Stranded Without A Phone is an iGadget game from indie developer Gilligames, set in the same universe at their previous release Space HoRSE. (No knowledge of Space HoRSE is required to play and love Stranded, but it does explain why the protagonist is wearing what looks like a stylish dress-shirt-and-diaper ensemble.)  I enjoyed the island survival and crafting found in Sims2 Castaway and Lost In Blue 2, so I went in with high hopes for Stranded Without A Phone.

But, slowly, I started to get ahead of my survival meters, and I could craft storage bags to reduce my trips home, or a lean-to to make my sleep more refreshing. Once you craft a bow and arrows, you can hunt the island boar, leading to roasted boar, a more filling meal than a coconut or a fish. If you can hold off instead of immediately devouring picked berries, you can plant them for new berry bushes.

I usually enjoy ingame crafting, but Stranded offered a particularly good crafting system, managing to be both straitforward and challenging. You can always see what new goods you can make with currently available items, there are no recipes to remember or confusion about what makes what. Items you can practically make with current items will appear in your crafting menu, too, with an unavailable component or two greyed out.Components can be found at any point and as soon as you have the materials, you can craft. If you want to build radio batteries while you’re still sleeping on the ground and eating raw fish, go ahead! No forced progression or crafting levels will stop you, eliminating a common frustration and allowing for a lot more personalization.

One downside to crafting is that too many final items involved building the same parts and sub-parts multiple times. For example, players need to harvest six Reeds to make a Twine, make six Twines to make a Net Section, make six Net Sections to make a Net, so you’ll need to harvest Reed 108 times before you can fish with a Net… and you’ll need to fish repetitively to fill your nutrition meter. When games require the same action too many times, I start to feel like it’s filler content.

Bits of salvage from your space wreck, like bubblegum, canned ham and radio parts, wash up on the shore, just waiting to be used in a makeshift radio to phone home.  When life hands you lemons, use some zinc and wire to build a battery!

The game became less responsive as I played, pausing for longer and longer periods before performing an action, and finally crashed to the iTouch menu a few times. The system requirements listed on the App Store are OS 3.1.2, on the iPhone, iPod touch or iPad, and I’m running OS 3.1.3 It’s worth pointing out that I have a 2G iPod Touch, not a new one. Let me know how it runs for you.

Overall, I could not stop playing this game, and I’d sit down for just a few moments of Stranded and play until my battery ran out.

British indie developers Flaming Mittens follow their previous iToy games Doodle Galaxies and Avoid-’Em-Up with a new release, Doodle Ski. Doodle Ski blends the fun sketch artwork of Doodle Galaxies with a skiing challenge. Players need to turn the iPhone to navigate for their skier and try to avoid obstacles like yetis and penguins as they ski. I’m not usually too interested in racing or navigating games — I just don’t really enjoy driving, even with gaming variations — but I have to admit, I’m more than a little intrigued by the mid-game alien invasion.

From the press release:

In Doodle Ski for the Apple iPhone™ and Apple iPod touch® it is your objective to navigate the treacherous slopes of a dynamically generated environment, avoiding obstacles and angry enemy creatures. Players with the “right stuff” will also have to contend with an alien invasion at 100,000 points

Yes, you read correctly!

In this simplistic yet highly addicting game of balance and quick thinking, the slopes are not only plagued by fog, rockslides and avalanches, but also crammed full of enemies such as angry Yeti’s and perilous Penguins! The Aliens appearing in Doodle Ski are on a visit from the developers other game, Doodle Galaxies!

Controlling your skier is simple: simply tilt the handheld in the desired direction, while avoiding enemies and obstacles at all costs! It will take perseverance, luck, skills, and a steady hand to master Doodle Ski!

[Source: Flaming Mitten site]

I’m a bit of a Eufloria fangirl, so I was pleased to see this morning’s news that the indie PC game will be coming to PSN next year. (Sure, Geoff says it’s a an indie game cliche, but I could grow my deathray flowers and take over other planets all day long!) The ambient strategy game Eufloria was originally titled ‘Dyson’, after the Dyson trees players grow and use to take over new territory.

