Photography by Tim Hulme
A MAZE. / JOHANNESBURG 2013
Spotlight
on Indie
L
et's face it, indie games are
everywhere, we need to embrace
the fact that they will eventually
be a part of the everyday gaming
platform that we use, if they
aren’t already. I took a trip down to the
Alexander Theatre to check out some
indie games on display at the A MAZE
festival 2013, a festival showcasing some
awesome indie talent, and out of this
world interactive media and art.
I was immediately grabbed by the
GameStick, a portable gaming console,
powered by Android, and the ARM
CORTEX A9 CPU. This USB and
controller bundle is along the lines of
what OUYA have done, but they keep the
emphasis on "portable" making it a easy
to take a console with you wherever you
go, thanks to a USB that plugs into any
USB Enabled HD TV. The biggest issue
I faced was that the controller felt a bit
uncomfortable, it's flat and wide, and a bit
bulky, but nevertheless Shadowgun ran
smoothly on the device, showing that you
can have a casual smartphone experience
on your TV.
There were so many amazing titles on
show that I can't go through them all, but
a few shone through the rest. Silhouette
is a dark two player turn based game,
where one player is a victim that needs
to find a key to escape a mansion, and
the other player is a killer trying to track
him down and kill him. This title has so
much potential, as I love a little suspense,
especially while playing couch co-op. And
although it's on the same screen, the game
gives you enough time to turn around
52
while the other player takes his or her turn
to hunt you down.
I tried really hard to wrap my head
around Super Pole Riders, a game where
you play against a team or another player.
Using a pole you need to lift yourself
up and kick a ball that's on a string into
the other players goal. After 30 minutes
of trying to understand the controls, I
was grateful I was a journalist and not a
professional pole vaulter.
Pixel Boy stole my heart. This top down
RPG is about a Pixel Boy who wants to
become a "real" 3D boy. It wasn't the story
that amazed me, it was the gameplay
and mechanics. It's pretty basic, I started
feature / LIFESTYLE / a MAZE. / JOHANNESBURG
by Marco Cocomello