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Microsoft's message to indies with Xbox One: 'It was sort of weird'
Microsoft's reveal of its next-gen console, the Xbox One, was high on broad entertainment apps such as Skype, interactive programming, media management and Kinect-powered features. Games saw a smaller showing, with two new announcements and a trailer for Call of Duty: Ghosts. Indie games got an even smaller nod – that is, none at all. E3 is right around the corner, with the Microsoft conference on June 10. Maybe that's where all of the Xbox One games are hiding, along with the console's indie plan. We asked a handful of indie developers what Microsoft's presentation today said to them specifically, and what they want to see at E3. Below we have responses from Rami Ismail of Ridiculous Fishing fame, Octodad's Philip Tibitoski, DLC Quest's Ben Kane, Charlie Murder's James Silva, Retro City Rampage's Brian Provinciano and Fez's Phil Fish.
Everybody loves Octodad; here's how the devs made that happen
The path to indie stardom is founded in tenacity, creativity, good timing and a heaping pile of luck. The developers behind Octodad, initially a student project and now the reason for Young Horses' existence as a studio, know all about spreading the word about an indie game (and probably a lot about crossing their fingers and hoping for a hit).Programmer Kevin Geisler breaks down the Octodad media timeline on the game's official blog, noting that traditional events such as the IGF and GDC aren't huge draws for traffic. Octodad gets a break when other mediums pick up the story: The first major spike was a random note in a Ctrl+Alt+Del comic in 2010, and later from a swath of YouTube "Let's Play" videos. The "other" forms of advertisement even eclipse attention from established news sites, such as this one, at least in terms of traffic to the Octodad site.The top YouTube videos for Octodad-flavored content come from outside sources, with Cr1tikal's 2011 gameplay video topping the charts at 1.5 million views. The top official Octodad video comes in at 430,000 views. Reddit, Twitter and Facebook are of course important draws, and Octodad finds itself in a lot of forum threads that mention similarly eccentric games, such as QWOP and Surgeon Simulator 2013.For an overview of how Octodad does it all, complete with graphs and figures, check out the full blog post. Octodad 2: Dadliest Catch is set to launch this year for PC, Mac and Linux.
Coding and coexisting in the corral: How Octodad's team manages living and working together
It's the not-so-common ideal these days to graduate from college and immediately jump into a fulfilling role that uses one's myriad of learned skills. Of course, there's nothing terribly common about the Chicago-based indie developer Young Horses or the much-ballyhooed sequel they're working on, Octodad: Dadliest Catch.Octodad is a colorful series about an octopus posing as a suburban father and husband; successfully funded via Kickstarter in the summer of 2011. As for developer Young Horses themselves? Five of them live under one roof, previously in a single apartment and now with two across a mutual hallway, while three others commute into the workspace from elsewhere throughout the city and surrounding suburbs.Between the team's bevy of independent day jobs and contract work, they're putting their spare hours into Octodad's return. But the group also identifies the odd situation of having colleagues as roommates within a communal work studio they lovingly call the "corral," mere steps from where they sleep. It's a unique arrangement, which has come with its share of difficulties, but it's one that members say is the only way they can imagine tackling the project.%Gallery-167167%
Go make some Octodad mods for us! Please!
There you were, playing your favorite game featuring a secret octopus father, thinking to yourself," Man, I like Octodad, but wouldn't it be better with secret octopus ghosts hidden randomly throughout the world?" Thankfully for you, crazy person, the team behind Octodad just released "OctodadEditor," which is apparently "the basis of the editor for Octodad: Dadliest Catch" (the Octodad sequel, obviously).Sure, the editor's a bit on the buggy side (indie development, folks!), and it's PC-only, but just think about all those secret octopus ghosts! Someone's gotta make that madness happen! Grab the editor right here, and head over to the Octodad blog for more thorough instructions on how it all works.
Octodad 2 now 'Octodad: Dadliest Catch,' coming in 2013
"Dadliest Catch." Octodad 2 is now called "Octodad: Dadliest Catch." Go gather up your family in front of the warm glow of the computer. A title like that is worth sharing.Developer Young Horses informed us that the saga of a floppy octopus trying to pass as a loving human dad will continue in 2013, on Mac, PC, and Linux. One more time: Octodad: Dadliest Catch. Yep, still funny.
Octodad 2 reaches funding goal with a day to spare
The story of Octodad, a regular, caring father who just happens to have eight tentacles and immediately catastrophic coordination, is set to continue -- thanks to you! The Octodad 2 Kickstarter initiative, set up by indie studio Young Horses, has exceeded its funding goal of $20,000. The endeavor has generated nearly $22,818 for the endearing parental cephalopod, with over 30 hours still left on the clock. The majority of financial backers pledged $10 or more (earning them a pre-order, digital art and a mention in the credits), followed by a large group that offered upwards of $35 and earned an additional Octodad t-shirt and a copy of the game. One magnanimous person pledged over $1000 and gained access to a 22" x 34" framed oil painting of a nonchalant octopus pretending to be a gentleman. Octodad 2 is currently intended for PC and Mac, though consoles and motion controls are being considered due to the high probability of ensuing hilarity.
Octodad student dev team now 'Young Horses,' Octodad 2 looks floppier than ever
The student team from the DePaul Game Dev program responsible for whipping up Octodad -- a hilarious indie game about the perils of being floppy -- are moving on to bigger and potentially floppier things. As hinted at in our interview with the game's creators earlier this year, the team has incorporated into its own indie studio named Young Horses, where they will incubate and release their next, tentacle-rich opus into the world: Octodad 2. Young Horses is now seeking fans' help to bring their invertebrate vision to fruition, asking for Kickstarter donations to fund the game's year-long development cycle. Though they're targeting a release on PC and Mac, the team also hopes to give the game a console release "using motion-control devices for added realism (hilarity) to the octopus/father simulation." Based on what we saw of Octodad's basic Kinect functionality, that is a thing we desperately want as well. Check out Octodad 2's announcement trailer above!
