, Osmos and Eufloria.

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There are a lot of awesome games in this year’s IndieCade lineup. Trauma‘s gorgeous environments, new interface and dreamlike storyline see particularly appearing.

TRAUMA Gameplay Preview from Krystian Majewski on Vimeo.

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Ok, my E3 haze is beginning to lift, and it’s time for a wrap-up of  what we’ve been talking about on ThumbGods. We’re talking about the love survival kit app, watching the DragonQuest IV trailer, looking forward to Landit Bandit. Ranker sent us the sexiest videogame commercials. On the E3 front, we’ve gotten caught up in E3 excitement, checked out the new Civ 5, reviewed IndieCade games. (Are you following IndieCade? You should be!) We’ve let you know about the Fallout MMO beta, and adorable button-masher Princess Fury, and indie hit Stranded Without A Phone. And we still have hints for MyTribe on Facebook.

And what E3 coverage would be complete without booth babes?

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Swedish indie devs, The Bearded Ladies, are announce the launch of their retro-inspired helicopter-adventure game Landit Bandit. The game promises co-op or duel mode, sexy girls and killer penguins.

The feel-good digital game of the summer has finally landed. Literally. Join eccentric characters Marley and Lander, as well as hot island babes and Tommy Gun-wielding penguins in Landit Bandit: a retro-looking, 3D casual-physics-based-helicopter game now available on the PlayStation®3 Network priced at a mouth-watering 12.99 Euros.

Landit Bandit has the depth of a cool-blue ocean and offers gameplay to suit a universal audience. Players can compete for the high-score on the global leaderboard – as well as battle head-to-head in 6 unique duels – or work co-operatively across a 20-level campaign against the backdrop of gorgeous 3D levels ranging from the picturesque desert islands to the cool, ice-filled tundra, each packed with enough humour to keep you laughing out loud from one level to the next.

David Skarin, CTO of The Bearded Ladies is elated at the release, “To have our game on the PlayStation®3 Network is great. Its a testimony to the hard work and raw talent of our small independent studio. We’ve defeated a string of self-imposed, gruelling milestones and overcome technical challenges akin to the cerebral workout being offered in the game that would leave any bearded lady weeping. The release brings joy to our hearts, although the real excitement is going to come in monitoring the reaction of the players”.

CEO/Producer, Haraldur Thormundsson added, “We have fulfilled our dreams with the release of Landit Bandit on the Sony PlayStation store. Its been one of the most rewarding expeditions I’ve been part of to date. To have shared the milestone with such a talented – not to mention eccentric group of creatives – is also very special. We’re all confident that players will enjoy the retro-goodness and LOL just as much as we did during the development”.

The North American gaming community can expect to get their hands on the controls of Landit Bandit from July 13^th.

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RainBlood, an RPG from Chinese indie developer Soulframe, has just been released in English translation. Bloodrain uses hand-drawn environments and characters (with a little help form RPGmaker) to create a plot-heavy RPG set in fictionalized China. In this single-player game, players will enter the town of Pang to uncover mysteries involving a plague on the city and hidden loyalties as they fight monsters and avoid would-be assassins. The game takes place in one day in Pang, but flashbacks, interior stories and a complex overall storyline promise to make the game more of an interactive novel than a button-masher.

I’m pretty excited to check it out, I love RPGs in general, and usually indie storylines prevent my friends from having to listen to me whine endlessly about how the game could have been better with more character development.  I also love Chinese myths, but after two years of living in  China, my Mandarin is still basically confined to reading a menu or buying a train ticket, so I’m pleased to see the release of the English version.

There’s also a sequel to Rainblood already in the works.

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Just a quick post to mention that ThumbGods will be hosting the Indie Games blog carnival at the end of May. Send in your indie games posts or articles!

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I keep getting sucked back in for a few more minutes of Osmos, so instead of a proper post, here’s some indie games news from DIYGamer. (Did I mention I’m writing over there now? Because I’m writing over there now.)

