One of the most impressive displays at all of E3 was, sure enough, part of the IndieCade showcase. As I sat down at the first open station I could find, I was quickly attended to by one of the IndieCade volunteers. I donned the peculiar headset and grabbed a Wiimote, intent on experiencing a new type of indie game. The work of USC student Taiyoung Ryu’s Maum — who simply worked on the game as a result of his MFA Thesis Proposal — utilizes a Brain Computer Interface (BCI) device along with a Wiimote.

Simply put, the game senses your thoughts and adjusts gameplay accordingly. So if the player is tense and nervous, Maum will sense it and perhaps urge the enemies towards him/her. Likewise, in levels where you are required to use your flashlight, the strength of the light is entirely dependent on the level of mental calmness you’ve achieved. The immersive tendencies of the game outweigh its “fun” components — Maum‘s gameplay concentrates more on its innovation than its story or game-like characteristics, but that’s with good reason. The BCI headset (more specifically the Neurosky Mindset) works extremely well, and the only worry for playing this game in the future at home…is the cost of that BCI headset ($199).

It was an intensely nerve-wracking playthrough for me at the E3 floor. As if the energy of the entire place wasn’t enough to get me worked up, the idea that this game could read my thoughts scared the shit out of me — and incredibly enough, my fear was put to the test in a creepy first level within the game where your character walks through a crowd of pumpkin-headed individuals dressed in suits and trench-coats or such. And the rest of the game screws with you just as hard. In the levels where you concentrate on using your flashlight, Maum will attempt (and be successful with) scaring you. If, however, the player can manage to remain calm and collected, Ryu’s innovative masterpiece may just cut them some slack.

As for me, I barely made it past the first level — for which I was given 5 lives. Each time one of the pumpkin-headed humanoids touched me, the transparency of my character would increase until I was no more. I must have played through this level about 20 times before finally getting past it. Indeed, the BCI headset doesn’t make things easier, but it makes things more interesting.

Unfortunately, it’s unclear as to when Maum will be available for the general public. BCI headsets in general are very hard to come by and it’d be surprising to find this title on WiiWare anytime soon. But if there is one game worth mentioning above all others at the IndieCade Showcase, it’s Maum. It displayed integration with cutting-edge technology and managed to pull it off in a successful fashion. Sure, maybe the game isn’t the funnest, but it certainly carries a much bigger picture.

We’ll keep you posted as to the status of Maum. For those of you who want a glimpse of the gameplay, check out the video below. To follow Taiyoung Ryu’s work, check out his blog for USC as well as his personal blog.

After a bit of a hiatus (newborn + E3 = bizzay) we’re back with a weekend jammed full of glorious indie sales, let’s see what you’re dollar can reach today (all sales go through Sunday, June 20 unless otherwise noted):

Impulse brings a couple of deals this weekend, CID The Dummy has been marked down to $3.50 from the already low price of $5. Skyscraper Simulator goes for $16.34, a solid discount from its standard $27.24 tag.

Over on Steam Dark Water Studios’ recently released flying action game DogFighter has been released carrying a 25% discount–now $12.74 instead of $17–which ends the same time as the rest of these offers. RPG Numen: Contest of Heroes has passed its one week launch discount period, but as of this writing still carries the 10% discount offered.

Seems like it is every week GamersGate has Bob Came in Pieces for 50% off, as it does again this time around. Paradox’s RTS Perimeter: Emperor’s Testament is 60% off and is now $4 instead of $10. Wadjet Eye Games’ Puzzle Bots has been given a 10% pre-order discount as well.

Note to Direct2Drive: Where’s the love?

As always, if you know of any independent sales going on that we missed please comment or email: erik[dot]johnson[at]diygamer[dot]com.

JustNine, the developer behind HellKid: Hook & Jump, is celebrating the app’s newest update by offering the game for free on the App Store (only for a limited time). HellKid is a 2D side-scrolling platformer and contains 5 unique stages with 5 different characters — each with their own abilities — and even a Soccer Mode that JustNine has added for all World Cup enthusiasts. The game also offers Facebook/Twitter integration, 50 achievements, and is playable in English, French, Russian, German, Korean and Japanese.

HellKid: Hook & Jump is currently available for free on the App Store but time is running out quickly! JustNine has promised more updates in the future. We’ll keep you guys updated about what’s to come.

[Get it from the App Store.]

