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The Joystiq Indie Pitch: Fingle
Indie developers are the starving artists of the video-game world, often brilliant and innovative, but also misunderstood, underfunded and more prone to writing free-form poetry on their LiveJournals. We at Joystiq believe no one deserves to starve, and many indie developers are entitled to a fridge full of tasty, fulfilling media coverage, right here. This week, Adriaan de Jongh and Bojan Endrovski of Game Oven feel out the indie industry with Fingle, a finger foreplay title for iPad. What's your game called and what's it about?The game is called Fingle, which obviously is a play on words on "finger." It has a bit of mingle and fondle in it as well. The game is about bringing people closer together. A lot closer.A bit more in detail, Fingle is a cooperative two-player puzzle game for the iPad. Both players drag up to five buttons on color-matching targets. The targets often move and you move your fingers with them. The puzzles were designed in a way that it is impossible to avoid contact, resulting in intimate or awkward intertwined finger moments -- depending on who you play with, of course. And there are a few slow funk tunes in the mix to set the mood.Is Fingle solely a foreplay game, or is there a deeper strategy you envision for it?Fingle is most definitely more than a foreplay game. The first part of the game is intimate, but as players get accustomed to the feel and touch of each others fingers, the game slowly switches focus. Later levels require more and more cooperation and trust among players to finish them.The foreplay element is the lure, the hook, it's what will catch your attention. But it is also what sets the mood throughout the game. The visual style and music are completely true to that idea and help reinforce the formula. The result is an intimate game, sometimes suggestive, but only as dirty as the mind will make it.
Fezes are cool: An afternoon with Phil Fish
Amidst the gridlocked, city-wide pandemonium that is SXSW Interactive, I was able to rescue Fez's lead designer and artist Phil Fish from a pack of ravenous, business-card waving fans long enough for an interview. We set up at the quiet end of the Palmer Events Center's glass-lined second floor, standing at a chest high, sidewalk cafe-esque table overlooking Zilker Park. It had been raining for two days straight, but that morning the clouds had parted and festival attendees were treated to one of the few gorgeous spring afternoons Texas will get this year.Fez has missed its most recently announced release window of Q1 2012, but the fact that the game is undergoing Microsoft certification means that it'll be out relatively soon. "We almost made it to Q1," Fish said. "We entered certification like two weeks ago, but we actually just failed it, which is kinda standard. Pretty much everybody fails their first cert."Microsoft has a two-month window in which it can release Fez once it has gone gold, and Fish wants to make sure it happens as quickly as possible. "We're trying to put pressure on them to release it as soon as possible because the zeitgeist is really good right now, with the movie starting to get a lot of play and the award. And, also, it's been five years. I don't want to wait another two months after that."
Fez wins 2012 IGF 'Seumas McNally Grand Prize'
The dust has settled and only one independently developed title is left standing. Seconds ago Fez was announced as the winner of the 'Seumas McNally Grand Prize' at the 14th annual Independent Games Festival Awards.This is the second IGF award for the Polytron-developed title. In 2008, Fez took home the IGF award for excellence in art. After nearly five years of development, Fez is undergoing certification for release on Xbox Live Arcade.
Capy Games wins 'XBLA Award' and guaranteed MS publishing deal for Super T.I.M.E. Force
Capy Games, developer of adorable guzzle-'em-up Critter Crunch and the gorgeous Superbrothers Sword & Sworcery EP, has won the Microsoft-sponsored "XBLA Prize" during the 14th Annual Independent Games Festival Awards, held this evening in San Francisco. The recipients receive a rare digital copy of the now-delisted advergame, Yaris.No, wait, it says here they get a guaranteed first-party publishing deal via Microsoft's Live service, including Xbox Live Arcade, Windows Phone and Windows ... Computer. In this case, the game headed to XBLA is Super T.I.M.E. Force!The award comes with a few other bonuses too: Microsoft will provide funding to complete the game if necessary, and augment its development with several first-party support services, including usability, testing, and a guy who never looks up from his Blackberry.
