The IndieCade is always my favorite stop at all of the video game conventions. It has appeared previously at many venues, but it’s always a pleasure to see it at one of the biggest shows of the year, E3. The show always provides a plethora of new, innovative and unheard of games that are not only fun to play, but really show off the creativity of the up-and-coming industry talents. Most of the games have a development crew that you could count on one hand, but you certainly wouldn’t think that as you play the games.

They are all very well made with a lot of thought and care out into every aspect of play. Among such big name games and amidst the sequels at E3 such as the ones for God of War, Assassin’s Creed and Mario Galaxy, the IndieCade breathes some fresh air into the convention. It may be shoved into one of the smallest corners at the back of the hall, but it’s enormous presence is more than felt among the indy game fans. The Gaming Angel’s presence was felt as well, as we are official sponsors of the E3 IndieCade booth.

Who's that on the partners banner?

Among the games on display is one called “And Yet It Moves.” The game is basically a puzzle game in which you try and get your character to the exit through various attempts at moving the scenery around you. The PC display of the game used the arrow buttons to move the scenery and the leftmost letter keys to move the character through the environment. The game starts off pretty simple, but some of the levels are fairly challenging towards the later stages. This is definitely a fresh new look into the puzzle genre. Unfortunately, the development team for the game was not on hand to speak directly with, but I was told that they are Australian based and could not make it to the E3 show this year. This game will be a future release for the Nintendo Wii.

"And Yet It Moves" was fun and innovative.

Pluff is another unique game on display at the IndieCade booth and easily garnered the most attention from booth attendees. The game centers around the care of a digital creature that somewhat resembles a hand-drawn Furby. However, the real hook of the game is that the actual controller IS the creature! You can trounce it, making it’s on-screen representation upset, then “apologize” to it by petting it until it’s happy again through the use of touch sensors. If the creature is happy, it will do tricks, play hide-and-seek and be good. If you leave it alone for too long or abuse it, it’ll become unhappy and you really have to work hard to make it happy again. The game though simple, impresses with it’s unique and innovative controls and teaches a lot of good things about social interaction.

Pluff has all the right stuff!

Dear Esther was another game that drew me to it on the show floor. From what I could gather, the “game” is a mod of Half Life 2 in which you play as a man who travels around an island. Through your travels, the narrator explains your journey. Strange sounds call to you from the distance which create a cerebral ambiance in the game, which is best experienced through the use of headphones. I couldn’t figure out how to interact with anything in the game, but found out at a later time that you’re not supposed to. The game is almost entirely about the feelings that it creates within the player, which is very interesting and unique.

These three were among many other games at the show, but the ones that caught my attention almost immediately. This exhibit, which has brought us such great games and given relatively unknown developers a chance to shine is a great opportunity for anyone requiring some fresh ideas for their gaming addictions.

The actual IndieCade show will take place in Culver City, California October 1-4, 2009. Accepted submissions are all eligible to win various awards for their awesome creations and possibly to be picked up by larger companies for distribution or to become part of museum or art exhibits as has happened in the past.

Here is a list of all of the games that were on display at the preview:

And Yet It Moves
And Yet It Moves Team

Blueberry Garden
Erik Svedäng/ Sweden

Closure
Tyler Glaiel & Jon Schubbe/United States

Cogs
Lazy 8 Studios/United States

Dear Esther
thechineseroom/United Kingdom

Flywrench & Cowboyana
Messhof, Mark Essen / United States

Global Conflicts: Latin America
Serious Games Initiative/ Denmark

Octopounce
Auntie Pixelante / United States

Papermint
Avaloop/ Austria

Snapshot
RetroAffect / United States

Winds of Orbis: An Active-Adventure
Deep End Interactive / United States

Zephyr: Tides of War
Florida Interactive Entertainment Academy / United States

Are you Indy?

~Meg

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