BestIndieGames.net (soon to be BestIndieGames.com) will be changing its focus from being a news website to becoming an online distribution channel for unreleased indie games. What does this mean?

Well, for starters, BIG will be an online store where gamers will be able to pre-order games to help support the development of small indie game studios. You might look at this as a sort of crowd funding website focused strictly on independent video games that are yet to be released. As soon as the game is released, either on Steam, Desura, etc, we will no longer sell it.

We want to keep the focus on pre-orders.

Developers will have the option of granting instant BETA access to gamers that pre-order their games among other exclusive content such as concept art, forum badges, desktop backgrounds and so on. Whatever devs want to package with their pre-orders, we can do. We understand that it is difficult to generate sales and build communities when you’re a small studio with little budget.

We’re looking to fix this problem.

We also have a bunch of surprise announcements that we will share with you as they mature.

For the time being, we strongly urge you to SUBMIT YOUR INDIE GAME and/or SUBSCRIBE if you are looking to pre-order a few games.

Keep your eyes glued to the site for more info coming soon.

“Told him the Steam Sale was finished. He said “The Pirate Bay one was just starting.”

As over 30 million gamers know, the Steam Summer Sale is officially over. This means we no longer have to live off of Kraft Dinner and canned food. We can also go back to padding the bank account so we have cash to throw at Steam during the winter sale.

However, for those you missed out on the last minute deals, or have no more money to spend, I heard The Pirate Bay is starting their sale soon.

Enjoy!

Not too shabby if you ask me.

Beck will be added to the already outstanding music lineup which includes Deadmau5, Jim Guthrie and I Am Robot and Proud.

For those of you who have not heard of Sound Shapes, which was named one of our top indie games to watch out for in 2012, the game is a dynamically created based on what the players do on screen. This means both the art and the music changes to the events that are occurring on screen. For each player, and their subsequent play throughs, the experience will be completely unique.

Players will also be able to save each of their artistic creations and share them with their friends, who will then be able to give that “unique experience” a try.

Sound Shapes will be released on August 7, 2012 on the PS3 and PS Vita for $14.99.

Dyad definitely has some high expectations but so far has managed to pull off some pretty amazing reviews. In fact, about a month ago, we named Dyad one of the top indie games to watch out for in the second half of 2012.

If you haven’t heard about Dyad, here is little preview of what you can expect.

Dyad takes the traditional elements of racing games, mixes in some LSD and gives you a completely whacked out experience.

On top of feeling like your on drugs, the gameplay is unique and thrives in a multiplayer environment. The whole idea is that the race course is not the only challenge, it’s the other players as well. In fact, the game encourages players to impede fellow racers because there are speed and energy bonuses that come from it.

There are 27 unique levels to beat that all feature an awesome audio visual experience. There are also several game modes, those for the hard core players and those for the casual. Overall, Dyad does have something to offer to everybody but if flashing lights, bright colors and funky music make you nauseous, you only have yourself to blame if you vomit all over your living room.

Before I tell everyone to buy the game, the one warning I must give players is that if you look at the screen for long periods of time, your brain will be stimulated even after the console is reluctantly shut off because your eyes are about to bubble out of your skull.

I’d love to keep writing about the game but my head is spinning just by looking at the website.

Welcome to another edition of Meme Mondays.

As we all know, the delayed Steam Summer Sale launched last week and people from around the web went nuts. However, today, we’re talking about Arma 2, a three year old game that was the best seller on Steam for two days.

“I Bought Arma 2 for full price a week ago to play DayZ, it now seems to be on sale just about everywhere.”

If you guys want to connect on Steam with me and play some DayZ, my gamer tag is Pegasus O’mally, and I will most likely be live streaming it on TwitchTV this evening. More info on this will come shortly.

Happy hunting!

Two days ago, an open source, indie-friendly gaming console built using Android reached their goal of $950k in eight hours.

The campaign virtually took the Internet by storm and had almost every major independent game developer and news outlet tweeting and writing about the feat. Most indies were excited about a console platform that wouldn’t have any gatekeepers like XBLA, PSN and WiiWare have.