Press Release:

HellKid Full Version Will Be Available for Free For a Limited Time

The latest version of HellKid is available from the App Store here:
http://itunes.apple.com/app/id350273868?mt=8

Developer Website:
http://justnine.net/STUDIOUFO/

[Source: GamesPress]

Ah, the return of the side-scroller. There’s something that truly excites me about a release like Grokion from rozgo and Dodo Domination on the iPhone/iPod Touch. While the screenshots visibly convey that the game has drawn influence from the legendary Metroid and Mega Man series, Grokion offers its own twists. The fully 3D environments are rendered fluidly and without delay. Complete with physics-based puzzles, modern gameplay mechanics, but an old-school style — Grokion will be winning over fans of the old- and new-schools.

As unit LDU-1, you will navigate through hostile environments — your mission being to restore balance to the Biosphere. Make your way through a beautifully-illustrated indie side-scroller while enjoying 17 original soundtrack tunes.

The first episode of Grokion is available on the App Store for only $1.99. This could very well be one of the best side-scrollers released on the iPhone/iPod Touch (although I’ll make that call later on in my review).

[Buy from App Store.]

Simone Bevilacqua has announced via presser the roll out of the twelfth update for his retro-flavored puzzle shooter BOH, now available for download, grab it here.

The patch brings fixes for a few treacherous bugs that popped up with the arrival of the previous update, but perhaps more importantly two new missions have been added bringing the total to 40 in the game. Additionally the game now carries a Polish translation.

If you’d like you can check out my BOHview. From the press release:

The previous update brought to surface a couple of nasty bugs, but with this update they will not show up anymore. But that’s not all: the occasion has been seized also to raise the number of missions to 40 and to add a new translation!

More specifically, this update:

fixes 2 bugs that could cause crashes;

adds 2 new secret missions;

adds the Polish translation;

applies various other changes.

David R. Lorentz has reinvented the Action 52 zombie-on-a-pogo-stick game Bits and Pieces as a… well, sort of a monster hell platformer. You play as an amorphous bodiless glob of protein, described as a head but presumably more like a brain, who wobbles and bounces through patterned fields of monsters in search of glutamate.

The action switches up from level to level, as the game introduces unexpected nuances to its apparently simple mechanics. For instance, tapping “jump” again the moment you bounce on an enemy results in a super bounce that can send you about the height of the screen, allowing some interesting vertical sequences that call to mind the ice beam segments in Metroid.

As Lorentz himself notes, the game can be can be hard to the point of frustration and the presentation is decidedly no-frills even compared to its NES namesake. Still, the unusual take on platformer design and the odd sense of humor makes it worth a look.

You can download the game here, or play a slightly less polished Flash version here.

While DIYG was busy covering anything available at E3 this past week, the world outside the convention didn’t stop like I had assumed, so let’s get into some weekend catch up!

The guys at Hi-Rez have rolled out three new patches for their MMO shooter Global Agenda over the past week despite being occupied with their E3 duties (which they were well represented with costumed dudes and everything.) Highlights include the PvP Mercenary Queue now accepting pre-made teams of up to 2 players instead of just 4, the slight nerfing of the Oathbreaker Morale Boost’s damage protection and a list of adjustments for Alliance vs Alliance (AvA) and more.

The files can be downloaded automatically for owners of the game via the Steam client. From the triad of change logs:

General

- The PvP Mercenary Queue now accepts pre-made teams of up to 2 Players (previously 4)

- The 10v10 Arena Queues is now flagged as a non-subscription feature (does not include the future tournament system). This queue accepts pre-made teams of up to ten players

General

- Reduced damage protection on Oathbreaker Morale Boost from 40% to 20%.

General

- Oathbreaker Boost: Healing reduction on enemies changed from 100 to 50. Damage to targets moved from 150 to 75. Amount healed moved from 150 to 75.

- Super Smash Boost: The boost now increases assault damage resistance by 25% (previously 500%). No changes to knockback.

AvA

- The minimum time that an agency can be open for production has been changed from 1 hour to 2 hours.

- Any territory you own that is ***EITHER*** not contiguous to your Headquarters ****OR**** more than 2 hexes away from your HQ, is subject to the hex being automatically opened for 1 hour at random intervals outside of your normal production open time.

- The more total territory your agency owns, the more likely individual hexes are to be auto-opened.

- No hexes will be automatically opened within the first 12 hours after closing production, allowing for a safe period. The more time that has passed since you last opened for production, the more likely your hexes are to be opened.

- Any territory that is both close to your HQ and contiguous to your HQ is “safe” from these open events, so agencies are encouraged to put their highest value facilities within this safe ring and to work diligently to maintain continuity between hexes.

RocketCat Games has released the sequel to the popular Hook Champ, which was a finalist for the 2010 IGF Mobile in the Best iPhone Game category. Super QuickHook is now available on the App Store. Players will swing through dangerous landscapes by using their grappling hook, searching for hidden areas while upgrading their characters and unlocking “really fancy hats.” Super QuickHook is equipped with 18 mission-like levels but also comes with an randomly-generated endless “Avalanche Mode.”

