IndieMegabooth
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Kartridge is a curated game store, now with more Indie Megabooth
With the surprise launch of the Epic Games Store last week, followed by scores of news articles and tweets proclaiming war between Steam and Epic, it might be shocking to hear that there are other digital video game marketplaces on the internet. Kartridge, for instance, is a game store from Kongregate that offers a curated selection of independent titles -- rather than a holding cell for every project under the sun, as Steam has become for many players. Today, Kartridge announced a partnership with the Indie Megabooth to spotlight prominent games from the group's six-year history as a traveling showcase. Titles on Kartridge from IMB alumni will be clearly marked and featured on the store's main page, and the list will be updated quarterly with fresh games.
'Skye' exists in the soothing space between 'Spyro' and 'Journey'
In the midst of all the neon pixels, gun blasts, stylized narrative adventures and action-packed space romps scattered around the Indie Megabooth at GDC, Skye immediately caught my eye. It was crisp and bright, showcasing a rich fantasy world in a soft, cartoonish 3D style. Something about it was soothing at first sight -- perhaps it was the way the main character, a bright blue dragon, soared around the valley like a serpentine kite. Maybe it was the lush green grass draped over the landscape and its series of floating islands. Whatever the reason, this is precisely the vibe that Skye developers at Puny Astronaut are going for: eye-catching calm. And, so far, they're succeeding.
'Gunhead' puts an artistic twist on a first-person shooter game
First-person shooter games are dime a dozen, but every now and then there's one that stands out from the pack. That's exactly the case with Gunhead, an open world title from Alientrap, the same indie developer that brought you the gorgeous 2D platformer Apotheon. The game, which quietly debuted at SXSW 2018 last week and is here at GDC 2018, features visuals reminiscent of films like A Scanner Darkly, the animated sci-fi thriller from 2006. Gunhead's artwork feels cartoonish, yet polished, with dark, vibrant colors that pop as you travel between spaceships in your role as a pirate mech with a gun for a head.
The Indie Megashow gaming and music festival is headed to Tokyo
Indie Megabooth has long been a breath of fresh air at bloated games conventions. Gamers apparently agree. These days, thousands of attendees and hundreds of developers flock to its indie showcases. Its growing popularity saw it branch out beyond games for the first time earlier this year. Its latest offshoot, Indie Megashow, made its debut in Atlanta in July. Now, the daylong gaming, arts, and music festival is going global. As its name suggests, The Indie Megashow Tokyo is bringing the good times to Japan. And, as usual, it will feature kickass indie titles, along with a bunch of special guests.
The Indie Megabooth is a calm bubble floating above E3 chaos
One of the best experiences at E3 wasn't actually at E3. The Devolver parking lot was positioned directly across the street from the flashing lights, gigantic banners and thumping booths packed inside of the Los Angeles Convention Center, and it offered a calm yet energetic alternative to the mainstream madness. This year, the Indie Megabooth shared Devolver's lot, exposing a rotating selection of independent games each day to the periphery of E3 -- which was plenty. Trust.
Indie games invade the art world at the Megashow festival
The Indie Megabooth, a bastion of independent games at conventions around the world, is growing. Again. But this time around, things are different: The Megabooth is expanding beyond games. The Megashow is the first standalone festival to be spun off from the Megabooth proper: It's a roaming, daylong fair designed to highlight local creatives and bring communities together around video games, art and music. The Megashow will make its debut at the Tabernacle in Atlanta on July 15th. "Our initial goal was to expose new audiences to indie games and show them that there was this whole other side to game creation," says Megabooth leader Kelly Wallick. "Over time, we've moved so far past that to the point that we have fans and press who specifically come to the Megabooth area to discover content and reconnect with teams and games they love, which is amazing. But on the flip side of this, it has become more challenging to reach new audiences."
There are a dozen new ideas at GDC 2017's Indie Megabooth
Indie Megabooth has become something of a haven for gamers looking for fresh experiences and new ideas. It's become a staple event for indie games at shows like PAX, Gamescom and, of course GDC. This year's developer conference is no exception, featuring a dozen games that defy control conventions, make players question their identities and explore possible futures with fun sci-fi settings.
BitSummit 4 takes over Kyoto with more indie games and devs
BitSummit is back. The annual Japanese indie game festival recently announced its lineup of musicians and speakers including Koji Igarashi of Bloodstained and Castlevania fame, Rez creator Tetsuya Mizguchi, Tom Happ (the man behind Axiom Verge) and Goichi "Suda51" Suda. Oh, and Sony Interactive Entertainment's president of worldwide studios, Shuhei Yoshida.
Indie games are vast, varied and very 80s in this Megabooth trailer
There is no single definition of an "indie" video game. "Indie" doesn't mean free, cheap, mobile, 8-bit, 3D, platformer, shooter or any other thing. Thanks to the recent, rapid evolution of game-making technologies, more people than ever are able to craft and sell their own video games with help from friends and without involving a large publisher. That's what "indie" means -- independent, but not alone. The development community has plenty of avenues for people to gather and support one another, and one of the largest such organizations is the Indie Megabooth. Every year since 2012, the Megabooth has set up stalls at PAX East and PAX Prime showing off a selection of stellar independent games. It started with 16 games in 2012, took a trip around the globe in 2014, and will now boast a lineup of more than 70 games at this year's PAX Prime from August 28th to 31st. The list includes beautiful digital board game Armello, intense Xbox One game Below, gorgeous space shooter Galak-Z, poetic point-and-click That Dragon, Cancer, wacky competitive game Gang Beasts (shown above), and tons more.
