Indie Links Round-Up: Smooth Operator

“Klei has put marks on ninjas and avoided starvation (for now), and it’s all been pretty great.

Klei’s new project, the expansion of Indie Gamer Chick’s coverage and more in today’s Indie Links.

Don’t Starve Dev On Its ‘Espionage XCOM’ Incognita(RPS)
“Klei has put marks on ninjas and avoided starvation (for now), and it’s all been pretty great. But now that all of that’s out in the open, what’s next? How do you follow gloriously precise stealth and maddeningly demented survival? Why, with turn-based tactical espionage, of course. Otherwise, there just wouldn’t be enough adjectives. I sat down with Klei co-founder Jamie Cheng for a brief chat about Icognita, which he’s billing as a more information-centric cousin to modern XCOM. Somewhat fittingly (though also frustratingly), he kept many details hidden away beneath his figurative trench coat, but we were able to discuss the broader strokes: espionage, the game’s upcoming paid alpha (ala Don’t Starve), procedural generation, and PC as the primary platform. ”

Adventure+Jumping = Adventurumping: Aaru’s Awakening(RPS)
“A platform game? Looking for crowd-endorsement? Well, I never. Next you’ll be telling me that the Duke of Wellington is sailing down Oxford Street in a sailboat made of licorice allsorts.”

Your Bright Futures(Indie Gamer Chick)
“So I’m making the transition from an XBLIG-centered site to more sweeping coverage of indies across all platforms. It’s kind of scary. I’ve spent two years focusing on this little unsung platform that is Xbox Live Indie Games. But I’m not the only one braving new waters. Hundreds of Xbox Live Indie Game developers are exploring new development formats such as Unity or Monogame, with the intent of going multi-platform. With both Sony and Nintendo aggressively courting indies, not to mention upstart Ouya and the existing (and thriving) PC indie community, there’s no shortage of places to go. Well, so far Microsoft hasn’t said anything. My theory is they’re in a medically-induced coma after sustaining life-threatening whiplash following the quick and reckless 180 they pulled. Again, just a theory. But if you see any Xbox guys wearing neck braces, just nod knowingly.”

New Xbox Live Indie Games for week ending June 28, 2013(IndiePub)
“The theme this week on Xbox Live is an awesome mix of horror and sci-fi! To get your fill of groaning zombies and creepy aliens, check out Saturn 9, Doomed Zombies and Sector 7-4-9er. ”

Indie Pleas: Indie game crowd funding roundup for June 28, 2013(IndiePub)
“This week’s Indie Pleas include: OZombie, an action/adventure based on the Wizard of Oz; Dropsy, a surreal point-and-click adventure; Karmaflow, a rock opera puzzle platformer; LFG- The Fork of Truth, a 4-person co-op game based on the LFG comic; and The Enclave, a location-based iOS game.”

This Is What We Do To Minecraft When They Give Us Horses(Kotaku)
“Minecraft added horses—among other things—in its big 1.6 update. As an alternative to reading boring patch notes, The Farlanders community created an awesome, Western-themed short clip to showcase all the updates.”

Review: The Yawhg(Indie Game Reviewer)
“Before video games, a lot of kids went on imaginary journeys via ‘Choose Your Own Adventure’ books in which at points in the narration you would be given a multiple choice and then turn to the page indicated to find out if you found your way out of the dark forest or stumbled into an Orc cave and got your bones turned into toothpicks. Now, while The Yawhg originally created as part of the Comics Vs Games jam at the Toronto Comic Arts Festival, from indie developers Emily Carroll (Vancouver) & Damian Sommer (Toronto) is not quite a CYOA, it does lead to some interesting narratives, and becomes even more entertaining in a group.”

Magrunner: Dark Pulse Review: Magnets, How Do They Work?(Indie Game Insider)
“Magrunner: Dark Pulse is a strange game. What starts out as a futuristic, 3D puzzle platformer with a sensible narrative quickly becomes a dark and harrowing tale surrounding the subjects of cults, human sacrifice, and H.P. Lovecraft’s twisted fictional creature Cthulhu. The result is a nonsensical storyline combining cyberpunk settings with a mysterious cosmic monster that raises more questions than it answers in its quest to be “different.” Despite its story, however, you’ll find a decent puzzle game with clever challenges.”