are we in the new golden age?

[kadrin]

MAYBE JUST A LITTLE.

It is remarkable how many free games can be downloaded and/or played online these days AND, at the SAME TIME, are QUITE GOOD! I'm used to a system where you download and/or play indie games and they are AWFUL. But here's a list of some demos and free full games I've been playing recently that are NOT AWFUL.

NOT HORROR GAMES BASED ON RPG ENGINES
- SpaceChem! "SpaceChem is an obscenely addictive, design-based puzzle game about building machines and fighting monsters in the name of science!" It's based on real chemistry! It's make-me-cry hard! For me, at least. Because I'm terrible at everything. If you'd like, you can watch me putter around and hugely-inefficiently make a formaldehyde molecule! Not pictured: the actual reactor commands, which aren't actually tiny and invisible; the bazillion times I failed before succeeding.
- Burrito Bison: Revenge! I'm not linking the original Burrito Bison because this sequel is exactly like it except better at everything. I love the cartoony design and the gameplay is a lot of fun. It also has upgrades, which basically ensures that I'll play it forever. Seriously, "you can upgrade your character" is Kadrincrack and I do not know why.
- 300 Miles to Pigsland! I choose to believe that the pigs are heading to an Equestrian-style farm, where they will be used to dispose of rubbish and track truffles and NOT BE EATEN. A lot like a launch game, in that you fail a lot before you succeed, but it's a platformer, and it's pretty old school. It's cute! There's a rather good Angry Birds joke in it.
- Gemcraft: Labyrinth! Most tower defence games are pretty terrible, because it's just "build a thing and then stare at it until it's finished". This is one of the originals, though, so it's gotten better over time, and it's kind of fraught enough to keep you playing while still allowing adjustable strategy. It's enough to keep me enjoying it.

HORROR GAMES BASED ON RPG ENGINES
- OFF! If you know anything about anything you already know this game. It's more creepy than scary, at least so far. It's about elements. And work. And monarchy? And purifying places which may not be a good idea.
- The Witch's House! I already talked about The Witch's House. Jump scares, save at ALL TIMES, lots of creepy, shocking plot twists, it's really good, I liked it.
- Mad Father! It's a lot like The Witch's House, but without the need to save at all times, with fewer jump scares, more gore, creepier - it's very reminiscent of The Witch's House but better. Not much better, because The Witch's House was really good, but better. If you're only going to play one, play Mad Father; if you're going to play both, play The Witch's House first; if you're not going to play either because you don't like horror games but want to hear about them, talk to me 'cause I talk good.

THAT'S NOT A GAME
- Darkfast Classic Fantasy Paper Miniatures, Bonus Set One. These guys, I love these guys. I am fond of paper miniatures, you see, and I LOVE this awesome, cartoony style. You should look into this set and then make an RPG scenario that uses them. Especially the rooster ogres.

Comments

[soranokumo]

It's amazing what's available for free these days, or even less than ten dollars. And it's also pretty fun watching how indie gaming has gone from being an outsider's thing to something that's more and more mainstream.

If anything, the larger game companies could learn a thing or two from seeing how simpler, less huge budget-y summer blockbuster approaches can be equally profitable, productive, etc.

[kadrin]

I'd want them to investigate the indie gamer stuff to see what works, but then to take them and to use them in their huge budget-y summer blockbusters, or at moderate-to-big-budget some-other-season block-tappers. If someone like EA gets in on the "three graphics resource files and the truth" business, then they're going to crowd out actual indie developers, and because they're EA, they'll go back to being terrible, you know?

But we can certainly learn from one another. Big developers from indie developers more than vice versa.

[soranokumo]

More of a "simpler is better" type deal. Not necessarily down to graphics--I mean, the wonderful thing about Journey is that it is a graphically beautiful game, and gives a wonderful experience, but it doesn't go for over-the-top narrative styles. One of the things I liked about the commentary version is that you hear them talking about all of the additional elements to the game that they took out, because hey, it made the game worse.

It's more that kind of thing. You can have a big budget, but don't forget that making things too complex usually makes a worse game, not a better one.