Posted by ithamore
Fri, 30 Nov 2007 09:00:00 GMT
March 2005 was quite a prolific month for TIGSource, so it is being split into a sub-trilogy for YOT.
Within this first segment of March, there are a couple of posts on Dan! Da! Dan!: OMEGA’s awesome, short-but-sweet, puzzle-block shmup. OMEGA is probably better known as the creator of Every Extend, which was the precursor to Every Extend Extra for the PSP. DDD, however, is my favorite OMEGA game (the more recent Ino_vation comes in as a close second and EE is a solid third).
Also of note is Omega Syndrome: a once commercially available indie RPG inspired by Roswell and old sci-fi B-movies that was abandoned a few months ago. The full version of the game and the last version of the website (the sorry-it’s-quits version) are no longer online. However, an older demo can be downloaded from here, and the Internet Archive still has several iterations of the website preserved for you viewing pleasure and to allow you to see screenshots how good the game once was.
The servers for the Internet Archive’s Wayback Machine tend to get a little wonky nearly every time I begin to work on YOT, so don’t be surprised if you get any “timed out” or “busy server” messages from any of their links I had to use for games and developers who have disappeared in the last year or two. As a side note, it’s disappointing to see how some developers give up, because they don’t want to put more effort into improving their games, or, as in David Moffatt’s case with Omega Syndrome, they have become overwhelmed by a seemingly endless project.
Read more...
Posted in Features, Community | 6 comments
Posted by Derek Yu
Mon, 26 Nov 2007 06:16:00 GMT
2d Boy are actually two men – Ron Carmel and Kyle Gabler. Together, they’re living the indie dream. You may recognize Kyle as the developer behind the Experimental Gameplay Project and Tower of Goo, the unique physics game that has you building structures out of little goo balls. World of Goo, the company’s first title, takes the basic idea behind Tower of Goo, and expands it into a living, breathing world.
Steve Cook got a chance to throw the dynamic duo a few questions about IGF (in which World of Goo is a competitor), the indie life, and how their goo balls are doing1.
Read the full interview here.
1They’re doing pretty goo… d. Good. Get it? I know, I’m sorry.
Posted in Features, Developers, Interviews | Tags 2DBoy, KyleGabler | 10 comments
Posted by Derek Yu
Tue, 16 Oct 2007 07:53:00 GMT
And the winner is… (dun dun dun) Cottage of Doom, by haowan! This zombie survival game interpreted the theme well on a number of levels, from the theme, to the presentation, to the game mechanics. To top it off, it’s an incredibly fun game. Congratulations, man!
It was a close competition, with the top four games all within a few votes of each other. The next three games were Gunlimb (Radnom), Mondo Medicals (cactus), and Space Barnacle (Golds).
To quote haowan:
I know it sounds cheesy but I really think that everyone was a winner here. So many great games were entered, I had an absolute blast playing through them.
Truer words have nary been spoken. For our first competition, it was a rollicking success. All 29 games had something unique about it that was worth playing to see. If you haven’t tried them out, please do!
We’ll definitely have more in the future!
And be sure to check out the Random Gnome’s 3-part write-up on the competition, as well as TIGSource and Indygamer editor Terry’s picks from awhile ago! Thanks, guys!
Posted in Features, Community, Developers, Competitions | 22 comments
Posted by ithamore
Sun, 16 Sep 2007 09:43:00 GMT
In addition to the first of many Kenta Cho posts and some Cave Story and Darwinia loving, you’ll also find in our forth installment of YOT that we also gained several wonderful editors who, after properly introducing themselves, brought a nice dash of variety (including some much needed Linux and Mac seasoning) to the independent gaming community.
Read more...
Posted in Features, Community | 2 comments
Posted by BMcC
Fri, 24 Aug 2007 03:34:00 GMT
Pixel recently posted a little “making of Guxt” feature on his website, which Shih Tzu was kind enough to translate to English for all us gaijin. Thanks, Shih Tzu—you rock!
The feature, er, features screen grabs of the game in development, with notes describing what was being worked on at each point. It’s a pretty cool window into the acclaimed game designer’s creative process and an interesting read for folks wondering what it’s like to make a game. (Man, I would love to see an afterword for Cave Story as well, or maybe a postmortem or two!)
View the translated Making of Guxt online here.
