skulls-of-the-shogun posts

It may no longer be the only indie game competition in town, or even the one that has the biggest cash prize, but the annual Independent Games Festival is still the one that all the indie game developers want to win. The 13th annual IGF will be held as part of the Game Developers Conference in San Fransisco in early March and this week the IGF revealed all of the games that have been submitted to this year's event.

Over 400 games were submitted which is a new record. As usual it was a mix of previously released titles (such as Minecraft) and games that have yet to be released to the public such as Bastion, Skulls of the Shogun and Spy Party. The finalists for the IGF's various awards will be named in January.

It's a game with an awesome title that's being made by a new indie team that has a pretty cool name itself. It's Skulls of the Shogun, the turn-based strategy game with a feudal Japanese setting that's being made by Haunted Temple Studios, made up largely of some ex-EALA team members.The big question: Will this game be as cool as its name suggests it will be?

While we don't know that for certain, Big Download did get a chance to chat with Haunted Temple's co-founder Jake Kazdal to talk about the game, launching a new indie game company, and more.

It's quirky, it looks neat and it has the coolest title for a game since Age of Booty. It's called Skulls of the Shogun and its a newly revealed upcoming PC turn based strategy game that's being developed by a new start up company called Haunted Temple Studios. 1Up.com has the first info on both the company and the game.

Formed in part by former members of EA's Command and Conquer 4 team, Skulls of the Shogun is being described as an Advance Wars-style of strategy game that's set in feudal Japan but with a cartoony art style as you have to defeat the opposing side and its general. It's also supposed to play in a faster tempo, more like a arcade game than a turn based strategy title. Look for four player multiplayer to be supported. At the moment there's no word on when Skulls of the Shogun will be released as the game is still looking for a publisher.