Here’s the Kicksarter video, which I must say is well made.

However, the point of this article is to tell everyone to calm down, and look at the long road ahead for Ouya before getting all gushy over a new open source console. Although I think the concept is a great idea, everyone is talking about this as if Microsoft, Nintendo and Sony are doing a shit job with their consoles, which is not the case at all.

1. Money isn’t everything.

First off, money is not an indicator of future success.

The fact that they raised that much cash through crowd funding is good but does not mean the console will have mass market appeal or success. Let’s me explain this with an example we will all be familiar with.

Some indie studios have had greater financial success then AAA developers with a fraction of the budget and team. For this reason, I find it difficult to measure market success based only on the fact that they reached their Kickstarter goal in eight hours.

A ton of businesses have had money early and tanked.

2. You build consoles for gamers not developers.

Ouya put a lot of emphasis in their Kickstarter pitch about how beneficial their console will be for developers. However, it is not developers that make a console successful, it is the gamers.

The reason why studios want to develop for specific platforms is because there is a large community of gamers using the system. As of January 2012, the Wii’s worldwide sales are at 95.85M units, Xbox360′s are at 67.2M units and the PS3′s are at 63.9M units.

These numbers make it enticing for game developers to invest in these types of platforms. There is also a reason why indie games like Braid, Super Meat Boy, Spelunky, Limbo and so on have exclusive distribution deals with certain platforms. It is because the sales that will be generated from that one specific console will be enough to sustain them through the initial launch months.

Ouya is already talking about a scaling issue and they haven’t hit 80,000 units. Imagine with this console really blows up.

3. Online play is key.

So far, I have not heard anything regarding online play with Ouya but based on where the industry is going, it is pretty much a must have.

One of the biggest perks of being an early Xbox user was that the online component was ahead of the Wii and Playstation. Only now have we seen these two consoles react. Nintendo with the Miiverse and Sony explicitly saying they want to improve upon their current PSN offering.

To put all this into perspective, XboxLive has over 40 million registered users that are paying for the service. The online component for the Wii and Playstation are free.

Don’t get me wrong, there is no reason why there couldn’t be any online component on Ouya at launch, but as of now, I have not heard anything and would of liked to get a bit of information on this topic. It is clear that this is where console gaming is going so it would be hard to ignore this trend.

4. Mention of regulatory approvals still missing.

According to Ouya’s Kickstarter page, they are currently still missing a few approvals before they can go ahead with selling the console. I am not exactly sure what these necessary approvals are but if these approvals have an impact on completing the project. I have reached out to Ouya for an explanations of these necessary approvals and still waiting a response.

To Conclude

I really hope Ouya somehow breaks into the mainstream. I am a man of innovation and like the idea of disrupting an industry that has otherwise been stagnant.

That being said, I think everyone needs to calm down and realize that all this is uncharted territory. We have established that a good idea and concept will get you funded in no time on Kickstarter but we have yet to see a large scale project through to completion. I truly hope that through many iterations, they will be able to make this work but my gut is telling me this will be a niche console for a small community of gamers.

Time will tell what will come of this but in the meantime, just chill out.

I have to admit I had never heard of the game before they reached out to me but after checking out the visuals and gameplay, it was clear this game had something special to offer.

The concept of TCTGTM is quite simple, you get to experience a night out on the town as a cat. There are 18 levels which can be played in about 10 minutes online in a browser or downloaded on PC and Mac.

The cat is represented by a little square that is constantly moving to the right of your screen. You must navigate the square through awkward shapes and moving objects by using only the up and down arrow keys on your keyboard.

It is difficult to call TCTGTM a video game because it feels a lot more like a piece of art, which is a good thing. I found myself playing through the levels multiple times just so I can analyze the scenery and try to uncover what each abstract shape would represent in a real town. At points, I wished the little square was slower so I would of been able to admire the work that went into creating the environment.

I would compare TCTGTM to visiting an art exhibit at a museum whereby each level is a work of art and the player is not trying to beat levels but rather understand their meaning.

