retrograde posts

This demo is for the unique rhythm-based action game (played in reverse) Retro/Grade, a game that was a finalist at the 11th annual Independent Games Festival (IGF). The demo can be played on the PC using a keyboard, gamepad controller or USB guitar controller if you have one. A full game is expected to release for the PC and PlayStation Network. The game trailer and system requirements can all be seen after the jump.

"Rick Rocket has just saved the universe! Unfortunately, the massive destruction he left in his wake has caused a temporal anomaly that has reversed the flow of time. The player must assume control of Rick's spacecraft and fight through the epic space battle... in reverse! Retro/Grade is an innovative game that fuses the white knuckle thrills and over the top visuals of a shooter with the broad appeal of a rhythm game. Players are forced to dodge enemy projectiles while positioning the ship to be in the correct place to fire their lasers when their shots come back to them."

Download Retro/Grade IGF Demo (31 MB)
Download HD Retro/Grade Trailer (52 MB)

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.

While there are many important categories in any competition, most revolve around the visual and gameplay aspects of a game. When a competition includes an audio category, some dismiss it as merely a category for the audiophiles. But audio has more to do with a game than most people realize. Audio is part of what binds a game together into a coherent whole and helps define it. Great audio can turn a decent game into a phenomenal one, and bad audio can take that same game and make it terrible. It is often overlooked, but not by the IGF judges! Here's five of the best entries for those that know that audio plays a pretty big role.

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.

While games have to be innovative and technically competent, they should also be fun. Everyone loves a game that challenges the preconceived notions of gameplay in a way that is incredibly fun and engaging. Whether this means combining existing gameplay elements into something new or pulling new designs from the void in an effort of pure creativity doesn't matter. All that matters in the end product, and in the case of these five IGF finalists, their designers knew what they were doing. These end products are great!