Version 2.03 of my beloved Eufloria is out, Brazilian iPhone devs Aleph Games launch AntBlox on March 30th, and Puzzle Bots from Wadget Eye will be out April 30th. (They had me at “puzzle game” and “robots”, but I should also mention that Wadjet Eye is also the team behind Jewish detective game The Shivah)

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I have a review of the awesome indie game Eufloria up on Bytten today:

Not since I first discovered Civ2 has a game made me late for so many things. Eufloria offers two of the same addictive qualities as the Civilization series, both the empire-spreading and the need to play just a few more minutes until the next mini-milestone. Eufloria simplifies the unit selection and improvement add-ons of the real-time strategy genre, presenting mystical space lifeforms in a surprisingly vibrant universe. You play not as a general or political leader, but as a collection of seedlings, and your goal is to grow, and spread, take over neighboring asteroids, and make the growers proud.

Read the rest over on Bytten

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Issue 9 of Indie Games Mag (the one with my BeeAppi article) is on sale now!

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Attention heathen aliens. The galaxy is not big enough for both of us.
First we tried leaflets, and you would not repent…
Then we tried hymns, and you would not repent…
Now we confront you with holiest persuader of all. Space-borne thermonuclear missiles. Prepare to die.

Cliff Harris of Positech Games (We’ve blogged about his other indie games like Democracy 2, Kudos and Kudos 2, and on Positech’s business model) has just added a new DLC pack for Gratuitous Space Battles. You’ll be fighting The Order, alien zealots who plan to wipe you out with shiny new weapons:

Radiation Guns

Bullet-firing weapons which deliver a radioactive payload which eats away at your ship from the inside, even if you manage to restore your shields after the initial impact. They also come with a free creepy green glow effect!

Nuclear Missiles

All the fun of radiation guns, in missile form!

Limpet Mines [

Tiny robotic drones which seek out fast moving enemy fighters and attach to them, slowing them down and allowing your heroic gunners to take an easy shot at those heathen alien swine.

Firefly Rockets

Think of them as ‘Rockets 2.0′, faster and more deadly.

You can get it here.  And, yes, there’s a strong possibility that I posted this just to share “then we tried hymns, and you would not repent.”

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If you’ve ever zoned out watching your iTunes visually represent your favorite songs, this game is for you.

Music Catch is a game the way Frisbee is a game. You’re really enjoying the good weather and time with friends, as you toss the Frisbee and half-heartedly keep count. With Music Catch, you’re doing the same thing, enjoying relaxing music and images.

This isn’t a hardcore game by any stretch of the imagination, but it is a fantastic mental vacation. Shapes drift across the screen, changing color, size and flow to match the music. You idly try to scoop up yellow shape and avoid red ones, but no stress. This is one of the least copetitive games I’ve ever seen.

I’ve played a lot of games that claim to be different, but are really just a pretty version of match-3 or hidden objects. Music Catch really is different.

Bookmark this for a relaxing break on a busy day!

Via Reflexive Arcade: Music Catch.

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GLPeas, the British indie developer behind the Xbox Live Carcophony, announce their new project BlindGiRl, also for Xbox Live.

GLPeas’ stated goals are very Meg-friendly, with a promise to develop innovative, unique, non-violent games with an emphasis on gameplay over pretty graphics. No guns and no 3d shininess. Sounds fantastic, but they’re mysteriously silent about exactly what BlindGiRl is. You can follow their evasive Twitter stream in hopes of finding out more.

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TayKrOn, the folks who did the PC game Slide Colors, as well as bunch of Kongregate games, announce the launch of Slide Colors for the Xbox.  I reviewed Slide Colors fir Indie Game Mag a few months ago, and my IGM review was quoted in the press release announcing the XBox version. The XBox version will cost 80 Microsoft points, which is a dollar in non-stupid currency, so it’s well worth checking out this match-three.

SubSoap, behind Faerie Solitaire (did I mention how much I liked this game?) are planning the launch of an episodic sequel.  I thought the original Faerie Solitaire was adorable and I can’t wait to see the new features.

Finally, don’t forget that Indie Game Mag is running a sale through Valentine’s Day!

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Want to subscribe to Indie Game Mag without paying $25 a year? As gamedrinkcode has pointed out, gamers can only spend $10 on their hobby, which is why Indie Game Mag is offering a Pay What You Want sale. Get a year’s digital subscription for $1, or $10, or however much you’d like, now through February 8th. Which Mike seems to think is Valentine’s Day.

Via The Pay-What-You-Want We Heart IGM Sale

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gamedrinkcode has a quick comic about how to afford a $15 indie game.   It’s funny how a pretty box and shrinkwrap will dramatically change the perceived value of a game! I don’t hate mainstream titles just because I also like indie games, though.

