As the day of the next Independent Games Festival draws nearer, the finalists prepare for an incredible experience at the Game Developers Conference in March. On the other hand, 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 games at random from the lengthy (301 total) list of IGF submissions and discuss what they’re about and how they play. For this week’s column, I played through an experimental title that made me say WTF in First Date: The Cloud Puzzle Game and an XBOX Live Indie strategy game which made me LOL at the idea, Cavemen vs. Aliens.

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 301. 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 (like these) are even playable for free! All right, without further ado, here are this week’s picks.

Hey baby, do you see that teapot in the sky?…Oh wait, it’s just a bunch of clouds.

Does anybody remember having a first date where you sat in the grass and tried to make out which shapes are reflected in the clouds? If you do, good for you. If you don’t, you’re in the same boat as me. Anytime I’ve been staring up at the clouds, it hasn’t really involved a date. As a matter of fact, I’m damn sure it’s involved me being in an altered state of mind. But if you’ve never seen anything in the clouds then hey, First Date is the way to go. The game will challenge you to piece clouds together in order to obtain the bigger picture.

Unfortunately for me, my browser (I use Mozilla Firefox) seems to only allow me the first shape, a flower. I try clicking and pressing every key possible but nothing seems to work. Maybe one of you considerate DIYgamers can tell me whether it works past the flower for you? I was ultimately intrigued by the idea. Albeit the flower was an easy shape, the mechanic worked very well and I was excited to see what else came up. Moonlite Games chose to run the game on Unity and I personally enjoy most of the games on Unity because they run smoothly. If I ever move past that first stage, I have a feeling the game could really knock me a few surprises!

F*** Alien vs. Predator, Cavemen vs. Aliens is where it’s at!

Hey, it’s true. The Alien vs. Predator thing has been done a million times (no citation but you read it on our blog, therefore it’s fact). I give a ton of credit to We Are Colin for attempting to pull this one off. Aliens aren’t exactly easy to handle when you’re a Neanderthal. Fortunately for you, the pterodactyls are on your side. Obscure? Maybe. Hilarious? Hell yes. I tried out the trial demo on XBLIG and thought the art style was fantastic. Does anybody else enjoy playing indies on such a huge screen like I do? Honestly, the game looked great and the only thing that turned me off was the fact that the trial ended. It’s currently 400 Microsoft Points ($5) on the XBLIG platform.

Cavemen vs. Aliens is a strategy game which will bestow upon you the burden of ridding our planet of aliens. The game actually contains several enjoyable mechanics, most notably that the face buttons are utilized by assigning a pterodactyl to each respectively. The pterodactyl can heal or deploy more cavemen, provide them with ammunition, and so on. It’s a quick download and worth a shot if you’re into strategy games (especially if you dig the trial demo). Check out We Are Colin’s page if you’re itchin’ for more info.

That was a fun, quick read, right? I hope so. Ladies and gentlemen, we’re only days away from the Game Developers Conference and our beloved Independent Games Festival will take place during this event in San Francisco, California. DIYgamer will be at GDC and provide you with as much insight as possible on the IGF finalists and winners! But until then, I have two more of these IGF Submission Picks columns left. Happy Tuesday everybody!