Given the breadth of content on the 360’s Indie Games Marketplace, we’re not even sure it’s possible to pick a Best Indie Game of the Year. After all, our very first Indieverse column in OXM didn’t even start until our April issue, and with so many games rolling out sporadically each week — then getting lost in the Indie Game Marketplace vortex — it's very challenging to find, let alone play everything.
But when the figurative gun was put to our head for 2011's OXM Games of the Year coverage, though, we decided to pick our favorite indie games from the ones we were able to spend some time with, and the one we liked best got the Game of the Year award. If you have your own picks from this year, be absolutely sure to leave them in the comments section. There’s so much great work that happened this year in Xbox Live Indie Games from hard-working, often unheralded developers that it makes our heads want to explode, and they're all due some recognition in one form or another.
Indie Game of the Year: DLC Quest (Going Loud Studios, 80 MSP)
2011 was a year when money was on a lot of people's minds, for one reason or another. We’ve seen glimpses that some upcoming blockbuster games, like GTA V, have begun to tackle the economic hardships faced by America (and the rest of the world). But the price of games didn’t seem to budge a whole lot in 2011, and DLC Quest’s creator, Ben Kane, was more inspired by that than anything resembling an Occupy Wall Street movement.
In an interview with us, Kane says the idea for DLC Quest began when he learned of an exclusive pre-order DLC pack for a major game. “The game wasn't even out, and yet there was this pack that was going to add content that was 'essential' to multiplayer,” he says. “It seemed ridiculous and the fans were up in arms about it.”
Originally, Kane thought about throwing in a DLC pack into the title he was working on at the time, but later realized a game based entirely on acquiring DLC would resonate with players. DLC Quest’s premise revolves around having to collect coins to purchase in-game downloadable content to complete even the most basic of functions. The idea would amount to a shoddy gimmick in a lesser game, but DLC Quest is colorfully arted, controls well, stays smart throughout, and doesn’t overstay its welcome. Its crippling DLC even effects whether you walk away with a feel-good ending or not.
Best of all, the experience costs only $1 — far from the ripoff tactics the game so accurately lampoons. “It's a farce, but it's not far off from how players feel when their favorite games use DLC to restrict them from doing things that they feel are essential," Kane tells us. And so in 2011, an indie game mocking greedy price gouging by corporations seemed to arrive at just the right time.
Runners-up:
Dead Pixels (CantStrafeRight, 80 MS Points)
Yes, the Xbox Live Indie Games marketplace is flooded with budget zombie games. Thankfully, Dead Pixels’ SNES-like universe with a washed-out, Instagram-like-presentation took its approach as a B-movie zombie send-up seriously. The premise is familiar: you’re a survivor trying to make it out of a city alive after a chemical spill has turned the dead alive. The gameplay has you running through the streets, ducking into abandoned buildings, and firing shotgun shells at zombies — all while stopping to purchase more weapons and ammo from what vendors still remain. And since the whole game harkens back to the old-school days of yore, the action all happens, more or less, very slowly. From the grin-worthy variety of zombies to the game’s super-pixelated presentation, Dead Pixels is a worthwhile buck.
FortressCraft Chapter 1 (ProjectorGames, 240 MS Points)
Long before we learned that Minecraft was coming to Xbox Live Arcade, a UK indie game developer named DJ Arcas wanted to settle the debate among some friends if the 360 was powerful enough to handle a game like it. With some help, he launched FortressCraft in just under three months, and the result was an impressively rich, three-dimensional sandbox-builder starring your Avatar. FortressCraft gives those interested a chance to get creative with blocks, and leaves little doubt that the game it pays homage to will make the transition to Xbox smoothly in 2012. By then though, people may just have already gotten their fill with FortressCraft.
Avatar Legends (Barkers Crest Studio, 240 MS Points)
There are lot of Xbox Live Indie games that claim to be RPGs, but Avatar Legends is one of the few titles that does it right without becoming overcomplicated. And maybe that’s due to its instant accessibility, which could be credited to its developer, Barkers Crest— creator of some of the most well crafted Avatar games on Xbox Live, including Avatar Golf and Home Run Challenge. “I grew up on Nintendo and you can see the influence there; they’re very good at making games that are simple and enjoyable,” studio head Matt Davis told us earlier this year. Avatar Legends takes your Avatar and has it running around a countryside, completing quests and gabbing with NPCs.
College Lacrosse 2011 (Carlo Sunseri, 400 MS Points)
Compared to shooters or platformers, sports titles are pretty much a rarity among Xbox Live Indie Games. That, combined with the fact lacrosse is still a relatively provincial endeavor, makes the College Lacrosse series' success something of anomaly, but developer Carlo Sunseri had a vision: “It was always my dream to develop the first lacrosse videogame. When I saw the opportunity, I couldn’t let it pass by,” he told us earlier this year. While lacrosse might not be a sport for everyone, the effort that's gone into College Lacrosse 2011 is apparent.
Other notables: Chester, Volchaos, Trailer Park King, T.E.C. 3001, All the Bad Parts, Escape Goat, Bonded Realities, Aban Hawkins & the 1000 Spikes, Bureau — Agent Kendall, Office Affairs, Avatar Ninja! 2, Robotriot, Battle High: San Bruno, Fatal Seduction.