Via gamedrinkcode » Archive » How to afford an indie game

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The awesome JayIsGames site is running a Best of Casual Gameplay 2009 contest.

Adventure is a hard call — since Monkey Island: Screaming Narwhal, Time Gentlemen, Please! and Wonderland Adventures: Mysteries of Fire Island are all in the running. I think Monkey Island wins for me… with TGP in second . I enjoyed Wonderland Adventures, but it just can’t compete with Guybrush Threepwood or foulmouthed Dan and Ben.

Some of my other favorites on this list are A Case Of The Crabs, under Browser Adventure, Nancy Drew Dossier: Resorting To Danger under Hidden Objects. (I also helped out with NDD: Resorting to Danger so I’m not entirely unbiased) Faerie Solitaire is running for best Time Management… so is Build-a-Lot 4, which means I am officially the only person who hated Build-a-Lot 3. The frustrating Don’t Look Back under Interactive Art, although this game was made for  people with more patience and skill than me, I did like the myth theme.

Vote for your favorites, or just use this as list of games to check out.

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In 2009, I reviewed indie games like Funky Farm 2, A Case Of The Crabs, Rotoadventures Momo’sQuest, Slayer of Dragon,  Democracy 2,  Electric Box,  Faerie Solitaire, and CyberWord. I plan to keep focusing on creative, indie games next year. I also played major mainstream titles, like Cartoon Network’s new MMO Fusionfall, and James Patterson’s Women’s Murder Club:  Games of Passion for the DS. ThumbGods reviewed the match-3 Atlantis, Totem Tribe, National Geographic’s Mystery of Cleopatra, Tales of Monkey Island: Launch of the Screaming Narwhal, Sims 2 on the DS, and Nancy Drew Dossier: Resorting To Danger! Major misses  this year were  My Boyfriend,  Create-a-Mall,  the disappointing Build-a-lot 3, and Jack in Lost in Blue 2. (Not all of LiB2. Just Jack.)

I tried to branch out a bit from reviews, and started writing some hints, including a guide to solving MyTribe mysteries and hints for Nancy Drew Dossier: Resorting To Danger! I’ll probably keep doing this whenever I’m really proud of solving a puzzle and want to help out.

Thumb Gods had a great guest post when when Lexton Collins reviewed Runes Of Magic. I guest posted reviews of Cake Mania 3 and Ciao Bella, over on Casual Gamer Chick, Crayon Physics Deluxe review on Angry Gamers, Travians: Asterix Meets The Sims on SeeJaneGame, and contributed to several issues of Indie Game Mag.

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The major difference between Neverdie Studios’ upcoming Next Island and other online worlds seems to be the time-traveling mechanic. Instead of opening up new areas of the map, players can travel to other times for other resources and items (which reminds me slightly of character “revelations” in Slayer Of Dragon).

From the press release:

New York – Dec. 4, 2009 – Next Island, a new free-to-download and free-to-play virtual world developed on the Entropia Universe platform is now accepting sign-ups for its open beta expected mid January. The first 1000 players who sign-up now at www.nextisland.com will get a virtual goods starter pack and will have the opportunity to help shape the development of this new online world.

Envisioned as a beautiful and exciting paradise, Next Island is designed to attract the rapidly growing virtual world community looking for the next world to explore and the opportunity to turn virtual enterprise into real-world cash, as well as new users to the virtual world gaming experience.

“We are truly excited to welcome experienced virtual world entrepreneurs as well as those who have never created an online avatar before to visit Next Island,” said David Post, founder, Next Island. “Our online paradise will captivate players with its unique time travel gameplay, real money economy and superior graphics.”

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I don’t often post press releases in their entirety (and I get a bit annoyed with publicists who think I should) but I loved this one and wanted to share. The games aren’t bad, either.

Santa Claus Presents The Indie Video Games Advent Calendar 2009

Santa’s Office, North Pole (December 3, 2009) – Santa Claus announced today the indie xmas advent calendar is available for every merry indie gamer out there. Santa’s official advent calendar is featuring unique and innovate indie video games at www.indiexmas.com

The Indie games advent calendar features 24 doors, which can be opened one-by-one. Behind each door, gamers find one or more fun indie game to play, and trailers or demos to watch. Naturally, the indie advent calendar is only available in Christmas time.

