While the judges at IGF have already named their nominees/finalists, we at DIYgamer are still sifting through the list. Last year, we began a countdown to the Independent Games Festival. The way this works is easy: we simply select and discuss games randomly from the lengthy (306 total) list of IGF submissions. For this week’s column, I played through two note-worthy titles: an odd fighting game with awesome rag doll mechanics in Rubber Ninjas and a top-down zombie shooter in Dead Wake.

Before starting this I want to emphasize that this is only meant to give you my impressions and perhaps that extra kick to try out some of the IGF submissions, whether they be these or any of the other 306. I assure you, you will discover that there is something unique about each and every game. And hey, if you’re lucky, some of them are even playable for free! All right, without further ado, here are this week’s picks.

Ragdoll Physics and Fighting

Set in a low-gravity environment, Rubber Ninjas gives you control over a ninja battling another. As you make your way up the levels, you are given weapons to play around with–such as nunchuks–while your enemy may be carrying a bat. Ninjas also differ in sizes and shapes throughout the game. Since the developer–Rag Doll Software–already has the technical aspect covered by making their own custom engine and working with it in Ragdoll Masters, you can be sure that the game’s physics and personality are refined and unlike any other experimental games you may have come across before (except for Ragdoll Masters).

Controlling the ninja is easy: just move the arrow keys. Although the idea is fairly simple, its execution is a bit more complicated. While you may find it easy to control your character, being able to hit effectively takes some practice. Moving the arrow keys around without any thought isn’t exactly the best idea because you’ll feel like an idiot watching your character get beat. Once you’ve got the hang of it, however, you’ll be able to pull off some excellent moves and destroy your opponent. The best thing is that the cinematic camera will close in on you and intensify the experience of fighting. I thought Rubber Ninjas was a relatively original title and handled itself well as an IGF contestant. Kudos to the Rag Doll Software team!

Zombies Need to Die, Dammit!

I still love killing zombies. If you’re familiar with any of the stuff I’ve reviewed or written about, this is apparent. I also love top-down shooters. Those two seem to work very well together and I jumped at the opportunity to check out Dead Wake. While the full version of the game has yet to see a release, I can say with confidence that it’s looking pretty good. The Dead Wake demo allows you to barricade yourself using barrels, pieces of wood, etc. and attempt to survive the oncoming waves of zombies for 30 minutes. I know, it’s a very familiar concept and isn’t exactly a very engaging story. However, you should give a shot to Polycount Productions Finland’s title and you may be more impressed than you think.

There’s some elements I found quite refreshing. For example, instead of simply picking up items, you must complete the actions by pressing E and waiting for your character to finish. It’s not a matter of just walking over an item to pick it up but rather you have to time it correctly. Also, the idea of barricading yourself works well in a top-down zombie survival shooter: it makes perfect sense. The only thing I could see missing was some RPG elements such as leveling or abilities of some sort (but I keep in mind that this is the demo version). In any case, while the developer may not have made it into the IGF finals, they stand strong as one of IGF’s 306 Main Competition contestants.

That wraps up another week of our IGF Submission Picks. As always, I encourage you to look through the list yourselves because you may come across something you not only like but love.