http://cache.kotaku.com/assets/base/img/thumbs140x140/kotaku.com.png http://kotaku.com/tag/indie games http://kotaku.com/tag/indie games

I know I've been waiting for that for a while, anyway. This video was sent in from the recent Global Game Jam, an indie meetup where developers have 48 hours to build a game. Any game. The theme at this game jam? "Ouroboros," the snake eating itself. Or, as the presenter here says, "Basically, a snake fellating itself." More »
]]> http://kotaku.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5881482&view=rss&microfeed=true

How can a game made over the course of a weekend remind me of Rez and Crayon Physics Deluxe? By sending me soaring through the universe with simple controls and quirky hand-drawn artwork. Made by a team of 5, The Universe Within puts you in control of a pixelated dot that you need to steer through obstacles as it advances from the the galaxy through the stratosphere and into a human being's cells. More »
]]> http://kotaku.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5880467&view=rss&microfeed=true

Just as its sister site ModDB picks the top PC gaming mods of the year, IndieDB rounds out the year with a countdown of the top independently developed games of the year. Think of it as a shopping list to help establish your indie gaming cred. How many of the top ten have you played? More »
]]> http://kotaku.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5872100&view=rss&microfeed=true

When we last saw the upcoming game from Jonathan Blow this summer, The Witness already looked like an intriguing experience. The way that Blow's game design interwove puzzles and environmental cues created a hypnotic level of immersion where you had to pay attention to a gameworld like never before. More »
]]> http://kotaku.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5871431&view=rss&microfeed=true

You've gotta love a game that makes a sly reference to 2010 indie darling Limbo. But, further perusal shows that Pid's not going to be like PlayDead's hit game. It's got color! Energy! Localized gravity fountains! The retro-styled release happens on a remote alien planet where you'll need to jump, solve and float your way past the local fauna—or are they automata?—through multiple levels of platformer action. Pid's the result of a partnership between developer Might and Delight and production company Beefy Media. Collectively, the guys who make up Might and Delight have titles like Mirror's Edge, Battlefield, and Killzone on their resumes, but their most relevant experience in this instance is their joint work on the first Bionic Commando: Rearmed release from Capcom. Pid will launch into orbit on Xbox 360, PS3 and PC next year. More »
]]> http://kotaku.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5865649&view=rss&microfeed=true

Video games have a language all their own. It's a language that most people understand implicitly—concepts like extra lives, leveling up, experience points, and boss battles have gone mainstream. That language has begun to seep into other media as well—movies like The Matrix, Source Code, and books like those in the Scott Pilgrim series all use the language of games to tell stories in fresh, interesting ways. More »
]]> http://kotaku.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5865320&view=rss&microfeed=true

The Independent Games Festival has announced a multi-year partnership with Microsoft Games Studios. The partnership will involve a jury of indie game developers awarding an "XBLA Prize" (XBLA being Microsoft's Xbox Live Arcade service), which will be given out at the IGF, a festival and awards ceremony that happens each March at the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco. More »
]]> http://kotaku.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5865318&view=rss&microfeed=true

It's taken a long time for Fez to get finished. It's taken a long time for Indie Game: The Movie to get finished, too. So, when filmmakers Lisanne Pajot and James Swirsky showed the documentary to gamemaker Phil Fish—who, along with Braid creator Jonathan Blow and the two-man Team Meat, is one of the indie developers spotlighted in the movie—it made for an emotional moment. Fish says that the movie will inspire game developers of the future and it's likely his game will, too, once it makes it out into the world. You can find out more about the film over at the official site. More »
]]> http://kotaku.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5863151&view=rss&microfeed=true

There's a new crop of small-developer PC releases to be had on the cheap over at Indie Royale. It's a quintet of games this time, as opposed to the four games that served as the site's inaugural bundle. More »
]]> http://kotaku.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5858396&view=rss&microfeed=true

