Indie Game Archive

While I was doing my usual reading of the Penny Arcade forums yesterday I stumbled upon this: a large collection of indie games available for download without hassle. While some of them are remakes, there is still a ton of great content. There is no better way to learn a dev environment than remaking your favorite classic anyway!

If anyone knows of any other large databases like this one, please share.

Alchemy

My original design concept for this week is more complicated than I expect most of ours to be and, as much as I hate to admit it, would probably be impossible to create without a knowledgeable team.

Alchemy: A single player puzzle/simulation.

The premise of this game is that a reclusive, aging alchemist has decided to take on an apprentice in order to pass on his archaic skills before he dies. At the top of his tower, he begins to train the player, his lucky recruit, when he suddenly passes away. The player is left trapped at the top of the tower with no way to bypass its many security systems. The only tools available are the alchemical supplies at hand and his basic introduction to the art.

The basic introduction given by the alchemist could serve as a tutorial.

Gameplay: Different elements must be combined and drawings created to synthesize new materials with brand new properties. The challenge is in discovering the effects that each element has on the synthesis, as well as the effects of the drawings (runes). The runes are by far the most complicated feature. Players are allowed to draw the runes freehand and different shapes will have different effects on the synthesis. For example, circles will have a certain function, which might be altered by bisecting it with a vertical or horizontal line. Concentric circles might interact in different ways than tangent circles. There will be a complex system beneath the gameplay and the entertainment is in uncovering that system.

 

Here are a few clarifying examples of what could be:

Jumper

Matt Thorson over at Helix Games Inc. has been developing indie games in Game Maker for quite some time.

Before I even knew Game Maker existed, I stumbled upon his game Jumper. Jumper really showcases what the Game Maker environment can do in terms of solid 2D design. I was surprised to see a game run this smooth and glitch free in Game Maker and I am excited to see what else can be done in the engine.

The game is extremely easy to learn, the only controls you need are the arrow keys. The objective is to complete each level by navigating 2D game designs most famous obstacles, mazes, pitfalls, spikes and of course electricity. Each level also as a blue gem to collect, collecting them all earns you 100%. The blue gems however are for pros only, the earlier ones offer a stiff challenge while some of the later ones are absolutely impossible to get (but are still fun to try for replay value).

Jumper is by no means an easy game. The level design boasts a Contra like difficulty which can occasionally cause you to punch your computer monitor in fury. I am glad we are finally past the days of three lives and game over as Jumper offers you infinite chances to complete each level and hone your skills. The levels are split into groups of five, each having a different theme and music. The extremely challenging levels offer a sense of accomplishment upon completion.

Thorson was nice enough to post the source code of Jumper 2. Even though the game was made in an older version of Game Maker it can still be examined and modded in the newest version. This simple game has a cult following, the Jumper forums are bustling with game ideas, tips and posts begging for sequels. Do yourself a favor and play this game, a simple idea executed very well. I recommend starting with Jumper 2.

Writing effective tutorials for beginners

This may seem that it is aimed at the complete opposite end of the spectrum: those who are expert enough developers to write their own guides to coding. And it is. I wish I could come up with an exhaustive list of great ways to recognize a good tutorial, but I recently took on a pretty weighty endeavor and the very lack of good resources is what triggered my desire to express myself.

The weighty endeavor I speak of? I decided a couple days ago to try and learn as much of the C++ language as I could from online tutorials. I haven’t given up completely, but it seems that I’ll need a face-to-face tutor to help me put it all together. I’ll allow that coding isn’t easy, and that having a teacher (or friend in my case) is perhaps paramount in being able to learn a language in any effective manner. However, the sort of problems I ran into with online tutorials were so inexcusable and so rampant that I can hardly imagine how the writers could conceive of passing their material off to beginners. Most of these tutorials claimed they would be very useful to those with no coding experience at all. Hogwash.

