Ahhhhh, physics and sweet jumps, patron saints of addictive indie games the world over. If you’ve ever played Trial Bike, Joe Danger or any of their countless brethren (statistically, you must have, right?), then you’ve heard all this before. Utilise your mastery of the acceleration button and tilt mechanics in order to fumble your way across a devious 2D assault course in the quickest time possible, preferably without landing your vehicle arse over elbow. However, the snuggly part of Snuggle Truck comes from the need to account for your truck’s precious cargo: a collection of cute cuddly animal toys. Let your ride get a little off balance or land too hard after using the aforementioned sweet jumps and the poor critters get sent flying, resulting in a game over if such an incident leaves your trunk empty.“Wait a sec, dude,” I hear my literary caricature of you saying to yourself

Original Source: ‘Snuggle Truck’ Review – Snuggler’s Run

This Article was originally posted on our sister site, The Indie Game Magazine written by Gerrard Winter.

Mike Smith, a concerned games journalist, has started up a petition that he plans to present to Microsoft so that they give indie games their very own channel on Xbox Live. He’s asking for 1,000 signatures, do you feel strongly enough about this to sign your support?This has been due for a while now. Indie games on Xbox Live have always had a hard time due to the open nature of the platform which is happy to home just about any old thing. However, back in early December 2011, Microsoft updated the Dashboard which put the indie game marketplace further away from the default page, some argue, further into obscurity.

Original Source: Will You Sign This Petition For An Indie Games Channel On Xbox Live?

This Article was originally posted on our sister site, The Indie Game Magazine written by Chris Priestman.

Omni Systems has taken to their blog this morning to announce that their popular PC/PSN game Eufloria is just about ready to also launch on Apple’s popular iPad tablet. Accoridng to the developers there’s just a few more tweaks and some final polish and it’ll be good to go! This is especially good news for iPad owners because, well, Eufloria is a pretty amazing game!

Well, for those of you without Windows-based PCs we’ve got some good news. It looks like popular first person puzzler Q.U.B.E. is set to land a few other places before it complete’s its developmental life. In a conversation with Joystiq, co-founder Daniel Da Rocha said that a Mac version was two months into development and that an OnLive version was also on the way. They’re also prototyping an iOS version although there’s no guarantee with that.

I’m aware of the fact that the indie and mainstream game markets are practically saturated with zombie titles right now, but I’ll be damned if I still don’t love ‘em. I guess for many of the more basic zombie games, the undead are just the enemy du jour. Judging by the proliferation of zombie games, though, we must really like tearing into them.

A while back I was giddy with joy over a new Kairosoft game, the same guys who developed the wonderful, and every popular iOS/Android game Game Dev Story. This time, however, it was focused on another passion of mine: soccer. I even managed to write a review about it last September! I know, I’m pretty amazed as well.

Great news for people with iThings as one of the very best indie games on PC is going to be on iOS very soon. According to developers Vlambeer, the game was submitted to Apple for review a couple days ago which means it’s out of their hands now. For Apple’s part it can take up to a couple weeks to get approved by them so no telling when we’ll see it exactly. Still, this is exciting nonetheless!

Whoa there iOS gamer. I see you staring longingly at that new Angry Birds: Whatever expansion pack that only costs a $1.99. I know those games are fun and getting the best score as soon as possible to make the high score list is a noble effort, but did you know there are a dozen other iOS games you could buy right now where not only would get a new awesome game, but you’d also be helping either Child’s Play or Doctors Without Borders… that’s right have your cake and eat it too!

Rewind three years and I’d have told you that you were downright crazy, mad, institutionalization-worthy had you told me that one day (soon!) we’d be playing games on our phones that were as good looking, with meaningful depth, and as cheap as a basic mobile phone game. Since then I’ve seen the steady progression of games and I believe a new pinnacle has been reached with Oceanhorn , a delightful 3D game inspired by Nintendo’s legendary Zelda: Wind Waker series.

I got into a bit of an argument the other day with an indie gaming pal of mine. Essentially we debated the merits of mobile gaming (as many of you should know I’m not huge on it regardless) and which platform serves up better indie games more consistently: iOS or Android.

As somebody who owned an iPod Touch for a few years (and still owns an iPad) as well as an Android phone since October 2008 (I waited in line for a G1) and an Android tablet I felt like I had some authority in the matter. My friend has had experience with both as well.

Ultimately, we ended up disagreeing. He said that Apple’s iOS had the better, higher quality games which made them immediately more enjoyable for gamers of all types. It kind of makes sense. I think you’d have trouble arguing that there are at least more quality games on iOS than Andoird simply due to Apple’s stricter enforcement.

That said, I persisted in my belief that Android was actually better for indie gamers due to the act that many more games were available for free like Angry Birds and that since Google is less strict with their store, there will invariably be more choice. Along with that you have different sized devices (phones and tablets alike) with can cater to a gamer’s individual tastes. More choice has always, in my opinion, been better.

And of of course then you have Windows Phone 7, which we didn’t debate but I feel like should be brought into the equation as well. Despite not having nearly the massive amount of games and apps that iOS or Android has, WP7 strikes up a nice middle ground between the two in terms of design, choice, affordability, etc. That, of course, is combined with Xbox Live which brings with it a host of features gamers have come to know and love on their consoles.

So I leave it with you guys. Which mobile operating system caters to gamers best? If you had to convince somebody right now, what would you say to convince them?

NOTE: This is a hot topic for fanboys/girls. We here at DIYGamer do not condone rampant fanboyisms. Please discuss this politely and intelligently. Thanks you!

[Discussionware is a weekly feature aimed at promoting discussion with thought provoking topics. Each week we’ll be taking a look at a topic that influences indie gamers or developers and we’ll leave it open for discussion by our wonderful readers.]