With Skyrim and Minecraft both out on this Friday, [Editor's note: As folks have said in comments, Minecraft's out next week. My bad.] the next two weeks are already shaping up to be a David-vs.-Goliath showdown. But, as indie as Mojang's hit sandbox construction game is, there's something even indier than Minecraft coming out on the same day. More »
]]> http://kotaku.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5857021&view=rss&microfeed=true

Lots of games have downloadable content. In fact, DLC is becoming something of a point of contention between players and publishers. Indie game developer Ben Kane (who despite his moniker is not actually a comic book supervillain) has launched a game that doesn't just celebrate DLC, it bases its entire design around it. More »
]]> http://kotaku.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5856556&view=rss&microfeed=true

When I first loaded up Michael P. Consoli's Against the Wall I felt the early onset of panic. In front of me, stretching out in all four directions was a vertical wall made of blocks of varying sizes. More »
]]> http://kotaku.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5854054&view=rss&microfeed=true

Streaming site Vimeo makes space for lots of different kinds of content. They've made a name for themselves as a cooler alternative to YouTube and you'll find cool mini-documentaries, visionary music videos and intensely personal narratives. More »
]]> http://kotaku.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5853665&view=rss&microfeed=true

No matter how many previews, gut check and reviews you load up with, buying any game comes down to taking a risk with your hard-earned money. Mainstream games can tell you that they're chock full of content by citing hours of playtime, DLC plans or multiplayer features. But indie games, either because of their smaller dev teams, lack of marketing/PR or the platforms they appear on, have a harder time of getting folks to open up their wallets. More »
]]> http://kotaku.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5853596&view=rss&microfeed=true

More than 100 independent developers gather together more than 300 games they deemed not "big" or "polished" or "real" enough to be worth the entry fee for the 2012 Independent Games Festival awards into one massive bundle, and you can download and play it for free. Everybody wins! More »
]]> http://kotaku.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5851316&view=rss&microfeed=true

Every year, at about this time, the indie-est of game gatherings takes over sunny Culver City, California. Independent game developers gather in the southern California burg to talk design, process and inspiration, while showing off their latest wares. More »
]]> http://kotaku.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5847711&view=rss&microfeed=true

From a bowling game controlled by kissing to a four-year-old's Ponycorn epic, every one of IndieCade 2011's 36 finalist fully deserves their moment in the spotlight, except for maybe The Bridge. More »
]]> http://kotaku.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5841048&view=rss&microfeed=true

The video game about the difficulties of secretly being an octopus while wearing a business suit, Octodad, is getting a sequel. But it won't happen without the help of people hungry for third-person tentacle stealth action willing to spare some change. More »
]]> http://kotaku.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5820187&view=rss&microfeed=true

On the heels of the "Indie Games Uprising" of the winter, Xbox Live's indie development community is planning a 10-game indie blitz from Aug. 21 to Sept. 2. More »
]]> http://kotaku.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5818825&view=rss&microfeed=true

Whomever at YouTube banned Crosse Studios' account might want to reconsider that action. Inexplicably, the entire collection of trailers for the independent sports video game developer was taken out of commission yesterday, on the grounds that the videos violate YouTube's policy against "scams, spam and commercially deceptive content." More »
]]> http://kotaku.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5815035&view=rss&microfeed=true

The Xbox Live Indie Games channel just put through a key change that should help publishers with marketing efforts for their games. Now, once a title has passed peer review, the developer may pick the date it publishes to the service. More »
]]> http://kotaku.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5801428&view=rss&microfeed=true

Is it art, or is at an arcade? Kunal Gupta, the co-creator of New York City's underground indie games exhibition explains why Babycastles is more arcade than art. More »
]]> http://kotaku.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5796372&view=rss&microfeed=true

Most people that express a desire to enter the video game industry profess to not care how much money they can make doing something they love. Those people can probably skip the annual Game Developer Salary Survey results. The rest of you can read on to see who's making the most money in the business. More »
]]> http://kotaku.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5796166&view=rss&microfeed=true

Valve's vast potato-based conspiracy explodes today, as GLaDOS and Portal invade the thirteen games that were offered as part of Steam's indie game Potato Sack bundle. The horror! More »
]]> http://kotaku.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5791394&view=rss&microfeed=true