Download the zip (with bonus screen grabs!) here.
Thanks again, Shih Tzu! Excellent work, as always.
Posted in Features, Shoot-em-ups, Developers | Tags Pixel | 11 comments
Posted by ithamore
Sun, 19 Aug 2007 08:10:00 GMT
We now learn Flaming Pear fell upon such bad luck that not only did he have to abandon TIGSource; even the $40 refund he would receive by canceling service with his domain host would help out. Lucky for us, Puppygames donated the necessary funds and Derek took the controls. Then TIGSource began to shape into the site we know and love.
Of note for this installment: Cave Story gets its first appearances on TIGSource, PomPom is interviewed, we learn of Derek’s ex-girlfriend’s inappropriate relationship with Snood (might this ex be the Video Games we read about several posts ago), PopCap is mentioned thrice with no ill word typed, and the announcement of the Sexiest Indie Gamer of All Time Contest (which helped to bolster the self esteem of indie gamers while inadvertently gaining the website some additional search engine hits from “special” keywords).
Read more...
Posted in Features, Community | 7 comments
Posted by Derek Yu
Tue, 14 Aug 2007 00:30:00 GMT
Posted in Features, Competitions | 9 comments
Posted by Derek Yu
Wed, 08 Aug 2007 03:00:00 GMT
I ranted and raved about Game Tunnel’s Top 100 Indie Games, but it was a Top 27 Indie [Art] Games list that put me over the edge and finally convinced me to put together the first parts of this guide right here. Basically, those two lists took the two sides of independent gaming that make me gag – money-lovin’ casual gaming and pseudo- intellectual “arthouse” gaming – and presented them as if they were, in fact, what it’s all about.
Well, you know what – the gaming-for-love-of-gaming “elitists” need their own list, too. ;)
Anyway, Part One is an introduction I penned that’s essentially a love poem to independent gaming and analogies, but I hope gets the point across successfully.
Part Two is a compilation of good independent games (not ranked) that was pared down from a list that TIGForums members put together. The main goal was twofold: to list great games and also to show the diversity and strength of independent developers. It runs the gamut, from text-based IF games to tech-pushing affairs like Penumbra: Overture; from hardcore shoot ‘em ups like Warning Forever to fun, well-made casual games like Outpost Kaloki and Aveyond… and beyond. I think you’d be hard-pressed not to find at least a handful of games you really, really liked in this list.
Parts 3 and 4… well, I have plans for them, but it could go a lot of ways, depending on what people think of the first two parts. One idea was to have Part 3 be an introduction to making your own game, and have Part 4 be a collection of short writings from various people in the community about indie games, with the general theme being the future. Let me know your thoughts!
And I hope you enjoy the article! If you do, spread it around a bit! If you don’t, feel free to let us know why. Open discourse is the only way to go.
Posted in Features, Community | 65 comments
Posted by ithamore
Fri, 27 Jul 2007 20:42:00 GMT
During the second half of January 2005, things were looking good for TIGSource. It was even less demo centric. However, dun, dun, duuun, the specter of despair loomed its head over Flaming Pear as its minions wrought his life in such a way that he must abandon his TIGSource dreams.
Is all hope lost? Has our hero burned out? Shall the nascent TIGSource be trudged upon by the march of time? Find out in the next installment of Ye Olde TIGSource.
Read more...
Posted in Features, Community | 7 comments
Posted by ithamore
Sun, 22 Jul 2007 23:03:00 GMT
In the beginning, TIGSource was the Flaming Pear and the Flaming Pear was TIGSource. Then the Flaming Pear said, “Ginger Monkey Go Home!” Thus he began his lone, opinionated contribution to independent gaming.
A little over a year’s worth of older TIGSource posts were all but lost to the “cybermist.” Luckily, most of it had been preserved at the Internet Archive, and we’re now restoring them to their rightful place.
In the extended, only the first part of January 2005 is included. However, during that time, Flaming Pear had already stepped on some toes, soured any potential relationship TIGSource might have been able to have enjoyed with Indie Gamer, and covered many demos and a freeware titles.
So, if you’re ready to get nostalgic or if you’re a neophyte wanting to do a little catching up, follow the rather lengthy extended. Also, those who are interested in reading the original comments can find them in the Wayback Machine’s archive.
Read more...
Posted in Features, Community | 7 comments
