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It only took a three-and-a-half-year wait for it to come out, but we finally have more footage of Limbo, Playdead's dream-like black and white platformer releasing to Xbox Live Arcade some time this summer. The game follows a boy searching for his sister in Limbo, or "on the edge of hell."

For those of you that missed the show, the Independent Games Festival Awards selected Limbo as the winner in two categories, Excellence in Visual Art and Technical Excellence. Playdead showed off this first area of the game on the IGF showfloor at the Game Developers Conference last week.

[Via IndieGames.com]

Pocketwatch Games' stylish co-op caper, Monaco, was the big winner at the Twelfth Annual Independent Games Festival Awards, which was hosted by the Game Developers Conference 2010 at the Moscone Convention Center in San Francisco.

Monaco received the top award at the ceremony, earning the $20,000 Seumas McNally Grand Prize for Best Independent Game, as well as the award for Excellence in Design.

Other IGF award recipients for 2010, as judged by over 170 industry veterans, independent developers and indie-friendly journalists, also include PlayDead's starkly beautiful silhouetted platformer, Limbo, which won the awards for Excellence in Visual Art and Technical Excellence. Closure Team's puzzle platformer, Closure, earned the award for Excellence in Audio.

Noted independent developer Cactus (pictured) received the inaugural Nuovo Award for his abstract visual puzzle game, Tuning. The Nuovo Award honors "abstract, shortform, and unconventional game development which advances the medium and the way we think about games." Continue reading

No one answered my call last month to create a Doki Doki Panic ROM hack with sprites based on Adventure Time with Finn and Jake, but someone did get around to creating a free Flash game based on the upcoming Cartoon Network animated series.

Righteous Quest is a simple 2 platformer in which you hop over spikes, dispatch ninjas, and collect gems and other items scattered across three themed stages. There are also a few areas that take advantage of Jake's special powers (he's a shape-shifting dog), prompting him to stretch his legs and grow super tall to climb over obstacles.

You can play Righteous Quest for free at Cartoon Network's site. Don't forget that the show makes its premiere on the channel on April 5th!

Anna Anthropy continues her degradation into commercial work --which began with the tightly-crafted squealer When Pigs Fly -- and I couldn't be happier. With her latest release she moves away from the masochism she's infamous for and instead weaves a tale of a lone space traveler. It's, dare I say it, actually pretty charming. While the lack of bondage is suprising her knack for marvelous game design (which is apparent in her earlier games and level design lessons) is still intact. Selling out hasn't been this well-crafted or fun.

Anthropy has a fine sense for graphical composition; her pixel art has an elegantly clean style to it. The music by Amon26 (of Au Sable and All Our Friends are Dead fame) is also top notch -- I'm actually listening to it as I type. The game's minimalist story echoes Knytt by establishing that the protagonist has lost roughly two dozen gems and must regain them through exploration. Your sole verbs are walking and a low-gravity leap, which ends in a slight bounce if you fall long enough. The game's main mechanic is the dual polarity of red and green platforms; if you touch a red switch, for example, red blocks disappear and green blocks materialize. Like Terry accomplished with V^6, Anna wrung out every conceivable application of this mechanic and the game's three pitfalls of robot, laser, and electric pit. The level design is absolutely stellar. The difficulty is also fairly low-key, the platforming isn't by any means sadistic and save spots are frequent. Playing through Redder and exploring its landscape shows that you can create a mainstream-oriented experience without dumbing it down or diluting it.

Not much else needs to be said, except this: thank you ma'am, may I have another?

Semblante is a Global Game Jam entry from a team at the Catholic University of Paraná. As is typical with GGJ games, it's more of a prototype than a complete experience; just a single level.

What's notable about it is the atmospherics; darkness, an eerie soundscape, shadow enemies gliding in the depths. Periodically, there are overhead lights, and when you pass through the light, you glow for a time and can defeat enemies until the glow fades. Jumping atop them helps you not at all. Consequently, navigating the level is a combination of platforming and using the strategically placed lights to advantage.

Also, you can scream with the X key, but I don't believe this has a game effect.

Ostensibly, your character is named Jung, and you are exploring the recesses of your own mind.

You can see how a fuller treatment might be emotionally effective -- and certainly, the complexities of the human mind and its fears is a motif that lends itself to introducing additional gameplay elements over time.

Maru is a simple platformer that plays rather similarly to Frozzd, although the tone in both games are practically on different ends of a spectrum. The adventure basically involves leaping from one planet to another to collect the spirits or souls of other creatures that look just like the protagonist, then figuring out how to get to the portal that will transport you to the next area and continue with your mission.

There are only seven stages to visit in total, and most players should be able to complete the entire game in about half an hour or less. (Windows, 12.6MB)

The development team Playdead has announced that their first game Limbo will be coming to the Xbox Live Arcade service, according to an article posted on IGN.com. Playdead CEO Dino Patti also confirmed that the IGF-nominated puzzle platformer will be launched this summer, so mark your calendars for this one.

Limbo is currently competing for the Technical Excellence and Visual Art awards in this year's IGF, and if you're attending GDC next week you'll be able to play the game at the IGF showfloor as well. Continue reading