When Santa was asked about the fun factor of these games, he replied with a warm “Ho ho ho!” laughter and continued eating porridge.

To follow the Santa’s official indie advent calendar, please visit www.indiexmas.com.

About Santa Claus:

Santa Claus, also known as Saint Nicholas, Father Christmas, Kris Kringle or simply “Santa”, is a legendary figure who, in many Western cultures, brings gifts to the homes of the good children during the late evening and overnight hours of Christmas Eve, December 24.

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New iPhone dev studio Bee Appi officially launches their first creation today. CyberWord is a candy-colored Bejeweled-meets-Boggle, built for whiling away time on the train or in the waiting room, but with an addictive blend of  match-3 mechanics and wordplay.

“Most word games simply ask the player to look at the screen,” developer Karen Jirak says, “but CyberWord adds a more interactive dimension by asking players to touch letters, swipe words, and shake the phone.”  CyberWord offers different playmodes, each with a slightly different twist on the swap and swipe mechanic. Challenge mode asks players to create 12 words before time runs out, with increasingly difficult levels. (Try the Easy setting for a particularly niece-friendly game, Jirak used her first-grade niece as a beta tester for the simpler vocab and easier goals.) Infinite mode adds a bomb, a familiar mechanic from match-3, and Puzzle is an untimed mode, requiring players to use up all the letters on the screen without replacement letters. Although you’ll spend most of the game rearranging the bright letter tiles, CyberWord also has adorable anime-eyed creatures cheering your successes and decorating the margins, for a sweet bit of character without falling into the pink trap.

Future updates include tying CyberWord in with Facebook Connect to share scores for a competitive wordsearch element. Don’t worry if you’ve been annoyed by the status-update barrage from friends playing FarmVille or recruiting mobsters, Jirak promises players can choose how frequently to share their scores on Facebook, and sharing on Facebook isn’t a requirement for progressing in CyberWord.

The BeeAppi team is downloading and playing a wide variety of iPhone games as they consider their next project, but we can expect this to be the first of many adorable BeeAppi games.

For more on Karen, BeeAppi and CyberWord, check out my full story in the next issue of Indie Game Mag.

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The next issue of Indie Game Magazine is out!

Issue 7 contains a review of Monkey Island (Episodes 1-3, not just Screaming Narwhal), my Slide Colors review, other game reviews, and new articles on indie games in general.

Via Issue 7: November / December 2009 | Indie Game Magazine.

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Issue 6 of Indie Game Mag is out today!

I reviewed Faerie Solitaire a while ago and I’m so happy to see this game made the cover of Indie Game Mag.

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From the press release:

2BeeGames, the leading online community for independent games, has officially announced that their second Indie Game Competition has begun on August 1st. The grand prize winner will receive $10,000 and will enter negotiations with Zoo Games, Inc. for a multi-platform publishing contract.

Aspiring game designers everywhere are invited to create and submit a new, original title starting August 1st until September 15th. Throughout the six week submission phase, participants are encouraged to combine creativity and a passion for gaming towards the development of a new game. Once finished, the game can be submitted to the 2BeeGames.com website for judging. The 2BeeGames community, aka “The Hive”, will play and rate the contestants’ games and vote on their favorites along with a panel of judges. Finalists will be announced in October and a winner will be chosen November 3rd.

In the first 2BeeGames Indie Game Competition, rising developer Cipher Prime beat out intense competition to win $10,000 and is currently negotiating a publishing deal for its upcoming title, Auditorium, a unique and ethereal audio-visual puzzle game. Now, the call for the next game to shake up the indie gaming scene once again has gone out to be answered.

In addition to the second Indie Game Competition, 2BeeGames.com is hosting an “8 Weeks In 8-Bit” contest, where gaming fans are encouraged to submit original works of art inspired by the 8-bit gaming era. The first week of the contest called for gamers to create and submit the ultimate “8-bit Hero,” and the winning designs are up for display on 2BeeGames.com today. There will be a new theme for each week of the contest, with eight different opportunities to win great prizes from “8 Weeks In 8-Bit” sponsor, GamersGate.

For official competition rules and news on the second 2BeeGames Indie Game Competition, as well as information related to “8 Weeks of 8-Bit,” please visit: http://www.2BeeGames.com.

I blogged about the last set of winners, and I can’t wait to see the next winners!

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