 The PlayStation NetWork version of Eufloria promises several improvements to the existing PC version, but will still have  the same dev team: Rudolf Kremers, Alex May and Brian Granger. I expect the PSN Eufloria game will be able to reach many new players, but will still have indie status, since it will be produced and self-published by Rudolf Kremers’ indie game company, Omni Systems.

From Alex May on the Eufloria blog:

We take great pleasure in announcing that Eufloria will be coming to the PlayStation Network in early 2011!

I’ve just QUIT MY JOB, which means I can now spend 24 hours a day (or a more reasonable approximation) working on Eufloria. Rudolf, Brian and I have also begun development on a reboot of the game, which will hit PSN in 2011. This reboot, much of which will come as a free update to current and future owners of the game, will feature some of the things we wanted to get in the first time around but couldn’t because of pesky things like day jobs and deadlines and other such nonsense.

You can expect graphical improvements, gameplay changes, interface improvements, and new content. Brian is also going to be pounding out more adrenaline-pumping composing new beautiful ambient landscapes to add even more unique tracks to the game’s original soundtrack.

Via Eufloria game blog

Happy Nutz Studio, the guys behind revisited match-three Popnus and adorable platformer Roto Adventures: Momo’s Quest, have just launched Popnus 2 for the iPhone and iPod Touch. I really enjoyed playing Popnus in the PC, and I think the casual, match-three gameplay will lend itself perfectly to a pocket game on your iToy of choice.

The new Popnus 2 features a multiplayer version, to play against friends on their iPhones, and several new gameplay modes, including Pop All, Bomb Survival, Score Vs Time and Challenge mode. Players can listen to the game’s soundtrack (you can hear it in the gameplay video below) or play songs saved on the iPod while playing Popnus 2.

Gameplay video:

From the press release:

Popnus2 released; Completely redesigned, with new game modes, more songs, multiplayer system and even a free version, Popnus2 for iPhone is an addictive adrenaline rush and a challenger of minds, no other match-3 game offers such freedom of action and planning in a simple and easy to play game.

Popnus2 designed for iPhone – iPod Touch – iPad has a new and simple twist on the gameplay, true freedom of movement and planning. Challenge your mind and skills in six different game modes or compete against friends in the multiplayer mode. It´s quick gameplay makes it the ideal choice to play anywhere, even if you have very little time.

[Source: GameRelease.net]

Canadian indie developers Scalene Software recently release their first XBox title, Concentrix. This puzzle game uses colored sections on a circular game board. Sections of different colors start in the center of the circle and fall outward, and players must try to move the colored sections into the desired patterns by turning and shifting the moving pieces. The simple mechanic seems to rely on the addictive manipulations of classic Tetris, on a circular playing area. The player’s goal, though, is not to complete rows, but to match assigned patterns.

The game’s soundtrack features twelve musical tracks by Fatal Orbit. Concentrix is available on Xbox Live Indie Games for 240 points, which is $3 in legal tender.

Check out the gameplay video here:

From the press release:

Concentrix is a unique action puzzle game played on a circular game board. Blocks fall outward from the center toward the perimeter of the playing area. Players can manipulate the falling shapes by moving or rotating them. The game challenges players because matching some blocks may block other matches.

The eight play modes feature varied game mechanics. Different shapes may fall, such as simple groups of blocks or more challenging ring-like shapes. The player may be striving to match color or position. Each mode plays differently and is a unique experience.

Concentrix features high quality graphics and an original soundtrack composed entirely on the Alesis Micron analog modeling digital synthesizer. The soundtrack and wallpapers are available as free downloads from Scalene Software’s web site.