I did learn a little C++ in the process, and with that I am able to go back and criticize some errors in these guides. And where I became unable to continue, my criticism is simply that. Here is my list of awful mistakes in C++ “beginner” tutorials:

Clearcross

Every week Justin and I each post an original game idea. Today I am going to tell you about Clearcross, a puzzle game that attempts to be as easy as possible to learn but still remain challenging. Clearcross is a puzzle game in its most basic format. Clearing lines of orbs until the game board is gone.

 

The rules are simple: Click on any of the orbs to remove the corresponding orbs vertically and horizontally (across the board) from the chosen orb. The objective is to clear the board in the fewest number of turns possible. Each board could have a par as suggested by the creator. Be careful and plan ahead, eliminating an incorrect orb may cause gaps in the board causing you to use more moves.

 

The art direction would be minimal to keep focus on the simplicity of the game. I know music is a vital part of games, but perhaps it would be better to skip the music and add subtle sound effects instead. This would not distract from the game play and still offer tactile responses to clearing orbs.

The Supreme Importance of Music in Simple Games

All music links in this post, unless otherwise noted, link to VGMusic.com, a large database of midis for classic games.

I have a very simple theory: that the success of most, if not every, popular 8-bit game was heavily dependent on the quality of its music. That is to say, dependent almost exclusively on the music. Mediocre games became great and good ones became legendary. I will support this theory, but also apply it to the development of independent games today.

I won’t drag this out with too many details, since my original theory isn’t so much the point as its application to the current indie industry (dare I say… indiestry?). Instead, I’ll appeal to your own personal experiences and ask you to participate in a small experiment. Play any of the following games with the sound off, then simply crank it up. Be amazed as the entertainment value increases a hundredfold.

Indie Development – Prototyping

 

Indie developers don’t get discouraged!

David Marsh over at Gamasutra wrote an excellent post related to indie game development. It’s worth a read. I agree with a lot of his points, and would like to expand upon a few things from my own experiences.

 

Developing games has become easier and easier over the past couple of years thanks to a widespread independent games boom. Independent games are becoming more popular every day and they are easily available and distributed over the Internet. Most importantly independent games are usually available for free. Since indie developers have no restrictions in terms of content or deadlines, most indie developers try to push the boundaries and create original game play ideas, art styles and content.

 

 

Now, you don’t have to be a master programmer or artist to create cool and unique games. I actually believe that in some cases it is better to use a game maker type program or editor, because it is an easy way to prototype your ideas and see them in action quickly. Then, you can adjust your game design decisions on the fly, without having to be boggled down by code or even rewriting an engine. There are a wide number of free development tools and resources available throughout the Internet. Heck, you may even already own a game that comes with a toolset to create original content. These tools are a great way to experiment and get your ideas online with ease and tested by others.

 

Ship Switch

Twice a week, once by me and once by my partner Bruno Kruse, an original design will be posted. These designs will not be complete design documents, but simple exercises in thought. Mine will come on Mondays and today will be the first.

Ship Switch: a single player, multi playing field variation on the side-scrolling shooter theme.

In Ship Switch, the player controls two (or perhaps more) ships in completely independent playing fields. The fields are identical except in the color and behavior of the ships within. Obstacles appear and scroll in typical side scrolling fashion, but the player must react differently to these obstacles based on the color of each ship. The goal is to simply scroll through the entirety of the level with both ships intact. The challenge is in properly reacting to the conflicting interpretations between the two fields.

Warcraft III World Editor

Overview

 

Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos and its expansion The Frozen Throne shipped with a world editor that took customization farther than any other Blizzard game had up to that point and while dreams of a World of Warcraft editor are tantalizing, it seems that Warcraft fans will have to settle for this for a while.

 

The editor allows users to create custom games that mostly range through the RTS and RPG genres. There is somewhat of an assumption that the game will be a RTS level, since this was the campaign editor used by Blizzard while creating the game and its expansion. Even so, sending the scenario in the direction you want is more or less straightforward.

 

The bulk of the world creation is done using a simple and intuitive point and paint style tool panel. Using this interface, the user can place and edit any finished terrain, units, buildings, regions, cameras, and what they call doodads (trees, rocks, bushes, skeletons, fire pits, etc.).