indiecade-2013
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Murasaki Baby is the weirdest game
Murasaki Baby is a very strange game, and I say that having played The Path. Mechanically, it's just a collection of pokes, prods and swipes on the PlayStation Vita's touch screen and rear touch pad. But everything else, everything else is about as bizarre as could be. The game stars a little girl (of sorts), whose only love in life seems to be a heart-shaped balloon she carries everywhere. Her affection is understandable, given that popping said balloon means her immediate death. You don't actually play as the little girl, though; instead you use your fingers to interact with the world, in some cases literally dragging the girl somewhere she doesn't want to be. Oh, and have I mentioned the little girl's mouth is on top of her head, and that watching her laugh is a nightmare on stilts?
Project Holodeck makes you look kind of silly during a VR zombie apocalypse
The Oculus Rift had a big presence at IndieCade this year, but one of the VR headset's most interesting uses wasn't being showcased at the official Oculus booth. Enter Project Holodeck, a self-contained virtual reality system created by a team of students. The system employs PlayStation Move for positional tracking, a Razer Hydra for in-game control and an Oculus Rift for the display. All the components are self-contained with a backpack and a helmet, meaning there are no wires to trip you up, allowing you to actually "walk" inside of virtual space. I took Project Holodeck for a spin, trying my hand at some virtual zombie slaying, and the experience was certainly unique. See it for yourself in this video.
Quadrilateral Cowboy invites you to hack the planet (or a hallway)
Hacking computers has become commonplace in video games. The subversive activity has worked its way into countless games, even those where it doesn't belong (really, TMNT?). Hacking in games is generally a vague abstraction of the real thing. You hold a button as a progress bar slowly fills, rotate panels in a thinly-disguised version of Pipe Dream, or maybe you connect circuits in a diagram. Quadrilateral Cowboy, the latest from Thirty Flights of Loving developer Blendo Games, takes a drastically different approach to computer infiltration. You aren't just pressing buttons or solving a mini-game; you're actually typing in code. Want to turn off a security laser? Easy, just type "laserX.off(Y)" into your portable hacking deck, where X is the designated number of the laser and Y is the number of seconds it will remain off. Sure, it's still an abstraction of the real thing, but hacking in Quadrilateral Cowboy requires a bigger investment in both time and forethought than most espionage games, and pulling off a flawless hack is thrilling.
IndieCade 2013's Night Games are inventive, goofy fun
IndieCade isn't just a huge celebration of independent game development, it's also a street festival designed to appeal to all types of people, not just those who enjoy traditional video games. Enter Night Games, a special IndieCade event featuring lots of big, physical games designed to be played in the dark. That includes everything from the rhythmic, Kinect-powered Soundodger Live to The Hearst Collection, a life-sized recreation of a museum art heist, complete with laser security grid. Head past the break for a video rundown of our favorite Night Games, which turned out to be one of the highlights of the entire IndieCade festival.
Take a video tour of IndieCade 2013
IndieCade 2013 took place in Los Angeles over the weekend, and the festival played host to countless independently developed projects, ranging from traditional video games to more physical, hands-on installations. That means everything from Shovel Knight to Edgar Rice Soirée, a bizarre game played entirely with dangling PlayStation Move controllers. You'll spot both games in our video tour of the IndieCade festival, along with Quadrilateral Cowboy, which won IndeiCade's Grand Jury Prize, and the indie arcade game Killer Queen. You'll even see yours truly donning a virtual reality suit for the self-explanatory Project Holodeck. Check out the video, and stay tuned to Joystiq, where we'll be publishing our IndieCade coverage throughout the week. [Music: "Within Time" by Trash80]
Overheard@IndieCade: What's IndieCade?