[Source: GameRelease.net]

Indie studio Red Aphid‘s new Facebook game Feed The Rocker is in a playable, open beta, but it’s more stable than plenty of other Facebook games I’ve played. (I’m looking at you, Island Paradise.) I was pretty excited to check it out, I see a lot of potential in casual Facebook games for a creative indie studio.

Gameplay Feed The Rocker blends the fun physics gameplay found in Max and the Magic Marker, Magic Toychest or Crayon Physics,  with the seedy rock backdrops you’d expect in Guitar Hero. Your goal is to pour power pellets down the gullet of a sleeping starving rocker. You’ll use your guitars, amps and the rest of your rock gear to spill or bounce the food into the rocker’s open mouth.

The first levels involve bouncing a steady stream of pellets into the rocker’s mouth, then obstacles, special food and special gear are quickly added. As obstacles are added, though, it becomes more difficult to tell obstacles from environment.  The rocker seems to have a special love for sushi, donuts and mini-pizzas, which are worth extra calories. You’ll need to achieve a benchmark in calories in order to progress to the next level. This is ideal Facebook difficulty, not too hard for a casual slacking game, with the option to replay for the perfectionists amoung us.

Gameplay video from Red Aphid‘s site.

Besides the falling food, players also try to collect falling guitars for their collection.You collect these picks by swallowing them. (Don’t think too hard about that part.) I tend to enjoy collecting in-game items, so in theory I’d like the pick collections. But somehow collecting picks fell flat when actually playing. A little design on a little guitar pick in a small window of a Facebook game didn’t really offer a lot of variation, and instead of browsing my collection or completing sets for power-ups, I was constantly hounded to send my picks to my Facebook friends.

With the completion of each level, you’ll increase your stats in the number of calories eaten, experience gained and picks collected. And then there’s your ‘karma’. This stat is where Feed The Rocker lost me, adding the same annoyances of other social games like FarmVille. Players lose karma for owning too many guitar picks, so as you defeat levels and therefore gain picks, your karma decreases, and the only way to increase it is to spam your friends with requests to exchange picks.  Yay?

Style and Story There’s not really much story here, just a starving rocker in need of falling orange food pellets, but the backgrounds progress into bigger and brighter venues for your rocker. I enjoyed the seedy bar backgrounds (“Country Bar” features a chain-link fence and tossed beer cans) and the rock theme. But social spamming isn’t what I want from a game,  even if enforced gifting is cleverly called ‘karma’.

Overall, for a few minutes of slacking while at work or on the phone, Feed The Rocker is just fine. But I think I’m looking for more than ‘just fine’.

Stranded Without A Phone is Gilligames‘  adventure game of survival on a distant planet for the iPhone or iTouch. Players take on the role of a middle manager of a space colonization corporation, who’s the only survivor of a rocket crash en route to a new colony. Alone, you need to find food, shelter and a rescue in the randomly-generated island world. This was a lot like a space-age Lost In Blue 2, both the awesome survival adventure, and the frustrating search for necessary items. (Did you play it? What did you think?)

Stranded Without A Phone has just been localized into German and Japanese. The news says that a “large number of players contacted the developer and encouraged upgrading the game to include those particular languages, and developer Gilligames was more than happy to accommodate high-volume requests from existing players.” I’m pleased that it’s available to more players, and that language students can play it in their target language to practice. What? Playing games in German is just like studying for that test!

Stranded Without A Phone is available on the App Store for $1.99 in either of the three languages. There’s also a free English-only Lite version to check out the game.

[Source:  MobileGameFaqs, Indie Developer Consulting and Gilligames]

Vote on Your Favorite Indie Game!

We here at DIYgamer.com have started our very own bracket-styled tournament to find the best indie game, as voted on by you, the gamers. So head on over to our tournament page to vote on your favorite games!

The Tournament

Covering indie games means seeing a fascinating mix of creative new game mechanics and reimagined retro games. And, what could be more of a retro game than checkers?

