Indie Games at iFest

I ran over to Seattle Center Armory to check out some indie games today at iFEST.  The exhibitors were a mixed lot. There were some actual independent video game developers, an obviously not independent video game developer, a few people there showing off their board or card games and a handful of folks who were trying to get you to sign up for a class or a school to learn how to make video games. A real grab bag.  I did see some games that intrigued me.  Here's a breakdown:

The Rabbit and the Owl by Formal Sheep. This was an intriguing take on the platforming genre where you have two characters, one black and one white, who inhabit the negative spaces of each other's levels and can only affect the other character's space with specific mechanics. It's sort of like a platformer/puzzle version of Ikaruga, but as a cerebral puzzler instead of a frenetic shoot'em up.

Warcube by Haven Made looked interesting.  A low poly action shooter with puzzle elements.  The website shows off some flocking behavior that I didn't see on exhibit in the game, but it had a clear art style and fun looking gameplay.




Tiny bubbles, by Pine Street Code Works, has no website that I can find. They had a simple puzzle game about manipulating soap bubbles by cutting the walls between them or dying them different colors.  Combining and dying the bubbles is the key to completing the various objectives on the board. It looked like there was plenty of content and the gameplay seemed solid, so look for this game to be released soon.

Investigator, by Constance Chen, has you playing Sherlock Holmes-as-Alligator. Plenty of puns and make this a great read.  Constance had probably the best comment I overheard at iFest.  When someone asked her who her intended audience was she said, "Myself. I just like making these things."  The spirit of independent game development in human form.