Indie Games | Geekscape

PAX West 2018: ‘Aground’ Early Access Won’t Leave You High And Dry

by Courtney DossettSeptember 10, 2018

I’ve been really drawn to pixel-art style games lately; pretty much anything with sprite avatars catches my interest. The problem is a lot of the games with that art style aren’t super interesting. ‘Aground’ managed to catch my eye and keep my interest. It’s a side scroller survival game, but it has a lot of different mechanics that make the game stand out from other similar games.

I got to play the demo for 10-15 minutes. You play a person who has been shipwrecked on an island and has to collect resources, build shelter, gather and store food etc. to survive. First thing off the bat – you get to customize your character from gender, hair skin and eye colors, and clothes. I guess, you can customize it to an extent since they are pixel-sprites BUT it’s a hell of a lot more satisfying than character selection in ‘Sea of Thieves’.

I promise character customization is the key to the best game — Look it’s me!

You are then shown a quick reprise of your shipwrecking before you do a short tutorial of how to collect wood and food and progress through the story line. You meet different NPCs who help you along with quests (Let’s build a storage room!) but the cool thing about the NPCs on this island is that they don’t just sit there and deliver the same one-liners outside their designated area, they actually help you gather resources while you’re off doing different things around the island.

I didn’t progress very far through the story during my short time with the demo, but I definitely got hooked. I am a major fan of survival games like this, and was charmed with the art style. The game also has cool features like MOVING LEFT (I had to get a hint on that one), mining, and eventually, dragons!

I think the best part of this game is its conception. After the release and huge disappointment of ‘No Man’s Sky’, David Maletz, the designer said “I can build a better game than that!” which eventually lead to the creation of Aground, which, while admittedly is very different from NMS, is a much much better game.

‘Aground’ is currently in Early Access on Steam and available for $10.

PAX West 2018: ‘Driftland’ Is Already A Hit In Early Access!

by Courtney DossettAugust 31, 2018

I have sunk more time than I would like to admit into turned based and real time strategy games. There was a dark time (or two) when all I would do after I woke up was eat, play Civilization… and go back to sleep. There are also those countless hours I’ve spent playing various RTS mobile games on my phone when I couldn’t sleep. So, when I saw Driftland from Star Drifters, I was intrigued to see just how it measured up against the other RTS style games I’ve played.

In Driftland you play as a mage, trying to rebuild your kingdom after a magical apocalypse, cobbling a new land together from floating islands. There are four playable races (humans, dwarves, wild elves, and dark elves), each with different strengths and weaknesses that affect gameplay. For example, dwarves are really good at geomancy, engineering, and resource use, but aren’t able to use dragons when they appear later in the game.

All races have basic skills that help you expand and explore the islands hidden around the map. You can lift the fog of war by using floating eyeball minions, move islands closer to build bridges, or setup a temporary portal to send out scouts to explore the islands and find resources.

Driftland draws a lot of parallels to Civilization in the best ways – scout, claim, build, mine resource, build armies, fight against other expanding kingdoms. Unlike Civilization and many other games I’ve played, you don’t have to worry about micromanaging your workers or ending your turn, which makes the game feel much more fast-paced, and allows you to focus on the bigger picture. Players have different avenues for achieving victory, either by conquering the world, or expanding and defending your kingdom faster than the other rival kingdoms on the map. The game features three different map sizes, with a small map consisting of 30 islands and a large map at 65.

It took me a few minutes to get used to the controls (okay, so like 10-15 but remember I’m bad), and I was only able to play for 30 or 40 minutes, but I could easily fall back into my hobbit hole days of just sitting and playing nothing but this game for hours. I was thoroughly impressed with this game, and its small (15 people!) team of developers. This game allows for so much variation in experience, between the race choice, map size, and random competing factions (of other races even), I simply don’t see this game growing stale.

Driftland is currently in early access on Steam for $20… which is totally reasonable, and totally worth it.

The full game should be released in the first quarter of 2019, with multiplayer (up to 6 players) and 4 campaigns available in addition to the single player option. Hopefully they will be able to expand to other platforms as well, as I could see this being a huge hit on the Switch.

Geekscape Games Reviews: ‘Blues and Bullets’ – Episode 2!

by jake108April 18, 2016

Blues and Bullets is a title that is unique to the current video game marketplace. With all these simulation games, all of the FPS’ at our disposal, it’s easy for any indie game to get lost in the frenzy. Blues and Bullets deserves a play through, and at the very least, your attention. What A Crowd of Monsters has accomplished is a stunning piece of art filled with mystery, emotion, and suspense. If you’re just catching on to this title now, feel free to read my review of Blues and Bullets Episode 1. Otherwise, let’s jump in!

Episode two picks up where the first episode left off. Like other games told episodically, A Crowd of Monsters provides gamers with a “Previously on” segment that recaps everything you did in the first episode. I personally found it helpful to revisit your choices from episode one, something you can do in the main menu. While the first episode set the foundation for Blues and Bullets, episode two dives in head first into developing the game’s main cast of characters. This is done by weaving in flashbacks from Elliot Ness’ point-of-view. Here, we are able to see just what kind of man Elliot Ness was before he lost his friends to Al Capone. What I like most here is that A Crowd of Monsters puts games into the shoes of an Elliot Ness who’s in the middle of an extra-marital affair. What’s unique about this is that players aren’t able to avoid Ness’ mistakes altogether, but instead are tasked with where to go from there.

This episode also delves into Ness’ band of “Untouchables” and what exactly happened to them. By the first episode, we had an inkling that something didn’t go down right, and Elliot had only himself to blame. With Shaking the Hive, gamers can get the full backstory as to what happened, and where Elliot Ness was when it happened. Juxtaposed with Ness’ flashbacks is the game’s main story arc. Let’s not forget that the reason why Ness came out of retirement was to investigate a string of child abductions, including Al Capone’s own granddaughter.