Earlier this year, game web site IGN opened its doors to a batch of small, independent developers, giving them an opportunity of a lifetime: to appear on a reality show and potentially embarrass themselves on camera with quickly conceptualized and cringe-worthy game concepts. More »
]]> http://kotaku.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5789138&view=rss&microfeed=true

While Croteam occupies itself crafting the third entry in the Serious Sam franchise, indie developers Mommy's Best Games, Be-Rad Entertainment, and Vlambeer take Sam places he's never been before in three new indie games. More »
]]> http://kotaku.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5780139&view=rss&microfeed=true

What if Dragon Warrior or Final Fantasy were playable online with other role-playing heroes? We'd have something like NEStalgia, the newly released multiplayer online RPG that looks old school, but plays modern. More »
]]> http://kotaku.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5768499&view=rss&microfeed=true

While it's not the most accurate representation of American football, Milkstone Studios' Zombie Football Carnage still has all the right moves - just a little bloodier. More »
]]> http://kotaku.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5764611&view=rss&microfeed=true

This week on Xbox Live Indie Clips we're taking a look at Spermatozoon, a game that's all about inferior products and making horrible, horrible mistakes. More »
]]> http://kotaku.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5758258&view=rss&microfeed=true The 2011 Independent Game Festival has opened voting for the public to decide this year's Audience Award. Should Amnesia win? Cave Story? Nidhogg? Minecraft? Download these games and vote now! More »
]]> http://kotaku.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5749161&view=rss&microfeed=true

Like the two-player version of one-button platformer Canabalt, the excellent Super Crate Box is coming to the Winnitron 1000, a video game platform exclusive to Winnipeg, Manitoba. At least we can all enjoy its trailer. More »
]]> http://kotaku.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5746272&view=rss&microfeed=true

Rarely has playing through a game for Kotaku's Xbox Live Indie Clips hurt quite as badly as playing through Aban Hawkins & the 1,000 Spikes hurt me. More »
]]> http://kotaku.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5739706&view=rss&microfeed=true

Two new games hit Sony's PlayStation Home virtual world on Thursday, through one hits harder than the other. Conspiracy's stealthy infiltration seems entertaining, but Slap Happy Sam's cartoon violence looks downright therapeutic. More »
]]> http://kotaku.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5738134&view=rss&microfeed=true

Then perhaps you'll find the game Orion: Prelude of interest. It combines Tribes and Counter-Strike influence with a feature few sci-fi shooters are brave enough to include: Tyrannosaurus rex. Perhaps you'll be interested enough to fund it. More »
]]> http://kotaku.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5737055&view=rss&microfeed=true

In this week's installment of Xbox Live Indie Clips, I take to the space road with Haiku Interactive's Space Police on Super Highway 9. Are space police better than regular police? More »
]]> http://kotaku.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5705545&view=rss&microfeed=true

Interested in playing more games from independent developers but unsure where to start? Indie DB's list of the top 100 indie games of 2010 as voted by players is an excellent place to start. More »
]]> http://kotaku.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5703395&view=rss&microfeed=true

Declaring an insurrection against "massage apps, clones and garbage," a ragtag band of indie developers on Xbox Live's Indie Channel are going all out the first week of December, unleashing 14 games in the "Indie Games Winter Uprising." More »
]]> http://kotaku.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5689205&view=rss&microfeed=true

Loving husband. Caring father. Secret octopus. This is the tagline for Octodad, an adventure game in which players struggle to raise a family, maintain a secret octopus identity and somehow walk upright on tentacles. More »
]]> http://kotaku.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5687951&view=rss&microfeed=true

The 13th annual Independent Games Festival has named the nearly 400 entrants vying for awards in this year's competition, an impressive list that includes surprise hit Minecraft, Cave Story, Explosionade and hundreds more. And you can preview every single one. More »
]]> http://kotaku.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5670216&view=rss&microfeed=true