Having spent the last two months working away like a mad squirrel towards finishing my grad cert course, attempting to post anything up has been a bit of a mission! While researching for my final project ( based on developing a mobile and social casual game) however I unearthed some awesome indie game developers who are forging ahead and marking their mark, I’m nominating them as my inspiration for the month with games that are unique with stunning visuals and quirky characters.
Based out of Belgium, this game development studio see games as art, using game as the medium for many different stories and experiences rather than focusing on traditional ‘game play’. Highly recommend viewing, The Graveyard – you walk around a city graveyard as a little old lady, pondering the meaning of life and death. The animation and sentiment is beautiful.
Developed by Russ Morris, Starlings is another independent game built in Unity 3D, over time you build a flock of starlings from playing one bird in flight. It’s a very simple concept that sounds like it’s going to be completely addictive. Again, it’s another game being developed that is unlike most out there, big props to Russ too for developing this himself with no prior experience, his development blog will be a valuable resource to others out there, detailing the highs and lows of bringing it all to life.
Starlings – Updated Trailer (April 2010) from Russ Morris on Vimeo.
The stark visuals of this haunting game remind me for some reason of the film, City of Lost Children, the French fantasy/drama film by Jean-Pierre Jeunet. Developed by another European game studio, Playdead out of Copenhagen.
This cinematic fairytale game follows the adventures of a little creature through forests, avoiding monsters along the way.