between posts

With the IGF finalists announced, game makers only have a short while longer to find out the best of the best in indie games from last year. From the best overall game to the one with the most impressive art, there's several different categories for indie game designers to aspire to be the top of. This week we're going to take a look at a few of the games that have made it to the finals.

The most sought after quality of a game in the here and now is not how pretty it looks, how realistic the sound is, or even how fun it is. What matters most in a sea of look-a-likes is the all-important trait of innovation. An innovative game can get much more mileage than your average fun-but-simple experience, as people will talk about it even if it does not offer anything new in the realm of game4play or entertainment. Sometimes being made to think is a refreshing change of pace, after all. So here's five of the most innovative entries in the IGF competition.

There are a few things that one can rely on in life. The sky is most definitely blue. Grass? Well, it grows. So, as one can imagine, a men's magazine like Esquire taking notice of the indie gaming scene is very unusual. Focusing more on literature and fashion, it has evolved into the refined man's magazine of choice. This normally doesn't include independent or niche games. This is changing, though, as now the indie gamer is among those groups that Esquire caters to. If Esquire can do it, other magazines are sure to do it too.

The indie game Passage by Jason Rohrer is best described as an art game of substantial merit. It propelled Jason Rohrer to stardom in the indie community entirely on its merit of quality. Esquire took notice, and named Rohrer as one of their Best and Brightest of 2008. In honor of him, the magazine decided to be the exclusive host behind his newest game, which is cryptically titled Between. It's a multiplayer co-op adventure/platformer with Jason Rohrer's distinct style behind it, and it's affecting in the way that only his work can be. The game is offered on Esquire's site for PC, Mac, and Linux, and can be played either across a local network or through the internet.