The team is also working on a follow up title called The Button Affair.

Not much is known about the game as of yet except that it is set in 1967 and “a cat thief is on the prowl for the prize of the decade.” The Button Affair will be an online action adventure game with an art style similar to TCTGTM.

These guys (and girl) seemed to have carved out a small niche with their unique style and gameplay. I will definitely be keeping my eye out for details related to the button.

This game, developed by indie devs Roll7, shakes things up from the PC classic. No longer are you handing out blue-collar tasks to Lemmings. Instead, you must now guide Tribesmen to inconveniently placed exits by reshaping the land ahead. Its almost as if the Lemmings fired their carpenter and hired God hoping to obtain quality navigation services.

Oh look, some conveniently frozen cliffs of death

Each level is divided into eight columns which can be vertically moved by simply swiping up and down. The columns marked with a red X are affixed to the backdrop which forces you to be creative in your quest to help the Tribesmen progress towards the goal.

I will warn you, this game may test your patience. Certain levels really ramp up in difficulty and require excellent micromanagement.

Luckily, the thrill of achieving three stars on each level by successfully leading enough Tribesmen to a safe retirement may make the experience worth it for you when you are rubbing it in your buddies’ faces.

A ‘Danger – High Voltage’ sign could have prevented this all

Look out for the free trial version on the iOS App Store or you can purchase the full version for a mere 99 cents. This game also claims to contain the world’s only Flying Penguin. It may be worth checking out for that alone.

So go, go now and download this game!
*Waits 5 minutes*
So what do you guys think of it? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

This week, we look at Conspiracy Keanu and his thoughts on Activision’s Indie Games Competition.

Keanu says “What if Activision only had an Indie Games Competition to steal the IP of developers that cannot afford a lawyer?”

I really hope the two winners of the competition, Christopher Hui and Michael Stanton, were given some IP ownership on top of the $175,000 in prize money because if their games end up getting sold, there could be a lot more money on the table which they may of inadvertently signed away.

Best of luck to these two and let’s hope Keanu’s conspiracy remains one.

Although we will not be able to attend, we will be keeping an eye on all the development news coming out of the conference.

Rezzed Show Floor: What to Look For?

As of now, we are really excited to hear what people will think of Day-Z, Q.U.B.E and Natural Selection 2, all of which will be demoing their games on the show floor.

Day-Z is an Arma 2 mod that is an online, open world, zombie survival game where the goal is to survive as long as you can. You will have to forage for food and water, weapons and ammo, compasses, and maps in order to survive. You will also have to watch out for other players, as they might kill you to see what items you have in your backpack. Oh, and try not to fall off a ledge, you might break your leg!

Q.U.B.E was funded by the Indie Fund about 8 months ago and had tremendous success with their release. The game is a first person physics puzzler where the player must figure their way out of a white room by using the cubes they are provided. The team is based in the UK, which makes Rezzed a must-attend for them.

Natural Selection 2 has been in development for a long time and has many people salivating over the idea of being able to play it at the show. The game is a first person shooter marines versus aliens first person shooter with elements of real time strategy mixed in.  The original game was a Half Life 2 mod back in the day.

Rezzed Developer Talks: What to Look For?

The indie game studio, Indie Stone, will be discussing What Not to Do When Developing an Indie Game. They just recently launched their top down, indie game called Project Zomboid. The demo was lots of fun and is definitely worth a try. It will be interesting to see what their advice will be moving forward for indie devs.

The Day-Z designers, Dean Hall and Matt Lightfoot, will be discussing how they turned their mod into the talk of the town in 2012 and hopefully drop a few tid bits of what we can expect in the near future.

Last but not least, Rock, Paper, Shotgun will be hosting their very own Game Jam on Saturday. These are always fun so we hope the attendance is high and the games kick ass. Look forward to seeing what comes out of it.

Tickets are quickly running out but you get get yours on the official website for 20 GBP for both days, or 12 GBP for a one day pass.

If anyone has any formal announcements they would like covered, feel free to email me at alex@bestindiegames.net, I am all ears.

This is going to be one indie game filled weekend!