Utilizing the original update plan the studio came up with for Hook Champ, RocketCat is also looking to supply in a similar way for Super QuickHook. With OpenFeint integration, players can connect with over 26 million others and work towards achievements, but even more excitingly so: two-player ghost races.

Super QuickHook is available on the App Store for only $2.99 and has gotten nothing but positive reviews.

[Buy from App Store.]

Press Release:

Bremerton, WA – June 17, 2010 – Rocketcat Games today released Super QuickHook, their second major iPhone title. Super QuickHook is the sequel to their first game, Hook Champ, which was a cult hit and finalist for Best iPhone Game in the 2010 IGF Mobile awards. The new title improves on the original in every way.

Rocketcat Games
Rocketcat Games is a team of three people that, one day, decided to make games. Their motivation for doing this is that many modern day games are made to be too disposable. They focus on replay value, controls designed specifically for the iPhone platform, and inspirations from retro game design.

[Source: GamesPress]

The IndieCade showcase at E3 is where all of the hip and happenin’ indie gamers congregate, including us at DIYgamer. Over the last few days, several of us have gotten a chance to get familiar with the individuals behind IndieCade, the developers involved, and the games we all love so much. There’s something fresh and innovative about each of the titles on display at the IndieCade area, and over the next week or so, I’m sure we’ll be recounting whatever we played through and linking you to it (if they are indeed playable) so you can have some fun of your own! So without much further ado, here’s Vision by Proxy from Team Rose.

The IndieCade description of the game is as follows:

“A collection of students from the Computer Media and Digital Media program at Georgia Tech, Team Rose represents the growing talent and ambition found among today’s student game developers. Rarely has so much fuss been raised about how depressing a game ought to be but at our design meetings.”

Vision by Proxy is clearly a student project — and don’t take that with a negative connotation. What I mean is that it’s not a full-scale gaming experience but rather the representation of a wonderful idea. Moreover, it’s a taste of what else the developers can come up with. As a puzzle-platformer, Vision by Proxy draws on some excellent ideas that — while they aren’t all that extremely original since games such as Color Symphony utilize a similar scheme — are quirky enough to leave an impression on the player.

As a one-eyed alien who has crash-landed on earth, gamers explore the area and interact with a few humans: a gardener, an architect, and a little girl. Walking up to any of them will allow you to steal their eye — and ultimately see the world through their perception. You activate each by hitting the SHIFT key or any of the mapped 1, 2, 3, and 4 buttons. So, for example, the gardener’s eye will help you see blossoming plants in the area, which you can climb Mario-style. The architect’s eye will help you see the world more mathematically and provide you with new platforms jump across. And finally, the little girl will have you look at a world essentially imagined by a child: a huge cute puppy instead of a tall building, rainbows in the sky, and so forth. Each eye will give you some perception as to the world around you and help you progress — eventually setting you up well enough to fix your ship.

Don’t go thinking I ruined anything for you, because what’s most interesting about Vision by Proxy is how its straightforward demeanor integrates with the amateurish but attractive art design. It’s not all that depressing as Team Rose may think…but it’s certainly peculiar that an alien is going around stealing eyes from helpless individuals. Moreover, as this is a student project and a bit of a short trip, it will leave you wanting more and wondering. Vision by Proxy could use a bit more polish in the future, but what it mainly lacks in is content. I would have liked to play through more levels because had more characters and eyes been added, the designs could go to a whole new level.

We’ll be keeping an eye out for news coming from Team Rose. But if you want to try out Vision by Proxy, be my guest. For more info on the IndieCade, check out their official website.

Popular site ModDB.com has officially gone forward and announced it’s own IndieDB.com site to cohabit the web along side it’s bigger brother. The service provides almost everything that ModDB.com does, but is designed exclusively to highlight news, mods, downloads, etc. from indie games and indie developers.

So what does this mean in the bigger picture? Well, basically this all boils down to the fact that indie gaming is getting larger and larger. When we first started DIYgamer.com, indie gaming had already begun it’s take off. In fact, even today, I’d say it’s still on the run way gearing up for the moment when it’s actually in the air. But this new effort, brought on by the ModDB.com guys, is a huge step into getting that plane off the ground and well on it’s way up into the air.

So, started today, you can now mingle, interact, and check up on all the indie devs you want, straight from IndieDB.com, without the need to sift through the piles of non-indie related stuff over at ModDB.com.

Of course, you won’t want to forget about us here at DIY HQ. We’ll continue rocking away providing you the most comprehensive, and detailed news, editorials, and reviews for indie games on the internet.

[IndieDB.com]