As we found out in episode one, a cult located within the city is responsible for the abductions. What’s unknown is what exactly they want with the children. However, the cult seemingly dates back decades before Ness takes on the case. In fact, the cult’s history may blend with Ness’ own history, something he’s slowly starting to figure out.

Shaking the Hive has more action than the first episode. This may come as a relief for players who were craving more gunplay. While the action is somewhat linear and “on-the-rails”, it fits the game’s scheme and world. This, coupled with witty banter between Ness and Capone make for an exciting sequence. Episode two also returns a chapter in which you can play detective and piece together a clues to achieve the answers you’re looking for. While it does feel like A Crowd of Monsters is trying to achieve a sort of formula for these episodes, I must stress that it is a welcomed formula and at no time did I feel terribly bored or jaded to what was going on.

Overall, episode 2 does well with representing the classic noir theme. If you’re into Telltale games and episodic storytelling, definitely take a chance on Blues and Bullets. You will not be disappointed.

Blues and Bullets episodes 1 & 2 are available now on Xbox One, PC. Episode 1 is available now on the Playstation 4 and episode 2 will be available later this month.

IndieCade 2013 Is Here!

by Kari LaneOctober 4, 2013

Like video games? Well, if you have not heard of IndieCade yet, you need to listen up!

The IndieCade Festival is the biggest independent game celebration in the nation. This premiere event is held each October in the Los Angeles Area and is open to the industry and to the public.

Events October 3rd – 6th, 2013 include a professional conference track, business networking, social events, tournaments and entertainment, as well as family-focused activities, meet-and-greets with game creators, hands-on gameplay with more than 150 top independent games.

IndieCade offers a unique opportunity to play and preview the latest innovative indie games of all types and rub shoulders with the creators of the newest games, as well as legends from across the industry.

IndieCade had a successful time at E3 and showed off tons of new games (interactive, kinetic, traditional FPS and more!) Their own festival is currently going on in Culver City at 9300 Culver Blvd. Culver City, CA 90232. Tickets are no longer available online but you can buy them at the festival. Day passes go for only $20 and a family pack of four tickets is only $50! There are some other passes available and you can check out their details here.

If you do not have plans this weekend, you should make your way over to this super fun festival and join in with other game enthusiasts!

Check out highlights video from last year’s festival courtesy of Mentha Designs.

Photos are from IndieCade 2013 courtesy of Mentha Designs

Indie Games Store Now Open On Amazon

by MoreLikeAndyJune 6, 2013

The Amazon Indie Games Store helps independent game developers reach more customers, and helps customers learn about more creative games and the people and processes behind building those games.

It’s not like you couldn’t get these games on Amazon before. It’s just now they will be more prominently shown off to get more people aware of some great indie games out there. The most amazing part to this news is how the bundles are 100% pure profit for the developers that have their games in these bundles. I hope this is something that will continue each time the bundles section is updated.

‘Humble Indie Bundle 6’ Launches! Pay What You Want For Games And It Goes To Charity!

by Shane O'HareSeptember 18, 2012

Ladies and gentlegeeks, today marks the day that the great Humble Indie Bundle 6 launches! The great donation drive goes into play right now! Choose what you pay for six great indie games, and then you can choose how much of your payment goes to the EFF or Childs Play! The games they are offering are:

Thats right you get: Shatter , Rochard, S.P.A.Z., Torchlight & Vessel. Plus if you beat the average (Currently at $5.60) you get Dustforce as well! Can you say soundtracks as well? DRM Free albums come with 5 of the games too! Also if you pay $1 or more you can get these epic games on STEAM so you never lose them! EVER!

Still not sure if you want to take advantage of this great offer? Well take a peak at the trailer for this go at the Humble Bundle.

So check out the official page for The Humble Indie Bundle and go help charity!

‘Routine’ Is Like Amnesia – In Space

by Shane O'HareAugust 15, 2012

What I am about to show you will frighten you. If you have ever played Amnesia or seen any of the hilarious YouTube commentaries, you know how TERRIFYING it can be. Well straight out of GamesCom we get a trailer for Routine, a game that takes place on the moon in a fully fledged moon base. The game features fully randomized puzzles and AI. There is no HUD. No weapons. You run and you hide and die.

No other info about the game is available yet, but it looks fucking scary.

Valve Announces Steam Greenlight: You Can Help Decide What Goes in The Steam Store

by Shane O'HareJuly 9, 2012

The merry band of merry makers merrily marched their way into yet another gaming field. Today they announce their community driven game approval process “Steam Greenlight”

Steam Greenlight, in a nutshell, is Valves method of streamlining the game approval process. It allows developers to submit their game with screenshots, details, specs and trailers and lets the Steam community vote on weather or not the game gets put into the store!

Now I personally think this is great, but I have two concerns with some of their requirements.

Are there any restrictions on what can be posted?

Your game must not contain offensive material or violate copyright or intellectual property rights.

Not contain offensive material? That is pretty vague. I feel that leaves a big window open for valve to say no to certain games and yet let others pass no problem. I am sure some people find a lot of the M rated games on Steam to be offensive. I would like more clarification on this. Safe to say that stuff like JFK: Reloaded will NOT make it onto the store.

What do I need in order to submit my game?

You’ll need a valid and non-limited Steam account (yes, that means you’ll need to own a game on Steam).

Interesting. What constitutes as “owning” a game. Do free to play games like TF2 Free or Fallen Earth count? Is this just a nice way of saying ” you need to grease our palms BEFORE you submit a game that we take a cut of.”.

Those two gripes aside, this is still PRETTY exciting! I can’t wait to see what comes of this.