Indies in Due Time: October 14, 2011

Kairi and Brian here.  We got trailers.  We will comment on them.  Yea.  Um, enjoy?  Oh, and for the sake of not having my site load too slowly, you do have to click “read more” or whatever to get to the rest of the article.  Sorry.

Fist Puncher

Brian: Well it’s basically just a new old-version of a Double Dragon style brawler.  If you like this sort of thing, this will be for you.

Kairi: Yea, I mean it look’s pretty much like any other game in that genre.  It will be more fun with two players.  I do like the Amiga-style graphics.

Brian: It needs a hook.

Kairi: Yea, it looks pretty hook-free.

Brian: Robin Williams can’t say that.

Kairi: He’ll never live that down.

Brian: They need Robin Williams playing it is what they need.

Kairi: That didn’t exactly help the Nintendo 3Ds.

A Pixel Escape

Brian: This looks interesting with its graphics and quirkiness, but I’m confused as to what is actually going on.

Kairi: Well they didn’t do a good job of articulating what the objective of the game is.

Brian: Okay, well I see what’s going on.  You’re trying to escape from the monitor.  The Avatar-player is dire..

Kairi: Call it the Avatar-thingie.

Brian: Why?

Kairi: Because that’s what I do.

Brian: Well, I’m not you.

Kairi: I’m warning you, I’m about to get pouty.

Brain: FINE! The Avatar-thingie points you..

Kairi: YEA!  You’re talking like me now!

Brian: Oh joy.  Anyway, the Avatar-thingie points you in the direction you’re supposed to head.  There’s a map too.  They likely should have pointed it out better, but now that I get it the game looks fun.

Kairi: A first-person platformer-puzzler.  Could be good.  Or bad.  Sometimes it turns out bad.

Zombie Crossing

Kairi: Oh my God!  A zombie game on Xbox Live Indie Games!

Brian: It’s about damn time.

Kairi: Seriously, it’s zombies mixed with tower defense.  Sort of like a more mature take of Plants vs. Zombies.  Only this one looks nowhere near as fun.

Brian: Mediocre for sure.

Kairi: The turrets seem slow to react, and the zombies are bullet sponges.  I mean those are fucking miniguns on the roof.

Brian: It should turn them into mulch.

Kairi: And sold for $10 a bag at Home Depot.

Brian: It fertilizes your yard and makes it crave brains!

JForce: Unstoppable

Kairi: I assume it’s a TwickS.

Brian: Looks like it.  You’re really trying hard to get that term popularized.

Kairi: It’s my personal mission, right up there with getting Samuel L. Jackson to mention me on Twitter.

Brian: Psssh, what’s he got that I don’t have?

Kairi: Well he is black so I’m guessing a larger..

Brian: Hey now!

Kairi: Love ya Brian.

Brian: But it does look good.

Kairi: From the makers of Avatar Massage Online.  Is that a joke?

Brian: It has to be.

Kairi: It does look really good.

Brian: It’s such a different mish-mash of weapon types.  Lightsabers, boxing gloves, flame throwers, a freeze ray..

Kairi: I’m pretty sure I saw the Master Sword from A Link To the Past in there.

Brian: It does look really fun.  I like the graphics.

Kairi: I will say, just by looking at it, controls seem like they could be a bit slippery.

2012 pops up on-screen.

Brian and Kairi: Goddamnit!

EndOfDay: Infected vs Mercs

Brian: Wowzers!

Kairi: Now, before you get too excited, this is by the same guys who did Nuclear Wasteland, which was one of the worst.. oh wowzers.

Brian: In terms of visuals, this thing slays every other XBLIG shooter out there.

Kairi: Okay, I know I’m supposed to be above talking about graphics, but this really does look quite good.

Brian: It seems the gun sights might not offer enough.  And I just saw two characters walk right through each-other.

Kairi: Still, this could be good.  And it’s going to have online multiplayer.  The developers have assured me they’ve righted all the wrongs with Nuclear Wasteland.  I’m really looking forward to this one.

Brian: Dibs.

Kairi: What?

Brian: Whenever a game has online multiplayer, you get a code for it.  Dibs.

Kairi: You can’t call dibs before it comes out.  What if I want to give it to someone else?  You’re not my only friend you know.

Brian: …

Kairi: Okay, you are.  But still, you have to wait to call dibs.

Brian: Fine.

Kairi: That’s more like..

Brian: Dibs.

Kairi: I hate you.

Brian: No take backs.

Last Dragon Standing

Kairi: Looks like a remake of Warlords.  Which is odd because there is an actual, official remake of Warlords coming soon, with all the bells and whistles of a full Xbox Live Arcade title.

Brian: I’m confused as to whether or not you’re working as a team or against each other, or both.

Kairi: The gameplay looks good, but the developer didn’t articulate the points of the game very well.

Brian: I’m guessing it’s local multiplayer only.

Kairi: Shame if that’s true.  I think Indie developers fail to recognize how hard it can be to convince players to spend quality time with their friends playing Indie games.  When I have people over, they want to play the latest mainstream games.  It’s not as easy to sell them on trying Indie titles as you would think.

Note: Right before this went to press, I got an e-mail from the game’s developer that had a list of the features.  It is local only, and the game is competitive, not co-operative. 

Life in the Dorms

Kairi: This is causing a bit of controversy on Twitter on the grounds that the trailer isn’t very exciting.

Brian: Well it’s not.

Kairi: Yes, but I don’t think the game is meant to be exciting.  It’s a story-driven point-and-clicker.  It’s supposed to be more about the experience.

Brian: Still, the trailer didn’t really do well at making you get exactly what the plot is.  In a story-driven game, shouldn’t the plot and not the situation be the selling point?

Kairi: That’s a good point.  I’ve never really been into this style of game myself.  And yet, I can’t help but think that All the Bad Parts would have been better if it had been like this instead of a brawler.

Brian: I’m sure it would have been easier playing a point and clicker while hiding under the covers.

Kairi: Oh I was not.

Brian: …

Kairi: FINE, I was.  You happy?

Brian: My girlfriend was left cowering over a $1 Indie game that she didn’t even like.  I don’t think they make words to describe how happy that makes me.

Sorry folks, we ran out of time.  I can’t promise we’ll have enough trailers to do this feature every Friday, but we’ll try to get it up as often as we can.  Keep sending those trailers.  If you need, there are guys who can help.

My advice when doing a trailer: focus on features.  I want to know what sets your game apart from everyone else.  Don’t show cut scenes.  They don’t sell games.  Think of every single game website that bitches during E3 when trailers show nothing but pre-rendered stuff.  Now picture they’re all bitching about you.  Not good.  Showing a little bit of a cut scene is fine, but use less than five seconds worth of such footage.

Trailers should also be punchy and to the point, and under two minutes long.  Be funny if you have time for it, but make sure it doesn’t get in the way of showing off your title.  Remember, you don’t get a second chance to make a first impression, and for many your trailer could be their first impression of your game, so make it count.