Semi Secret Software
If you own an iPhone, go buyCanabalt. Like, right now. Its monochromatic graphics, simple yet exhilarating gameplay, and heart pounding soundtrack make it one of the best titles on the platform to date. And the developers at Semi Secret managed to follow it up recently with yet another gem, the deceptively difficult Gravity Hook HD. Wait, you thought we were going to say SteamBirds, didn’t you? We could have. This crew has a penchant for creating retro-styled games that fit perfectly on the iPhone, so it’s hard not be excited for whatever it is they have coming next.
Spooky Squid Games
The two-man team at Spooky Squid is currently hard at work on its first full-scale commercial release, the puzzle/strategy hybrid Guerrilla Gardening. And while that game looks great, you need only look at the studio’s history of small, free titles to see its potential. For example,Night of the Cephalopodsis what would happen if Evil Dead featured squids instead of zombies, and it features incredibly unique and engaging real-time narration that describes what’s happening on screen. It may be short, but it definitely shows off what Spooky Squid is capable of, which makes the wait for Guerrilla Gardening all the more difficult.
Team Meat
Why are people so in love with Team Meat’s debut game,Super Meat Boy? Well, there are a few reasons. It’s based on the awesome Flash game Meat Boy. Programmer Tommy Refenes previously worked on games like Goo!, while designer/artist Edmund McMillen is known for titles like Gish and Aether. It’s caked with nods to old school gaming. The game also stars a cube of meat fighting a fetus in a jar and hardcore, blood-soaked platforming. So, really, what’s not to be excited about?
thatgamecompany
For most developers, making a game about microscopic creatures eating each other or flowers blowing in the breeze would be a night impossible task. Even more so if they wanted to make the game fun. That’s what makes thatgamecompany so special. Games likeflOwandFlowerare both very different and very good, a combination that can be hard to come by. The games have also gotten progressively better, a trend that will hopefully continue with the release ofJourneyon PSN.
Twisted Pixel
The Mawcame out of nowhere and was pretty great. Then came‘Splosion Man, which was even better. Twisted Pixel’s next game, Comic Jumper, didn’t garner quite so much adoration, but the upcoming Ms. Splosion Manlooks to return to the company’s usual solid gold form.
Got an indie developer you’d like to showcase? Shout ‘em up in the comments below!
Feb 16, 2011
The most ruthlessly punishing indie games
Think it takes a big budget and flashy looks to kick your ass? Think again
24 laughably terrible XBLA indie games
Microsoft doesn’t monitor content. Here are 24 reasons they might want to start
How indie games took on the world [and won]
Meet the maverick heroes of game development
Former Xbox boss says GTA: San Andreas and its infamously NSFW Hot Coffee minigame "signified a maturing of the industry" and put games "on par with movies and music"
Death Stranding 2 pre-orders are estimated to go live this month, and will reportedly include a $230 collector's edition that I pray doesn't come with another creepy baby statue
