Play Expo 2014
Over the weekend I headed up to Manchester to take a look at PlayExpo 2014 at Event City. There was a lot of cool stores, some tv bits and pieces, and a huge retro gaming area of old SNES, SEGA and pinball machines. However the area that really captured my attention was the indie gaming section, full of new and in-development independent games. I got chatting with a number of the developers and publishers which you can hear on the podcast below (at the bottom of this post), but I’ve also included videos of the games in this post so you can see what we’re talking about!
Schrödinger’s Cat And The Raiders Of The Lost Quark
Schrödinger’s Cat is a wacky & colourful puzzle laden platform game, set in a unique quantum physics world. A disaster at a subatomic holiday destination has caused all the primitive particles to escape! Help Schrödinger’s Cat round them up.
TerraTech
http://youtu.be/p93NgmRAV3A
As Earth’s population expands and environmental damage takes its toll, profit-driven multinational corporations lead the charge to seek out and colonise new planets. Taking on the role of a prospector for the Survey and Prospecting Program (SAP), it’s up to you to check out a recently discovered exo-planet and harvest whatever resources you can find.Starting off as a humble SAP on a shoestring budget, you’ll have to seek out and refine the planet’s natural assets to build up your base and strengthen your fleet, all while defending your turf from all sides. New vehicle parts and weapons can be scavenged from other prospectors or built from the minerals and resources you find, and by researching new technologies or buying new blueprints you can further boost your fleet’s capabilities.
Slain
In Slain, the hero fights to free a land that is controlled by a number of towers. The game is played across two types of levels. Type one is a side-scrolling action based level. These levels contain plenty of monsters and areas guarded by sub-bosses. The character has various attacks to aid his progress through these levels. Second are the main towers, these levels are vertical and are puzzle-based as the player must climb to the top, or descend to the bottom. There will still be fighting along the way but most fights will be part of puzzles. At the end of these levels Bathoryn will have to fight and beat the tower boss before moving onto the next area and tower.
The game is created using pixel art giving it a retro look and it makes use of darker imagery that contains gratuitous pixel gore. Within the game the player will encounter killer traps, tricks, and monsters and in keeping with the style of older video games, the game is very challenging.
The Sun And Moon
The Sun and Moon, the winner of Ludum Dare 29, is a platformer with a unique mechanic: you can dive into the ground. Momentum is conserved but gravity is reversed, letting you fling yourself high into the air or deep beneath the surface. The goal is always straightforward – collect the three orbs in the level and jump into the wormhole – but spikes, endless drops and impossible heights make this more and more difficult.
Nelly Cootalot: The Fowl Fleet
Join Nelly Cootalot in this indie adventure game, and rescue birds hypnotised by the villainous Baron Widebeard. She’ll meet outlandish characters and face perplexing challenges in her quest for the Treasure of the Seventh Sea.
Wulverblade
It’s 120AD and the Roman army have seized control of the south of Britannia. Their goal, to march north and conquer the rest of the island with brutal and bloody efficiency. The 5000 strong 9th Legion are preparing for war, but little do they know what lies in wait for them. Caradoc, a guardian of the northern tribes has rallied the war bands and is ready to bring the war to the Romans. Caradoc bares a gift that even he is not aware of. And soon, the Ninth Legion will discover its true power.
Geektown Podcast 24: Play Expo 2014 Indie Game Special
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