Tonight's nominees (and winners) at the 14th annual IGF Awards
In only a few moments, the Independent Games Festival will honor the best in indie gaming with the 14th annual IGF Awards.The nominees are listed after the break and we'll make sure to update the list as awards are handed out.
IGF nomination doesn't guarantee success, says Solipskier dev
Michael Boxleiter may not be a familiar name, but you've most likely played Solipskier -- at least we hope you have. Boxleiter was one of ten indie developers talking during The Indie Soapbox Session at GDC 2012, a freeform, large-group therapy session for indies to talk about what's on their mind.Boxleiter vented on the Independent Games Festival -- getting into the IGF isn't indicative of becoming a successful developer, he warned. "I believed this myth of IGF makes you, IGF creates the future and makes you into a superstar," he said of the time he first got into game development, years ago. "It's not important -- at least, not very. It's a media junket for you." He says that hard work, putting in the hours every day and making sacrifices is what makes the best game possible."Nobody gives a shit about the IGF," he told a packed house of developers, enthusiasts and reporters alike. It wasn't a statement meant to hurt anyone's feelings, but rather curb expectations that getting into the IGF "makes you." Boxleiter would know, having been chosen for the IGF last year.Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo aren't going to suddenly take interest in your project if you get into the IGF, he said.One particular anecdote about Nintendo icon and legendary game designer Shigeru Miyamoto delighted the audience. Apparently, after Boxleiter's own game was nominated, he saw Miyamoto wandering the halls of GDC and approached the Nintendo legend with a pitch document. Miyamoto then promptly signed his John Hancock and walked away."The IGF should not be as big a deal as it is." While it gets you some press and it's "cool" to see the announcement, he said, in the end it's just an awards show. "It's just hard, hard work. And if you do it, you can all show that amazing thing you have inside you that you want to show to people. You're just going to have to work your ass off."
Stream IGF nominee games through OnLive
Haven't had a chance to play all of the IGF nominees this year? Well, a lot of them aren't out, so that makes sense. OnLive is providing the most stress-free avenue for catching up, with a two-week Indie Showcase on the streaming service.Through March 11, you'll be able to play timed demos of 16 nominees, including: Atom Zombie Smasher, Be Good, Botanicula, Dear Esther, Dustforce, English Country Tune, Frozen Synapse, FTL, Lume, Nitronic Rush, Once Upon a Spacetime, POP, SpaceChem, To The Moon, Toren, and WAY. Your "likes" and play sessions will be tallied by OnLive to determine the most popular IGF game on the service.Then, starting March 5, OnLive will put a bunch of previous IGF honorees on sale. Basically, no matter what, you're going to be able to find some kind of indie thing to play.
IGF 2012 Audience Award voting now open
Despite being into awards shows before they were cool, we're hoping you're not above voting for this year's Independent Game Festival "Audience Award." Voting has just kicked off for 2012's entrants, which comprise all finalist games across all IGF 2012 categories (yes, the list once again includes Fez).Should you choose to cast your favor towards any particular game, you'll want to head to this particularly yellow form and fill things out before February 19. Once you've done as much, we're told a verification email will come through to make sure you're not an evil robot. If you are, in fact, not an evil robot, things should go swimmingly.
The IGF 2012 Student Showcase finalists are ...
We've got the final list of IGF Student Showcase finalists: The Bridge (Case Western Reserve University) Dust (Art Institute of Phoenix) The Floor Is Jelly (Kansas City Art Institute) Nous (DigiPen Institute of Technology) One and One Story (Liceo Scientifico G.B. Morgagni) Pixi (DigiPen Institute of Technology - Singapore) The Snowfield (Singapore-MIT GAMBIT Game Lab) Way (Carnegie Mellon University, Entertainment Technology Center) Of the nearly 300 entrants, these eight were selected to move on to the final stage of the Independent Games Festival. Each receive a cash prize of $500, simply for being selected as finalists. They'll be playable on the show floor at this year's Game Developer's Conference in San Francisco, where one will win the top prize of $3,000.
