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Today's collection of independent game links: a comic that's not drawn by Edmund McMillen, the release of a couple of games not made by Andy Schatz or Tommy Refenes, and some free soundtracks which were definitely not composed by Danny Baranowsky. (image source)

Lively Ivy: Fantasy vs. Reality
"If you've ever wondered what it's like to be an indie game developer, boy do I have some slides for you."

Kloonigames: Count On Me
"In January we decided to check out what openFrameworks was all about. It's actually pretty good. So I decided to go along and do an iPhone game about matching stuff with it."

The Bottom Feeder: Avernum 6 For Windows Released
"We have finally released Avernum 6, the final game in the Avernum saga, for Windows. If you like huge, indie role-playing games with a retro flair, you could do worse than to check it out."

GameSetWatch: CarneyVale: Showtime Swings To Games for Windows Live
"CarneyVale: Showtime, the game that beat out 350 entries to win $40,000 at Microsoft's XNA Dream-Build-Play competition in 2008, will arrive on PCs later this year thanks to an exclusive distribution contract with Games for Windows Live."

Indie Strategy Games: The Indie Strategy Bundle
Gratuitous Space Battles, Solium Infernum and AI War at only $49.99, but for this weekend only.

Deadheat Interactive: Sword of Legends Demo
"Most of the game engine is complete, but the demo only really shows off a very small portion of it. Maybe one day progress will continue, but at the moment it's currently on hold."

Osmos: Exclusive Free Soundtrack
"Many fans have requested for the music to Osmos, so here it is. It's an extended, free soundtrack, running 50 minutes in total."

The Marionette: Soundtrack Exclusive
"For a short period of one week, I'm making the soundtrack available especially for everyone. The soundtrack includes full versions of many of the tunes found in the game." Continue reading

Full versions of The Graveyard (both Windows and Mac OS X builds) are available as free downloads for today only, so if you've played the demo earlier and liked it, then you might want to get a copy before the offer expires.

In other news, Wolfire is discounting Lugaru down to $4.95 on Direct2Drive and Mac Game Store (normally $19.95) until the 4th of November. The D2D version also comes with a HD texture pack that makes the game look slightly better on PCs with high resolution settings.

Related:
Are indie games too cheap? (Tale of Tales) Continue reading

[Every week, Gamasutra sums up sister iPhone site FingerGaming's top news and reviews for Apple's nascent -- and increasingly exciting -- portable games platform, as written by editor in chief Danny Cowan and authors Louise Yang and Jonathan Glover.]

This week, FingerGaming covers the upcoming titles Golvellius: Valley of Doom and Pac-Man Remix, and highlights recent releases like The Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition, Pinball Fantasies and Zombies vs. Sheep.

Here's the top stories from the last seven days:

- LucasArts Ports The Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition to iPhone
"LucasArts makes its iPhone debut today with the release of The Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition, an upgraded port of the company's landmark PC point-and-click adventure title."

- Free App Releases: Car Jack Streets, Space Ace, and More
"This week's free releases include demo editions of Car Jack Streets and Space Ace, along with free full versions of All 51 Games Free and Axe Pogo Extreme.

- Sega Master System RPG Golvellius: Valley of Doom Coming Soon to iPhone
"One of the 8-bit Sega Master System's greatest offerings, the action-RPG Golvellius: Valley of Doom, will soon see new life in an iPhone port, courtesy of publisher D4 Enterprise and French retro emulation specialist DotEmu."

- Top Free Game App Downloads for the Week
"Dare Digital's 3D water slide simulator Waterslide Extreme tops the App Store's free app chart in its first week of release. Rope'n'Fly Lite moves up to second place after finishing seventh last week — a jump that has given the paid version a significant boost in popularity."

- Namco Announces Apple Games Division; Pac-Man Remix to be Released This Week
"Following up on its previous ports of Galaga and Dig Dug, Namco Bandai is readying yet another iPhone adaptation of one of its classic arcade franchises. Pac-Man Remix has been submitted to Apple for review, and will appear in the App Store later this week."

- Top-Selling Paid Game Apps for the Week
"The mining simulator I Dig It and rope swinging action title Rope'n'Fly lead this week's paid apps chart. Sales for Harbor Master have risen dramatically following the recent release of a new pirate-themed episode, while the conceptually similar Flight Control drops to fourth place."

- Pinball Dreams Sequel Pinball Fantasies Hits App Store
"Pinball Fantasies includes four tables, each with its own unique theme and layout. All tables feature remastered graphics, but are otherwise completely faithful to their original Amiga versions in terms of gameplay."

- Studio Radiolaris Debuts Radio Flare Follow-Up Zombies vs. Sheep
"The game's visual style is striking; all on-screen objects are rendered as cardboard cut-outs, complete with moving strings and wires. The visual detail translates well to the gameplay -- players can snipe individual limbs off of zombies, and each bullet fired leaves an appropriate mark on the painted backdrop."

[Every week, we sum up sister iPhone site FingerGaming's top news and reviews for Apple's nascent -- and increasingly exciting -- portable games platform, as written by editor in chief Danny Cowan and authors Louise Yang and Jonathan Glover.]

This week, FingerGaming highlights upcoming titles like Duke Nukem 3D and Gang$tar, and reviews the recent releases TapStar and My Brute.

Here's the highlights from the last seven days:

- This Week's Notable Free Apps
"This week's free releases include demo editions of Zenonia and Assassin's Creed: Altair's Chronicles, along with free full versions of Jimney Chimney and Climb Unlimited."

