One very noticeable aspect of IndieCade 2011 was the involvement of 3D — which, to be honest, I had not foreseen whatsoever. Generally speaking, us “hardcore” gamers tend to look down on 3D as a gimmick. But that’s all about to change. This is a fact; I am not saying this as an opinion. Among the 3D delicacies available for oogling and ogling, such as Terry Cavanagh’s VVVVVV in 3D and the 3D mobile game jam games, Big Pants’ (best indie dev name ever) The Depths to Which I Sink caught my eye on the showfloor — or fire station, rather.

The game itself doesn’t have a specific purpose. You’re essentially flying around as this worm-like creature going through hoops and tunnels. Though there is no set “purpose” as we so often seek in gaming (e.g. kill the terrorists, cut fruit, fling birds, etc.), The Depths to Which I Sink is all about exploration and letting go of your comfortable grasp on depth. As the developers themselves describe, it’s not about thinking in just X and Y, it’s also about thinking in Z. Though there’s no real purpose in the existential sense, there is certainly a purpose in terms of levels and progression: there are four levels in the demo.

The overall set-up at the IndieCade fire station helped the game greatly: projected on a large white screen, with headphones to ease with shutting-everybody-else-out, and a 360 controller with which to control the experience. The gist of Depths involves using the analog stick to move around the empty space-like environment, occasionally pressing the A button to shift in the direction of forward to backward (I mean this in the sense of depth, not in a 2D plane). It may not be the most elaborate gaming mechanic, but it ultimately proves to be challenging and meaningful.

I almost instantly felt comfortable but entirely too uncomfortable with the experience right off the bat. The 3D glasses (the red/cyan ones) may not be the most effective as compared to the extravagance of, say, a 3D TV, but it certainly works once your eyes adjust. Depths is likely to feel pointless to some as there is no point structure, no real goals to attain and no achievements to achieve, but Big Pants assured me that’s exactly what they’re going for. The Depths to Which I Sink isn’t meant to be the next addictive installment of Call of Duty or Gears of War, it’s meant to be something one tunes out to (or trips out to).

So what are the plans for Big Pants’ 3D title? Well, it seems the developers are really into the idea of bringing it to 3DS — which would work almost seamlessly. I say almost because the impression I received from the big-screen projection may have been slightly more intense than one would feel on a 3DS. But who knows? There was also some talk of bringing it to iOS (somehow I always manage to bring this up to devs since I want to play all these games on my phone), and Big Pants said they had thought about it but didn’t really have a concrete answer for me just yet.

At the moment, The Depths to Which I Sink has a demo available for play. So grab your 3D glasses and throw ‘em on and see what you think of this one!

[Big Pants]

DIYGamer exclusive footage from IndieCade:

Official Teaser Trailer: