Indie Links Round-Up: Purple Worm

“The indie universe continued to offer up in 2012 platformers of all types: auto-running, puzzle, exploratory, narrative-driven, and subversive.

Dark times come in today’s Indie Links, with games set in shadowy worlds, a game where the lights actually go out , and a game that portrays the nightmares of a toddler…

Top 10 Free Platformer Games of 2012(IndieGames)
“The indie universe continued to offer up in 2012 platformers of all types: auto-running, puzzle, exploratory, narrative-driven, and subversive. And even in this age where developers can easily charge money for their creations, some choose to release them for free.”

Behind The Sounds: Hotline Miami And FTL(Rock, Paper, Shotgun)
“Music man David Valjalo follows-up his explorationof the big-budget orchestral soundtracks in the mainstream games industry with a look at the other end of the scale – the super-low-budget, ultra-catchy, sometimes kitschy scores of indie darlings. He rounds up the men behind Hotline Miami, Sweden-based Dennis Wedin and Jonatan Soderstrom, two of the soundtrack artists they hand-picked, US artists M.O.O.N. and Scattle, and FTL composer Ben Prunty, to get the scoop on making music for small games and, quite often, small change.”

The Horror Game Where You Play As A Toddler Still Looks Eerie Despite Some Public Outcry(Kotaku)
“RememberIt’s that game by Krillbrite studio where you play as a two year old who has yet to ‘develop a full sense of reality, making you weak and susceptible to the horrifying creatures inhabiting your nightmares.’ If you’ve forgotten, this is your reminder that This Cool Game Still Exists.”

New Xbox Live Indie Games For Week Ending January 18, 2013(indiePub)
“Best bets this week include: Little Acorns Deluxe, a pixel platformer game where you take on the role of Mr. Nibbles; Dynasty of Dusk, a role-playing game where you must stand up to an emperor trying to gain immortality; Grid Space Shooter, a shooter game where you try to survives massive swarms of enemy ships; and finally Ultimate Dodgeball where you create a Dodgeball team and perform amazing acrobatic tricks while attacking the other team.”

The Joystiq Indie Pitch: A Walk In The Dark(Joystiq)
“Indie developers are the starving artists of the video-game world, often brilliant and innovative, but also misunderstood, underfunded and more prone to writing free-form poetry on their LiveJournals. We believe they deserve a wider audience with the Joystiq Indie Pitch: This week, the Flying Turtle team in Portugal talks barebones marketing and Steam Greenlight with its stylistic indie platformer, A Walk in the Dark .”

2013 Global Game Jam Expected To Break Previous Attendance Records(Polygon)
“Global Game Jam, a 48-hour game design event, is expected to break its participant record during the fifth annual event taking place this weekend, organizers announced. During the Global Game Jam, teams of professional and amateur developers gather to create games based on an announced theme. The event will take place in more than 300 worldwide locations in 60 countries. Game design professional Erin Robinson and Breat Victor will deliver this year’s keynote speech.”

Interview: Kentucky Route Zero’s Mountain of Meanings(Rock, Paper, Shotgun)
“ Kentucky Route Zerois a joyously original, heartfelt thing. If you haven’t already played it, go do that. If you have, then step on down to the RPS porch, pull up a slightly weather-worn deck chair, and let some soulful bluegrass overwhelm your senses. Easy, easy. The interview will begin soon, but for now, there’s certainly no rush. Oh, fair warning: it’s pretty SPOILERY . Co-creator Jake Elliott and I discuss Kentucky Route Zero’s unique approaches to storytelling, theater’s heavy influence on the game, the negative general perception of the American South, talking to animals, ghost stories, economic hardship, and a number of specific in-game scenes. So then, stroll on inside RPS’ quaintly rustic hilltop abode whenever you’re ready. Or don’t. There’s always time.”

Audio Files: Aivi Tran And RPG Craymore(IndieGames)
“Two weeks ago I had the pleasure of rockin’ out with extremely talented pianist Aivi Tranat Magfest XI. Not only is she a beast at piano improvisation, she also composes music for indie games. Her recently released track “Climb, Lest I Fall” (above) was written for the upcoming RPG Cryamore, which looks to be reminiscent of Legend of Mana style gameplay. If my analysis of the gameplay is anywhere near the mark, Aivi’s music will do an excellent job at complementing Cryamore.”