FunEffect.com

Think roguelike meet Small Worlds, and you'd have a pretty good idea of what Team Lantickall's A Most Peculiar Adventure is all about. Viewed from an overhead perspective, your quest is to find a complete set of suits, each hidden somewhere in four separate secret caverns on the area map.

Similar to controlling a tank, you use the left or right cursor key to change the character's facing position, then press the up arrow key to move forward one tile at a time. The game will work on either Windows, Mac OS X and Linux, provided that Java is already installed on your machine. Continue reading

As Russ Morris' Starlings draws closer to a release, he's thrown out the above trailer to give the intrigued a better idea of what it's about. In development for Mac OS X, it's like thatgamecompany's Flower, but with less flora and more feathers.

"The high-concept of Starlings is a game that attempts to create an emotional connection between the player and game through dynamic audio and visuals. Beginning with one starling, the player must explore an expansive rural environment in order to recruit more birds to their flock. As the flock size increases, so do the accompanying musical score. More instruments are introduced to an initial basic melody, directly relating to the current size of the flock."

Coming 2010!

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

Some good news for Mac users - Tanaka's Friendly Adventure (an exploration game by Bento Smile) is now playable on Kongregate. There's no need to download anything, and your progress is automatically saved after each adventure.

Pandora's Gearbox (Indiebird's clever physics-based puzzler) can now be played on Intel-based Mac systems, so you might want to check that out as well. You can find gameplay videos for both games after the cut. Continue reading

Rag Doll Software (developer of Ragdoll Masters) has just released Rubber Ninjas for Windows operating systems, originally only available for Mac OS X users. The full game costs $19.95, and features about fifty single-player levels in total. A demo is also obtainable from the official site, showcasing three stages from the first campaign and a limited two-player mode with only the default fighter skin available for selection. Continue reading

Amanita Design has started taking pre-orders for their upcoming 2D adventure game Machinarium, and customers who purchase it early will get a three dollar discount off the regular price of $20. Buying the game before it is launched also entitles you to a pre-order pack that comes with songs from the Machinarium soundtrack, among other things.

Machinarium is scheduled for a release this October 2009, and will be available for both Windows and Mac OS X operating systems. (source)

Amanita Design blog

[Every week, IndieGames.com: The Weblog editor Tim W. will be summing up some of the top free-to-download and commercial indie games from the last seven days, as well as any notable features on his sister 'state of indie' weblog.]

This week on 'Best Of Indie Games', we take a look at some of the top independent PC Flash/downloadable titles released over this last week.

The delights in this edition include a Metroidvania platformer, a base jumping simulation game set in the near future, a difficult horizontal shooter, a browser-based puzzle game with sprite editing functions, a dragon breeding simulator, and a puzzler that placed in a 'shocking' competition.

Game Pick: 'The Underside' (Arthur Lee, freeware)
"An exploration platformer which tells the story of Ip, a peculiar little fellow who is attempting to escape from The Underside and prevent the world from being destroyed while he's at it. The plot can be a little complicated to follow at times, but when it comes to gameplay there's not much out there that is quite like it - a classic platform game with gorgeous pixel art."

Game Pick: 'Trigger' (Stephen Lavelle, freeware)
"Trigger is a tough horizontal shooter created by the developer of intriguing experimental projects such as Opera Omnia and Rara Racer. The ship that you pilot is armed with only one weapon, but when used effectively it can destroy just about any enemy ship you might encounter on this dangerous mission. Available for both Windows and Mac OS X."

Game Pick: 'Aaaaa! - A Reckless Disregard for Gravity' (Dejobaan Games, commercial indie - demo available)
"In Aaaaa! - A Reckless Disregard for Gravity, your task is to launch yourself from a ridiculous height, skim some buildings, smash through targets, wave to your loving fans, flip off the whiners and land safely at the bottom with all bones intact. While the experience can be completely casual and open enough for anyone to enjoy it, so too is Aaaaa! fitted for the hardcore gamers. Finding perfect routes to maximise score and achieve the highest rating possible will no doubt help the time fly for many freefallers."

Game Pick: 'CutCopyPasteGnome' (Luke Brown, browser)
"CutCopyPasteGnome is a puzzle game designed by Luke Brown, where the player's objective is to assist a gnome in reaching the exit without any direct control over his movements. This will require manipulating objects with a couple of editor functions, accessible by right-clicking on the game screen and selecting the tool you would like to use."

Game Pick: 'How to Raise a Dragon' (Gregory Weir, browser)
"How to Raise a Dragon follows the rise and potential fall of a mythical beast from hatching to distilling fear in the hearts of pitiful humans. As you'd expect from a Gregory Weir game, there are multiple endings depending on the direction you decide to take. Will you be a fiery tyrant raining down destruction or be a kind soul? How you decide to handle yourself makes all the difference."

Game Pick: 'Shocker: The Electrifying Super Hero' (Alexitrón, freeware)
"Shocker is a puzzle game created by Alexitrón for Game Jolt's Shocking contest, where you are in control of a hero entrusted with the job of saving the planet from a major technology-related disaster. Each area has several blue nodes and a yellow exit point, with your objective being to reach the escape portal without accidentally sliding out of the screen."