Centurion Games’ new Checker Kingdoms offers themed checkers games for the iPhone or iTouch. Players can compete against the AI or online against other players, with a collection of themed boards and icons. Most importantly, the AI promises to be a challenge Centurion brought on a checkers expert to help create an AI to challenge players’ checkers skills.

From the press release:

Centurion Games, makers of Xbox Live Indie titles Corsair and System Override, today announced the launch of their first game for the iPhone and iPod touch, Checker Kingdoms. Offering a new twist on the traditional game of checkers, the game enables players to test their skills online against other players around the globe in a variety of themes designed to appeal to both casual and traditionalist players, including World War II and Science Fiction. Themes include not only specialized graphics, but also distinct sounds and animations.
In Checker Kingdoms, players will be able to test their master checkers skills either against the AI (written by well-known checkers expert Martin Fierz), or online against opponents around the world in up to ten simultaneous matches. A real-time notification system will allow players to view the status of their online games, even when their devices are asleep. Integration with Open Feint enables all games to be stored on a remote server, enabling players to seamlessly play games on the go, resuming their matches and playing turns as they wish.
“We wanted to create a game that would appeal to both traditionalist checker players and casual gamers, as well as introduce more kids to the classic game,” said Gregg Williams, CEO, Centurion Games. “Checker Kingdoms is the first of many classic turn-based games we’re working on, in addition to completely new games we hope will have the same broad-based appeal.”
Checker Kingdoms also enables players to choose songs from their iTunes library to listen to during gameplay, and features a fully configurable difficulty system for single-player gaming. Future updates will add new themes, such as Fantasy, global leaderboards, and an automatic matchmaking using the standard Elo rating system, which matches opponents based on similar skill levels.
Checker Kingdoms is available now in the App Store for $1.99. For more information please visit their website and follow them on Twitter.

[Source: Checker Kingdom site and VerticalWire]

Assyria Games, the team behind iPhone puzzle game The Glowing Void, is working on a new puzzler for your iToy of choice. The upcoming Mirror Maze is a maze with a twist – as you navigate your way through the obstacles, your moves are mirrored by a second piece on the screen. Both pieces must steer clear of all obstacles to succeed.

From the press release:

Mirror your movements in Mirror Maze, a brain-bending maze game coming soon for the Apple iPhone™ and Apple iPod touch® by independent developer, Assyria Game Studio, the same team that brought you the wildly successful “The Glowing Void”; In Mirror Maze, it is your objective to navigate a ball through a maze from the upper-left to the lower-right of the screen. But be careful! All your movements are mirrored to another ball making this game even trickier, and if either ball hits an object, obstacle or wall, it’s back to the beginning to try again! With 36 levels that get increasingly more complicated as you progress, you’ll always have something to puzzle over in Mirror Maze: The initial mazes remain static, but as you become better at navigating the levels, the mazes become alive! Scattered around the levels are Vortex portals that will teleport either you or your shadow player to a different part of the screen; while green portals teleport the player ball, the red portals teleport the ghost ball. Mirror Maze includes AGON online leader-boards allowing you to upload your scores to compare your achievements with other players; scores that can be shared through Facebook and Twitter.

[Source: Assyria Games press release, with the attention-grabbing title "Double The Balls, Twice The Fun!"]

How indie are you? Do your friends ask you about the best new independent games? Can you recognize screenshots from across the room? Can you sing indie game themesongs? (Ok… I night have made that one up.) Can you answer analogies to pass your indie-game SATs?  Take Indie Game Mag’s new quiz and send in your answers to quiz@indiegamemag.com for a chance to win an indie bundle of Gratuitous Space Battles, Crayon Physics Deluxe and Puzzle Bots. You may need the latest issue of  Indie Game Mag to help you answer some of the questions. [Disclosure: Issue 10 also contains my review of Osmos, so I would not be upset at all if you decide you need to own this issue.]

Here’s a sample question to test your indie games expertise.

[Source: Indie Game Magazine]