IGF finalists Smash a Frozen Fez To the Moon (from a cave)
The 14th annual Independent Game Festival finalists have been announced, and this year's finalists are indie-licious (yum). Titles include pop-indie hits Fez, Frozen Synapse, Spelunky and Atom Zombie Smasher, as well as some of our own understated favorites, such as Freebird Games' To the Moon. The winner of the Seumas McNally Grand Prize receives $30,000, the winner of the Nuovo Award for "abstract, shortform and unconventional game development" gets $5,000, and all other category winners receive $3,000. The awards will take place March 7 at GDC. Check out the entire list of finalists right here:
IGF 2012 entrants have a crack at winning the first ever 'XBLA Prize'
Independent Games Festival entrants aren't just charming, attractive, and creative -- they're also potential XBLA developers. At least they are now, after today's announcement of the first "XBLA Prize" by Microsoft and Game Developers Conference administrators UBM, which gives IGF entrants a crack at being fast-tracked on Xbox Live Arcade for publishing by Microsoft. According to the prize sponsors, a "standalone jury of independent game creators" will apparently collaborate with Microsoft to "identify a shortlist" -- a list which will then be considered for the XBLA prize. If the winner so chooses, his/her project will then be offered funding for development across Xbox 360, Windows Phone 7, and Windows, as well as given the opportunity to employ Microsoft's bevy of testing, marketing, and usability support. Alongside today's prize announcement, Microsoft head of first-party publishing Ted Woolsey also revealed that Microsoft invests upward of $20 million annually on XBLA titles, and offered support for the multi-year partnership with the IGF. "The independent development scene wouldn't be nearly as robust as it is today without the exposure provided by the IGF. We look forward to working with the IGF and having a window into to the huge array of independent games that are submitted every year so that we can continue to find the best games to share with our customers."
Find the time to check out Super T.I.M.E. Force
It's an IGF 2012 entry and, now that we've seen it in action, easily one of our most anticipated games. Super T.I.M.E. Force looks like distilled chaos, only in space. With guns. And giant explosions. Obviously this teaser piqued our interest, so we talked to Capybara Games president Nathan Vella for some more info. He wouldn't budge on platforms, but told us we shouldn't expect to see this on iOS platforms. He told us he hopes to see the game in "lots of places," but "until we have ink on paper" he can't say with any kind of certainty. Vella says the idea for the game originated at the Toronto Game Jam, where three of Capy's guys came up with the concept. It's been expanded since, though Vella says there isn't a rush to get this out the door. The studio is taking its time with it, so don't expect to get your hands on it anytime soon.
Make T.I.M.E. to go through the IGF 2012 entries
Want to browse through 568 of the best, most innovative, weirdest games you'll see this year? The Independent Game Festival has posted all of its entrants for the 2012 Main Competition, with screens, synopses and, in some cases, videos. We're staring at this list trying to figure out some way to sift through it. IGF chair Brandon Boyer, who had a headstart, has pointed out a new game by Sword & Sworcery/Clash of Heroes developer Capy, called Super T.I.M.E. Force, in which players "JUMP THROUGH TIME AND KILL STUFF THAT NEVER SHOULD'VE HAPPENED."
Independent Games Festival 2012 accepting submissions
Independent game makers: did you know there's, like, a whole festival for you? The Independent Games Festival isn't the "funnel cakes" type of festival, but rather the "widespread recognition and cash prizes" kind of festival. If you'd like to participate in the annual pageantry, the IGF's organizers are now accepting submissions. If you're a student, the deadline for you to submit your world-changing (or just cute!) indie game is October 31; the deadline for the main competition is October 17. Chances are, you'll like the changes being implemented this year. According to a letter posted by IGF chair Brandon Boyer, the judge and jury system, which includes "our 150-200 judges recommending games in certain categories, and discipline-specific juries of 8-10 subject matter experts assigned to each award," will be returning from last year. But the prizes for award winners chosen by those juries have changed. They're bigger. If you win the Seumas McNally Grand Prize, you'll receive $30,000, with which you could certainly fund the development of a small game, or get part of the way through the title screen of the AAA shooter you've suddenly decided to make.