The Los Angeles International Airport is crowded with League of Legends swag, the "2013 World Championship" logo plastered across backpacks and t-shirts, character pins on shoulder straps, Riot Games peeking out from under ponytails. The League of Legends world finals concluded at the Los Angeles Staples Center on Friday night, sold out to 11,000 fans – and on Saturday morning, a lot of them are heading home. They could stay and revel in even more video game joy at IndieCade, the indie game festival in Culver City, just 15 minutes away from the Staples Center. It's a casual, outdoor show featuring tons of new, innovative games on a variety of platforms: PCs, PS4, Vita, Wii U, Oculus Rift, tablets, phones and more. One game takes place with Oculus Rift and a light gun, inside of a human-size hamster ball. It's hard to miss. But at LAX, the League of Legends fans have missed it. I ask two if they'd ever even heard of IndieCade. "No," one fan holding a poster of the League of Legends champion Katarina tells me. "I'm not from around here, so I've never heard of it." His friend, wearing a bright red World Championship shirt, a branded backpack and a Rammus hat, shakes his head. "Nope."
All nominated IndieCade games offered Desura distribution and promotion
Linden Lab is offering free Desura distribution and promotion to all IndieCade finalists, the Second Life developer announced. The offer extends to all PC, Mac and Linux nominees in the games festival, which takes place this weekend in Los Angeles. According to IndieCade's website, 21 of the 36 nominees are eligible for the offer, which includes a spot on the indie game distribution platform without any listing fees as well as "promotional advertising" as part of Desura's partner program. The promotion and placement of the IndieCade finalists' games isn't a huge challenge for Linden Lab, as it acquired Desura in July. Still, it's the thought that counts.
Treasurenauts plans 3DS eShop excavation for December
Renegade Kid's Jools Watsham says the studio's latest project, 3DS platformer Treasurenauts, has been rated by the ESRB and is slated to launch on the 3DS eShop in December. If you're near LA and want an early taste, Treasurenauts will be playable in the Nintendo booth during Indiecade next month. Treasurenauts combines platforming with a greed-fueled health system: The more gems you have, the more health you have; get hit and lose some loot. The game features local multiplayer bolstered by Download Play and numerous playable characters. No price has been announced.
IndieCade finalists: Gone Home, Super Time Force, Reus, 33 more
The IndieCade 2013 jury sifted through 850 game submissions and found 36 gems to be featured and playable during the festival the weekend of October 5 in Culver City, California. This year's games include Gone Home, Gunpoint, Kentucky Route Zero, Nidhogg, Porpentine's Twine Compilation, Reus, Rogue Legacy, Save the Date, Spin the Bottle, Starseed Pilgrim, Super Time Force, That Dragon Cancer, Towerfall and Upgrade Soul. Along with these special selections, IndieCade will have 120 more games playable in the PlayStation, Nintendo, Ouya, Oculus Rift and IndieCade tents, plus a lineup of Digital Selects: 7 Grand Steps, BUDLR, Dominique Pamplemousse, Gravity Ghost, Potatoman Seeks the Troof, Scale, Soundself, Tenya Wanya Teens and more, including a mystery game to be announced during the show. Entry to IndieCade starts at $20 with a Festival Day pass, and runs to $450 for an All Access badge, which includes the professional conference track, the Creators' Lounge, the Garden Party and all festival activities.
Oculus and IndieCade announce month-long 'VR Jam'
With Oculus Rift mods already infiltrating popular games, Oculus VR and IndieCade are teaming up to promote a special game jam in August. The VR Jam will pit independent developers against one another in a contest to create the best games designed explicitly for the Oculus Rift virtual reality headset. The jam will be separated into two categories. The first is the "Selected Developers" competition, which will consist of 10 "hand-picked" independent developers. The "Open Call" competition is open to all comers. "Over $50,000 in prizes" is up for grabs, with the winning developers in each category taking home $10,000 each. The winners will also have their work showcased at this year's IndieCade festival, taking place October 3-6 in Los Angeles. VR Jam begins on August 2 and ends on August 25, with milestones expected from developers on August 9 and 16. Those interested in competing can sign up on the VR Jam website.
Breezing through Flower on PlayStation Vita
Having indirectly announced the PlayStation Vita version of thatgamecompany's Flower, the Indiecade booth at this year's E3 went on to hosting a playable version of the game. Flower on the smaller PlayStation suffers no loss in its vibrancy or serenity (provided you have some headphones handy), and it offers a new control scheme suited to the platform's touch screen.