- Pocket God Revenue Stream Analyzed, Reveals Sales Data for Chart-Topping Apps
"Pocket God's creators offer a rare glimpse at the sales numbers required to breach Apple's top ten. At second place, Pocket God sold around 10,000 copies per day. When it fell to fifth place, the app earned 6,000 downloads daily."

- Review: My Brute
"In Bulkypix's My Brute, you don't play the game, it plays you. Well, sort of. Players who are familiar with the Flash arena fighting game of the same name will feel right at home with this iPhone adaptation."

- Top Free Game App Downloads for the Week
"After spending two weeks at the top of the free app charts, Wild West Pinball drops to fifth place in today's rankings. In its place is a recently released trial version of Gameloft's Assassin's Creed: Altair's Chronicles."

- Gameloft Announces GTA-Like Gang$tar: West Coast Hustle
"Gang$star: West Coast Hustle's environments are fully 3D, there's a lock-on targeting system for melee combat, and yes, you get to throw people out of their cars and drive off in them, to the irritation of the local police."

- Ragdoll Pain Sim Max Injury Denied App Store Release
"Box Shaped Games calls its rejection into question, citing Apple's approval of similar titles. Ouch! allows users to virtually abuse a ragdoll figure that reacts realistically to injury, while Mr. Smith features a human-like character in a number of dangerous and painful situations."

- Top-Selling Paid Game Apps for the Week
"Gameloft once again finds itself in the top chart spot with Hero of Sparta. Sally's Spa falls to fourth place in today's results, as Flight Control and StoneLoops! move up to take second and third."

- Prey Invasion Developer Bringing Duke Nukem 3D to iPhone
"MachineWorks Northwest, the developer behind the iPhone-adapted first-person shooter Prey Invasion, announced that an iPhone port of Duke Nukem 3D is on its way to the iTunes App Store."

- iTunes App Store Turns 1, Apple Lists Favorite Games
"In celebration of the App Store's first birthday, Apple has launched a new section at the iTunes Store highlighting standout titles like Zen Bound, Edge, and Real Racing."

- Review: TapStar
"While TapStar has the potential to offer greater musical variety than any previous game in the rhythm genre, its unprecedented licensing agreement with Sony is squandered on a title that suffers from a disappointing tracklist and mediocre gameplay."

- FingerGaming's Weekly App Sale Roundup
"This week's discounted titles include Two Tribes' puzzle-platformer Toki Tori, the interstellar harmony sim Eliss, Studio Radiolaris' synaesthetic lock-on shooter Radio Flare, and Majesco's multiplayer strategy game KarmaStar."

[Every week, Gamasutra sums up sister iPhone site FingerGaming's top news and reviews for Apple's nascent -- and increasingly exciting -- portable games platform, as written by editor in chief Danny Cowan and authors Louise Yang and Jonathan Glover.]

This week, FingerGaming highlights notable titles like Mass Effect Galaxy and Annie's Wild Shot, and details the upcoming release of Touch KO and Timeloop.

- New and Notable Free App Releases
"This week's free releases include demo editions of Eliss and Castle of Magic, along with free full versions of G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra and Bent It!"

- EA's Mass Effect Galaxy Hits App Store
"Galaxy's gameplay is a familiar mix of action and narrative, modified to fit the iPhone's capabilities. Players will take on enemies from an overhead perspective, choosing targets and firing via a touch-based interface. Dialog sequences feature a new narrative wheel mechanic."

- Connect2Media Announces Summer iPhone Release Lineup
"The company plans to release four more titles in the iTunes App Store in the coming months, including Timeloop, Tumblebugs, String 'Em In, and 365 Sudoku.

- Top Free Game App Downloads for the Week
"After becoming free to play last week, OOO Gameprom's Wild West Pinball finishes as today's top free App Store download. The App Store's previous chart leader Paper Toss drops to second place, as Target Practice rises up to take third."

- Tecmo Releases Wild West Shooter Annie's Wild Shot
"While Tecmo's previous iPhone games were safe bets, it seemed likely that Tecmo would soon devote its efforts to creating a more ambitious title for Apple's platform. Today, Tecmo releases its first original, non-blackjack game for the iPhone -- the arcade-style shooter Annie's Wild Shot."

- Interview: Diorama Developer Finn Ericson
"Developer Dromsynt's Marble Madness riff is as enjoyable to marvel at as it is to play – and it's a lot of fun to play. FingerGaming briefly chatted to developer Finn Ericson about the game's development, and managed to wrangle some new details about what he calls Diorama '2.0'."

- Flick Fishing Hits One Million Downloads; Freeverse Details In-App Purchasing Success
"iPhone publisher Freeverse announced that its popular accelerometer-controlled fishing sim Flick Fishing has become the first paid application in the iTunes App Store to surpass the one million download mark. Nearly ten percent of Flick Fishing owners have used the iPhone OS 3.0's In-App Purchasing functionality to purchase additional game content."

- Chillingo Reveals Touch KO, Vampire Origins
"App Store publisher Chillingo has released details and screenshots for two of its upcoming iPhone titles -- the boxing simulator Touch KO and the third-person action game Vampire Origins."

- Top-Selling Paid Game Apps for the Week
"Gameloft's weekend-long price drop for Let's Golf! appears to have been a success, as the title finishes just behind reigning chart champion Sally's Spa in this week's App Store sales figures."

- 22Moo Reveals GameBone Pro iPhone Controller Peripheral
"Little has been said about the iPhone OS 3.0's support for third-party gaming accessories, as no such peripheral had yet been announced at the time of the firmware's release. Today, Australian iPhone accessory manufacturer 22Moo revealed one of the first controllers to take advantage of the iPhone's new functionality -- the GameBone Pro."