With blockbuster games like Black Ops, and Halo: Reach, it’s easy to assume that these kind of titles are representative of the industry at large. Serious gamers know that this is far from the truth, and is largely to blame for the perception that videogames embrace violence.
To see how wrong the assumption is, one only has to look at the massive success that was Xbox Live’s Summer of Arcade. It’s recently been announced that Xbox Live will be seeing another slew of independent games released with the upcoming Indie Games Winter Uprising running the first week of December.
Robert Boyd of Zeboyd Games is organizing the event, with more than a handful of independent developers teaming up to make the first week of December one to remember by releasing a brand new batch of independently-developed titles on Xbox Live.
According to the event’s website, fans who believe that games like Beat Hazard and Explosionade are the best that the Xbox Live Indie Games Channel has to offer are in for a surprise:
Some of the games certainly seem to be exploring new territory, and will no doubt offer something of a new experience. Here’s just a few of the games that will be available for download:
“If you thought that the Xbox Live Indie Games service was just filled with massage apps, clones, and garbage, think again! We are fighting back against mediocrity and lameness in the best way we know how - by releasing amazing games! Mark your calendars, because the first week of December is going to be the best week of gaming the service has ever seen. With new games from veteran developers like Ska Studios and Radiangames alongside promising newcomers, there’s something for everyone here.”
- Asteroids Do Concern Me Cthulhu Saves The World Zp2KX: Zombies & Pterodactyls! Hypership Out of Control Rickebacker vs. the Aliens Ubergridder
Details on the game are scarce and with indie titles, you really have to play it to understand the concepts at work. More independent games are always welcome, especially considering how many great titles are coming out of the space lately. Limbo, Super Meat Boy, Shank, Shadow Complex - the list goes on and on. To see the independent developers themselves teaming up to bring more attention to their games and the channel shows just how much can be accomplished within Xbox Live.
Perhaps the event is in response to Microsoft hiding the independent games section with the latest Xbox Live update. Microsoft has already fixed that issue, but independent developers certainly couldn’t have been flattered by the exclusion. The best revenge will be a crop of fantastic independent titles, in which case everybody wins.
Fans of independent development will get another chance to pick up a few titles, ranging from 80 to 500 Microsoft Points ($1-$5). It will be interesting to see if the event is just the first of many community-organized and coordinated launches.
We’ll find out if the Summer of Arcade has some competition for best selling event of the year when the Indie Games Winter Uprising begins this December, only on Xbox Live.
Source: Indie Games Winter Uprising (via Gamasutra)
